Game Forum - a review criterium ?

[eddysterckx@hotmail.com]

Hi,

The other day I came across a post that said (not verbatim) "I didn't
get that game because the game forum was hostile". If you hang around
game forums enough you'll know that they each develop an atmosphere -
some are "fanboys only", some are welcoming to newbees, others snub
their collective nose at a newbee asking a "stupid" question, some
border on the paranoid, others happily compare and discuss other
games, etc.

So, nothing spectacular about a guy saying he didn't buy that game
because of how he perceived the forum, but what triggered this post
was something else I saw : an (unrelated) guy who I know has dozens of
wargames and is a real grog asking a trivial/basic question in a new
game forum. That can't have been a real question, that was just a test
to see how friendly the locals are to someone new to the game. What a
cunning move :)

When a known game-reviewer posts a question he's almost guaranteed a
speedy answer but here's a sneaky idea : create a new account, post a
stupid question and see how it goes from there. I'm sure there are
lots of readers of your review who would like to know how the
developers and the forum in general will help them when they get stuck
in a game.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx