I watched 4 small children, ages around 5 to 7, try to play Blokus Trigon today. I honestly thought they should be able to do it.
But no. While some of them at least grasped the rules, none of them exhibited any planning. They picked up random pieces to put down. Some of the time they put them on random places on the board until they finally played something legal by accident. Often they put the pieces onto the board but not into the grid, so that the piece was sticking out in a random direction.
One of them took about two minutes for each move. Looked at her pile of pieces. Looked at the board. Looked at her pile of pieces. Picked one up. Put it back down. Repeat for two minutes.
Ah, well.
Also, Tal and I played Boggle earlier in the week.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Session Report, in which I win Agricola and review Greedy Greedy
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Jambo, R-Eco, Stone Age, Agricola, Greedy Greedy, Bridge Troll.
I win Agricola by a hefty margin (to my surprise), and we try out Greedy Greedy, a push your luck dice game which we expect not to like (and don't).
I win Agricola by a hefty margin (to my surprise), and we try out Greedy Greedy, a push your luck dice game which we expect not to like (and don't).
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Best Game
Tom Vasel and some novices stood at a wall of games, deciding which one to play.
"Master, which is the best game?" asked a novice.
"The best game is the game that is enjoyed best," answered Tom.
"But what if I like Monopoly best?" asked the novice.
"Then Monopoly is the best game," said Tom.
"But Monopoly sucks!" said the novice.
"Then it is not the best game," said Tom.
"How can it be the best game and not the best game?" asked the novice.
"Mu," said Tom.
"Master, how about Crocodile Pool Party?" asked another novice.
Tom coughed. "Uh, let's look at some of these games over here," he said.
"Master, which is the best game?" asked a novice.
"The best game is the game that is enjoyed best," answered Tom.
"But what if I like Monopoly best?" asked the novice.
"Then Monopoly is the best game," said Tom.
"But Monopoly sucks!" said the novice.
"Then it is not the best game," said Tom.
"How can it be the best game and not the best game?" asked the novice.
"Mu," said Tom.
"Master, how about Crocodile Pool Party?" asked another novice.
Tom coughed. "Uh, let's look at some of these games over here," he said.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Games and the Unix Philosophy
Unix Philosophy
Perhaps the simplest form of early Unix Philosophy is as follows: every program should do one thing, do it well, and simply interface to every other program.
In (early) Unix, only one program handled the printer; any other program sent items to that program if they wanted them printed. Similarly, only one program parsed, formatted, justified, calculated, and so on.
Today's over-bloated software may not appear to have much to do with this philosophy, the core principals actually still guide programmers and operating system designers. In very early versions of Windows, each program handled printing. Windows hasn't done that for a long time.
Do one thing, do it well, and interface simply.
Games
When you think of mechanics that do one thing and do it well, you think of party games, maybe dexterity games and sports. These are ideal games for many, and in fact look at the new mainstream games each year from Mattel and so on.
You also think of Knizia and his 250 or so games. Excepting his meatier games, Knizia's designs (Money, Flinke Pinke, Modern Art, Poison), appear to be to follow this principle. Not surprising, given his background in mathematics. I don't know that it really makes a good game. I think it makes a good mechanic, but all these little games leave me wanting more "game" in my game.
It would be interesting to take little games and interface them together to make a heftier game. On the other hand, better games feel like more than just a collection of disparate mechanics, but a total integration of mechanics. And theme, many would add.
And there's no one perfect way to do an auction or a set collection mechanic, like there is one correct way to send data to the printer.
TED
On the other hand, as the TED talks demonstrate, this is an excellent guiding principle for giving a lecture.
Perhaps the simplest form of early Unix Philosophy is as follows: every program should do one thing, do it well, and simply interface to every other program.
In (early) Unix, only one program handled the printer; any other program sent items to that program if they wanted them printed. Similarly, only one program parsed, formatted, justified, calculated, and so on.
Today's over-bloated software may not appear to have much to do with this philosophy, the core principals actually still guide programmers and operating system designers. In very early versions of Windows, each program handled printing. Windows hasn't done that for a long time.
Do one thing, do it well, and interface simply.
Games
When you think of mechanics that do one thing and do it well, you think of party games, maybe dexterity games and sports. These are ideal games for many, and in fact look at the new mainstream games each year from Mattel and so on.
You also think of Knizia and his 250 or so games. Excepting his meatier games, Knizia's designs (Money, Flinke Pinke, Modern Art, Poison), appear to be to follow this principle. Not surprising, given his background in mathematics. I don't know that it really makes a good game. I think it makes a good mechanic, but all these little games leave me wanting more "game" in my game.
It would be interesting to take little games and interface them together to make a heftier game. On the other hand, better games feel like more than just a collection of disparate mechanics, but a total integration of mechanics. And theme, many would add.
And there's no one perfect way to do an auction or a set collection mechanic, like there is one correct way to send data to the printer.
TED
On the other hand, as the TED talks demonstrate, this is an excellent guiding principle for giving a lecture.
A Student Asked Teuber
A student asked Teuber: How shall I play Settlers of Catan?
Teuber answered: Be like the robber. The robber receives from all players. The robber opposes the leader. The robber neither wins nor loses any game, but plays every game.
Another student asked Teuber: How shall I play Settlers of Catan?
Teuber answered: Be not like the robber. The robber always starts in the same position. The robber does not utilize his resources. The robber does not try to win.
A third student asked: How can one be like the robber and not be like the robber?
Teuber answered: How can one be like a student, and not be like a student?
Teuber answered: Be like the robber. The robber receives from all players. The robber opposes the leader. The robber neither wins nor loses any game, but plays every game.
Another student asked Teuber: How shall I play Settlers of Catan?
Teuber answered: Be not like the robber. The robber always starts in the same position. The robber does not utilize his resources. The robber does not try to win.
A third student asked: How can one be like the robber and not be like the robber?
Teuber answered: How can one be like a student, and not be like a student?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Session Report, in which Cliff comes and we play Santiago
The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: Blokus Trigon, Dominion, Santiago.
Only three people attend. I'm confused about the correct strategy for Santiago.
Only three people attend. I'm confused about the correct strategy for Santiago.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Weekend Gaming
Tal's friends were over for shabbat, and they're a gaming crowd. I wanted to bring out Jungle Speed, but Ariella had taken it with her to play over the weekend with her friends.
We played:
Triple Team Hearts: Six players, three teams, two decks of cards. One of the two of clubs and two of diamonds removed from the deck. Passing only to your partner. Shooting the moon can be a joint effort with your partner.
I made it up on the spot, and it seemed to work ok. We only got through two rounds, however. Nechemya (and thus his partner) lost them both pretty badly.
Apples to Apples: The Jewish and Kids edition cards were mixed into the regular ones.
Antike: The boys were interested in playing this after I declared it to be a reason never to play Risk again. They all liked it, especially that you could never be entirely wiped out. And that, despite many paths, it can be a pretty close game. Nechamya played Greece and got too big, and then got hit by both Rome (me) and Turkey, which set him back. I was neck in neck with someone else to win: I needed two points, but I was one city away from 15, and one ship away from 14. He was only one point away, and built his sixth temple, and that was that.
Robo Rally: I taught this to Nechemya last time he was here and he attempted to teach this to the others, with some varying amount of success.
I'm fairly sure some other games were played as well, but I did have to sleep, occasionally.
We played:
Triple Team Hearts: Six players, three teams, two decks of cards. One of the two of clubs and two of diamonds removed from the deck. Passing only to your partner. Shooting the moon can be a joint effort with your partner.
I made it up on the spot, and it seemed to work ok. We only got through two rounds, however. Nechemya (and thus his partner) lost them both pretty badly.
Apples to Apples: The Jewish and Kids edition cards were mixed into the regular ones.
Antike: The boys were interested in playing this after I declared it to be a reason never to play Risk again. They all liked it, especially that you could never be entirely wiped out. And that, despite many paths, it can be a pretty close game. Nechamya played Greece and got too big, and then got hit by both Rome (me) and Turkey, which set him back. I was neck in neck with someone else to win: I needed two points, but I was one city away from 15, and one ship away from 14. He was only one point away, and built his sixth temple, and that was that.
Robo Rally: I taught this to Nechemya last time he was here and he attempted to teach this to the others, with some varying amount of success.
I'm fairly sure some other games were played as well, but I did have to sleep, occasionally.
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