In Today’s post, I decided to do something a little different and interview a friend, Ty, and fellow Warhammer Age of Sigmar player about playing tabletop games as a deaf man.
Ty has been deaf since a young age, and I wanted to know his experiences playing tabletop games and how it is to interact with the community. Wanting to understand his process a little bit I invited him over for a few beers and to sit out on the deck and chat.
Question 1:
Why Warhammer, DnD, Star Wars, etc.?
I have always loved sci-fi, fantasy, high fiction, etc. so when you mentioned that you were getting into Warhammer it was something I had seen played when I used to go into stores for Magic the Gathering, or on book titles but have never tried out. I thought this might be my jam and sure enough, 5 years later I am still happily painting away and rolling dice.
It is also a lot easier for me to do this hobby instead of video games or watching tv (I still like both) because after starting at a computer all day or reading lips from co-workers sometimes I just like to shut off my hearing aid, pull out some pots of paint, and just focus on painting. It really makes it easy to dedicate time and energy when your brain hurts from all the lip reading you have been doing to be able to do something that does not require any sort of computer or social interaction.
Question 2:
You try and play a few times a month now (after pandemic restrictions were lifted) what are some tips you can offer to other players that might be playing against someone that is considered “legally deaf”?
My first piece of advice is to look directly at the person when talking to them because most people in my community even if they can hear a little bit, are still relying on lip-reading to convey words to the brain. My second piece of advice is for the person with the disability to be very forthcoming and let your opponent, tournament organizer, and staff know beforehand so they can be aware of the situation.
Most people are flexible and understanding that your ability to compete and have fun with this disability, but you just might need a little bit of help from those around you. Along with that I generally take people at their word for any rules specific to their armies that I have not played against.
If I need clarification it’s often easiest to hand me the book with the rule and give me a minute to read it rather than going into depth as to why it works etc. Finally, personal space is something that should be brought up before the game, but I personally do not mind if you need to tap me on the shoulder or arm to get my attention when you are trying to tell me something. I am not ignoring you or being rude I simply do not hear you!
Question 3:
You play at tournaments, doubles events, and even large-scale tournaments like the Michigan GT, what is your experience like in those?
I love playing in tournaments even though my army is not the most competitive! Having a chance to dedicate an entire day to rolling dice and meeting new people is a great experience even if I do not win a single match. Being deaf, getting a social aspect outside of my circle of friends and family is a great way to meet people and connect on social media sites, etc. Some of my opponents I played in the Michigan GT back in 2019 I still engage with over Facebook messaging and comments to this day!
In that tournament, I went 2-3 with my mortals’ Blades of Khorne army and I found the strategy and execution of plans very satisfying especially against opponents that had the same mindset of a tournament. So those games were all very good ones that came down to the wire. Basically, being able to go to these things and compete on the same level as my opponent is a victory. Along with the tournament itself, I have found the sportsmanship in the Age of Sigmar community to be amazing. In the five years, I have been playing, and really can only recall one opponent who I had difficulties with because they were not willing to be a little flexible in helping me understand what they were doing in a game.
With doubles, it is a little bit harder to play with someone on your team than against everyone else just because I need everyone to look at me while they are talking to understand them, and often your partner is looking across the table and talking to the opponent. Keeping track of four people and what they are saying is much harder than just a single opponent, so the key to being partners with someone who is very familiar with what you need and to be willing to listen to the opponent or talk with them and then look at you and repeat everything to you in what is a hopefully condensed version.
But the social aspect before and afterward is worth it to chat Warhammer with like-minded people. It is also nice to go out with people in your gaming group and go together to a tournament and win something as a team instead of individually.
Question 4:
What are some of the hardships with playing in tournaments, and did that change during the pandemic?
With any tournament, the strain of lip-reading a game can get exhausting and so those breaks to reset my eyes and brain are key. That lunch period is a great way for me to turn off my hearing aids and focus on some food and bring back my energy for the afternoon games especially if there were two games in the morning rather than two in the evening. Even with that break though by game three I am more reliant on the sportsmanship and honesty of my opponent because I am picking up fewer words from lip reading. That has not been an issue, and I do not expect it to be based on our current community.
The pandemic really changed things both positively and negatively for me in the hobby. One thing is that everyone just stopped playing, along with me needing to social distance to stay healthy for my family was a bummer. However, once winter broke and we were able to play outside with the proper lighting and staying six feet apart I was at least able to get some dice rolling. Unfortunately, as tournaments and indoor events required masks, I was not able to attend any of those as I would not understand anything.
The other thing it really brought out to the world was how useful video conferencing is and it really allows me to understand more when closed captioning “CC” is turned on. With more people using zoom there has been a lot more content with lore, tactics, painting videos, that have been a lifeline for me during this whole process. Though Games Workshop still does not close caption all their videos, which for a company that size is ridiculous, so next time you see a video without the CC option make sure you comment on it that they should have closed captioning enabled for the deaf community that plays their games.
Question 5:
With Age of Sigmar 3.0 coming out and things opening again what are your hopes for the future of the hobby and the future of you as a player?
My first hope is to continue to spread education about deafness throughout the Warhammer community. Not that people need to change their behaviors much, but even small things like tournaments having proper lighting, no loud music during games, giving small mental breaks in between matches are better for everyone. I hope to continue doing Zoom hobby nights as those have been great ways to break up the routine of a workweek and helps keep me focused on a project. Moving forward I hope to get back into tournaments this year with the Michigan GT being a go that might be my first one.
My assumption is that the people will be just as friendly as they were pre-pandemic and hopefully there is a slew of awesome painted models I can look at as well. I can just turn off my hearing aid and walk around and take in everyone’s army when I need a mental break and it is amazing. Though I would be lying if I did not say I was a little nervous with the 3.0 rules being more reactionary as I might miss something someone is trying to do on my turn.
In the past, I could usually focus on what I was doing without having to make sure my opponent is not talking to me, but now with everything having a reaction opportunity, it might require some getting used to while taking my turn. With some experience and games under my belt and some pregame communication with my opponent, I imagine things will run smoothly as they did in 2.0. So, my goal is to just get out after being holed up for a year and change, and hopefully, my Blades of Khorne can get over 50%-win rate this time out.
Thank you, Ty, for taking the time to interview with me, and to help educate the Warhammer community on deafness. He wanted me to include a couple of links in case you are interested in more information.
Prevalence of Hearing Impairment in Society – CDC article
Otter ai for the hearing impaired which he loves for transcribing
Tips for Effective Communication with a deaf person – DHCC article
More AoS How-To For Beginners!
If you are currently publishing hobby content and would like a shot at getting featured on the site, or getting on our publishing schedule, we would like to hear from you! Please email Rob at spikeybits.com with examples of your work!
