Re: Advice request--classic games

Patrick wrote:

Not sure this is the right forum for this, but I'll ask anyway.

I've always loved classic strategy games like chess and go, as well as
modern classics like bridge. But these games are daunting to me. Even
after reading books and practicing, I really suck at them. It's so
discouraging that I always give up on them after a few weeks of trying.
Yet, I admire these games so much that when my shame wears off, I
always come back around and try them again.

So, my question is: Are there any good "mentor" packages out there for
the PC? I'm thinking of a software package that not only teaches
beginners how to play, but also takes novices (and maybe even
intermediate players) by the hand and walks them through the basic
steps toward becoming decent players. Something friendly that makes
these challenging games a joy to play.



Join a good club and play play play play play play play. We used to play by mail, now you can play by internet, but how ever you do it, PLAY. In such games, which have been studied asiduously for centuries, any real skill comes only from enormous amounts of practice. The hard part about them is when you feel you are playing to practice, which, just like "wax on, wax off," becomes about the most boring chore in the world, and so you hate it (just like me). The trick is to find a way to play that is in itself fun. For instance, a few of us invented over 50 variations on chess, some of them pretty good, and very different, such as (some of the less-obvious ones):

You are what you eat (pawn takes queen, becomes queen)
You eat what you are (pieces can only take others like themselves)
Ten By (two extra pawns and two extra pieces are added: the Chariot moves a knight's move or square-wise, and the Ship moves a knight's move or diagonally)
Benefit of Clergy (Bishops cannot capture or be captured, but all other captures require a simultaneous attack [or stack] by a Bishop)
Battle Line (all pieces start out advanced 2 squares, so the pawns begin already in contact - a pawn which captures is un-moveable the next turn, otherwise white always wins)
Immitator (all moves must be mirror'able by an imitating token, restricts movement a lot)
Connected Worlds (the black squares and the white are two different worlds, which can be crossed only at the KQ squares).

And ideally, I'd like it if the computer program itself
included some kind of "mentoring" instead of just posing a stark
challenge every time.

Any suggestions?



Advice is good, in a proper context. Advice can be fun, too. Getting advice from a master can rev up your emotions, make you feel like you've really got something for your time/money.

But advice is often seen as a magic bullet that will cure what is wrong. What is wrong is (likely) that, 1. you don't really enjoy the games themselves, only the image they or the players evoke, and 2. you don't enjoy the one thing that really makes for a great master: the huge number of hours/days/years it takes to acquire not only the knowledge but the mental habits it takes to be a master of the games.

In short, it may just be that you will have to settle for being awestruck by the great games and great players, and accept that being any good at these is just not for you. Find a game that you love to play whether you are any good or not, and play it.

--
Godwin is a net-nazi
Learn about spam: http://www.seige-perilous.org/spam/spam.html

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