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Re:Hacker School banning “feigned surprise” is absolutely br... by Crito on Thursday April 10, 2014 @12:12PM (#7567412)
I don't feel this way about drinking, but I think I can nevertheless commiserate with you because I do feel this way about another pastime/group activity that seems to be becoming distressingly common in the tech circles that I find myself in: Board Game Night.

No, I don't want to play monopoly, because my strategy for monopoly can be expressed in two or three lines of pseudocode and it is therefore an incredibly dull game. And if I have to sit through another hour long lecture about a game like Catan that is prefaced with "It's actually really simple; here, let me explain how it works...", I am going to put a power drill through my skull. Don't even talk to me about Magick or pokemans.

Do you know what I do when somebody proposes a board game night? I wish them a good time, politely excuse myself, and find something else to do. Not everyone likes everything, and I should not expect others around me to abstain from activities that I do not enjoy.

Re:Hacker School banning “feigned surprise” is absolutely br... by awjr on Thursday April 10, 2014 @12:56PM (#7567813)
You should try Pandemic. I'd almost consider it team therapy. Yes it's a board game but feels like a condensed team exercise weekend where you end up building bridges (metaphorically and physically).
Re:Hacker School banning “feigned surprise” is absolutely br... by judk on Thursday April 10, 2014 @11:55PM (#7571141)
Pandemic is good in the sense that it is exercise for professional communication skills in a toy environment without business consequences. After you play you should thing about what the experience teaches you about your team. Especially if someone has a very different confidence/leadership/cooperation style in the game than at work projects.