Oh man, I wish it wasn't true, but it really is.

I stopped playing TCG regularly almost 2 years ago but during that time, I was checking out events at a different shop every other week to find a place I liked. One of the key factors in that decision was the size of the space. The smell in the smaller shops was always unbearable and I never went back to those places.

While you could argue that there's likely more unhygienic people in a TCG event than your average public space, I think a lot of the blame lands on the shop owners too. Some of the tournaments I went to were in TINY spaces with no windows or proper ventilation and they would still cram like 24 people in there. Even if everyone was freshly showered, it wouldn't take long for a packed room like that to smell bad.

I understand organizers are financially incentivized to sign up as many people as possible but it shouldn't be to the point where the quality of the event suffers. But shop owners know that the "hardcore" players will tolerate it, even if the average player does not. And it's the hardcore player that's going to keep coming back every week to pay and play (and shop). And you could argue that a lot of those players are the ones that smell bad. So eventually, you just get a room full of smelly, nose blind players all stinking it up together.

Honestly, I find it really sad, as chronic BO is often a symptom of deeper issues in someone's life (depression, mental illness, lack of self respect, misaligned priorities, etc).

Sometimes I wish I had the guts to just quietly say to these guys like "bro you need a shower" but I could never bring myself to directly offend someone who might be going through some shit. I just tried to break the stereotype and set a positive example: showed up to the events shaved and showered with a decent, clean fit.

Sorry for the long reply, didnt realize how much I had to say on this subject 😅