Why don't I like theme games?

[Aeronaut]

This is a really weird question I think. Here's my issue:

I feel like a lot of really cool people on this site really only exclusively play theme games, which is understandable! They look really fun. So me, wanting to play with you guys, I will join a mini theme or a large theme on occasion. However, for

some reason

, I just always end up getting bored of the game incredibly quick and fall behind and just get apathetic.

I don't know why!

I don't usually have this problem playing normal games, and you'd think a game that has new and interesting flavors and roles would be more compelling to me, but it just never seems to work out for me.

What should I do to enjoy theme games more? Or to help myself get into them?

Thanks!

[MarioManiac4]

Usually just don't take them so seriously and play for fun

[Alchemist21]

We can't really answer that without knowing why you get bored in the theme games. Is it an issue of post volume? Other players not playing as seriously/more seriously in theme games? Something else entirely?

Another possibility that just came to mind - Maybe it's your expectations for the gameplay itself. Joining a normal, you know to expect basic mafia play, but maybe you expect flavor to have more of an impact in a theme game than it does? In that case the theme you joined for becomes mostly irrelevant and you lose interest?

If that last scenario is the problem, there's nothing you can really do other than joining games that are guaranteed or at least likely to have flavor-based interactions (flavor cop, flavor targeting, etc.).

[popsofctown]

There's some really cool players that only play theme games, but maybe there's some other players that only play theme games that tend to drag you down.

[SilverWolf]

I rarely play Large Themes. Don't know why. They look like fun. But kind of overwhelming with the complexity of the game. Maybe those that play them regularly can say what they like about them.

[Ankamius]

Is it theme games in general or the more complicated role-madness type ones?

[N]

it's because the normal listmod is amazing

[SilverWolf]

I'm o.k. with the mini themes. It's the large's that are kind of intimidating to me.

[kuribo]

I'm the opposite


I dislike playing normals and I like open normals even less

To each their own, really

[Skybird]

I like playing large themes because of the flavor. I usually don't know what the flavor is and have to do a little research. Along the way I've found some new things to enjoy.

[LlamaFluff]

There is a much wider range of bastardness and balance in themes. You can have a game basically stolen from you due to some bizarre role that no one could have expected exist, be on a side that will need nearly perfect play to win, or have a mod overlook something that dooms a side. You also tend to have far more discussion on outguessing the mod and trying to break the game through flavor (which is done because some mods fail to account for that). Themes can be really good, but most of the really bad games that are ran are themes as well.

That or you could just not care about the flavor and force yourself to read it either way. If that's the case just take the "never read flavor" approach.

[mastin2]

Theme games have this unfortunate tendency to get really, really long. That can contribute very much to the apathy. Sure, Large games in general are getting longer, but Large Themes hold the majority of length records for good reason. Players talk a lot more than they used to, and that can contribute very heavily to making you avoid the game. In short, themes are long, larges are long, and large themes compound the problem. It can be very difficult to stay invested when you have to read 20 pages a day. Alternatively, if the game slows to a crawl--and near-universally, every theme has this at a point, in mid-lategame usually--then one of the things required to get people out of the rut is to review the info...which requires trawling through long pieces of info to track down that single little thing you're looking for.

Also, in general, meta is more heavily featured in themes. Not just mod meta--player meta, too. Players in themes tend to, as noted, stick to themes. So that requires not only knowing them from the current game, but also from previous games...that are also themes with the same problem. In other queues, you don't deal nearly as much with the problem because you've got a constantly-rotating playerlist. (New people come in all the time, old people move out all the time.)

In short, there's just so much extra to keep track of, with it being a lot more effort. It's very hard to keep in the mindset of finishing the game pro-actively ("I want to win!") rather than passively ("I just want this miserable game to be over").

Generally one of the best things to do is to let go and accept your feelings for what they are, and to make the most of it. I try to have fun, and if I'm not having fun, I'm miserable, but I'll do what I can to use my state of being: I'll skim, I'll skip, I'll improvise, and be more creative with my play, since I've got little to lose and a lot to gain. If I keep having fun, then I keep having fun, and continue to do things that allow me to keep having fun, among them being that I won't take the game too seriously even if it appears like I am.

I'm not sure how much good that tip will do you, though. Combating apathy is a problem I still struggle with.

[Titus]

I prefer themes because the mental chess match is easier to track. I play normals/vanillas on occasion but I am much worse at those.

[richarddylan175]

You should have a positive mind set when you are playing that kind of games

[DrippingGoofball]

I like large games, theme or no theme.

[Aeronaut]

Theme games have this unfortunate tendency to get really, really long. That can contribute very much to the apathy. Sure, Large games in general are getting longer, but Large Themes hold the majority of length records for good reason. Players talk a lot more than they used to, and that can contribute very heavily to making you avoid the game. In short, themes are long, larges are long, and large themes compound the problem. It can be very difficult to stay invested when you have to read 20 pages a day. Alternatively, if the game slows to a crawl--and near-universally, every theme has this at a point, in mid-lategame usually--then one of the things required to get people out of the rut is to review the info...which requires trawling through long pieces of info to track down that single little thing you're looking for.

Also, in general, meta is more heavily featured in themes. Not just mod meta--player meta, too. Players in themes tend to, as noted, stick to themes. So that requires not only knowing them from the current game, but also from previous games...that are also themes with the same problem. In other queues, you don't deal nearly as much with the problem because you've got a constantly-rotating playerlist. (New people come in all the time, old people move out all the time.)

In short, there's just so much extra to keep track of, with it being a lot more effort. It's very hard to keep in the mindset of finishing the game pro-actively ("I want to win!") rather than passively ("I just want this miserable game to be over").

Generally one of the best things to do is to let go and accept your feelings for what they are, and to make the most of it. I try to have fun, and if I'm not having fun, I'm miserable, but I'll do what I can to use my state of being: I'll skim, I'll skip, I'll improvise, and be more creative with my play, since I've got little to lose and a lot to gain. If I keep having fun, then I keep having fun, and continue to do things that allow me to keep having fun, among them being that I won't take the game too seriously even if it appears like I am.

I'm not sure how much good that tip will do you, though. Combating apathy is a problem I still struggle with.

This was really good advice, by the way, (as was all of it).

I think what I'll do is maybe sometime over the summer when I'm not busy, I'll join a large theme, and only that game so I can focus on it.