games, the playing of

Heh. I went to gaming night stuff last night and in the process of playing coallesced my views on game types.

I played one game (Word something or other), where I lost but didn't feel terribly hosed and even managed to still have fun.

I played Programmer's Nightmare, which I will play again to prove to myself that it doesn't suck. I managed to start off well and then become completely hosed for the last hour of game (about 1.5 hours of game play).

I then played Last Card, which I also lost, but didn't feel hosed and would be more than willing to play again despite Tim's creaming of us all.

I believe that a good game provides a balance in play that allows one to enjoy the experience whether one is winning or losing. This is why I liked playing Civilization - I didn't know I was losing that badly until we calculated the scores. It is also the reason why I liked the card games I play, I don't feel like I consistently lose.

More on this in a bit.

Game playing styles

Or, reasons why Shawna is getting more hosed than normal playing games...

Most of my friends (who will probably read this and get offended) fall into two or three game playing styles.

There are the social game players. Those people who don't really care if they win or lose, enjoy the social interaction, and generally play games in such a way that other people can enjoy the games.

There are those who only enjoy the games when they are winning. Umm, they are the real reason that the social game players exist. When the "gotta win (or gotta be doing well)" players aren't winning or are otherwise not doing well, they get tired and whine and complain.

There are other types, but my mind has gone wandering and can't think of any right now.

Most of the time I am a social gamer. I play so that people won't whine (so we can all enjoy playing). Umm, this lasts until I get hosed repeatedly. Then I stop enjoying the games myself and probably get way too whiny. Blah.

But my habit of playing so that everyone is having fun (and not complaining about excessive hosedness) is one of the major reasons why I am no longer doing so well playing Hand and Foot.

*sigh* Maybe I'll try playing to win again and to heck with the consequences.