negative environment in Hanabi

[grrandpacool]

Hello,
I am writing to express my deep disappointment and concern about the current player environment in the game Hanabi.

I have been a long-time user and have always appreciated the service BGA provides. Hanabi is a game I love for its unique requirement of cooperation, communication, and trust. Unfortunately, my recent experiences have made it increasingly difficult to enjoy.

I have encountered a growing trend of highly negative and intolerant behavior from other players. The spirit of a cooperative game seems to be overshadowed by an intense focus on winning at all costs. Instances of this include:

1.Receiving hostile responses in the chat (e.g., spamming "?" or "?????") for making an honest mistake.
2.Experiencing zero tolerance for any error, which is against the very nature of a game about imperfect information.
3.In the most extreme cases, after a mistake, other players have deliberately thrown the game by playing known wrong cards to end the game immediately as a form of punishment.
4.In other cases, receiving direct insults from teammates.

Perhaps the most discouraging example was when I was playing a game explicitly set to "Friendly" mode. I made a mistake, and my partner reacted with intense anger, completely contradicting the spirit of the mode we had selected.

This type of conduct is not only rude but fundamentally breaks the cooperative spirit of Hanabi. What should be a fun often turns into a stressful and unpleasant event. The act of deliberately losing to punish a teammate is especially toxic and violates the basic principles of good sportsmanship.

I understand that Hanabi attracts players who enjoy deep strategy, and that's a great thing. However, the current vibe in many games feels toxic and unwelcoming to all but the most elite players.

I am writing in the hope that you might consider ways to better promote sportsmanship and a positive community in Hanabi.

Thank you for your time and for building a platform that has brought me so much joy. I hope this feedback is helpful in making BGA a welcoming place for all types of players.

Sincerely,

grrandpacool

[Meeplelowda]

I'm sorry you experienced this. Unfortunately, it's the internet and you cannot play a game with random people you don't know without eventually running into people like this.

The same admonition goes for those other people. If they can't tolerate playing with someone who isn't playing perfectly, why are *they* playing with a random person they don't know?

There are certain games on here that breed this kind of behavior, and it is frankly unwise to play them with strangers. The moderation team would be able to do nothing else if they tried to monitor people writing ??? or tried to decide if someone intentionally sabotaged a game.

[Rune__b]

Use the red thumb liberally, and hopefully you will eventually filter out the toxic players

[BananaHarambe]

I have seen many reports of Hanabi on BGA being extremely toxic and have even seen Hanabi players that are SO toxic that multiple players have left messages on their wall saying not to play with them and why.

Hanabi is the type of game where you would really prefer to be selective about who you play with. It is a cooperative game with hidden information and subtle communication so people are naturally going to get frustrated with their teammates. I have no idea why toxic players continue to play COOPERATIVE games on BGA when the majority of games are competitive, but they do exist.

Sorry you had a rough time, maybe try other games?

[aesche]

Generally, I think the situation already improved a lot since abandons are causing ELO loss, and the worst of these players eventually will be filterable, as falling out of master.

With patience and lots of red thumbs, the situation also heavily improves over time.

Report rude / bossy players, it often doesnt need much to get moderated. Befriend nice players. Favour 2P over higher player counts.

And I‘ll invite you to an according group.

Don‘t give up, it‘s still possible to enjoy Hanabi here.

[Travis Hall]

It is the cooperative nature of Hanabi that brings out this sort of behaviour. In a competitive game, another player’s error just means you win; only in cooperative games are we so strongly negatively affected by the mistakes of others.

That said, some of the arguments that you get over in the Hearts forum… (… where the argument is usually whether it is okay to play for second place; like, my aim going in is to win, but if I’m 30 points down on the leader and somebody has already reached negative in this hand, I’m targeting the guy I’m competing with for second.)

It is true that there are players who should take bad games with a better attitude. (I don’t mind a bad score; it’s an opportunity to learn and improve our skills. But a partner who doesn’t attempt to improve will eventually get a red thumb from me.) Use your red thumbs liberally, as others suggest, to improve your overall experience.

It also helps to join games opened by others who use their red thumbs. My extensive list of red thumbs for obnoxious players helps keep my games safer for the more pleasant players.

[jatubio]

I hadn’t played in years and now, picking it up again and having to relearn concepts like the finesse, I’ve also encountered some very rude players.
Although I largely agree with you, I must say that right after reading your comment (and feeling sad because on a place meant for fun you have found experiences like that), I’ve had the tremendous luck of meeting some wonderful people in my recent games.

Not only did they explain the concept of finesse to me again with all the necessary details, but they also appreciated my gameplay and took my mistakes with a great sense of humor. So, I want to publicly thank them for their help and, in some way, balance the scales toward those people who not only choose to play for fun but also enjoy teaching others.

There’s still hope!! There are some Hanabi heroes between us, hahahaha.

Happy weekend to all the gamers! "

[major44]

Fully agréé on this topic.

I hate when after a mistake I get a "?????"
Fortunately one of the first players I played with took the time to explain me the codes etc... So I could learn the game. Don't know his name, but i'm grateful to him and I try always to bé as didactic to others as he was to me and bé part of those heroes someone talked about.

Now I have to learn the 3+ mode, but I confess i'm afraid to be a weight to my partners and that it won't bé a nice moment for them (and get paired with one of the uncool people of this game)

[Gemmaturtles]

I recommend using the thumbs down feature. I always mark a player to avoid them if I have experiences like this. Eventually you are left with mostly friendly people, and there are lots of friendly people!

[Lucygoo]

I love this game but I’ve also come across a lot of this, and it can be quite intimidating when you’re trying hard to learn and play well. What frustrates me most is that it inevitably comes from players who haven’t communicated anything about their preferred conventions or play style beforehand, but they expect you to magically play the same way as them. I’ve had to red thumb and block several people who were very insulting. Only game I’ve ever had this issue with on BGA.