Games without frontiers
So I've been playing a lot of "Race for the Galaxy" lately. RftG is a pretty addictive little card game where you build a galactic empire and score points by balancing construction, exploration, production and consumption. (If you're interested and have never played, the rules can be found at the Rio Grande Games website; an excellent, free, online version with bots that'll kick your ass is available at keldon.net ).
One of the nice things about RftG is that it's quick - a game is over when someone fills out his empire's allotment of twelve cards or when all the loose points have been allocated. When playing against the AIs, the game is usually over in under 10 minutes. This is actually difficult for me, because it works against two of my personal weak points when playing games.
My first weak point is that I tend not to pay terribly much attention to what the other players are doing. This means that I find myself surprised when the game suddenly ends because an AI fills out its empire (which should be obvious, you can only expand your empire one or two cards max per turn), or that I'm waiting to get a card that another player already has played out in its empire.
My second weak point is that I'm a pretty good tactician, but a lousy strategist. The goal of playing a game is to win; since games don't play forever, in any reasonably complicated game your endgame tactics should differ from the your midgame tactics. For example, you shouldn't waste resources paying for a cost-reducing development at the end of the game anymore than you should tune up the engine of car that you're about to donate for scrap. I tend to think in terms of long-term improvements, which makes me a nice guy and a good designer, but a poor gamer. My gamer friends kick my ass regularly because they know that strategies are ultimately finite. They see the end and plan accordingly; I see a perpetual tomorrow and don't plan, but just build.
So one reason I play games like this is not only because I enjoy them, but also because they'll hopefully help me to think strategically, not just tactically. As I get older, I've gotten tired of simply reacting to my surroundings; you won't change the world playing defense. This is why, for instance, I became an architect at my job; it's often a hassle, and less enjoyable than straight-up development, but I'm responsible for shaping our environment and hopefully making it better for everyone involved. This is why I'm pushing the Housers to move beyond just building shelters and towards connecting our clients to other services afterwards - we don't want a hut to be someone's final destination in life!
Incidentally, this relates to a phenomenon I've noticed with some of our homeless clients. Occasionally, I'll run across a person that seems basically all right. But the first meeting's deceptive that way; it's after the third, the fifth, the tenth meeting that I realize that although this person appears rational and articulate, they have been saying the same things over and over again without actually making any progress. There may be lots of activity, and plenty of drama - but no movement.
I might have a hard time strategizing, but these folks cannot plan, period. My MUD friends referred me to 'executive function', which can be affected by brain trauma - concussions, drug abuse, microstrokes, etc. That sure sounds like the issue, all right. This implies that our fledgling efforts to try and help move our clients out of the huts may become significantly more involved; do we become involved in goal-setting? Or is there some other organization that'll do casework like this?
One of the nice things about RftG is that it's quick - a game is over when someone fills out his empire's allotment of twelve cards or when all the loose points have been allocated. When playing against the AIs, the game is usually over in under 10 minutes. This is actually difficult for me, because it works against two of my personal weak points when playing games.
My first weak point is that I tend not to pay terribly much attention to what the other players are doing. This means that I find myself surprised when the game suddenly ends because an AI fills out its empire (which should be obvious, you can only expand your empire one or two cards max per turn), or that I'm waiting to get a card that another player already has played out in its empire.
My second weak point is that I'm a pretty good tactician, but a lousy strategist. The goal of playing a game is to win; since games don't play forever, in any reasonably complicated game your endgame tactics should differ from the your midgame tactics. For example, you shouldn't waste resources paying for a cost-reducing development at the end of the game anymore than you should tune up the engine of car that you're about to donate for scrap. I tend to think in terms of long-term improvements, which makes me a nice guy and a good designer, but a poor gamer. My gamer friends kick my ass regularly because they know that strategies are ultimately finite. They see the end and plan accordingly; I see a perpetual tomorrow and don't plan, but just build.
So one reason I play games like this is not only because I enjoy them, but also because they'll hopefully help me to think strategically, not just tactically. As I get older, I've gotten tired of simply reacting to my surroundings; you won't change the world playing defense. This is why, for instance, I became an architect at my job; it's often a hassle, and less enjoyable than straight-up development, but I'm responsible for shaping our environment and hopefully making it better for everyone involved. This is why I'm pushing the Housers to move beyond just building shelters and towards connecting our clients to other services afterwards - we don't want a hut to be someone's final destination in life!
Incidentally, this relates to a phenomenon I've noticed with some of our homeless clients. Occasionally, I'll run across a person that seems basically all right. But the first meeting's deceptive that way; it's after the third, the fifth, the tenth meeting that I realize that although this person appears rational and articulate, they have been saying the same things over and over again without actually making any progress. There may be lots of activity, and plenty of drama - but no movement.
I might have a hard time strategizing, but these folks cannot plan, period. My MUD friends referred me to 'executive function', which can be affected by brain trauma - concussions, drug abuse, microstrokes, etc. That sure sounds like the issue, all right. This implies that our fledgling efforts to try and help move our clients out of the huts may become significantly more involved; do we become involved in goal-setting? Or is there some other organization that'll do casework like this?