Thread

1. SwellJoe · 1790971326 · focus · HN ↗

   I loved Stratego so much as a kid. But, I eventually couldn't find anyone to play with me because I crushed everyone, including my dad who was much better than me at chess. But, I never would have thought it'd be a game that models would have a hard time with. It feels relatively simple. And, inexplicably, I never even thought that there might be serious players...I've kept the board game, one of the very few things I have from young childhood, but it's been twenty years since I played. I guess it's time to find an online Stratego. Surely someone in the whole world can beat me.

   Too bad I never played against an AI before they cracked it.

   1. karim79 · 1790982158 · focus · HN ↗

      > including my dad who was much better than me at chess.

      My experience as well unfortunately. No matter how many books on chess I read, no matter how many games I played against Battle Chess to try to get better, he always won.

      1. wafflemaker · 1790983720 · focus · HN ↗

         Makes me wanna play against Swell Joe's Dad \s

         But about having nobody to play because you crush everyone - as long as you want to play to enjoy and not just always go full-on try-hard mode - just stop crushing everyone and you'll have people to play with.

         Let people win every third game. If you're good enough (at it), they won't notice. They'll have a good time and you will. In Tekken it works to have them win some rounds (extra points if you let them have two out of three), but still win the match, tho maybe only if you're not just 2 ppl playing.

         That's a rule established from rat behavior observation study, you can hear about it in every third jbp lecture.

         Ever since implementing it, I never end up with nobody to play with. Just curb your wanting to always win and focus on maximizing the amount everyone enjoys playing in the long run.

         Even a game where there's always a winner and a loser doesn't have to be a zero sum game.

         1. SwellJoe · 1790986324 · focus · HN ↗

            "But about having nobody to play because you crush everyone - as long as you want to play to enjoy and not just always go full-on try-hard mode - just stop crushing everyone and you'll have people to play with."

            Sure, I'll go back and tell my 12 year old self to do that.

            But, actually, I did do that, to some degree. As I mentioned, I would drop hints and talk about my strategies in games, usually after the game, so he could be more competitive and understand how I was thinking about things. That also has a cost on the fun for both parties, though. Smart people can recognize when you're going easy on them. Nobody normal likes being pandered to.

            1. matwood · 1791010871 · focus · HN ↗

               I don’t know stratego, but could you play to put yourself in a tough position and then dig yourself out?

               This is what I do when training jiujitsu with less experienced people.

               1. SwellJoe · 1791020061 · focus · HN ↗

                  You could give yourself a terrible setup. A significant portion of the game is how you place the pieces and there are definitely challenging/risky options. Flag in front with no bombs protecting it is bound to lose, but the game won't last very long either.

                  And, I did that kind of thing sometimes, though I was a kid and still liked to win, I doubt I used any truly suicidal setups.

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