1) The 2.0 graphics, as they give me migraines.
(They're very good aside from that. Quality is not my point... just the way my brain reacts to them.)
2) Not being able to choose precise locations to start in. Yes, I know lots of folks will say that being spawned in a certain direction is more than enough. I, however, find it obnoxious to have to start amongst players who often have had months as a head start. More than likely, as soon as my city grows to a sufficient size, the sharks will smell blood. At the very least, we should be able to restart even if BP is still active. Just my tuppence.
3) Players who always downplay RL 'excuses'. Look, this game's most important 'skill' is being able to consistently spend many hours weekly playing it. 21 hours of weekly play, coupled with a small investment in premium, will provide MANY advantages over the 12 hour per week player. Is this fair? Of course it is... but people have a right to prioritise their free-time, and find more worthwhile ways to spend it than much of what they feel Grepo-life entails. Not everyone who plays Grepolis is an obsessive addict, and this is often the difference between 7 cities in 3 months, and 20 cities over the same period of time. Pointing this out is not an 'excuse', but an explanation.
4) The simple fact that the Grepolis is based as much on internet personality as it is on time investment and skill. IMO, the average long-time player understands that online 'social relationships' are as integral to enjoyment of this game as is conquering cities. This is just a simple fact of the nature of this game.... talking about it as fun if not more fun than actually playing it. Some have no problem with this, but I find it to be a massive fault of the inherent quality of the 'product' here.
5) The fact that many of you just don't know how to step away from this game. Imagine how much time of your life you've wasted by acquiring points, be they city points or battle.
Now, although the above are mostly tongue-in-cheek, my ULTIMATE Grepolis pet peeve/hate:
6) The 'Grepolis is a war game' and 'this is not Sim City... stop simming' mantras.
Grepolis is just as much efficient resource production/management as it is war as it is social interaction. All three of these facets MAKE this game what it is. For me, the key is balance, and not emphasising one significantly over the others. But what does it mean to be a war game? Does it mean attacking someone every week? Does it mean hundreds of daily attacks? What is the criterion, and who has decided this for me, and tells me how I should find this game to be fun?
Those who are obsessed with simming are after city points, and those who are obsessed with war are after battle points. Both are merely ways to get... status! In my experience, saying 'this is a war game' merely means 'this is a status game...' and 'everything I'm doing is because I want to increase the way others perceive me'. This leads us back to RL excuses... if you're so busy/happy in RL, then why are you so interested in your status on a free browser game? Why do you work so hard to make your user name have more personality and precedence? Hmmmm? Don't blame us if we assume you are an insecure person....
