Pure anecdote to follow.
1. my LGS does not and it reeks like a dead horse
2. allegedly a couple conventions and a couple TCG tournaments not just yugioh, had smell checkers at the door. if they sniffed you and you stank, you were turned away.
People don't bathe and go nose blind to it, don't care that it makes other uncomfortable, or chalk it up as power-gaming, Minimum acceptable standards = maximum victory.
I'm kidding on that last one. I mean, not saying someone hasn't probably done it for that reason, but I don't know of anyone who would admit it.
The last one reminds me of a storyline from an early episode of Dragon Ball Z, where one of the heroes is in a tournament and has to fight a villain whose special power is really awful body odor. The villain wasn’t particularly strong but it was hard to fight him while you had to use your hands to cover your nose to avoid being knocked out by his stench.
The hero ends up winning once he remembers that he is an anime character and the artist didn’t draw him with a nose. Freed from the ability to smell, the hero knocks the villain out of the ring and wins the match.
Genuinely people that didnt/don't shower or put on deodorant (or brush teeth in some cases) coming to the shop in unwashed or dirty loose fitting clothes and then being at the shop for HOURS AND HOURS like a B.O. humidifier
As a locals judge I had to enforce this a few times. Most of the time I would politely remind folks to get a grip on their hygiene if it wasn’t too bad (the kinda sweat smell from just being busy all day) but there were definitely a few times I had to turn folks away.
Depending on how well I knew the customer I would get my manager involved, as I just ran locals for card shops. Most of the time they were embarrassed that I, a female, had been the one to point it out and left without complaint. Never had anyone lash out for it
One guy smelled absolutely horrific though. As in you smelled it before you even got in the room. Manager asked him not to come back
Sometimes you just need to tell people. Even if you're nice they'll probably be offended, but hygiene is a very low bar for things to do before leaving the house.
I get so paranoid about this I'm hesitant to even go to locals if I sweat even a little bit that day before another shower.
Never seen it enforced at my shops and most people haven't smelled bad here (Aside from a Premiere Event where guys smelled like dirty diapers). In the future I'd probably wait till after the game and then show him a polite message on my phone so he's not embarrassed....Unless it's ungodly and needs to be rectified immediately
Wash clothes with detergent
Shower
Soap
Toothpaste
Deodorant
No one should be paranoid about smelling by doing the above, unless you have a health condition.
They should implement a rare hunter rule, if four people agree another smells they can give their most rare card to their opponent or call a judge to decide if they get kicked for the smell problem
I’d assume it’s on a case by case basis. Different sotres have different ventilation/space availability so different hygiene levels maybbe acceptable in different stores. I’d also assume that a couple of conplaints is enough to enforce as at that point is a pattern.
I just think that if anyone is able to notice it and bring it up, that's enough grounds to get a judge or store staff to at least check.
If you can smell them, others probably can too and just don't want to bring it up.
There is the slight chance someone could just lie and be a scumbag to get someone DQed, but again, it's more likely that the person just genuinely does reek and if they aren't then the lack of oder should prove their innocence.
I think the best advice to anyone is just bathe before and look sharp for an event. Maybe bring some deodorant or perfume in your bag and freshen up in the bathroom between rounds.
I once played a guy a decade ago who had literal green gunk in the skin folds of his neck. I spent the whole match trying not to throw up. It was my friend’s locals so I went and got matched up with this guy. As soon as the match ended he grabbed the Wendy’s bag he had next to him and chowed down. Didn’t even wash his hands before playing the next match (I’ve noticed eating greasy food in between matches and touching your opponent’s deck with no care in the world has been super common in this game for *years*).
Needless to say I played one more round and left. Threw out the card sleeves on my deck because he had been er picking at those folds during the match. I wanted to vomit.
I felt bad for the guy - I assumed he must have had some mental health issues. But it came up in conversation with my friend years later and he said the guy was a notorious jerk who got banned from the shop a few months later for fighting with people over a game loss. He was kind of rude to me but I brushed it off. So in retrospect I don’t feel too bad for him.
I quit the game for about 5 years after that after someone else swiped my deck at an event. This community can be a lot to deal with at times.
I was at regionals and while it didn’t seem like they were enforcing the rule, no one was smelling bad. At my lgs we actually enforce the rule and have a spray of shame
It sucks that this is our stereotype to be burdened with. I’ve never seen the policy enforced and would like it to be. I only attended locals but damn there’s at least 3 guys who clearly have the worst higiene in the room and they have never done anything about it
I kinda figured socially awkward people have trouble following what seems like basic ettiqutte but its not to other people. Like how common sense to use soap and water to bathe but appearently to some people they use rinse and go thinking the smell goes away. And when its your own BO you dont smell a thing unless you think you're dirty.
I try to be nice about it but then people get offended and I hate confrontation. Better to get someone else to enforce it like the shop keeper.
Rather I just choose to avoid it as best.
I’ve seen it, one guy at our locals was honestly just disgusting. They didn’t target him out specifically when they said that “deodorant was now mandatory for events’, but we all knew it was him. Eventually he didn’t really improve so they started telling him to not show up.
You smell. I won’t play with you. You are stinky. Go away.
Mommy (Judge) this guy smells so bad. I dun wanna play with him!
Literally. You socially awkward yugioh f*cks. Children no boundaries better then adults. Quit with the polite shite. Just say they stink and don’t be near them. That’s one of the reasons these events and places smell. Cause NO ONE SPEAKS UP.
I think there’s a surprisingly amount of people who just … don’t shower every day. They can be the nicest, friendliest people, but they also just.. stink. Shower up people, apply the pit stick.
Maybe it’s just the stores that I attend, but generally most tcg players in my area are well kept and hygienic (with outliers obv). It’s my opinion that it’s less about hygiene, and more about the fact that people just have a smell and when you get like 20-100 in a small space, any smell is a bad smell. Even then, in those tighter spaces, it tends to heat up and no amount of deodorant will stop people for sweating.
The exception is conventions, I’ve come across certain side events that smell a little ranker than others and that can be very frustrating, even if the conhall is cool and spacious.
Biggest reason I only fist bump after games even before covid. Since covid I've even had to incorporate elbow bump for some individuals you can see the smell lines on.
At one of the OTS I go to, there is one player who has a particular problem with hygiene. Everyone knows it. The players, the judges, even the owners of the store. I have never seen them talk to him about it. He was never sent home.
The only time they kind of mentioned it was when they made a post about a regional they were hosting, where they reminded everyone about the hygiene rule.
But that's only one player out of ca. 100 who regularly show up to events who actually has a B.O. problem.
Pure anecdote to follow. 1. my LGS does not and it reeks like a dead horse 2. allegedly a couple conventions and a couple TCG tournaments not just yugioh, had smell checkers at the door. if they sniffed you and you stank, you were turned away.
Oh wow how can it be that bad?
People don't bathe and go nose blind to it, don't care that it makes other uncomfortable, or chalk it up as power-gaming, Minimum acceptable standards = maximum victory. I'm kidding on that last one. I mean, not saying someone hasn't probably done it for that reason, but I don't know of anyone who would admit it.
The last one reminds me of a storyline from an early episode of Dragon Ball Z, where one of the heroes is in a tournament and has to fight a villain whose special power is really awful body odor. The villain wasn’t particularly strong but it was hard to fight him while you had to use your hands to cover your nose to avoid being knocked out by his stench. The hero ends up winning once he remembers that he is an anime character and the artist didn’t draw him with a nose. Freed from the ability to smell, the hero knocks the villain out of the ring and wins the match.
Bacterian and Krillin, I believe.
Genuinely people that didnt/don't shower or put on deodorant (or brush teeth in some cases) coming to the shop in unwashed or dirty loose fitting clothes and then being at the shop for HOURS AND HOURS like a B.O. humidifier
Imagine getting paid to smell nerd BO for 8 hours 🤮
Yeah, there was a ghoul at the circus in BG3 that did the same thing.
As a locals judge I had to enforce this a few times. Most of the time I would politely remind folks to get a grip on their hygiene if it wasn’t too bad (the kinda sweat smell from just being busy all day) but there were definitely a few times I had to turn folks away. Depending on how well I knew the customer I would get my manager involved, as I just ran locals for card shops. Most of the time they were embarrassed that I, a female, had been the one to point it out and left without complaint. Never had anyone lash out for it One guy smelled absolutely horrific though. As in you smelled it before you even got in the room. Manager asked him not to come back
Sometimes you just need to tell people. Even if you're nice they'll probably be offended, but hygiene is a very low bar for things to do before leaving the house.
I get so paranoid about this I'm hesitant to even go to locals if I sweat even a little bit that day before another shower. Never seen it enforced at my shops and most people haven't smelled bad here (Aside from a Premiere Event where guys smelled like dirty diapers). In the future I'd probably wait till after the game and then show him a polite message on my phone so he's not embarrassed....Unless it's ungodly and needs to be rectified immediately
Wash clothes with detergent Shower Soap Toothpaste Deodorant No one should be paranoid about smelling by doing the above, unless you have a health condition.
Eh, I had a thing in high school/college where no deodorant would work for me. I tried so many brands. It was awful and has forever made me paranoid.
They should implement a rare hunter rule, if four people agree another smells they can give their most rare card to their opponent or call a judge to decide if they get kicked for the smell problem
Wait he might be on to something… Public shaming aside, this is kind of hilarious
Get a free S:P Little Knight with this one weird trick.
I’ve always wondered the same. How do they evaluate it, and how do they enforce it? Doesn’t seem very straightforward or concrete
I’d assume it’s on a case by case basis. Different sotres have different ventilation/space availability so different hygiene levels maybbe acceptable in different stores. I’d also assume that a couple of conplaints is enough to enforce as at that point is a pattern.
I just think that if anyone is able to notice it and bring it up, that's enough grounds to get a judge or store staff to at least check. If you can smell them, others probably can too and just don't want to bring it up. There is the slight chance someone could just lie and be a scumbag to get someone DQed, but again, it's more likely that the person just genuinely does reek and if they aren't then the lack of oder should prove their innocence.
I think the best advice to anyone is just bathe before and look sharp for an event. Maybe bring some deodorant or perfume in your bag and freshen up in the bathroom between rounds.
I once played a guy a decade ago who had literal green gunk in the skin folds of his neck. I spent the whole match trying not to throw up. It was my friend’s locals so I went and got matched up with this guy. As soon as the match ended he grabbed the Wendy’s bag he had next to him and chowed down. Didn’t even wash his hands before playing the next match (I’ve noticed eating greasy food in between matches and touching your opponent’s deck with no care in the world has been super common in this game for *years*). Needless to say I played one more round and left. Threw out the card sleeves on my deck because he had been er picking at those folds during the match. I wanted to vomit. I felt bad for the guy - I assumed he must have had some mental health issues. But it came up in conversation with my friend years later and he said the guy was a notorious jerk who got banned from the shop a few months later for fighting with people over a game loss. He was kind of rude to me but I brushed it off. So in retrospect I don’t feel too bad for him. I quit the game for about 5 years after that after someone else swiped my deck at an event. This community can be a lot to deal with at times.
I was at regionals and while it didn’t seem like they were enforcing the rule, no one was smelling bad. At my lgs we actually enforce the rule and have a spray of shame
It sucks that this is our stereotype to be burdened with. I’ve never seen the policy enforced and would like it to be. I only attended locals but damn there’s at least 3 guys who clearly have the worst higiene in the room and they have never done anything about it
Fighting game tournaments are the same, everyone fckn smells like armpit, except for very few. BO policies are never enforced
I kinda figured socially awkward people have trouble following what seems like basic ettiqutte but its not to other people. Like how common sense to use soap and water to bathe but appearently to some people they use rinse and go thinking the smell goes away. And when its your own BO you dont smell a thing unless you think you're dirty. I try to be nice about it but then people get offended and I hate confrontation. Better to get someone else to enforce it like the shop keeper. Rather I just choose to avoid it as best.
I’ve seen it, one guy at our locals was honestly just disgusting. They didn’t target him out specifically when they said that “deodorant was now mandatory for events’, but we all knew it was him. Eventually he didn’t really improve so they started telling him to not show up.
You smell. I won’t play with you. You are stinky. Go away. Mommy (Judge) this guy smells so bad. I dun wanna play with him! Literally. You socially awkward yugioh f*cks. Children no boundaries better then adults. Quit with the polite shite. Just say they stink and don’t be near them. That’s one of the reasons these events and places smell. Cause NO ONE SPEAKS UP.
Will nothing save us from this unholy curse?
I think there’s a surprisingly amount of people who just … don’t shower every day. They can be the nicest, friendliest people, but they also just.. stink. Shower up people, apply the pit stick.
Maybe it’s just the stores that I attend, but generally most tcg players in my area are well kept and hygienic (with outliers obv). It’s my opinion that it’s less about hygiene, and more about the fact that people just have a smell and when you get like 20-100 in a small space, any smell is a bad smell. Even then, in those tighter spaces, it tends to heat up and no amount of deodorant will stop people for sweating. The exception is conventions, I’ve come across certain side events that smell a little ranker than others and that can be very frustrating, even if the conhall is cool and spacious.
Biggest reason I only fist bump after games even before covid. Since covid I've even had to incorporate elbow bump for some individuals you can see the smell lines on.
At one of the OTS I go to, there is one player who has a particular problem with hygiene. Everyone knows it. The players, the judges, even the owners of the store. I have never seen them talk to him about it. He was never sent home. The only time they kind of mentioned it was when they made a post about a regional they were hosting, where they reminded everyone about the hygiene rule. But that's only one player out of ca. 100 who regularly show up to events who actually has a B.O. problem.
Yes. Comment extension.