Key Quest: A Lesson in Good Sportsmanship

So what exactly does that change? Well, it’s important to remember that while you may be halfway there to saving for the Lab Map or Baby Paintbrush, your opponent may be too. Tons of activities on Neopets are essentially ‘single player’, where we are all playing for our own goals, so it’s easy to forget to consider the other person, especially with the many thousands of miles away they may be. But despite all this, we need to be civil, respectful, and kind to the people we may be playing with, and remember that glitches still exist. This doesn’t mean you need to stop playing to win. Please, by all means, sticky my dice away before I can use them to get to the treasure chest, or change places with me when I’m one space away from a key; that’s all fair play. However, don’t skip your own turn when I play a Lint Ball on you, or quit on me when I start doing well on the game. Here are a few more ways in which you can still stay competitive while having good sportsmanship in Key Quest:

1. Don’t play unless you have time to. My Key Quest games usually last about 15 minutes on average, so I don’t play unless I have at least 15 minutes. Thus, if I know my ride is probably going to pick me up in less than 10 minutes, I don’t start a game. Why? Because I don’t want to quit on my opponent – winning or losing – when my ride arrives. You wouldn’t want the same thing done to you, so afford that same privilege to the people you play with.

2. Don’t assume your random opponent knows what you want out of that game. If you only want to finish the game after both of you have at least 2,000 neopoints, don’t assume they know that. If you don’t want to play minigames, also don’t assume your opponent will know that. If you want a game where no one is allowed to use powerups, except on themselves, don’t assume your opponent will know. Try to arrange a game with someone beforehand, where you guys either try to avoid minigames, or agree to not step through the door until you both have X amount of neopoints. That way, no one is disappointed, and no one quits on the other.

3. Don’t be rude to your opponent. Yes, that means, don’t constantly put on mean taunts/warnings to your opponent, and at least greet them in the beginning. You don’t have to keep a conversation going the whole game, but a nice *waves* or *high fives* in the beginning is cool and just shows you’re friendly.

4. Don’t quit on your opponent because they are winning. This is pretty self explanatory, but if everyone quit on the other for that, no Key Quest game would ever finish. Plus, if you don’t like silver/bronze/lead keys, save them for a day when Key Quest is under maintenance, or when you don’t have time to play many games.

5. Don’t close the window, even if you have to go to the bathroom or the doorbell rings! The game will still keep going, and if you make it back in time, you may be able to still play and finish out the game. Make an effort.

6. Don’t harass people when the game ends abnormally. It may be they quit, but they may also have been booted out. If it bothers you, send the person a POLITE neomail asking what happened to your game, but don’t make threads about it stating they are quitters, and don’t send hate-neomail. Remember the game still has some glitches, and sometimes people’s computers and internet connections aren’t behaving like we would like them to.

7. Remember the names of who you play with, or write them down. So if something happens to you – your computer/browser crashes, an emergency comes up, or something that hinders the progress of your Key Quest game, you can neomail the person and tell them so. You don’t need to put this into your long term memory and try to store the name of every person you’ve played with, but at least try to remember it for 15 minutes.

8. Don’t quit if you don’t get the house that you want. The Faerieland house seems to be the most popular, but that doesn’t make it the best. I almost always pick the Neopia house, and have over 450 gold keys and only about 50 silver ones, so any house has a great chance to win – they all just require different strategies. Take the time to learn the benefits of each house, and if someone picks the house you like, just think of it as an opportunity to hone your skills with a different house.

9. Don’t be unnecessarily mean to your opponent. If all you need to win is a roll of 1, don’t take that time to play a hindering powerup on your opponent, or insult them with a taunt. Roll your dice, and say ‘Good Game’, and end it there.

10. In multiplayer games, don’t gang up on your opponent. As in, don’t play a three-player game with you, a friend, and a stranger, and make it a point to only use powerups and the like on the stranger. If you and your friend want only gold and silver keys, then play a two-player game between you two, but don’t ruin it for the third person who walks in thinking they’re going to play a nice, fair game.

There you go, 10 ways in which you, and your opponents, can maintain good games, with no hard feelings, and no harm done to either person. Don’t forget your opponent is as human as you are, so don’t treat them as if they are below that.

Play well everyone; and see you at a Key Quest game!