Enjoying a games night doesn’t just consist of playing a game with a group of friends or like minded people – but usually also drinks, snacks and other foodstuff. However, do sticky fingers and spilled drinks go with playing games? I suppose it depends.
If you want to keep your game in pristine condition, then you will expect people to have clean hands and be careful when they consume drinks and food. On the other hand, I don’t think anyone would be too happy if people are too casual and don’t care if your latest game gets splattered with snacks and liquids.
Putting your attitude to game condition aside, there are still situations when marks on game components are an issue. Most card games for example rely on nobody being able to tell what cards are in play. You don’t want to have a lovely coffee stain in the corner of a card. It would tell everyone what the card is, and that’s usually a disadvantage.
Some dexterity games would also have an issue if players aren’t careful with their food and drink. After all, you wouldn’t want your perfect flick of the wooden disc get spoiled by a sticky stain on the board. Or maybe you would. I suppose you could argue that the stain simply becomes another obstacle that you have to maneuver around.
I can’t think of any other examples, but I am sure there are other cases where food and drink can negatively affect a game. Can you think of examples? What is your attitude to eating and drinking when playing games? Do you ban certain food or drinks? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.