On Board Games

Remember Risk, the game of world domination? Remember that, back in the old days, the armies were represented by roman numerals (I for one army X for ten, etc.)? Did you know that now the armies are represented by little figures (a foot soldier = 1 cavalry = 5, etc.)? What kind of baloney(bologna?) is that?

We played board and card games all the time when I was growing up. I still enjoy them. In fact, I have been meaning to put together a "Board Game (and cribbage) Olympics" for several years now. Alas, I never live in the same place long enough to have sufficient friends to make such an event worthwhile. It seems to me that in a board game (and cribbage) olympics you've got to be able to have members of your team specialize - have someone who can compete in the scrabble competition, someone else in Settlers of Cattan...

Although I enjoy games, I've lost an interest in many of them, Risk and Settlers of Cattan included. I don't really enjoy games in which all your moves involve a calculated risk and your probable success or failure is evident from the start or very early in the game. In such instances, I don't really see the point of playing because if the outcome is different from the probable one then it's just a matter of luck and there's no fun in that. Of course, the probability of winning in Settlers of Cattan is a bit more difficult to determine because the dice are supplemented by the ports and because the board changes every time. My siblings (and partner) accuse me of being a poor sport because I often want to throw in the towel very early on. I guess I probably do this more when I know I'm going to lose than when I know I'm going to win. It sucks to keep playing a game you know your going to lose after all.

Mastermind is another one. If you make your first moves correctly, it is likely that you will finish in 4 of 5 attempts at code-breaking per trial. As long as your opponent sticks to the rules, there is nothing s/he can do to stump you. Furthermore, there is no particular skill involved if you managed to break the code more quickly - you were just lucky in your color choices. So, if your opponent also knows the most efficient method of breaking the code and you're both placing the code pegs randomly, only random chance will determine who wins. If, however, your opponent doesn't know what method to employ, you'll almost surely beat them. Sure, it's fun the first couple of times but it gets old.