Okay, yeah, we’re on the same page then.
When it comes to the boards? I mean, I’ve been just about every day for almost 2 years now. I’ve seen every kind of board you can think of. Do they sometimes feel like they’re rigged against you? Absolutely! Some days I feel like the game is just trying to ■■■■ me off on purpose. But other days it’s the complete opposite… I revenge raid someone 500 TP higher than me with a Telly and Vela on their team, thinking “hah! this is going to be a spectacular loss! but I don’t care, because I’m only risking 3 cups if I lose”… and then lo and behold, holy freaking crap on a cracker, I get an early 15+ tile cascade combo and pocket an unexpectedly easy 57 trophies. Boards are just boards, man. Sometimes they suck. Sometimes they don’t. Mostly seem to even out in the long run as far as I can tell.
As for the self destructive behaviors (sorry… behaviours)… I actually quit drinking completely for about 7 years. And then I quit smoking for about 3 years. And then I slowly proceeded to start going completely insane.
I’m not sure what your culture is like in Canada. Here in the U.S.? While yes, tobacco use has fallen out of favor for the vast majority, alcohol use is still very much in vogue. And weed is also quickly gaining more traction towards eventual full legalization, I believe. Rightfully so; it’s ridiculous that so many people have been imprisoned over something so trivial, IMO.
And as for gambling? Casinos were illegal in my state when I moved here. That didn’t actually stop anyone from gambling… they’d just do it “underground”, or drive to a nearby state where it was legal. So when they put it on the ballot to legalize gambling in my state? I voted in favor. It failed the first time, because people were concerned that it was going to bring crime and feed into peoples’ habits and all of that… meanwhile I watched as millions of dollars generated in my state left the state to pay taxes in other states, while our own roads and schools etc. fell into disrepair.
“Come on guys, this is stupid. Let’s not pretend like nobody in our state gambles. The last time I went to an out of state casino? 90% of the cars in the parking lot were from our state. There’s a reason they built their casinos right on the state border.”
The casino thing came up on the ballot again. I voted in favor again. Second time was the charm; it passed. I now have a full blown casino about 10 minutes down the road from me. Pretty neat place actually - clean, well regulated, friendly staff, excellent food.
I only personally go there about once a year, if that. Because my girlfriend likes the slot machines. I like the burgers in their 24 hour café. Neither one of our lives have been ruined by its existence. I doubt it has even significantly impacted those in my area with extreme gambling addictions, because they were already gambling online and out of state long before the casino was built. The upside of having an actual legally licensed casino? Is that they are legally required to pay out a certain percentage rate (85% minimum in my state). They check IDs at the door. They have phone numbers listed all over the place for gambling addiction helplines and support groups. Placards everywhere reminding you to “play responsibly”. Etc.
“Ethical?” Nope. Probably not. But I could probably sit here all day listing various companies that I think are guilty of unethical business practices.
Since it seems fairly obvious that SG isn’t going to regulate themselves, and it seems highly unlikely that any laws will be passed to directly address the issue, the onus is pretty much on us to regulate ourselves. Which is why I insist on constantly pointing out just how bad the summoning odds really are in this game. Because in spite of popular forum belief that this is just “common knowledge” amongst the entire player base, it’s actually not.