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Brian gets his feelings hurt easily when he loses. How dare you say good game to me when I’m already steaming!?!? TRIGGERED!!!!

I say well played, how you play is the one thing you can control when your deck is against you.

Who are we to judge a complete stranger’s choice of emotional investment? I can think of some very good reasons to care a lot about the game. Also, mature does not mean “does not visibly feel any negative emotions ever”. Taking time to “process” is something loads of people do in loads of situations, and it absolutely does not imply a lower maturity level.

Sometimes late in a tournament, maybe you are playing for Open series points or something to that effect, or better standings for a top 8 or something, basically if you and your opponent have a good enough record to top 8 it’s not abnormal to ask someone to concede. They can always refuse (maybe because they do really need to play it out), but if you ran into them before and it was negative, they probably wouldn’t.

In this case you do not know the preferences of your audience (your opponent). If you have never met them before, and know nothing about them, then what do you do? That’s why we have conventions, like saying “Hello” in greeting, and “Goodbye” in parting. It’s similarly expected by some number of people that we say “Good game” or an equivalent when ending the game. It’s also feasible that someone would consider the lack of “Good game” to be offensive.

“Good game” or an equivalent also serves as a signal that you acknowledge that the game is over when it is said in response to a scoop or a concession of some sort. This is similar to how you would say “ok” to pass permission back to your opponent.

Good communication is adjusted to the audience. What you mean is rarely what matters.

Just because it is more common does not mean that “Good game” is necessarily less insincere than another euphemism. There are a lot of other factors that enter into it beyond the words themselves, such as tone and body language (isn’t a majority of communication body language any way?)

It may be that at the moment “Good game” is more loaded than other euphemisms, but I can imagine with the (im)proper tone and body language that both “Thanks for the games” and “Well played” can be just as abrasive.

Due to time commitments I’ve played more Hearthstone than Magic in the past year, and I think there is a higher chance that I would flinch at a “Well played” than a “Good game”. If I exist, then there are likely others like me.

I really like this! I often say ‘Thanks for the games,’ because even if you beat the crap out of me or vice versa I got to play Magic, and I *am* thankful for that.

I’ve seen a lot of discussion about this, and I think the idea of “don’t say it if you won” or “don’t say it if there were non-games” is flawed and bad. “Good game” does not translate to “I think, sir or madam, we can both agree that these games were adequately competitive and we are both satisfied with the result.” It’s an agreed upon way to display good sportsmanship regardless of the outcome. If hearing it after a game makes you angry, then you are probably a bit salty.

Is there a better phrase than “good game” that can perfectly display that you are trying to be courteous and sportsmanlike? I’m sure there is, but the English language is not perfect and sometimes you are stuck with de facto phrases that everyone understands. Plus, like I said, it should often just be a preamble to further discussion if both players are willing.

I actually agree with most of the stuff in this article (I often give it a minute or two before saying good game, for example) but I do think saying “good game” is fine in a majority of situations.

That being said, if they are receptive to it, I will always offer a handshake. If they seem dejected, angry, and are tilting off I’ll refrain. I believe tact is important- knowing when decorum can be upheld and when to leave well enough alone.