This could've been a tweet. Sad to see economy is so bad The Guardian has to post engagement bait.

Who cares what an obnoxious, self absorbed party girl has to say? Have another glass of wine and keep your mouth shut.

source

Everyone over the age of 12 should stop doing things they enjoy and get drunk instead? Okay, fuck off Emily.

And this is why some people should be denied power. Not liking/wanting something for oneself is fine. You do you, etc.

Wishing to forbid it to others is unconscionable.

“Emily Watkins is a freelance writer based in London”

Naturally, as a Guardian journalist I expected her wikipedia page to be full of blue links to relatives, but there doesn’t seem to be one. Have they actually started AI generating metropolitan elite scions with absolutely no life experience to generate ragebait?

Just in case you thought that this is an outlier rather than a part of a series of scorching hot takes, here's some examples:

Let me guess, TheGuardian has been declining and panicked by hitting the "publish a stupid article that is so outrageous it will definitely ruin the authors career but the outrage clicks might get enough ad revenue to line the CEOs pockets by one more dollar" button.

Oh, I'm SOOOOO sorry that our fun is interrupting your alcoholism. Feel free to down another bottle of wine alone in the corner while muttering about how you're so much more sophisticated than the rest of us.

She is not even speaking about videogames, but all sort of games and sport, even quizzes. I don't know what brain rot this woman has, but she seems to just want to cuddle and talk. I absolutely respect a lifestyle and opinion, even if I disagree. But I do not respect trying to ban that for other people. That crosses the line into evil. Actually she sounds like an evil Marvel character who hates Joker. Maybe Joker played with her a game to destroy her mind or something like that. Clearly this is not normal.

I don't think we need to amplify one of the worst opinion columns written in a hot minute. This reminds me of that guy who wanted to shame every adult who uses a backpack, as some kind of fashion faux pas. Both of these people can get bent. Games are fun. Backpacks are practical.

She's entitled to her opinion, even if it is stupid and wrong.

I just played a solo game of Nemesis: Lockdown at my table today. Somehow I made it through without even seeing an alien.

I hope what I’m doing in the privacy of my own home doesn’t outrage her too much.

I’m also fifteen years sober, but I’m sure she’s drinking my share too.

This Watkins person sounds like the kind of person who's just so bad at every game she now wants to ruin everyone else's fun. It's a known fact games of all kinds can be good for you in different ways, and having a playful side is often seen as a green flag in most adults too.

"I'm bad at games, so they should be illegal. Instead, let's drink wine!"

Wild take, but it takes all sorts. Incidentally, I do totally agree with her about Two Truths and a Lie, although I wouldn't really call these forced ice breakers 'games'

I find it interesting that she finds games to be so isolating and distracting from socializing, when the board game industry relies almost entirely on people getting together to play games and... socialize.

I wonder if she knows co-operative games exist

Engagement bait slop.

This person sounds like she'd be fun at parties...

(I mean I guess she is no longer invited to any and has fuck all clue why that might be >.>)

The whole time I was worried she lived in my country and then I got to the bottom and found out she loved in London. Great, it can keep her!

I semi-agree only in that those are some of the worst party games.

Usually when someone says they don't like boardgames, its because they've only ever played Monopoly , Scrabble, or Sorry which are kind of terrible to play. It seems like she falls into this category.

Bait used to be believable.

The hill I will die on: Emily Watkins shouldn't be allowed to write. Not even a fucking post it note, let alone for a self-proclaimed news portal.

Tens, hundreds of thousands of people would have their lives immediately improved if she never held a pen, or graced a keyboard with her presence ever again.

What an eminently unfun-sounding person. People that carve out such a broad category to gatekeep always confuse me. You don't like competitive games? There's cooperative ones. Annoyed by people who take it too seriously? Try a more casual one. Etc...

There's nothing wrong with being stuck in your ways or preferring more simple social activities. But refusing to try whatever the consensus of a group is, or judging others for participating is some peak boomer shit. And condescending things others enjoy as only being for children is the chef's kiss. Again, she's allowed her opinions and preferences, but I certainly don't want her joyless ass playing a game with me either...

lol what is it with educated white British women and their obsession with wine? Are people in the UK so boring that you need to stay inebriated to have a conversation?

I just hate the rules lawyer cheaters. It is usually the person who brings the game up in the first place. They scrutinize every move you make then when you catch them doing something slick, they say something like "thats how we played growing up". My mom is one of these people.

So is country music

Should be banned for anyone over 12

lol. 100% death on that hill.

git gud

I get it, people should come together and socialise rather than play games... I mean, I can kinda see the logic. But, sometimes I just wanna murder aliens. Currently playing Saints Row 4, one of the stupidest games of all time. You can murder people in the streets, but they're all holograms or aliens. You can't canonically hurt anyone in this game, as far as I can tell. Well, my character just got punched by another human character for uttering the words "poodle skirt" (IYKYK) (also, Kinzie is awesome).