Is It Just ME..??? LONG RANT

[Jim Kane]

Is it just me, or does it go right up anyone else's Bee's Nest when some self-described "TFT-expert" comes out with a YouTube review and can only seem to describe why TFT is unique and special by repeatedly describing the game as "very simple" and "not very detailed"?... and then proceeds to mis-name the TFT attributes using the terms: "INT" for IQ, and "Skills" for Talents.

D'OH!!

And then goes on with verbiage littered with AD&D jargon(?).

Oh boy.

While it is true that we have a 3 Attribute System as the core, saying TFT is: "a simple game and not the most detailed", is like saying because it only has 6 different pieces... "You see, I am an life-long expert in Chest [sic]... it is a simple game and not very detailed, and uses pieces called: the horsey, the little castle, and the tiny bowling pins..."

I guess by that "X-purt" reasoning, the Japanese game of: GO is even simpler - Heck, it only has 1 type of playing-piece.

We have some incredibly bright, articulate, and knowledgeable people on this board, bashing their brains out (and sometimes each others) in trying to unlock the keys-of-perfection to this "simple and not very detailed game". I read with great interest and recognize all the hard work and deep thought everyone puts into making this great thing better - and even in cases where I wholly disagree with a fellow member - I have to acknowledge, and cannot deny, the stellar level of life-long TFT Expertise and Knowledge (not "claimed knowledge" backed with blatant misnomers and D&D-speak running amok) that we share with each other here on the forum.

So when a complete charlatan promotes himself on YouTube while claiming to be a life-long TFT'er who "doubts there is anyone out there who has played the game more", yet doesn't even know the game terms and basic structure by evidence of his own testimony, I find this a slap in the face to each and every one of us, and all the work and time we share here.

The other thing I find so highly insulting is this idea that TFT has now suddenly been deemed - in the opinion of this self-proclaimed TFT X-purt - is what we used to call a: "Knee-jerk, Beer and Pretzels game".

Back in the Metagaming and TSG days of the early 80s, a lot of fast-playing, one-shot games were designed with this "Knee-Jerk, Beer and Pretzels" format purposefully.

TFT is NOT one of those games. Sure, you COULD play it that way, if you wanted, but to listening to this flippant and erroneous lumping-in classification is beyond insulting.

When I listen to this guy, I must be feeling the same thing a 4 Tour combat veteran feels when some poser is claiming that mantle, and you find out his uniform and medals came not from time served in-grade and in-action, but were purchased from the local pawn shop, and he once saw a John Wayne war movie... or was it an Audie Murphy movie?

Hmm, I don't know, I can't seem keep the terms straight either.

I also love the tell-tale "eyes down", MAKE THE STATEMENT, then followed by the "eye blink" and "eye shift left", immediately after he utters the phrase: "That is why I have made it my go-to game since the 1980s". See 1:13 - 1:18 on the timeline - LOL!! Classic! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edJJEGtJRrE&t=332s Show that to your local Police Detective or Deposing Attorney and ask them if they think the man is making a truthful statement or not. ;-)

And for added laughs, show them the STATEMENT at 3:47-3:57. Here he even ups the ante' with the "negative" head-shake while making the "affirmative" statement.

Too much LOL!

Then - as my antenna is up - I have to wonder if the tattered and battered TFT books - strategically placed in the background over his shoulder for subliminal "authenticity" - were rescued from a moldy box left untouched by human hands in the basement for 37 years, or were they purchased on eBay just before the filming of this "review".

Lastly, and yet another classic: "I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about" tell-tale: "He reprinted the game (TFT) and modified it so it was non-copyright infringement and called it GURPS."

Do I even need to expound on that one?

One of the very first statements SJ made REPEATEDLY was: "GURPS IS NOT TFT ALL OVER AGAIN."

Anyone who is an "X-purt" in TFT and has even toyed with MtM/GURPS knows these two game designs are WORLDS APART from each other in design, form, and end-user experience.

What this tells me is that this guy (again) has NO CLUE about what TFT really is.
While ANY exposure is good exposure, what is the point of him making this "review"?

What the heck is his motivation to talk-up a product he obviously has limited and faulty knowledge of? And why is he backing up his endorsement with all this "I have played this game continuously since 1980, but i don't know the format and basic terms" - with the eyes darting and shifting all over the place while he does so?

Bizarre.

All I get from watching this guy is insulted, and mystified as to his end-goal in making this video.

Anyone?

JK