Hello guys.

[loggats]

Hi,

I'm a complete beginner.

I enjoy boardgames and card games generally - my first real experience of Go was a fair few years ago, in Austria. A friend and I went to a cafe decked out with Go boards and we played for a while. I had no idea what I was doing, so the whole thing was fairly miserable. After all this time I've decided to get over the embarrassment and give Go another shot, and be somewhat dedicated in my efforts. I come from a family that's big on chess but I find myself more sympathetic to the underlying ethos of Go. Also, it seems like a worthwhile segue from my interest in Japanese spirituality.

I've been reading Cho Chikun's Go: A Complete Introduction and messing around on Goban (vs computer). A little bit about my background: I'm from Malta, an island in the Mediterranean. Apparently backgammon is the most commonly played board game in the Med - a game that's predicated on lucky dice rolls and fatalistic strategies. Can you blame me for trying my luck with Go?

Thanks, hope you're all having a restful Sunday.

[moyoaji]

Welcome, loggats!

I'm glad you want to give go another shot. I will admit that I am biased; go is my favorite game, but I think it offers a lot more than backgammon even without factoring in things like dice rolls. The decisions to be made in go are much more interesting. The goal of backgammon is straight forward - get all of your discs to the end. The way the pieces interact also relates to this directly. If you knock off an opponent's piece what happens? It goes back to the start. This is fine, but it also makes for a very predictable game. Not that I don't enjoy a game of backgammon from time to time, but I don't recall any particularly exciting games.

I love that go's objective is not directly related to how the pieces interact. As you get better you begin to see how a game can morph from one that is all about making territory in the corners to a giant fight in the center - or the reverse, a giant fight from the start that ends peacefully and becomes about claiming a point of territory here and there to stay an inch ahead of your opponent.

I hope you find your games to be exciting and interesting and I hope you find these forums to be helpful.

[skydyr]

This is slightly off topic, but there is a surprising amount of strategy involved in backgammon to skew the probability of the game in your favour based on the odds of particular rolls coming up, and judicious use of the doubling cube.

And welcome to the forum (and the game).

[EdLee]

Hi loggats, Welcome to Go and the forum!

This is slightly off topic, but there is a surprising amount of strategy involved in backgammon...

Also off topic, but has backgammon been solved yet, like mancala and checkers?

Thanks, hope you're all having a restful Sunday.

Here in the US, I think it's Super Bowl Sunday.

[skydyr]

Based on wikipedia, I gather no, but it has been solved when each player only has three pieces, and using monte-carlo methods, backgammon programs play as well as if not better than experts.

Edit: Also, I think the superbowl is in a couple weeks and they're just in the playoffs now.

[moyoaji]

Super Bowl is on February 2nd, which is also Groundhog Day.

Today are the semi-final games - the AFC and NFC championship games.

[Boidhre]

Restful? Not what I'd call a Sunday with a sick wife and a sick four year old!

What card and board games did you play out of curiosity? On Backgammon I'd second skydyr, it's predictable in the same way Poker is predictable, the fish are out of pocket by the end of the evening.

[Joaz Banbeck]

Welcome, Loggats.

You are correct: go is a different game from chess. Once you have played go for awhile, chess will seem one dimensional and stale.


@Boidhre: Hope the family gets well soon.

[EdLee]

moyoaji, Thanks.

[loggats]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Re Backgammon - I didn't mean to sound dismissive. I do think games have certain atmospheres, and maybe some cultures gravitate towards specific sensibilities. Playing backgammon (waiting with bated breath for double sixes) always feels like a lot is left "in the lap of the gods." That's a sense that providence is at work, and this fatalistic strain breeds a certain quality of long-suffering resignation, reflected in the cultural output of the central and eastern Mediterranean. Obviously this is all one big generalization based on stereotypes and probably means nothing - undoubtedly, it says more about the way I interpret my heritage than anything else.

Boidhre - Card games I play include variants of Rummy (household staple), Bridge and Cribbage. Board games: Chess, Reversi and Backgammon. I've also played Warhammer 40k (miniature wargaming).

[Boidhre]

Boidhre - Card games I play include variants of Rummy (household staple), Bridge and Cribbage. Board games: Chess, Reversi and Backgammon. I've also played Warhammer 40k (miniature wargaming).

We've a few Bridge players here and obviously Chess has been played by quite a few at different levels. I used to play 40k quite seriously a fair while ago.

[loggats]

Boidhre - Card games I play include variants of Rummy (household staple), Bridge and Cribbage. Board games: Chess, Reversi and Backgammon. I've also played Warhammer 40k (miniature wargaming).

We've a few Bridge players here and obviously Chess has been played by quite a few at different levels. I used to play 40k quite seriously a fair while ago.

What did you play?

I haven't been involved in the hobby since the 4th edition came out, I do miss it sometimes. I preferred Chaos and Eldar - always thought Imperial Guard would've been a fun choice though.

[Boidhre]

Boidhre - Card games I play include variants of Rummy (household staple), Bridge and Cribbage. Board games: Chess, Reversi and Backgammon. I've also played Warhammer 40k (miniature wargaming).

We've a few Bridge players here and obviously Chess has been played by quite a few at different levels. I used to play 40k quite seriously a fair while ago.

What did you play?

I haven't been involved in the hobby since the 4th edition came out, I do miss it sometimes. I preferred Chaos and Eldar - always thought Imperial Guard would've been a fun choice though.

Eldar and Necrons in Tournaments. Experimented with other stuff away from there. I played until 3rd edition I believe.

[goTony]

Welcome Loggats,

GO is a great game you can immerse yourself into. However I do not believe it should lessen the enjoyment of other games. I enjoy Backgammon, I just wish I had someone to play with. And adding the gambling element with a doubling cube makes it very interesting. Of course the Gods can always punish your best laid plans!

See ya at the Goban.

[Rowen]

Welcome! I started with chess some time ago as well but I never had anyone to play with. Internet chess just seemed like a huge cheating ground for those assisting themselves via computer programs, ect. Not to mention sandbaggers.

I've had a much better experience with Go and the people seem much friendlier.