With some game stores reopening...

[Morganator 2.0]

Little bit of background info; I used to regularly attend two local game stores, which I will be calling The Krusty Krab and Bob's Burgers for the rest of this discussion. The Krusty Krab opened up their play space about a month ago, and most people weren't going. They were less cautious about reopening than most of us wanted. Bob's Burgers is going to open up in about a week or two, and they are being much safer, so now my playgroup (of 25+ people by the way) had decided to come out of their hidey-holes. I want to help with the safety aspect of their re-opening, so I decided to look up what other LGSs have done.

Ho. Ly. FUCK! What is wrong with some of these places? How hard is it to have simple safety measures? It makes me angry!

I thought that the Krusty Krab had some pretty shaky practices, until I did some reading. They're actually not that bad. So I'm going to have go over some safety measures for when your LGS opens up. I'm probably also going to be using more profanity than I usually do to get my point across. Golden rule right now: If you have any doubts about your LGS, don't go. Every risk we take puts more than just ourselves in danger. Your safety and the safety of your family/friends is more important than a card game. Hell, communicate with your LGS about reopening. Bob's Burgers is involving their player-base in the reopening process, which is making everyone more comfortable.

Now let's go over some important points.

Wear a mask

A lot of places are enforcing mandatory mask rules. This could be a by-law or store policy. In either case, only go to a store that enforces the mask rule. I've read up on places that will let you in if you're wearing a mask, but you don't need to keep it on in the store. That's stupid, wear the mask all the time. Keep in mind that legislations have mask exemptions for certain people. These often include:

• Young children
• People with physical deformities that are unable to wear a mask properly
• People with mental disabilities, where their caregiver is unable to convince them to keep a mask on
• People with a breathing apparatus that are unable to wear a mask properly

Be sure to check your local laws. Face shields are also an option, but be warned; not all by-laws allow face shields, and they are not as good as a mask, so be sure to stay 2 meters (~6 feet) away from other people. When wearing a mask, it needs to cover your mouth and nose. Don't wear it like a chin-strap, don't wear it with your nose sticking out. If it's a disposable mask, the wire is supposed to rest on the bridge of your nose, and you bend it to conform to the shape of your face, to ensure no large gaps.



If you have a fabric mask, make sure that it stops forward air travel. A lot of home-made masks don't do this. To test, you can light a candle, hold it out about 30 cm in front of you while wearing the mask, and try to blow it out. If the flame flickers, there is forward airflow with the mask. You can fix this by cutting and placing a sheet of paper in the mask to make a barrier. A proper mask would be best, but this is also enough.

The mask is very important. Covid-19 can hide in your system for a few days before you show symptoms. You are still contagious during this time. The mask will protect the people around you. Because game stores will often have confined spaces, it isn't always feasible to stay 2 meters away at all times, and you're most definitely going to be within 2 meters of each other when sitting down at a table. Please, for the safety of those around you, wear a mask.

Physical Barriers

By now you should be used to seeing plexiglas barriers around cash registers. See if your LGS will set up something like that at the game tables. This won't be fully necessary if you're already following the mask rule, but it does prevent something else that you shouldn't do; touch other people's cards. Covid-19 lasts for about 3 days on plastics and 5 days on paper (NOTE: as more research comes out, these numbers will change. We may find out later that the disease can last even longer on cardstock or sleeves). A physical barrier will stop you from instinctively reaching out as you say "What's that card?" If you're unfamiliar with a card, ask the person to read it out.

The Krusty Krab had plexiglas barriers before they enforced mask rules (by-law made it mandatory). Their barriers weren't perfect, as they still had two people sitting next to each other on each side of the table. Bob's Burgers is going to have round tables with the barriers in an "X" formation, where each player gets their own isolated corner. We will still be able to see everyone's boardstates.

Washing hands and using gloves

Wash your hands with soap after touching a commonly touched surface, or right before eating (more on that later). Wash the palm of your hands, between your fingers, back of hands, back of fingers, thumbs, wrist, and fingernails. Actually, best to just clip your fingernails ahead of time (do not bite them off, you animal. Dirt and viruses can get under them). Hand sanitizer is good too, as long as it is at least 60% ethyl alcohol. Do not use methanol-based hand sanitizers. That shit is hazardous to human health and I have no idea why they exist. Also, after washing your hands, put some hand cream on. Dry and cracked skin can also be an entry point for the virus.

I recommend wearing gloves if you have cuts or open wounds on your hands. Otherwise you can wear gloves so long as you don't touch your face. Gloves are supposed to be used for when you're touching a potentially contaminated surface, and then you take them off immediately when you're done. If you don't have cuts or wounds on your hands, hand washing is good enough.

Limited Attendance

Different cities have different regulations on how many people are allowed in a public space at once. Some places don't have limitations in place, which is scary in it's own right. Bob's Burgers is going to limit 8 people at once, and only have two nights for events (one for Commander, one for Warhammer 40k). The Krusty Krab is following local laws and allows up to 30 people at once. I wonder, do they know that limit is for grocery stores? I'm trying to talk them into reducing the limit. Less people means less avenues for this virus to spread. A lot of the places I've seen are not opening their play space during store hours, but instead doing after-hour events. It makes sanitizing the store easier, and the store employees can monitor the players without having to also watch a cash register. As a result of Bob's Burgers only allowing 8 people, they are implementing a sign-up sheet for the events. You're only allowed access if you're on the sheet. While this will be frustrating, and require a huge logistical effort, it will be worth it if someone does in-fact catch the virus. Limited attendance limits the spread.

Deck choices

Maybe don't use a deck that requires you to touch other people's cards, or require them to touch your cards. Best to leave Yasova Dragonclaw and Mindslaver at home. Don't use Aminatou, the Fateshifter's last ability. Praetor's Grasp will have to sit these games out. I'm trying to figure out a way to play Haldan+Pako without having to touch anyone's cards. I'll post later if I figure something out. Some cards you might be able to get away with. Like with Gitaxian Probe you can get the other players to just look away for a second. Bribery can work if you already know what creature you're going to get. If you can come up with creative solutions, go for it. Just remember that having fun is your second priority.

Trading cards

If it's a trade you agreed on ahead of time and it will be a quick swap, go for it. Just wash your hands immediately after. Avoid browsing through trade binders. Find a better way. I've started using my Deckstats collection as a digital trade binder, so I just send someone the link and get them to look through that way. Best to save trades for the end of the night, to limit the spread. I've been doing trades with friends, but the cards stay in an isolated place for at least a week.

Food breaks

Wash your hands before eating. Don't eat inside, I'm sure there is a curb you can sit on. You obviously can't wear a mask while eating, so keep your distance from others. Don't share food with anyone. Wash your hands after eating. Now go play.

Bathrooms

I asked a friend of mine who works at Bob's Burgers about using the bathrooms. He said "I'm probably going to have to wash it every time someone uses it." Some places may not have their washroom open, so maybe don't drink that 1L pepsi bottle. Sanitizing wipes are pretty standard for all businesses now, so if the store employee is attentive, the bathroom should be clean. Also, men, if you miss the toilet, clean it up. There is toilet paper and soap right next to you. It's really not that hard. And if you can't do that, just sit down to pee. You degenerate.

Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

Behaviour of others

Controlling your behaviour is easy to do. Getting other people to follow these rules is harder. If you see someone who isn't wearing a mask, or took the mask off the eat in the store, or doing something else that can endanger the health of the people in the store, call them out. I understand that not everyone has the same confidence I do on these matters, so find someone who will call them out on it (store owner perhaps). Reckless behaviour cannot be tolerated in a pandemic. And I know telling off a friend of yours can be hard, but it also needs to be done. If nothing can be done to remedy this bad behaviour, leave the store. I'll say it again; your safety and the safety of your family/friends is more important than a card game.

Closing remarks

Please note that a lot of what I've said applies to places that have the pandemic under reasonable control. If you're in a location that has a spike in cases, or just a high number of cases (like a certain North American country...), you should stay home. My country's government is handling this well. Your's may not be. If you have any questions about the virus, my inbox is open. I've learned that I know a lot more about this virus than most people, which has caused me to be extra cautious (pronounced pah-rah-noyd). Because I've been respecting social distancing, and convincing my friends and family to be more cautious, no one around me has gotten sick. But I have friends both at home and abroad that can't say the same. This disease is very infectious, and it can leave survivors with permanent lung and circulatory damage (permanent as far as we can tell. Full extent of long-term effects of Covid-19 are still not fully studied). Rejoice that your LGS is able to open up, but don't be foolish. Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance.

Stay safe Deckstats.

[WizardSpartan]

Great write-up, Morg! Lot of good information here. I'm so glad to have you as our mod, you spread so much quality info, which is ridiculously hard to come by these days.

If you're in a location that has a spike in cases, or just a high number of cases (like a certain North American country...), you should stay home.

I thought Canada was handling Covid well? 

I honestly don't plan on going out to play MTG until well after Covid is through in the U.S. (hopefully sometime within the next decade). I just can't see how I can keep everything 100% clean. Commander is an interactive game, and I think it will be basically impossible to keep your cards clean enough to bring them back into your house without endangering you.

I don't know how well other countries are handling it, but if you are in the US, just stay home. Our collective idiocy and refusal to buckle down and implement needed safety measures is what's making us #1 in number of total cases and is what will likely make us stuck at home for far longer than most other countries. It's not worth it to get in a couple games of EDH with your buddies. Please.

[Potato Chop]

Thanks for the information, Morganator! A lot of people need to see this, and it's good to have all the information in one easily accessible place.

I started playing MTG arena because I couldn't play paper, and it was more fun than expected. It's definitely a faster way to play, and you can still challenge your friends to 1v1s online. I miss the good old LGS paper games, but I guess this is a good substitute for now. So if anyone is at risk to the virus or even if you just want to avoid going outside, play Arena. It may be missing a lot of the older sets and a lot of your favorite cards, but it's better for everyone if you just stay home and it is the same game.

Here in Australia, you can never be too safe. There was recently an idiot who was walking around in a supermarket without a mask, and when she was taken aside by police, she refused to put on a mask. When she was put under arrest, she protested, saying, "I do not consent to being arrested." It makes me wonder, because if it wasn't for people like them, we wouldn't be in this situation with this second wave, yet they proclaim that it is all the Government's fault. Don't ask me how it's the Government's fault, because for all I know the restrictions they put in place would have worked perfectly if people had just followed them.

If you want to get out of these restrictions, stay home. It's that simple. Only going outside when necessary and only with a mask is all you need to do, and if that's what you're doing, thank you so much. In this day and age, there is a substitute for everything, so use the safest substitute you can. Stay safe and stay well, friends.

[Akira Foxmind]

Same here. This is a very good summary of problems and solutions with much efford put in it.
I'm not from the US, nor from Canada (Germany it is, to confess) but from what I heard in the past few months there are idiots, who underestimate the danger of covid-19 in every part of the world.
It's feeling like being in a zombie apocalypse without zombies but humans who lost their mind and went crazy about 'losing' their beloved freedom  in everyday life. 

As for the Haldan+Pako problem:
I don't know whether your opponent gets to see the exiled cards from their decks (maybe someone could enlighten me about it ). If they do see them, it should be pretty simply: let them play the cards for you. That would be a sufficent way for me. If my opponent would have control over my creature, I yould want to tap and untap it myself for him.
If your opponents don't get to see their exiled cards something like those things from the game 'scrabble' (those where you put your letter-cards) could help. Let your opponent put the exiled card there without them looking at it. If you want to cast it, tell him to take the card and put it into the table.
Those would be my first attemps. Maybe you can optimize those ideas to be sufficient for you. 

[robort]

This is going to be loooong so I will do my best to separate paragraphs best I can. Great shout out Morgantor to start. Masks believe it or not are and will be a part of every day life until this Pandemic is over. There is no stomping of the feet, throwing a tantrum, and pure defiance just for the sake of defiance. The pandemic isn't a hoax, so made up story, something the gov't is doing to scare us, and so forth. It is real and can do some major damage and even kill you or someone you love. I love hearing the defiant ones who say this or that but that is where I always say "numbers don't lie". Living in the U.S and bring up the number of deaths and show the avg deaths per month. Right now it is at 169,000 deaths and I am generous where I divide that starting from January but those numbers are started from the end of March.  Starting Jan the avg deaths per month are 21,000 deaths per month but starting in March the avg death per month is 33,000. I rounded off the numbers. I personally don't need or want to be a death statistic. With that said just wear the damn mask.

With that said our local LGS has opened for us to play commander and there are rules. Definately need to be wearing your mask at all times while in the store. There is a big ol' bottle of sanitizer on a shelf as you walk through the door so you have to sanitize your hands as you are entering the store. This one should be done anyway but wash your damn hands after you go to the bathroom. Yes use soap and water and then completely dry them off.  There are only 4 tables and each table is near the 4 corners of the room. Each table has a small container of sanitizer on it as well. Maximum number of players is 16 so that is 4 players maximum to each table with 1 exeption. One table is much much longer but only 5 players Maximum can sit. This works when you get the odd number of 15 and can't break into 5 groups of 3 with only 4 tables.

What we do with Pakko, Gonti and other cards that play other cards. We touch the card ourselves and turn it around facing the person who controls the permanat. If you attack with it, we tap it ourselves. Every card is only touched by the owner. Per example last night, an opponent had Gonti and exiled 4 of my cards. He walked around the table, I grabbed the top 4 cards, fanned out the cards, held em away from the table, he read all the cards, pointed at the card to be exiled, and put the exiled card in near/middle of the table to indicate that was the exiled card. He later on cast that card. I flipped the card over, turned it over and faced it towards him indicating he was the controller of the card. We are very adamant about nobody touching anybody else's cards. You need to know what a card does then 1 of 2 things happen. You can read it outloud of course but for me I am not great at explaining. So I will turn the card around and let a more experienced player read it and they always do a much better job of explaining then I do. I will always allow someone else to read it if need be. You can't touch the card of course but the card will be turned so you can read it. That is why our tables are pretty wide and long enough so the middle of the table is like the zone of you need to read or use my card. You do it there so again nobody touches nobody else's cards.

As for trading, we have 2 facebook groups and even discord. You are looking for a specific card and want to trade something for it. You communicate there. Everything happens on those 3 areas. You bring the card(s) you are trading each other into the store and it is finalized. No sifting through binders which eliminates less touching.

On that be safe everyone.

[Morganator 2.0]

Right, so I think I've mostly figured out Haldan+Pako. Keep in mind that this will work for the setup at my game stores, but it might not for yours.

First off, fetch counters. When Pako, Arcane Retriever exiles the top card of each library, I'm going to have that player put the card up against the plexiglas (to answer your question Akira Foxmind, the cards are supposed to be exiled face-up). I'll be able to see it, other people will be able to see it clearly enough, and there will be no chance of someone else touching them. But playing those cards is a whole other beast. Fortunately, I've figured it out.

Instants and sorceries: This is the easiest one. I'll say which card I'm casting, do it's effect, and then the card's owner puts it in their graveyard. Simple.

Lands: Okay, so this is the funny solution. You know how after a while of collecting cards you just start to accumulate a bunch of copies of Stone Quarry and Dimir Guildgate? I'm putting them to use. Let's say I want to play an opponent's Luxury Suite. They remove that card from the plexiglas and I pull a Cinder Barrens out from my bag and put it on my side of the battlefield. If I take someones Zagoth Triome I put an Opulent Palace on the battlefield. Each of these lands is just a proxy for a land that taps for the same colours.

Non-land permanents: I managed to find some blank cards online that can have dry erase markers on them. So let's say I cast an opponent's Carpet of Flowers. The opponent removes this card from the plexiglas, I write "Carpet of Flowers" on one of these blank cards, and then place it on my side of the battlefield. When it gets removed, or when the game ends, I just wipe "Carpet of Flowers" off the card.

So that's Haldan+Pako themselves, but I'm having trouble now with some of the other effects I'm using. Pretty sure I'm going to have to cut out Knowledge Pool and a couple other cards. While the blank dry erase cards work for me, they don't help for when an opponent goes to cast one of my cards.

[Elan Morin Tedronai]

I don't want to enter big flaming discussions, but as someone who has gotten sick from covid, and personally recovered, by such a responsible person and respectable moderator as Morganator, I find this post, hypochondriac, nasty and absolutely uncooperative to say in the least. Bulgarian Government took preventive measures immediately in March, it took me some time to recover, but it's entirely USA's fault as many other countries' fault to be honest for high or perceived high death toll. Bulgaria has 10 thousand cases the entire pandemic. As, someone who had been sick from covid and personally recovered, really it doesn't work for me. Our economy and society is slowly getting better and normalised, but wear if you want condoms on your heads, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said it's entirely Western Europe and USA fault for not responding earlier and bringing drastic measures the way Bulgaria did. China is different story due to the immensely bigger population, in fact biggest in the whole World with India, and there it's virtually impossible to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Probably it has to lay down by itself, but in the meantime in Bulgaria we are having nice holiday time and I took off condoms and bikini from my head around April after I recovered from the covid. I still put in shops but I'm not sure if I'd like to measles myself and cook myself in the oven as Jerry did it to Tom. Sorry, Morganator, as recovered person from covid influenza, your nasty rant is just not working for me. Otherwise, you are fantastic fellow and I love your work and the system you created. I'll probably get downvotes, but couldn't resist it.
Regards,
Chavdar

[Morganator 2.0]

I don't see how any of this was uncooperative. All I really did was re-state safety guidelines based on places that did a good job keeping the infected cases down. I care about the people on this site, and want them to as safe as possible during the reopening process. Because even though numbers of infected individuals is decreasing in many countries, very few are at zero, so the risk of getting infected while going out is still there.

What would you suggest we do instead? Not wear a mask? You must see how irresponsible that is.

[Slyvester12]

So, just because you were lucky enough to apparently get the virus but recover without lasting symptoms, you're advocating for people to ignore safety measures? Some people have compromised immune systems. Some people have relatives with weak immune systems. Many people aren't lucky enough to survive covid, let alone without persisting effects.

It's ridiculous that you would criticize someone for spreading information that could save lives. Shame on you.

[Aetherium Slinky]

Yeah I'm not entirely sure what you're advocating for, Chavdar. You said your government took some drastic measures and beat SARS-CoV-2 that way. Shouldn't other countries follow suit and do the same, i.e. take drastic measures?

for not responding earlier and bringing drastic measures the way Bulgaria did

[WizardSpartan]

it's entirely USA's fault as many other countries' fault to be honest for high or perceived high death toll.

Yes? That's pretty obvious. As a result, we need to wear masks and be very safe. Hence, Morg's post.

your nasty rant is just not working for me.

Not quite sure if you know what the word rant means. The only "ranty" part of his post was the 4th line, and it's literally ranting against the very same things you mention (people not giving Covid the respect it demands, resulting in many countries having a high death toll. Otherwise, it's filled with good, organized information that anybody looking to play EDH in an LGS should give a read.

Your attitude is all wrong.

[WWolfe]

Sorry, Morganator, as recovered person from covid influenza, your nasty rant is just not working for me.

The closest thing to a "nasty rant" I see in this thread is yours. Morganator is giving sound advice based on what has worked in countries that handled the pandemic better than others. Not sure why you're so against those measures.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand- good advice Morganator and thank you!

[ApothecaryGeist]

Back to the original topic ...


Back in March, my LGS had plans to maintain gaming with some social distancing and mask requirements.  Not really sure how that was actually going to work in the real world.  But they never had the opportunity to put it into practice.  The next day the governor closed all non-essential businesses.  As I said, that was back in March.


Some time later, they were permitted to reopen.  They have done so.  But for retail sales only.  There is no gaming.  No events.  They have a customer limit of 10 in the store.  They are encouraging online sales.

[Bonethor]

I took off condoms and bikini from my head around April

Sadly, so did your father

It's in pretty bad taste to try and ridicule protective measures and their users; they probably end up saving some lives.

[WizardSpartan]

I took off condoms and bikini from my head around April

Sadly, so did your father

I know I shouldn't encourage this, but I can't not.