I consider myself a competitive gamer and have for years. For me the process of analyzing a metagame, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of top builds and wildcards, and relentlessly playtesting is as important - and as enjoyable - as playing in a major tournament.
In short, I play to win. When I'm in the midst of a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament and my opponent Special Summons a Grandmaster of the Six when they have a Royal Oppression on the field, I'm going to stop them. When my opponent at a Warhammer 40k event embarks a transport and attempts to move flat out, again I'll dash their hopes. As a competitive gamer - a Play to Win, or PTW gamer - I know that Royal Oppression can shut down Grandmaster when my opponent controls it, and that you can't move a transport flat out the turn that you embark or disembark from it. I know the rules of my army and my deck, and in most cases I know the rules of whatever my opponent is playing as well.
There's another type of gamer out there, though, who embarrasses the PTW gamer by taking things to an extreme. This gamer - the Win at all Costs, or WAAC gamer - is someone who spoils to game for all of their opponents and, in a broader sense, for everyone who plays it. The WAAC costs gamer is referred to by Yu-Gi-Oh! players as a "soft cheater," an oxymoron that nevertheless aptly describes the strategy of WAAC. These players are predators who look to the grey areas of gaming to gain unfair advantages over the rest of us. They will move their models six and a half inches per turn or forget to subtract an attack from their Life Points; they will take advantage of every instance of player responsibility to nudge the game into their favor.
The PTW gamer's strategy is simple and rather elegant: If I know the rules of the game, I will enjoy a higher level of in-game integrity than average and my performance will be more representative of my playskill. Any time that I'm on the other side of the table from you, I want to know that the result of our game is being determined by a fair match between us and not a misinterpretation of the rules.
The WAAC gamer's strategy is similarly simple yet much more sinister: If I can take advantage of my opponent's misunderstanding or, even better, uncertainty of the rules, then I'll be more likely to win more games.
The execution of these two styles may appear similar on the surface; both the PTW and WAAC gamer will come to competition with a high level of game knowledge and, as a result, each will have a number of opportunities to correct their opponents' misconceptions during competition. If you're faced with an opponent like this, here's a quick litmus test to help you identify which type of gamer you're dealing with: throughout the course of the game, has your opponent corrected any of your mistakes to your benefit?
If the answer is yes, congratulations; you've drawn a PTW opponent who may beat your face into the ground, but will hopefully teach you something about how to improve your performance afterward.
If the answer is no, well, there's always next round.
