Re: Most complex strategy game?

littlemute wrote:

That's tactics, not strategy. I thing ASL (also tactics) is more
complicated than chess.

But that's *complicated,* not *complex.* ;)

This thread will go on being confused until the original poster comes
back and tells us what he meant by "complex."

A game like go is extremely complex in the sense of requiring a player
to think deeply and consider the situation on many levels. But it's
one of the *least* complex games in the world in terms of game rules or
the actions a player takes each turn.

A game like ASL is extremely complex in the sense of having a huge
rulebook and lots of things for a player to do each turn. But some
scenarios are quite simple and straightforward, so that there's really
very little thinking to be done; in that sense it's not complex at all.

Chess is pretty simple in one sense: a player just moves one piece
each turn, and the rules can all be memorized. But in another sense,
there are a lot of possibilities and permutations, and chess is an
extremely difficult game to master; so it's complex according to that
point of view.

The important point: "complex" is not the same as "difficult to
master." A game can be exceedingly complex (i.e., have lots and lots
of things for players to do) and yet be easy to master. Or it can be
starkly simple, like go, and yet be almost impossible to master.

Personally I often tend to like games that are both complex and
difficult to master. The rules complexity tends to make for a rich,
multifaceted theme that engages my imagination, while the difficulty of
mastering the game keeps it forever interesting.

--Patrick

.

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