Hive XXVII and XXVIII

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I set up two turn-based Hive tables this morning on BGA. The first table was joined by an expert player, ranked 27th with 28 wins for 29 plays. I'm thinking, ok, that's fine, this is going to be a tough game, let's see where I can go with it.

Right after I get home, this same player joins my other game!

So I'm two separate games with the same expert player (I'm ranked in the high 900s).

This is no fun at all and I sent a message to this player telling them exactly that.

I then put my bugs on the table as fast as possible, with no regard for any strategy whatsoever, I just wanted out of these games. I probably shouldn't even count them, but I'm going to anyway to have something to look back on in the future.

Fortunately, this player was online, so we played in real time and got through the games very quickly.

Perhaps this sounds petulant, and perhaps it is, but frankly I don't care. This expert player got a couple of cheap shit wins at my expense, and that's on them, because there is no way I'm in the mood to take on the same highly ranked person in concurrent games. Not right now. Maybe some time in the future, but not right now.

After these were finished, I set up another turn-based table, and fortunately this person did not join it. The person who did join is ranked at about my level, which is not that good for improving, but I'm sure I'll have a lot more fun.

And that's my goal, to have fun.

I actually tried to concede these games, but the software won't allow a concession until the game is half over.

Here's the games.

Hive 27

As noted above, these two games were played concurrently. In this game, I think the opponent realized I wasn't going to play him and once it got into a race condition he just ran the clock down. I finished two moves behind more or less because he didn't care.

Hive game 27

Hive 28

In this game, I believe the opponent was attempting to get clever and maintain perimeter control, without realizing I didn't give a shit. Game couldn't be over fast enough for me.

Hive game 28

This whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd like to play highly experienced players, and would even consider it a favor, but not under the condition of having to play two separate games against them.

Another one of these highly ranked, expert players has played me twice, but over a longer period of time. I'm more or less ok with that. I can learn from that. Just wasn't in the mood for what went down this evening. I wish I could block players. Perhaps it's possible. I'll dig around the website, see what I can find.

If this happens again, I'm going to play the first game, and let the second game ride until after the first game is finished.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.