It has taught me the instrumental rational lesson that winning isn’t everything. That is, people get pissed off and sulk if I win every time so it is sometimes better to play games that are either team based (only half the people sulk) or heavily randomized (if I play perfectly I still lose sometimes).
Interesting. Playing tabletop and card games taught me quite the opposite lesson: that you can have a lot of fun while losing, and you don’t have to be embarrassed about losing social status.
Interesting. Playing tabletop and card games taught me quite the opposite lesson: that you can have a lot of fun while losing, and you don’t have to be embarrassed about losing social status.
That is a useful lesson but it doesn’t seem to in any way ‘opposite’.
I was quite in a hurry when I replied before, let me clarify. What I mean is that while you (correct me if I didn’t understand properly) tried to minimize the number of people getting pissed off by letting everyone win at least sometimes, I (and my friend) have managed to get rid of the problem by learning to have a good time while losing (i.e. we enjoy more the act of playing than the result of winning).
People assume I am hyper competent and therefore form alliances in whatever game is being played to oust me first. Ironically I rarely ever win because of their high opinion of my skills. In response I treat Settler’s of Catan as Grand Theft Auto where my goal is less to win, if it looks as if I’m about to I’m hit with trade embargo’s faster than you can say Ahmadinejad, and more to seed chaos so that the other players have a rougher go. It’s always widely entertaining.
(not Karmakaiser) In my case, people I play with learned not to trust my protestations of woe and ill luck :)
I seem to usually aim for greater strategic planning (deeper building plots), perhaps influenced by early-age chess training. I also put relatively higher value on not revealing my plans (that is, compared to some of my friends, not revealing my goals has a higher preference as its own separate goal). So it’s become a staple in our games that I’m behind others in points, then suddenly surge ahead and either win outright or get really close to winning. It doesn’t always work, of course, but when it does it may seem spectacular.
I think my behavior taught at least some people I play with to never give up on going for the longest road/the largest army advantages. It’s interesting that many players seem to go, “Well, I’m not getting those” and then completely putting them out of their minds, as if to free themselves for other concerns. I’m always plotting to get them, particularly when it seems I’ve given up on them and ruefully said so. They may not factor significantly in my strategy if it truly seems unlikely, but the thought’s always there.
(Disclaimer: I very probably suck at Catan! I’ve been playing only for a year, not very frequently, mostly with other beginners. But “I only need to outrun you”, etc. I wholeheartedly support the recommendation of the game).
In my experience Settlers of Catan has taught everyone I know the instrumental rationalistic lesson that Karmakaiser is never to be trusted.
It has taught me the instrumental rational lesson that winning isn’t everything. That is, people get pissed off and sulk if I win every time so it is sometimes better to play games that are either team based (only half the people sulk) or heavily randomized (if I play perfectly I still lose sometimes).
Interesting. Playing tabletop and card games taught me quite the opposite lesson: that you can have a lot of fun while losing, and you don’t have to be embarrassed about losing social status.
That is a useful lesson but it doesn’t seem to in any way ‘opposite’.
I was quite in a hurry when I replied before, let me clarify. What I mean is that while you (correct me if I didn’t understand properly) tried to minimize the number of people getting pissed off by letting everyone win at least sometimes, I (and my friend) have managed to get rid of the problem by learning to have a good time while losing (i.e. we enjoy more the act of playing than the result of winning).
Ha :-) What do you do that’s not trustworthy? Do you not pay up on futures contracts or something?
People assume I am hyper competent and therefore form alliances in whatever game is being played to oust me first. Ironically I rarely ever win because of their high opinion of my skills. In response I treat Settler’s of Catan as Grand Theft Auto where my goal is less to win, if it looks as if I’m about to I’m hit with trade embargo’s faster than you can say Ahmadinejad, and more to seed chaos so that the other players have a rougher go. It’s always widely entertaining.
(not Karmakaiser) In my case, people I play with learned not to trust my protestations of woe and ill luck :) I seem to usually aim for greater strategic planning (deeper building plots), perhaps influenced by early-age chess training. I also put relatively higher value on not revealing my plans (that is, compared to some of my friends, not revealing my goals has a higher preference as its own separate goal). So it’s become a staple in our games that I’m behind others in points, then suddenly surge ahead and either win outright or get really close to winning. It doesn’t always work, of course, but when it does it may seem spectacular.
I think my behavior taught at least some people I play with to never give up on going for the longest road/the largest army advantages. It’s interesting that many players seem to go, “Well, I’m not getting those” and then completely putting them out of their minds, as if to free themselves for other concerns. I’m always plotting to get them, particularly when it seems I’ve given up on them and ruefully said so. They may not factor significantly in my strategy if it truly seems unlikely, but the thought’s always there.
(Disclaimer: I very probably suck at Catan! I’ve been playing only for a year, not very frequently, mostly with other beginners. But “I only need to outrun you”, etc. I wholeheartedly support the recommendation of the game).