Hive XXXIII

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I had this game in the bag and lost it with a really bad move.

The learning lessons are:

  1. A lower ranked player can kick my ass, hard.
  2. Don't get impatient and think the game is in the bag, especially with a lower ranked player.
  3. It's almost never a good thing to pass up an opportunity to control the outside of an ant.

I played white against "malinixator," who was ~100 points ranked lower when we started, and ended up being higher ranked when he beat me.

I was sure I was going to beat this person. My certainty blinded me to an obviously losing move on my part, and despite gaming it pretty hard, I missed both critical moves that opponent shut me down with.

Also, the opponent used the "C" opening, which is supposed to be a weak opening for the defender. It might be weak, but it was certainly strong enough to beat me.

One other thing, I didn't either of my spiders in play, and that was probably a mistake.

Final result:

Hive game 33

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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.