I
've got strategy games back on the mind. Blackletter's play-test day is coming up, I've been re-engaging with 9x9 Go played online, I'm challenging people to chess left and right. There's a new game room in town that sports a few pool tables, but also has a couple regular chess players, and when I chatted with the owner, he seemed open to the idea of trying to get a chess league started in there. Things are pretty busy right now, but I should be able to squeeze in running a strategy game club once a week, right?
What is it about these games I love so much? Clearly, I'm a competitive person, and I like winning; but I also love the way that strategy games give you a new way see into another person's mind. If both players have at least rudimentary skill in the games, a new language is born between the two of you, and new facets of their personality and mental states can be laid out on the board.
I also just like the newness of a good strategy game. I like games that feel different every time, that have their own story to them. This is one of the reasons I'm not a huge cards player (besides poker). Most games of Hearts feel exactly the same as every other game of Hearts. But Chess, Go, and Blackletter aren't like this -- the sequences are so structured and compelling, that each time you play is a new world.