6 Ways to Avoid Arguments in your Home Game Room


by Joe Schmieder - Date: 2006-12-19 - Word Count: 970 Share This!

My parents created a home game room for our family to have fun but sometimes arguments arose and growing up I saw just about every argument that can happen in a home game room. . To minimize the arguments we implemented a few good but simple ways to keep everyone happy. I say minimize because no matter what you do there will always be an argument or two, that's life. But if you can stop just one from happening then your home game room will be that much better!

1 - Who's Next

One argument that always comes up is the question of "Who's Next". Yes a ridiculous argument but one that can get out of hand for no reason. An easy solution for this problem is to have a pen and paper on hand in your game room. It's a "Who Plays Next" list. Make sure you write your name down on the paper that way you know who plays next and no he said, she said can happen. If you want something better then a small white board does the trick. Using a "who's next" list works great especially if you have a lot of people over for the holidays.

2 - Using Cards

Keep a deck of cards in your game room for choosing teams and more. This way you can separate teams randomly. If you have six people over then take out 3 pairs of cards, mix them up and each person picks one. Pairs are teams, no ifs, ands or buts. If you have an odd number just add a joker and that person sits out the first game. The first losing team will pick cards and whoever gets the lowest card sits out and the highest card and waiting player make a new team. This is a simple yet effective way to keep the peace in your home game room.

3 - Change Partners

Another fun way to keep everything fun and even is to "Change Partners". Sometimes if the best two pool players get on the same team they'll win all night and some people may start to get upset. To stop that from happening, have a "change partners" rule. One of the best ways to do this is to have a winning team split up after 5 consecutive wins or 3 consecutive wins when you have a lot of friends and family over.

Basically what happens is that after a team wins 5 consecutive games everyone re-picks cards to arrange new teams. And make sure it's a rule that the highest two pairs play first and then the next highest pairs play the winners. If by chance the winning team is paired up again then so be it, let them play as partners again because teams will split up eventually once more. The important thing here is that you have everyone's name on the white board and when then get a win they get a check mark. This way no matter who are partners they'll be trying to win to get a check mark. And at the end of the night you'll see who has the most wins and it won't matter who their partner was.

4 - Keep Records

This is probably one of the biggest arguments that happens in a home game room yet it's paid little attention. I'm talking about keeping records. I can't recall how many times someone said they had a higher score than I did on the pinball game. Well a quick reference to our "Game Room Record Book" took care of that argument quickly. From who had the longest winning streak in pool to the highest score in pinball a record book stops arguments. Plus you can get creative with the different types of records you keep and those are always fun to look at especially years down the road.

5 - Home Rules

The fourth way was one of the biggest; well the fifth way is the biggest way to avoid arguments. Simply said, "Home Rules". Yes have a list of home rules for your game room. Other friends and family members may have pool tables also and they play by different rules. If you don't specify which rules you play by in your game room then you're in for a big surprise when friends start fighting over who's right. When in actuality they're probably both right but since they're at your home you make the rules so have a rule board up.

Playing pool in my home I've seen friends and family argue over whether you lose the game on a scratch. I've seen some people say that after a scratch you're in the kitchen while others say it's ball in hand and you can place the cue ball anywhere on the table. Still others have told me I lost because I didn't call the 8-ball pocket when the 8-ball was an inch away from the pocket and it was obvious where it was going. Also do you need to call the pocket for every ball or just the 8-ball. Man have I seen some great arguments over these simple little things. But you know what took care of the fights, "Home Rules"!

These rules are all about making your game room a better place for family and friends to enjoy and have fun together. And these really aren't rules as they are ways to keep the peace. Let's face it, during the holidays you may have a party or two and people may be drinking and playing games in your game room. If you implement these 5 simple ways to avoid arguments in your game room you'll be assured to have stopped most unneeded arguments before they even arise.

Yes other arguments may come up but stopping just one in its tracks is good news. So if you add a few rules today you'll stop an argument tomorrow!


Related Tags: family, games, fun, billiards, pool, argument, rules, home game room, rec, bar room

Find some great ideas for adding fun to your home game room at www.game-room-decorating-ideas.com.

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