Sim-ply Instigating

(I’m at my friends’ place. One of them tends to be a bit of an instigator, to the point where he’s lost other friends over it, and is also a hardcore gamer. I’m a big fan of The Sims, and I’m currently playing it on my laptop.)

Friend: “I just don’t see the point in The Sims.”

Me: “Mmmm?”

Friend: “I mean, that has got to be one of the most boring concepts for a game ever.”

Me: “Oh… to each his own, I guess.”

Friend: “It’s a dumb idea. You’re just creating people and have them go about their everyday lives. There’s no excitement in that.”

Me: “Whatever you say, man.”

(Realizing he was not going to get a rise out of me, he gave up and went back to what he was doing. It wasn’t the first or last time he’s tried that with me, but I figured out the quickest way to defuse him was to not get upset. He’s thankfully matured out of that phase since then, but not before ruining another close friendship, and almost destroying the one he had with his roommate at the time.)