Cosmetic items in games continue to reach new highs—when it comes to pricing—and lows in terms of the actual value you're getting for what you're paying for. Back when we were playing Nintendo 64s, the last thing any of us would have imagined was that one day, we'd be paying for unfinished games and senseless cosmetics. Now, thanks to the rise of updates and downloadable content, even our favorite and storied developers are shipping games that are missing content to be added later as “updates”…

It's generally accepted that you should let kids win at things there's nothing more embarrassing than watching a grown adult demolish kids in sports or games. (The iconic “Billy Madison” scene of Adam Sandler playing dodgeball with children comes to mind.) Of course, there are exceptions to this rule—like if you're an uncle—and there's more of a grey area around how long this should go on. When they're really young, it's more about maintaining their interest in the game you're playing together.…

No one is going to agree on everything, and when it comes to a game where almost everything is in part determined by imagination, what you imagine might not be in line with everyone else at the table. As with anything in life, inevitably, personalities, ideas, and preferences will clash, and it's all down to tolerance and an ability and willingness to go with the flow. Not being set in your own ways and ideas just makes everything easier, even if everything isn't exactly the way you want it. Th…

Some people play games to have fun, and some people play games to win, and neither group actually enjoys playing with the other. If you have ever played any sort of game with your friends, then you can probably pinpoint which of your friends belongs to which group, which might make you want to tweak your invitation list for the next gaming night you have planned. This was basically what happened in this Reddit story when OP (original poster) decided to uninvite their coworker from their private…

If you have to pick one final boss to defeat, who's it going to be? Video game lovers know the concept of a final boss . After you've traveled through the first part of the level, beating monsters along the way, you get to the biggest, baddest villain of them all. It can take ages to defeat one of these dudes. In some games, the boss will end you dozens of times before you finally win. In others, you have to grind for gear or level up your armor before you ever have a chance at defeating that d…

One person recalled a decade-old story about the time a customer came and had a total meltdown because Nintendo Wii had just launched, and it was understandably out of stock. People get really frustrated when things don't go their way, but some folk take it too far. I don't know what happened in this particular man's life to make him so bitter, but it's no excuse… retail employees deserve respect, just like anyone else. So, back to the story — the employee in question was working in a store sel…

It's hard to think that anyone who played Runescape in the 00s walked away without ever having their account hacked. It was kind of a given that one day you'd log on and find your character in an unfamiliar place completely stripped of all their possessions. It was a fitting thing to have happen in game set itself apart from other MMOs with the brutality of your character losing everything they were holding upon death. The social dynamics of the game itself with it's untethered player to player…

Many people who take over a business like to make drastic changes to it in order to assert their new ownership over it. Mostly those changes come with the claim that they want customers to notice that the ownership has changed and that ‘there is a new sheriff in town’. The main problem occurs when they make massive changes to an already successful business, without taking into account the thoughts and feelings of all the regular customers who already loved the business as it was. Then those own…

One man found himself in a sticky situation regarding his messy roommate who literally refused to wash his own dishes. This story brings up some pretty bitter memories for me because I too had a roommate whose sense of cleanliness was worse than a two-year-old. She would also throw tantrums, so I was basically living with an actual child. In this case, the man found a way to exact some petty payback, and he knew just how to do it. After confronting his roommate who told him that he was never go…

One of the great things about playing role-playing games—apart from the suspense of disbelief—is taking massive, audacious risks and watching them pay off in real time. This is both thrilling and rewarding, as there's really no real-life risk involved. However, it would be foolish to think that just because there's no real-life risk in the game, you can translate your character's behavior into real life. Basically, just because you're roleplaying as a charismatic womanizing bard doesn't give yo…

Role-playing games offer us a chance to escape our own perspective within a structured world with a unique set of rules by adopting a new perspective within a structured world with a unique set of rules—and what's not to enjoy about that? After all, there are plenty of people who play games that are essentially chore simulation machines, and pretty much all games in some way seek to simulate the effects of completing important tasks by tapping into the reward centers of our brains. So, with all…

The internet has been around for a while now, and there's a lot of information—far too much, really—readily available at our fingertips that once might have been a bit more difficult to find. When it comes to video games, a lot of knowledge is spread through word of mouth. You might try for days to solve a certain puzzle or figure out the trick to a certain boss fight. Sometimes, this could get frustrating, but finding the answer always felt extremely rewarding.

The 00s “console wars” were absolutely nuts, looking back… with fervent fanboys rabidly backing the corporation that they had elected to give their disposable income to as if they had a personal stake in the success of the company. Forums were filled with arguments over which console was better, and what features or exclusive games were offered that made the console of their backing. Love it or hate it (and I'm sure even today, this statement will spark controversy) the Wii was a clear winner.…

There are times in your life when a story or a work of art will speak to you in volumes that exceed the bounds of the original creation. Whatever the reason, the place, or the time, that thing stuck with you—maybe it filled a void in your life, or maybe the story, music, or something more abstract resonated with you at that particular moment, or maybe it was a means to connect with people in a way that might not have otherwise been possible.

Nobody likes a mooch. When you're going out on a limb to help someone, especially a family member, and they treat your generosity with the same disdain as an entitled teenager, the ‘woe is me’ act starts to get old.

This person was just trying to follow the rules . But that didn't matter at all to the store they worked for. At every job, there are specific rules that you have to follow. Sometimes you can bend the rules a bit to make your life easier. But some things are too important to mess around with. Age restricted items would probably fall under that second category. This person, u/PM_ME_UR_DIPLOMA, had a story for r/TalesFromRetail on this very subject. They write that while working at a video game s…