Q: How can any game actually be a scholarly endeavor? Doesn’t that take a lot of the fun out of playing?
Games ultimately set constraints on what we can and cannot do in the play space. Thismirrors certain spaces in our life. Your work, interactions with friends, and school to just name a few. All of them have sets of rules that you are expected to follow whether they are spoken or unspoken...
I have no doubt that my logical brain made games so appealing to me. Logic as a subject is just rules sets, so they're closely aligned. I've also always loved puzzles for the same reason. There is one correct solution - everything else is, as Spock would say, illogical.
It's definitely the reason I'm so drawn to cooperative games. They're all about bringing order to chaos, and that's something my brain automatically gravitates towards (just ask my wife how unnerved I get around a sink full of dirty dishes). Competitive games don't scratch that same itch for me because I'm not competitive - I generally just don't care about winning over a human opponent. I care about winning over a *system." Again, no surprise I went into IT. It's all about solving problems generated by a faceless system.
Board games please my social anxiety by enforcing a framework for my interactions. I feel much more comfortable when I know the rules. I wish more of life was like a board game.
Now that I've always known. You know the guys who went to parties and then just sat and played Euchre (or spades or whatever) all night at a table in a corner while everyone else partied? That was me.
I've always loved games for the simulation aspects of them: the ability of a set of rules and scenarios to recreate aspects of historical or imaginary events or narrative.
This is why I've always gravitated to wargames and other genres grounded in reality or (in the case of SF and fantasy) internally consistent realities. Abstract games leave me cold, even if they have a strong theme (e.g. Magic The Gathering).
This is also why I've frequently read the rules for games I don't own and will probably never play. Just seeing how the rules attempt to simulate events is interesting to me. (Being able to download rules PDFs is a big part of my hobby experience.)
I'm also the closest thing to a non-competitive gamer you will find. I try to play skillfully, but I don't mind losing as long as I enjoyed the experience of simulation.
YellowKing wrote: Tue Nov 26, 2024 2:48 pm
I have no doubt that my logical brain made games so appealing to me. Logic as a subject is just rules sets, so they're closely aligned. I've also always loved puzzles for the same reason. There is one correct solution - everything else is, as Spock would say, illogical.
It's definitely the reason I'm so drawn to cooperative games. They're all about bringing order to chaos, and that's something my brain automatically gravitates towards (just ask my wife how unnerved I get around a sink full of dirty dishes). Competitive games don't scratch that same itch for me because I'm not competitive - I generally just don't care about winning over a human opponent. I care about winning over a *system." Again, no surprise I went into IT. It's all about solving problems generated by a faceless system.
I had to triple check to make sure I didn't post this and forgot.
Especially the co-op over competitive. I've always preferred working together.
coopasonic wrote: Tue Nov 26, 2024 4:54 pm
Board games please my social anxiety by enforcing a framework for my interactions. I feel much more comfortable when I know the rules. I wish more of life was like a board game.
I have that exact feeling. Although I usually don't have any anxiety in most social settings, I find that when I *do* play games, I tend to stick very close to the rules. They are there for a reason, there is a winner and a loser, and that's how games are played. (Which has landed me in some warm water with the spousal unit on several occasions...) I can applaud when someone finds a crack in the rules, designed or discovered, and successfully wins, but outright ignoring or breaking the rules ticks me off.
Out of curiosity, do you find that when other people don't obey/follow the rules that causes more anxiety?
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because you're all the same." ~Jonathan Davis
"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." ~Robert M. Hutchins
I'm all for sticking by the rules, but some of the uber-complex AH games always left some doubt -- the intent would seem obvious but following the letter of the rule would be at odds. What I loved back in the day was AH would post errata articles in The General, which would serve as clarifications until the next edition of the game was released.
The term "rules lawyer" was always applied to those who stuck with a particular interpretation of the rules. Often, they could not be negotiated with, which at times could be very annoying. I usually preferred an amicable agreement when there was contention.
I lawyer for a living, not for fun. I will quickly interpret a game rule so we can keep playing, if hepcat lets me. Or look it up on BGG.
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on." -Terry Pratchett, The Truth "The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it." -Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment
