By Levi Hobwood ‘27
Most people think nerds are dirty, obnoxious, or snobby. Based on these assumptions, I’ve made a list of the bottom 5 popular nerdy hobbies.
The #5 Worst Hobby: Pokemon
One of the most iconic forms of nerdy hobbies is Pokémon. Pokémon is a world of intriguing creatures with unique abilities, the most popular of which is Pikachu. In the video games, you start as a Pokémon trainer whose goal is to win battles in places called gyms. Pokémon is the most popular of the hobbies on my list, which is why it is the most forgiven. The reason it’s at the bottom of the list is that the community is very nice and welcoming, mostly because of its younger audience. The only thing that brings it down is the scalpers who buy all the Pokémon cards in a store and then sell them for 3 times the price.
The #4 worst hobby: Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is also a classic nerdy hobby. It had a surge of popularity due to “Stranger Things” coming out. D&D is a set of spells, classes, races, and rules that you implement into your own story. You roll dice to decide what happens, and the DM (Dungeon Master) decides what happens based on the rolls. With this one, you have to be more than just a surface-level nerd to really get into it. D&D’s community is very welcoming, but they get a bad reputation for being awkward and cringy, mostly due to the live-action role-playing (LARPing) that they often do.
The #3 worst hobby: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! is like Pokémon with a TV show and cards, but it has very few video games. It’s more niche than Pokémon and D&D, so unless you grew up watching the show, you have to be quite the nerd to get into it. The card game for Yu-Gi-Oh! is a bit more complex than most, which drives off some new players. Yu-Gi-Oh! The community is known for being extremely unfriendly, and no one seems to know why.
The #2 worst hobby: Warhammer 40k
Warhammer 40K is a tabletop game with miniature models of soldiers based on its respective books. There are many different factions in Warhammer with many different playstyles. For example, the Tau are very ranged-based with laser rifles, while the Orks are melee-based. Warhammer is known for its extensive lore and expensive models. Some people say it’s “plastic for the price of silver.” The community is hit or miss; you could meet the coolest person you’ve ever met or a detestable person. Most people are trying to have fun; they’re just a bit awkward.
The #1 worst hobby: Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering is another card game. This one is more complicated than Pokémon and arguably more complicated than Yu-Gi-Oh! Magic has one of, if not the worst, reputations among hobbies of this sort, mainly because of the competitive aspects. For example, in competitions there is a popular strategy among some players: to smell so unbelievably bad that their opponents couldn’t concentrate. Since then, most game stores have a hygiene rule that if you haven’t showered in the past week, you have to leave the property. These are extreme examples, though; most people you encounter will be awkward but nice.