Sin to "cheat" in board games?

[p1990]

This may come off as strange I have come to the realization that i do this thing where when playing board games or maybe other games in general with friends and family, I “cheat” because its entertaining and everyone else loves it when i blatantly “cheat”

I put “cheat” in quotations because I dont really do it with the intention of gaining anything out of it, but more so for laughs and entertainment. Its like my thing and it makes the game a million times more fun with the people I play with. Especially when we are all laughing, calling each other out and denying it. They may cheat too and it basically becomes a game of who can out-cheat each other and some may still play 100% by the rules.

How about lying? With some people close to me I do this thing where I lie about things that are obviously a lie…not necessary to hide anything or for personal gain, but to make them laugh at how ridiculous my lie is and trying to keep pushing that I am telling the truth even though its so obvious and can barely keep a straight face

Would either of those still be a sin?

 

[abdulmasih]

Cheating for pure fun isn’t a sin. Lying, though, is ALWAYS a sin, even when done jokingly.

 

[Traveller83]

cheating = lying or am I missing something. Lying is always bad, but when playing a game it could possibly be a venial sin, but sometimes maybe a so called imperfection. It just isn’t honest playing.

 

[smichhertz]

Hi p1990,

That doesn’t sound like a sin to me. You’re doing it for the entertainment, and everyone is aware of it.

The other posters are correct to point out the “lying” aspect - but since it’s something you’re more doing for fun and not trying to deceive, you’re not really lying.

I’d say that’s pretty clearly not a sin.

God bless!

 

[Kathrin]

what about things like April Fool’s day jokes… they may be considered lies, but are later to be recealed again… that would be interesting to know, what opinion the Church or Catholic morality has about that… does anybody know?

Or for example, in order to surprise somebody, at first tell them something that is not true (like, that one is far away, but then as a surprise shows up).
The second thing somehow, to me perosnally, still feels wrong (like a lie), especially since the surprise could be done without giving wrong information at first… for example, one ened not say that one is far away, one could just say nothing about where one is… and then showing up would still be a surprise.

April Fool’s day I am really not sure at all…

 

[CarmelJerome]

It’s only a lie if you represent something false as true and intend it to be taken for a truth. One might be saying the opposite of the truth – like saying that the friend who takes one glass of wine at Christmas dinner is an alcoholic – for irony’s sake. But it does have to be understood, among family and friends, that this is meant as irony or parody or farce, and not as an uncontrovertible statement of fact.

It’s always best confined to those who know you best; it can be very problematic if this is the primary way you communicate with others.

You can always cut such things from conversation in a very unassuming way, not in a prudish or self-righteous way; and when these things are removed from conversation, better, gentler, brighter, truer things take their place.

 

[on_the_hill]

Cheating for pure fun isn’t a sin. Lying, though, is ALWAYS a sin, even when done jokingly.

Huh? What’s the difference between cheating for fun and lying for fun? There isn’t any, from my perspective.

Anyway, I never cheat. I can’t bring myself do it. It’s unfortunate, and I’m being serious. It’s like a handicap that I can’t do it. Very frustrating.

My kids, on the other hand, are great game players. Board games, card games, etc. Especially card games. For them, part of the fun is to cheat, it makes the game more interesting.

As a matter of fact, my wife’s whole family is full of cheaters. One time at a family reunion, a spirited card game had cousins texting each other under the table!

 

[mdgspencer]

from the Catholic guide “Moral Theology,” by Heribert Jone: “It is not a lie if one jestingly tells such evident untruths that every reasonable person will readily discover the jest,”

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Isn’t deception a part of most strategy games? That’s what makes them fun. I myself am fond of using seemingly ‘reckless tactics’ as my ruse.

 

[Joe_5859]

This may come off as strange I have come to the realization that i do this thing where when playing board games or maybe other games in general with friends and family, I “cheat” because its entertaining and everyone else loves it when i blatantly “cheat”

I put “cheat” in quotations because I dont really do it with the intention of gaining anything out of it, but more so for laughs and entertainment. Its like my thing and it makes the game a million times more fun with the people I play with. Especially when we are all laughing, calling each other out and denying it. They may cheat too and it basically becomes a game of who can out-cheat each other and some may still play 100% by the rules.

How about lying? With some people close to me I do this thing where I lie about things that are obviously a lie…not necessary to hide anything or for personal gain, but to make them laugh at how ridiculous my lie is and trying to keep pushing that I am telling the truth even though its so obvious and can barely keep a straight face

Would either of those still be a sin?

I wouldn’t call this cheating. Cheating is hiding a few Aces up your sleeves and hoping no one catches you. If everyone sees you “cheating” and is laughing about it, it’s not really cheating.

You might make sure that no one in your party is uncomfortable with the way you (and the other “cheaters”) are playing. If someone is expecting a serious game, they might get perturbed that the “cheaters” are preventing the others from playing the game “correctly”. You’d want to be sensitive to that. But if everyone is in on it, then there’s certainly no harm in playing that way.

 

[pensmama87]

I wouldn’t call this cheating. Cheating is hiding a few Aces up your sleeves and hoping no one catches you. If everyone sees you “cheating” and is laughing about it, it’s not really cheating.

You might make sure that no one in your party is uncomfortable with the way you (and the other “cheaters”) are playing. If someone is expecting a serious game, they might get perturbed that the “cheaters” are preventing the others from playing the game “correctly”. You’d want to be sensitive to that. But if everyone is in on it, then there’s certainly no harm in playing that way.

Yes. There are several games that we play with “house rules,” which are different than what’s printed in the booklet, but variations that make the game more interesting or suit us better. Kids often have different rules than grown ups (especially for card games or games that require quick reactions).

I am somewhat of a stickler for rules, though, and a person who regularly cheated, even if was just for laughs, would irritate the heck out of me. For me, a big part of the entertainment of playing the game is playing the game, and someone who is interrupting normal gameplay to draw attention to himself would not be entertaining for me. It’s also not the kind of thing I’d bring up during play, either (nobody likes being “that person”), so I wouldn’t just assume that because nobody says anything it means everyone is fine with it.

 

[Joe_5859]

I am somewhat of a stickler for rules, though, and a person who regularly cheated, even if was just for laughs, would irritate the heck out of me. For me, a big part of the entertainment of playing the game is playing the game, and someone who is interrupting normal gameplay to draw attention to himself would not be entertaining for me. It’s also not the kind of thing I’d bring up during play, either (nobody likes being “that person”), so I wouldn’t just assume that because nobody says anything it means everyone is fine with it.

I’m the same way, which is why I mentioned it. I wouldn’t classify it as the others “sinning” against me. But it would be mildly annoying.

 

[pensmama87]

I’m the same way, which is why I mentioned it. I wouldn’t classify it as the others “sinning” against me. But it would be mildly annoying.

Yes, I don’t think it’s sinful, either, unless the person is doing it on purpose to be disrespectful or mean (those of you with pesky little brothers know what I’m talking about. )

 

[Kathrin]

so what about April Fool’s Day jokes, what do you think, are they morally ok or not? Because then often a person, for a while, as a joke to be later revealed, is made to believe something that is not true.

 

[pensmama87]

so what about April Fool’s Day jokes, what do you think, are they morally ok or not? Because then often a person, for a while, as a joke to be later revealed, is made to believe something that is not true.

In a culture where it is reasonably understood that people pull simple pranks on April 1st, I think it’s fine, as long as you don’t pick mean pranks or targets that aren’t likely to find them funny.

This didn’t happen to me, but when I was in college someone decided to smear IcyHot on toilet seats in a dorm bathroom for April Fools. :bigyikes: That is not the kind of thing I would want to wake up to, though by the afternoon most of the people it happened to were willing to laugh over it.

 

[Joe_5859]

In a culture where it is reasonably understood that people pull simple pranks on April 1st, I think it’s fine, as long as you don’t pick mean pranks or targets that aren’t likely to find them funny.

This didn’t happen to me, but when I was in college someone decided to smear IcyHot on toilet seats in a dorm bathroom for April Fools. :bigyikes: That is not the kind of thing I would want to wake up to, though by the afternoon most of the people it happened to were willing to laugh over it.

In college, on April 1st, my housemates managed to pull my bed up against my bedroom door – which was quite impressive considering the bedroom door opened into the bedroom and the only window opened up to underneath the porch (which was inaccessible). I went to enter my room and couldn’t open the door. I had to push and push to scoot the bed enough to actually enter my room.

It turned out they had moved my bed most of the way to the door, looped a rope around the leg of the bed, left the room, closed the door, and then used the rope under the door to pull it the rest of the way. Very clever!

My prank was always to tape down the faucet sprayer. But I got myself wet more often than anyone else with that one.

I don’t think a prank is “lying”. Some pranks can definitely involve blatant lying (e.g. “pranking” someone by telling them you just received word that their parents died in a car crash). Other pranks can be downright mean (e.g. slipping someone a laxative in their breakfast). But not all pranks are in those categories.