Despite being a member of perhaps an older generation (I'm over 50) I still make silly mistakes in games, but the game itself is just that, a game.
If I win, I win, if I lose, so be it.
Its the enjoyment of moving the figures, rolling dice and having a chat with good friends that is important to me.
A couple of weeks ago I played a chap newish to our club (I've played him a few times before, won and lost) and he beat me. No problem with that, it happens, and he certainly wasn't gloating or anything like that, and during the game we got along fine.
But somehow I just felt demoralised by it - I knew it wasn't the losing, maybe poor dice rolls had finally got me?
Anyway, skip forward to this week and I have a really good game with another newbie, on his first visit. He's got orc and goblins. Well we had a bloodbath. It was a great game.
At the end of the game, I've got a minor victory.
My feeling after the game was so much better. OK, I'd won, but it wasn't that.
The epiphany occurred today.
In the Empire game I felt I was just reacting to my oppo, and waiting for things to be shot off the table while I trundled forward (I had gone second).
In the OnG game I felt I was in control, being proactive and doing the things I wanted (I had gone first). I had a basis of a plan. Nothing too complicated, just some ideas about what I wanted to go where and take on which units. For example, I wanted a unit of skinks to shoot the giant he had taken. They did this (and I got very lucky with my rolls, killing it in one round of shooting).
The epiphany was the planning and being in control. Going first it seems a lot easier to give yourself at least the illusion of control. I'll have to see if I can this going second too.
Strange thing is, when I've played historical games, I've always tried to plan.
Not sure what I'm trying to say here, but wanted to put my thoughts down. Sometimes the simplest things take the longest to work out.
If I win, I win, if I lose, so be it.
Its the enjoyment of moving the figures, rolling dice and having a chat with good friends that is important to me.
A couple of weeks ago I played a chap newish to our club (I've played him a few times before, won and lost) and he beat me. No problem with that, it happens, and he certainly wasn't gloating or anything like that, and during the game we got along fine.
But somehow I just felt demoralised by it - I knew it wasn't the losing, maybe poor dice rolls had finally got me?
Anyway, skip forward to this week and I have a really good game with another newbie, on his first visit. He's got orc and goblins. Well we had a bloodbath. It was a great game.
At the end of the game, I've got a minor victory.
My feeling after the game was so much better. OK, I'd won, but it wasn't that.
The epiphany occurred today.
In the Empire game I felt I was just reacting to my oppo, and waiting for things to be shot off the table while I trundled forward (I had gone second).
In the OnG game I felt I was in control, being proactive and doing the things I wanted (I had gone first). I had a basis of a plan. Nothing too complicated, just some ideas about what I wanted to go where and take on which units. For example, I wanted a unit of skinks to shoot the giant he had taken. They did this (and I got very lucky with my rolls, killing it in one round of shooting).
The epiphany was the planning and being in control. Going first it seems a lot easier to give yourself at least the illusion of control. I'll have to see if I can this going second too.
Strange thing is, when I've played historical games, I've always tried to plan.
Not sure what I'm trying to say here, but wanted to put my thoughts down. Sometimes the simplest things take the longest to work out.
