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The Knocking Sound is Horrifying

Posted: 13 October 2020, 08:27
by polm23
I love playing games on Board Game Arena and I have a weekly game group that gets together and plays games regularly. We're pretty casual and like to invite new people. One problem we always have is that when new people join and first hear the knocking sound - the default sound for a new player joining the table - they are suprised and sometimes even briefly frightened.

I think part of it is that because we have voice chat on, most of us are using headsets, and over headphones the noise more disturbing than it would be just coming from desktop speakers. I know I was personally surprised and thought someone was actually knocking aggressively at my door. It also took a while to figure out what was causing the noise, since I absolutely do not associate the noise with someone joining a table.

Is it possible to change that particular default sound effect? I'm setting up an board game night for people who I haven't met before, and am planning on using BGA, but realized I forgot about this and am concerned about having to explain it.

Re: The Knocking Sound is Horrifying

Posted: 13 October 2020, 08:45
by RicardoRix
So it gets your attention then. It seems to have doe it's job.

https://boardgamearena.com/preferences?section=sound

Re: The Knocking Sound is Horrifying

Posted: 13 October 2020, 09:50
by vichy
RicardoRix wrote: 13 October 2020, 08:45 So it gets your attention then. It seems to have doe it's job.

https://boardgamearena.com/preferences?section=sound

I usually play without sound and have recently discovered this noise. The perfect word is disturbing. If they seem noises from beyond the grave! :? It attracts attention (whether you like the noise or not) but it is not easy to identify. Thanks for the link, I didn't know that you could change these sounds and even better, mute most ...

Re: The Knocking Sound is Horrifying

Posted: 17 October 2020, 07:08
by Pickle_Of_Doom
I laughed out loud when I saw this topic today (reading the forums for the first time). My wife and I joke about it whenever a table is set up. "Oh no, the police are raiding our house!" It's a really jarring noise. But now that I know it can change it, I've done so :D

Re: The Knocking Sound is Horrifying

Posted: 18 October 2020, 11:26
by mavit
It’s a bit of a running joke in our gaming group that BGA does some things so well, but is let down by some trivial but prominent issues. The knocking is something we always laugh about.

Sure, you can switch off the knocking in the preferences, but by then it’s too late: the site has already made a bad first impression on newcomers.