Board/card games ~ do you play to win at any cost?

[Miss Chicken]

No, I don't play to win at any cost. However there are some people I love to beat i.e when I play backgammon with my brother. There are also games I like to win at especially Trivial Pursuit.

I started to teach my eldest son to play chess when he was 5. Though I would give him hints I wouldn't let him win because I don't think that a child learns to play as well that way. By the time my son was 11 I couldn't beat him very often.

 

[Kirby]

When I was a kid I used to play to win at any cost against my brothers. I still do a little bit when we get together which is rare, since we all live in different timezones.

My son is naturally good at a lot of board games. It won't be long before he's beating me on a consistent basis.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I am not a competitive person by nature, but I also like to follow the rules. When playing a game with others, I care much more about fairness for all involved than winning. I believe in having a level playing field, which means that if someone is behind I don't believe in giving them extra assistance just so they can catch up. We play fair and we play by the rules (I am always the one to read the rules aloud to the group, when I can get them to shut up and listen), and although that doesn't mean I win every time, it makes the times that I do win that much sweeter.

 

[Kelthaz]

I play games to win, but I usually have more fun when I lose. What I enjoy is a highly competitive game where I'm forced to play at my best regardless of whether I win or lose in the end. This means I love helping people improve and I want nothing more than for them to surpass me.

Social and friendly games in comparison are ... well, a little bland. I can enjoy playing a lighter game intended mainly for socializing, but I will get bored fast if that's all I play. There's nothing more fun than sweating buckets while wracking my brains trying to outwit my opponent.

 

[mimic]

My high school friends were obsessed with Settlers. And Go. I never played either game.

Most of the time when I play cards it's against my family, and the game is always Bridge. I'm mostly a beginner, so they're still nice to me.

I get super competitive whenever I play Sopio. There's something about that game that makes me ruthless.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Just before I reply to your replies ~ I can happily report that I beat Man 2-0 tonight at Biblious. *Man is over my shoulder telling me how to describe it* "It's basically a set collection card game with auctioning of cards at the end.

I have discovered the way to win ~ do exactly the opposite of what he thinks you're going to do. I was s'pose to do that from the start ~ Now I get it

Man has an obsession with board games... of the Settlers of Catan, Stone Age, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne variety.

^Hubby and his pals think these types of games are "too easy" and not challenging enough.

We own Settlers (the 6 player expansion), Carcassone (with all the bloody expansions), as well as Power Grid, Race for the Galaxy, Pillars of the Earth, Pandemic, Agricola, BSG, San Juan, etc, etc. At a recent party, we played board and Wii games for over 12 straight hours.

I am somewhere in the middle of "casual" and "super-competitive." I love to strategize and plot, but I also just like to play a good game. Hubby is very good about explaining---sometimes OVER explaining, to the point where everyone is about to fall asleep. He'll even help people out when they are learning.

But I am surrounded by hard-core board-game-geeks. I feel your pain. The sad part is, I'm not too far off from being one myself. I am very competitive, but not to the point where I would withhold rules or let people make mistakes. That is rather a dick move, don't you think? I'll usually say something like "Are you SURE you want to do that?"

I can totally kick ass at Carcasonne, San Juan, Citadels, Princes of Florence and Bohnanza (the bean game).

LOL and you have more of them than I do ~ I only have to deal with the one boardgamegeek
Oh God I hate San Juan. Man is thinking of getting 'Glory to Rome' which is apparently similar. He stalks EBay to find the games going at good prices.
Me ~ I'm just going to buy more shoes.
I do like 'ticket to ride' thou, when I get the right bloody tickets

In my younger and brasher days, I was always competitive in whatever games I played with others, and sought to win at all costs. Nowadays, I still try to be competitive, but I actually find great pleasure in challenging others in a game and hoping they rise to the challenge appropriately, and in the process challenging me - the pleasure gained from this outweighs any gained from winning (although it's still good to win).

That said, I don't play many games with others anymore.

I find it good that Man teaches me and gives me advice, which I think the game is all about.

And Zee, I love it that you were brash

Cosmic Encounter (Mayfair edition; absolutely worth tracking down)

Great game!

Except for the Virus. We always played without the Virus. What were they thinking?

Man has a copy of Cosmic Encounter, Eon. Version 1970's.
I'm so going to EBay it

My high school friends were obsessed with Settlers. And Go. I never played either game.

Most of the time when I play cards it's against my family, and the game is always Bridge. I'm mostly a beginner, so they're still nice to me.

I get super competitive whenever I play Sopio. There's something about that game that makes me ruthless.

I've never played bridge but would love to. Unfortunately need 2 more hands.

Am I right in thinking 'Sopio' is a little like Pokemon (please do not get offended) but if you like this type of game try 'Hera and Zeus' ~ it's of a similar theme

 

[mimic]

Am I right in thinking 'Sopio' is a little like Pokemon (please do not get offended) but if you like this type of game try 'Hera and Zeus' ~ it's of a similar theme

Sopio is a game that Alex Day (aka nerimon) and his cousin Danny invented. Alex spent about a year trying to convince people that it was a Real Card Game that he didn't invent. I haven't actually played; I just find the whole thing amusing and can't pass up an opportunity to reference it.

My Dad spent years trying to convince me to play bridge. I was always a bit intimidated by all the rules so I resisted for a long time, but now I like it. I won't admit that to my Dad, though.

 

[auntiehill]

Man has an obsession with board games... of the Settlers of Catan, Stone Age, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne variety.

^Hubby and his pals think these types of games are "too easy" and not challenging enough.

We own Settlers (the 6 player expansion), Carcassone (with all the bloody expansions), as well as Power Grid, Race for the Galaxy, Pillars of the Earth, Pandemic, Agricola, BSG, San Juan, etc, etc. At a recent party, we played board and Wii games for over 12 straight hours.

I am somewhere in the middle of "casual" and "super-competitive." I love to strategize and plot, but I also just like to play a good game. Hubby is very good about explaining---sometimes OVER explaining, to the point where everyone is about to fall asleep. He'll even help people out when they are learning.

But I am surrounded by hard-core board-game-geeks. I feel your pain. The sad part is, I'm not too far off from being one myself. I am very competitive, but not to the point where I would withhold rules or let people make mistakes. That is rather a dick move, don't you think? I'll usually say something like "Are you SURE you want to do that?"

I can totally kick ass at Carcasonne, San Juan, Citadels, Princes of Florence and Bohnanza (the bean game).

LOL and you have more of them than I do ~ I only have to deal with the one boardgamegeek
Oh God I hate San Juan. Man is thinking of getting 'Glory to Rome' which is apparently similar. He stalks EBay to find the games going at good prices.
Me ~ I'm just going to buy more shoes.
I do like 'ticket to ride' thou, when I get the right bloody tickets

*GASP* Hate San Juan? I freakin' LOVE it. It's MY game; I do NOT, however, care much for its granddady---Puerto Rico. That game annoys me with all its hundreds of tiny little pieces, and that it take FOR-FREAKIN-EVER for someone to make a move. San Juan is more my game--slap down the cards and get a move-on, people.

A really fun card game to play, if you have a big group, is BANG!. It's based on the spaghetti westerns. You're either The Sheriff (and everyone knows), one of the outlaws, the deputies or the Renegade. All those identities are kept secret. If you're the Sheriff, you want to survive and kill all the outlaws & the Renegade. If you're a deputy, you keep the sheriff alive and kill outlaws. If you're the Renegade, you aim to be the last man standing. You collect weapons and shoot people with BANG! cards and gain health with BEER cards. It's a LOT of fun. We have one really whiny obnoxious guy in our group, so the first everyone does is shoot him, regardless of what role anyone has.

 

[Thestral]

I LOVE board games.

I try to play very competitively - I'll admit sometimes a bit too much - but I also hate seeing people upset. I played way too much Settler of Cataan in college, to the point of people having grudges over it, but I still love the game.

Card games in general are fun. Pinochle's an old family tradition. Steve Jackson games (though I've only played Munchkin and Chez Geek) are fun too.

Anybody here play/ed Twilight Imperium?

 

[tomalak301]

The only time I really play board games now is one week in the Summer, at a camp I go to Would love to play more, like Settlers of Cataan, which is an awesome game but I always seem to lose. I'm not that competitive, but I do try to win, and always play fair.

 

[auntiehill]

I LOVE board games.

I try to play very competitively - I'll admit sometimes a bit too much - but I also hate seeing people upset. I played way too much Settler of Cataan in college, to the point of people having grudges over it, but I still love the game.

Card games in general are fun. Pinochle's an old family tradition. Steve Jackson games (though I've only played Munchkin and Chez Geek) are fun too.

Anybody here play/ed Twilight Imperium?

^Hubby and his pals play that from time to time.

I like Munchkin, myself.

 

[archeryguy1701]

I have an extremely competetive nature, to the point of getting extremely worked up during games. I really try to do it just for the fun, But I love winning. I also hold major grudges against people who I don't think paly fairly. I have a friend who I haven't played anything with in two years because he threw a game of Monopoly to give his GF all of his money and property and then he was hiding resource cards in Settlers of Catan. I'm pretty sure the only reason I have poeple who still play with me is because I have a group of friends who find it extremely amusing when I get really worked up in games.

 

[An Officer]

I only allow children to win. Everyone else is fair game.

 

[Jadzia]

I know I don't have to play, but *and thinking about this...* I just don't want him to think that I'm thick and I'm stubborn enough to keep on trying.
Maybe I should just find a gaming group for him!

Try a game that's less strategic, such as one that primarily uses memory skills.

When I was young I used to enjoy Pelmanism.

On average, women are supposed to have a better locational memory than men, so you may have a natural advantage playing this game vs your partner.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Once a month I still play a few hands of Magic with the guys. I used to like the game but these new sets are ridiculous. I just play to have fun and I don't care if I win so long as I can last a few rounds, and maybe annoy everyone at the table. My favorite card is called Shared Fate, which forces players to use libraries other their own.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

That said, I don't play many games with others anymore.

Some games could probably be played in a thread here if you wanted to. I'm sure many board members would enjoy something like that.

Turn based games that don't involve randomness (dice / shuffled cards) can be described easily, like chess. For games that involve dice, I can think of a few ways of improvising.

I've always wanted to adapt the radio parlour game Just A Minute for the BBS. Granted, there are some technical difficulties in doing so, but... a man can dream.

Thinking about it further... it could work in a chat format whereby near-instant communications are involved, such as Instant Messaging programs or Facebook's chat facility, perhaps. Let me think about it even more...

Now that would be fun

...There's nothing more fun than sweating buckets while wracking my brains trying to outwit my opponent.

Kelthaz, I really do understand what you are saying but I just don't have that will to win. Having said that, I've just realised that this whole thread is about me wanting to win.

Am I right in thinking 'Sopio' is a little like Pokemon (please do not get offended) but if you like this type of game try 'Hera and Zeus' ~ it's of a similar theme

Sopio is a game that Alex Day (aka nerimon) and his cousin Danny invented. Alex spent about a year trying to convince people that it was a Real Card Game that he didn't invent. I haven't actually played; I just find the whole thing amusing and can't pass up an opportunity to reference it.

My Dad spent years trying to convince me to play bridge. I was always a bit intimidated by all the rules so I resisted for a long time, but now I like it. I won't admit that to my Dad, though.

I will convince Man that Sopio is the game to get.
And you never know, having Bridge skills could hook you up with a very rich partner. It always seems a very glamorous game ~ or am I just really old? No need to answer that

*GASP* Hate San Juan? I freakin' LOVE it. It's MY game; I do NOT, however, care much for its granddady---Puerto Rico. That game annoys me with all its hundreds of tiny little pieces, and that it take FOR-FREAKIN-EVER for someone to make a move. San Juan is more my game--slap down the cards and get a move-on, people.

A really fun card game to play, if you have a big group, is BANG!. It's based on the spaghetti westerns. You're either The Sheriff (and everyone knows), one of the outlaws, the deputies or the Renegade. All those identities are kept secret. If you're the Sheriff, you want to survive and kill all the outlaws & the Renegade. If you're a deputy, you keep the sheriff alive and kill outlaws. If you're the Renegade, you aim to be the last man standing. You collect weapons and shoot people with BANG! cards and gain health with BEER cards. It's a LOT of fun. We have one really whiny obnoxious guy in our group, so the first everyone does is shoot him, regardless of what role anyone has.

Now BANG I like the sound of

... I'm not that competitive, but I do try to win, and always play fair.

That's what it should be like

I have an extremely competetive nature, to the point of getting extremely worked up during games. I really try to do it just for the fun, But I love winning. I also hold major grudges against people who I don't think paly fairly. I have a friend who I haven't played anything with in two years because he threw a game of Monopoly to give his GF all of his money and property and then he was hiding resource cards in Settlers of Catan. I'm pretty sure the only reason I have poeple who still play with me is because I have a group of friends who find it extremely amusing when I get really worked up in games.

Monopoly causes lots of problems

I only allow children to win. Everyone else is fair game.

I know I don't have to play, but *and thinking about this...* I just don't want him to think that I'm thick and I'm stubborn enough to keep on trying.
Maybe I should just find a gaming group for him!

Try a game that's less strategic, such as one that primarily uses memory skills.

When I was young I used to enjoy Pelmanism.

On average, women are supposed to have a better locational memory than men, so you may have a natural advantage playing this game vs your partner.

If I suggested 'pairs' he would think it unworthy, but if it came in a fancy box and at an inflated price he just might be tempted

And thanks for the hint Jadzia

 

[Mary Ann]

I grew up playing board games like Monopoly and Risk, but with 3 older brothers and a father who's a sore loser (and an even more annoying winner) I learned to chill and just play for fun, despite my having a competitive nature. I've also played canasta since I was 5, but have yet to teach it to my husband and kids. We have a cupboard full of board games we don't play very often, and I must rectify that.

 

[Davros]

I play to have fun. If I win all the better.

 

[Saturn0660]

Play fair if you can. Cheat if you must. But ALWAYS, ALWAYS win.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It's only fun if it's sporting. I try to win, but generally, will be happy if I'm competitive.

Then again, I don't play many games that often. I'll play Risk with my brothers when I get the chance (which gets very competitive) and Rummy with my family.