What is the hardest game to watch someone be bad at?

[nightrnr]

Any Super Mario Bros game where they don't hold the run button while playing. You are never going to clear that gap, not jump into the face of that enemy, or ever be any good at the game if you can't master holding down the run button down while using the other button to jump! It also is annoying because it slows down the game to the point of it being boring. Watching people who can't understand this simple concept DRIVES ME CRAZY!

Agreed.

This is how my wife plays platformers. She can't seem to use two buttons at once. I always have to do 90% of the work in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Yeah, I notice this with my nephews too. They don't quite take to platformers the way I had.

When I 1st found out you could run in a Mario game, it's practically all I ever did (granted, I died a lot, but I got better eventually). I looked at it as a Super Power that couldn't be taken away from you (as opposed to the fire flower); even if you die, you try again and still have your speed ability at the start).

[dsheinem]

[MrPopo]

I think the notion of the run button has been determined to be poor design. Modifiers should be used for an action you don't want to use all the time. If you are constantly holding the run button then the default speed should be run and turn it into a walk button. The 2D Metroid games on the GBA removed the run button and just have you always run; it was probably originally because of a lack of buttons but it turned out to play much better.

[Luke]

Pac-Man.

[Ivo]

Pac-Man.

I used to suffer a bunch watching other people suck at games as I sort of felt bad for the protagonist.

But one that is probably quite annoying to watch would be Yoshi's Island, due to the baby crying / Yoshi's yelp when you lose a "life".

[J T]

Pac-Man.

My wife isn't bad at Pac-Man, but we have different play styles that make it so neither of us can stand to watch the other play. She likes to meticulously eat up all the pills as fast as possible, which she derives an OCD-like satisfaction from. I, on the other hand, play the game for score, so I like to camp-out by the power pills and wait for ghosts, then gobble up as many of them as possible, track down any fruits that pop-up, and leave all the little pills for last. She's always uncomfortable with the pills I haven't eaten yet and it really irks her when I pass them by for ghosts and fruit. I always wish she wouldn't waste her power pills by just continuing on her same path rather than gobbling up blue ghosts. It's oddly fitting for our personalities.

[Anapan]

Pacman CE
It's not about eating the ghosts, it's strategic. Even watching someone who is pro at pacman but doesn't get it is so painful!

[SirGawain]

For me, it has to be any sports game, but football games especially. This became a huge problem when we would play Madden 2v2 in the dorms. I always got stuck with the kid who only played FPS and never watched a game of football in his life, yet wanted to join in.

"They're blitzing off the edge, don't run a sweep." - Fumbled
"Don't pass to Johnson, Cromartie will intercept it." - Intercepted
"I burned my corner, I'm open downfield." - Run with QB, Tackle for loss
"It's 3rd and 1, Fullback dive" Pass leading to Interception


Luckily, play calling switches after the half, but it was terrible

[Luke]

I like to camp-out by the power pills and wait for ghosts...

+1

And in real life: The roster of the Chicago Cubs.

[Ack]

And in real life: The roster of the Chicago Cubs.

Yeah, watching the Cubs play hurts. My boss is a Cubs fan...