This are good. The “public stays public” would level the playing field for some of my friends who have amazing recall. They may be disappointed, but the 6 other of us at the table would be much less frustrated and enjoy each other’s company more.
I love the call-out to Diplomacy as blood sport. It is one of my favorite games, but I rarely suggest it, due both to the length of a typical game and the depth of deceit.
We played a semester-long game in one of my game theory classes with a couple moves per day. I had an alliance with two others and we spent at least four hours a day in various hidey-holes (the alliance was secret to start, and later we just wanted private quiet) on campus to plan our moves.
If you've never played diplomacy, I highly recommend it.
My game group's version of the take-backsies rule is: you can change your decision, as long as no new information has been revealed (a card revealed, a dice roll, next players move, etc.)
We also play with "public information stays public" for most games.
No. I love the competitive aspect of games. The competition is the fun - I'll compete in anything and love it.
You make a mistake, you learn from it and play better next time. You don't get to take it back. Next time don't do it. If you could always take something back where is the urgency is making good decisions, playing better than your previous self or someone else.
And absolutely not, if you cannot remember what has already been played, well too bad. That's part of the game, especially cards. That's half the point of trick taking games. "are all the trumps out?" Besides the one in office, no way I'm telling you that, and if you are playing at my table, don't answer that for somebody else. You might as well keep track on paper at that point.
Competition is not a dirty word. It isn't anathema to enjoyment. You play to win. It is part of the fun. Competition makes me sharp, I concentrate more, I get that little adrenaline rus when I win. And when I lose... We don't talk and such improbable things.
That actually is against the rules of many games - eg, you can't record the cards in bridge or blackjack or most any cards games. And if you want to devote energy to tracking moves in something, fine. It is even done in chess.
But chess also has its version no take back a in touch-move requirements. Part of your"best" self is making good decisions the first time under pressure. Or they I'm not playing you, but a small group of you (often with other played input).
Competition involves the stress of making decisions that you cannot take back.
> If you reject take backs they you aren't playing the most competitive version of your opponents.
Sure, in the moment, I'm not playing against my opponents best choices. But without take backs my opponent is developing the skill of thinking before acting, which makes him a stronger opponent overall.
We only allow take backs for:
1. Newbies. They don't know the rules, so we allow take backs during their learning phase, and also help them understand why the thing they did was non-optimal. This lets us play the game while also helping newcomers learn the rules and general strategies quickly.
2. Misplay. If another player does something not allowed in the game (e.g. plays out of turn) which changes a second players understanding of the current state of the game, we let the second player take back their move if they made it before we discovered the flub.
Changing the rules not to include memorization doesn't eliminate competition, it just means the remaining skills become more important in the competition.
Acquire (linked from article) is a favorite in my family. We've always played that your cash on hand is public... I can't find rules that suggest otherwise. Anyway, great article and check out Acquire.
I'm surprised "turn timer" isn't broken out into its own rule. This is a big one for keeping games social and fun. I've got a friend who I really can't play strategy games with because he'll take so long determining the optimum move. It's just not fun. Unless there's money on the line (e.g. poker), most people are playing for fun (and even in poker you can "call the clock" on someone who's taking too long).
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 44.8 ms ] threadWe played a semester-long game in one of my game theory classes with a couple moves per day. I had an alliance with two others and we spent at least four hours a day in various hidey-holes (the alliance was secret to start, and later we just wanted private quiet) on campus to plan our moves.
If you've never played diplomacy, I highly recommend it.
We also play with "public information stays public" for most games.
You make a mistake, you learn from it and play better next time. You don't get to take it back. Next time don't do it. If you could always take something back where is the urgency is making good decisions, playing better than your previous self or someone else.
And absolutely not, if you cannot remember what has already been played, well too bad. That's part of the game, especially cards. That's half the point of trick taking games. "are all the trumps out?" Besides the one in office, no way I'm telling you that, and if you are playing at my table, don't answer that for somebody else. You might as well keep track on paper at that point.
Competition is not a dirty word. It isn't anathema to enjoyment. You play to win. It is part of the fun. Competition makes me sharp, I concentrate more, I get that little adrenaline rus when I win. And when I lose... We don't talk and such improbable things.
All games are blood sports.
If you reject take backs they you aren't playing the most competitive version of your opponents.
But chess also has its version no take back a in touch-move requirements. Part of your"best" self is making good decisions the first time under pressure. Or they I'm not playing you, but a small group of you (often with other played input).
Competition involves the stress of making decisions that you cannot take back.
Sure, in the moment, I'm not playing against my opponents best choices. But without take backs my opponent is developing the skill of thinking before acting, which makes him a stronger opponent overall.
We only allow take backs for:
1. Newbies. They don't know the rules, so we allow take backs during their learning phase, and also help them understand why the thing they did was non-optimal. This lets us play the game while also helping newcomers learn the rules and general strategies quickly.
2. Misplay. If another player does something not allowed in the game (e.g. plays out of turn) which changes a second players understanding of the current state of the game, we let the second player take back their move if they made it before we discovered the flub.
PS CMU has a CS class built around the game... http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~lanthony/classes/SEng/Design/intro.ht...
Also, because they are a great opportunity to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!
Works well with your friends, too.