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this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2026
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Man, what is it with table top games attracting the most unhygienic among us?
Especially since it's fundamentally a social activity. Why wouldn't you consider your presentation if the main part of your hobby is hanging out with other people?
I've spent a lot of time with Open Source Programmers and other nerds, including in person, and I believe at least some of the issue is that some of them feel grooming and hygiene is purely aesthetic, bordering on "shallow". Like the way many of us think about Looksmaxxing or cosmetic surgery.
Like, you spend a bunch of time and money doing your hair or washing your clothes? That time didn't improve your card playing, it didn't teach you anything new. Shouldn't people be judged by what's inside instead of what's outside? Shouldn't people be judged by their skill or merit rather than their looks?
And I intentionally wrote that last one to feel borderline, because I think a lot of people do feel that way, and do believe those things, but not to the same extent. Their boundary for "hygenic enough" requires clean. And maybe the folks I'm characterizing don't know that it's actively unpleasant to be around someone who smells bad? Or maybe they're so steeped in it they don't know how bad it is?
Tangentially, this is one of the reasons some fem people struggle in these spaces. Any amount of eye-shadow, nice shirt, or hair-style is deemed as "superfluous", and so any person who spends their time and money on such things is regarded with suspicion. They're an idiot who wastes their time on looks at best, not to be trusted making other decisions, or a charlatan trying to trick lesser men with their wiles at worst. Those are the only two choices, because there's no other imaginable reason someone could do these things.
Part of the reason those positions are reached is because of the bullying one receives often comes from “normies” who are the most aesthetically conscious.
If you take shit from Chad and Stacy your whole life you learn, perhaps even subconsciously, that biceps and cologne/eyeliner and perfume are signals that someone is a certain type of way; and you never want to be what they are, or bring that energy to the table.
This explains a lot. Thanks for this perspective.
Sure but also you don’t have to do all that to just not stink? Wear clean clothes, never work out, never wear make up and use unscented products.
Funny thing is that they end up dressing and styling in a similar manner while looking down on people who deviate from the unspoken dress code. By rejecting fashion they are making a conscious choice in the way they dress and are therefore participating in fashion.
An aesthetic drawn from an ethic is the most authentic aesthetic possible
Sure, but if they all end up looking similar to each other it's still another form of fashion just not mainstream fashion. They are still signaling, consciously or subconsciously, that they are part of the in-group they want to associate with by the way they carry and dress themselves. It's no different from what the Chads and Stacys, who they think are superficial, do.
The difference is the ethic. Or lack thereof.
I'm not sure I know this use of the term ethic, but it sounds interesting. Care to define or illuminate?
Punks that dress in patched clothes do so because they don't want to support the industry of sweat shops, exploited labor, and fast fashion. They'd rather buy something used and patch it forever.
That's an example of an aesthetic that comes from an ethic.
Okay but how is a smelly nerd who buys Pokemon tshirts more ethical than a Stacy who buys clothing from Nordstrom they both participate in the same consooming behavior, pleasing their corporate overlords.
I don't think either of those are lead by an ethic, and therefore they are both equally terrible
...unless the Pokémon shirt was purchased second hand
Same thing with the "punk rock" look. It's so not punk.
I’m sorry but that type of think is delusional. Like because, taking a shower or washing your clothes doesn’t make you better at cards (why would it??) you don’t need to do it, why would these things be related? They serve completely different purposes. It sounds more like justifications to not do something they don’t enjoy or don’t want to do.
It is, yeah. It's also what they believe. It's sort of a sour grapes situation.
For most people, this kind of behavior is socialized out of them by the time they reach adulthood. But a lot of YuGiOh players, and players of other kinds, do not leave their house. To such a person, getting ready to go out requires maybe an hour or more of prep time, mostly because they don't know what they're doing, for what feels like 5 minutes of play at grocery store. They would think of this as superfluous and pointless.
A point of similarity I know will ruffle a few feathers: do you make your bed every day?
Your whole premise relies on them failing basic biology class (or somehow skipping out on the microbiology part?) because hygiene is also just about basic health.
So either they're all very stupid when it comes to basic health, or there's multiple issues or some other major one.
There's a lot of space between "that dude smells bad" and "that dude is hurting his health by not showering".
Idk, fungi thrive in said environments.
So? Doesn't mean they're (a) bad for your health or (b) able to outcompete everything else to the point of becoming problematic.
But they're not people--they are other players. What they look or smell like is absolutely irrelevant next to more IMPORTANT details.... like if you're playing a speedoid deck against an archerine, are you really going to have the mental bandwidth to be thinking about stuff like hygiene?
All you're doing here is demonstrating that you are not a serious person, probably someone whose never had a cyber dragon summoned against them, someone who has really never known true risk.
You take your showers. Blow dry your hair. Apply your deoderant. Then see how you fare against this deck.
/s
biohazards:
Spoken like a fucking soaplord, get off my table peasant
Ugh, this seems to be the prevailing mentality for driving too. Not other people, just other cars
Always has been. One of the main reasons I hate driving. Nobody would dare act the way drivers drive without the car anaonymizing them and everyone else.
So, in my experience, it's less unhygienic, and more a problem with not covering up their natural smells. Sounds similar, different things. I'll explain me experience with TTRPGers.
All the ones I know who fall into the funk trap are autistic folk, and the issue isn't that they don't bathe, it's that they can't stand those strong chemical smells they associate with body washes and deodorant*. So they bathe, but they use mild soaps, soaps designed for children, or unscented soaps, and they don't wear deodorant.
Which creates a situation where the hygiene is okay, but the funk is still there, once they're all in a group together. One on one, you really don't notice, but get 10 folks in a room for game night, or a couple thousand together for an event or convention, and the funk becomes overpowering.
That said, I do know two that have just a general aversion to bathing, and consistently reek
*Edit to add
Also an issue with texture on the skin. One of my best friends is autistic, and he cannot handle the feeling of deodorant on his armpits. It tacks the hair down, it's apparently sticky feeling, and he just goes into total meltdown until he can get it off. He can't focus on anything else.
The rest of your comment was read in a pirate voice in my head.
That was the intent.
I appreciate the perspective but would like to point out that encouraging strong masking scents is not going to help the situation. There are plenty of workplaces with "no strong scent" policies that manage to have conference meetings without triggering gag reflexes or migraines.
I’m autistic and I find showers overwhelming because they’re loud and they are touching you all over, it’s definitely a real thing but between unscented options, wipes and product choices like, spray deodorant for example, it’s still very possible to be hygienic and not “smell natural” if a person has symptoms so bad they literally cannot tolerate cleaning themselves it should be treated like any other symptom that they’d need to stay away from people for and they should abstain from attending.
I don't know if it's the soap thing so much, it more comes down to people in significant gathers have a smell to them that being in a small room or convention space amplifies. Showering and soap use is important but I think scrubbing is just as important. As well regularly clean clothes and just a little care for one's body.
Yeah I don't like any floral scented perfumed anything. Aldi sells plain old soap, plain old shampoo, and plain old conditioner. And that's what I like. Good old fatty acid salts.
Super Smash Bros also seems to have the same problem.
They tend to attract autistic people, who can have trouble with bathing for various reasons.
I understand why people with autism can have difficulty bathing but do TCGs attract more neurodivergents? I played YuGiOh and now actively play MTG. I don't think I've noticed myself?
If you have actively played several TCGs and you haven't noticed they attract neurodivergent people, you are likely neurodivergent yourself.
Hmm. I am not neurodivergent but also am unsure if they attract more neurodivergent hobbyists than neurotypical hobbyists? Or TCGs attract neurodivergents more than any other hobbies? Could be location too? Idk I have so many questions and an internet search isnt coming up.
At my local CA a majority of people seem neurotypical to me, a few are socially awkward yes, and maybe of an average of 42 people on a commander night maybe 2-3 I know for sure neurodivergent. There's a difference between socially awkward though and neurodivergent... Anyways, happy to share the hobby with anyone but would like everyone to be clean or hygienic if possible!! Sucks a few people perpetuate this stereotype :/
Could be age group? Are you under 30? The hobby has opened up dramatically in the last generation. Before that, neurodivergents were well over the baseline for the population.
Closer to 40 now! I think society has opened up to a lot of hobbies over the years. Used to be a closeted nerd myself as a female in video games but its nice that hobbies and fandom's are more acceptable now than before.
I can see that! MTG is an older game... And used to be more for niche populations. Same as anime I suppose. I was wondering if its due to geographical location as well.
I feel you on the pain of gaming while girl. The cultures still need work, I still don't open voice comms often, but damn has it come a long way. I'm sure geographical location has something to do with the population differences. A bigger city or more progressive area is a full two generations or more ahead of everywhere else in the country.
i heard on other forums they purposely do this so the other players either make mistakes during the card games or they concede due to smell. its designed to game the system. aside from the "basement dwellers", thats the other reason i read they purposely smell that way.