Hive 45

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This was a fast game against a very new player. Despite conciously attempting to be on my guard against playing stupid moves, I did play something really stupid and got one of my ants pinned by a spider. In my defense, I played very carefully the first few moves until I was sure the player was very weak. Then I let my guard down and got pinned. Such a rookie mistake.

I have another turn-based game going on against a player who is much better than I am, and I think I'm going to beat him (or her). Whoever this person is, they trounced me twice in the past.

Here's the end of this game, where you can see that spider making the pin up at the top:

Hive Game 45

Also, the opponent here conceded, which is why the it doesn't show as completely surrounded.

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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.