Thoughts on Games of Luck & Games of Strategy...

Greetings, gamers.

For some time, I've thought of getting out my... thoughts... on games of luck and games of strategy.

Most of the games everyone in the US knows are largely games of luck. Sorry, Monopoly, Candyland, Risk, Stratego, Rummy, Go Fish, etc. You roll some dice, you draw some cards, and chose from a handful of pretty obvious choices. Then you roll some more dice and draw some more cards. There may be strategy, literally speaking, but it's pretty basic.

Chess in an exception to the "well known but shallow" rule of thumb, but it's more respected than really played by most of the nation.

Games of luck drive me nuts, now, having discovered games with legitimate, deep strategy; meaningful choices; genuine thinking. I feel like it matters that I have a brain. Of course my brain comes in useful for socializing, but when the passtime is games, and games that are shallow strategically, I can't stop from thinking about the games that take a lot more skill (which I have, and want to play, many of).

With the cards and dice I mentioned above, I feel almost like they're strapping a leash or two to my neck, then dragging me to where they want me to go (like they have a consciousness, ha ha). I might as well be a monkey as a man with a mind. I want the outcome to be something I can, at least in theory, control.

Some people get a thrill off of being on the good side of luck. It's when lady luck smiles upon them. It's when, as I've heard it neatly put, the universe takes notice of you. Me... it feels like infuriating arbitrary randomness that has not a thing to do with me. I might as well be sitting by the side of the road, feeling elated if 10 cars drive by in an hour, or depressed if it's only 5.

But honestly, as I told Devon, the gods bless those who love luck. They're lucky. I'd love to love more of the world. The more things you love, the more happy the world is.

That's all for now.

-AnonAmos