2026-10-29 – News – www.theguardian.com
A game is not a moral exemption to your usual self. Sometimes the best way to puncture ‘it’s just a game’ is to show people that you’re judging them in reality
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My sister-in-law is nearly 40 but cannot handle losing at board games. No matter how high or low the stakes, she has to win. When she doesn’t, she becomes explosive with rage, and often upends the game, sweeps dice off the table, or storms off in a rage. She is otherwise a normal and lovely person, with whom I get on very well. Seeing this side of her makes me deeply uncomfortable and it feels really childish and inappropriate. Will she behave that way with me if I say or do something she doesn’t like?
I think in an effort to smooth the tension, my husband’s family always laughs and teases her about her reaction. It’s like her “special little characteristic” that everyone pretends to love. I wish there was a way to address it but everyone seems to just sweep it under the rug. My…
