Liam Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 When I was a kid I was a bit more brutal in my initial wargames. It was March of the Red Ants vs the Black Ants. It was amazing all the different species, often fight naturally though you could egg them on to hurry it up by introducing them all to a small bowl with sand in the bottom. Ironically some of the workers were sooooo dedicated they'd dig regardless of all out war. As well a bigger ant didn't always! At times the more relentless killers were the tiny ones! I suppose when you're a half pint with Super Jaws, you can sneak in the nooks and cracks to attack from and kill your enemy. Even if your foe is 20 Xs your size! Was it Socrates who alikened Civilization to Ants By the age of 12 I had exceeded my GradeSchool teachers in knowledge of Geography and History<at least by several degrees if you were to test us> and began rewriting the script in my head. Drawing hundreds if not thousands of imaginery War-Economic-Political games in my head... My own imagination my potential allies and enemies. When I found Computerized Matches, I gloated!!! Spent a thousand bucks and I was in love!!! [ October 11, 2003, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: Liam ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Immer, Glad you enjoyed them and I agree, that's the great thing about this setting, we get to share our special interests and experiences. Reading about these things after they go through a commercial publisher just isn't the same. I always enjoy reading what everyone posts here and, aside from learning a lot have also been able to expand my outlook in ways I wouldn't have imagined a year ago. Aside from which, it helps make this dismal swamp a bit less, well -- words can't really describe it and this is one picture I'll gladly pass on. [ October 11, 2003, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: JerseyJohn ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Liam Your posting about the Ants et al slid in while I'm heading out the door. Reserving this slot to comment in a couple of days when I get back. Looks interesting, looking forward to reading it more thoughtfully on Monday. Have a Good One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Liam I just got home and -- what were we saying last October? Come on over to House of Games if you're in the mood to talk about games in general with people from here and also other websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curry Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Nice old thread And I miss some of the names on it too. Hope they come back when SC II comes out. This is what I call "a JJ classic" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Thank you Curry, appreciated. I brought it up so it would be easier to copy my postings on the game over to House of Games. There are a lot of great old threads in SC. Probably we both get the same feeling in reading them about guys we enjoyed talking with who have wandered off over the months. Agreed, it will be great to see them if they come back with the release of SCII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCPilot Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Ah chess... I'm not very good at it but my high school's chess team is one of the best. It's won conference 9 years in a row, we came 6th in state, and 1st in nationals. Strangely, our top player manages to play through luck, or so he says. He basicly does a move, sees it's bad, then decides to just play one more move. Then he notices something, then another good move, and another and another until he wins. We're a crazy bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I've heard and studied all kinds of playing techniques and nobody I've read ever had what I considered to be a foolproof playing method, so that one sounds as good as any other as far as I'm concerned. My own method was to look at my own possibilities during my moves, and at my opponent's possibilities during his move. In tournaments, most players do no thinking at all during the opponent's turn! Doing it my way wins a lot of games that might otherwise be lost and also makes maximum use of playing time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo123 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Just my two cents worth of input. I have been playing chess for the past three decades and I have reached the senior master level, scalped GMs and IMs. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make a decent living out of professional chess playing in the US! In Europe, chess is very big and their players do make a decent income. Hopefully, when I retire within two years (taking a very early- really early retirement), I can spend more time on the game again as I plan to make the Philippines my home base to do my travelling from (very cost effective since I know the language also!) I am tired of the rat race over here, more you make, more you spend (which does not equate happiness). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJohn Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 aesopo123 A Great Achievement! I've known very few people who have made any kind of living off chess in the United States. In the early eighties I knew a few former Soviet GMs who were literally shocked that Americans were so indifferent to high ranking chess players. Most subsidized their incomes by giving lessons and / or writing about the game. Good Luck in pursuing it in retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuniworth Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Aesopo123; Do you think your chess-knowledge is of any help when playin sc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo123 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Yes, quite a bit - you tend to plan ahead with your movements and anticipate counter-attacks. You really learn to concentrate your forces, use isolation, penetration, and how to use the principles of economy of force. In chess, if it is a forcing combination, I have been able to see 15 moves deep. Garry Kasparov can go twenty moves deep in a very complicated position. But on average, for master strength players-GMs, calculating 6-10 moves deep is ordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCPilot Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 In SC, I tend to throw everything into an attack until the target breaks and trying to get behind a unit to attack from every concevable direction. But that doesn't really work for chess, so there's differences to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesopo123 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 There is a measure of luck in SC as you are not sure of every outcome of battle as opposed to chess - lots of tactics in chess - overloading, diversion, pinning, discovered check, fork, sacrifice, skewer, etc. In chess, you seek the greatest mobility and activity for your pieces. This enables you to quickly shift and concentrate your firepower and lots of tactical possibilities open up to you. There are similarities and disimilarities between SC and chess for sure. One principle resonates true with both - that is concentration of force! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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