Board Games Zone

Can someone give me the low down on table top war games and the effects on the brain?

Posted on 2530 September 2009 by admin in table games

I know that t.v. rots your brain, I know that too much video games can also rot your brain (i think anyways) but i also i know that things like chess and checkers are actually good for your brain (i think anyways)…

but what about table top hobby games like warhammer 40k?….

healthy? Unhealthy? i really wanna play but not if it’s a waist of time.

Play. It’s more inline with chess than video games. It involves a lot of strategizing, planning ahead and math.

You’ll like 40k. It’s fun.

EDIT: BTW, what army are you thinking of playing?

admin

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What are some board games to enjoy with your significant other?

Posted on 2526 September 2009 by admin in board games

On a few days/nights when we’re bored we sit down and play a board/card game. We’ve played so many we’ve ran out. I was just wondering if there are any fun games that i can play with him, to have a laugh and maybe even spice things up. Someything funny we can enjoy when bored.
haha thanks.
Already got the duvet for xmas

From the sounds of it, you’re looking for 2-player games, so I’ll restrict my answer to games that work well with just two players.

My recommendations for you are:
- Can’t Stop (light and fast)
- Lost Cities (light and fast)
- Hive (more strategy, but still light and fast)
- Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers (if you’re feeling competitive)
- Yinsh (pure abstract strategy, will melt your brain when you first try it).

All of these games are easy to learn and work well with two players.

Someone else recommended "Ticket to Ride". It’s a truly great game, but I wouldn’t recommend it for just two players; it plays best with 4-5.

admin

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What are some interesting History facts about the game mah jong?

Posted on 2518 September 2009 by admin in mah jong

Please tell me! =] thanxx

http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Mah-Jong.htm

admin

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Need help with the point system for Yahoo Backgammon?

Posted on 2513 September 2009 by admin in backgammon

I guess I’m too old-school, but I don’t get this practice of 101 point matches and constant doubling in backgammon. What is the point? If I am supposed to double every time, where is the strategy?

The so-called ‘101 point matches’ exist purely to accelerate ratings faster, and have nothing to do with ’strategy’ (by which I presume you mean cube handling ability).
The reason is simple: between evenly matched experienced players, a 1 point match takes 1 game and earns 2 rating points. A 2 pointer need only take 1 game if either player desires, and earns 2.8 RP. An 11 point match could take 21 games, but only earns 6.6 RP.

However, a ‘101 point match’ will only take 1 game providing both players double to 128, but will earn 20 rating points for the winner.
Therefore, providing overall you score more than 50%, your rating will go up 10 times faster if you play 101 point matches, compared to 1 pointers: although once again you need to play opponents with a similar rating to gain the maximum RP.
Of course, if either or both players refuse to double in a 101 point match, then it could last 201 games: this would make it a complete waste of time for both players, as the extra rating points would in fact be taking at least 10 times longer to earn (compared to a 1 pointer). So, although doubling in a 101 pointer is always optional, it is a complete waste of time for both players if you don’t.

101 point matches are a very good (or very bad, if you score less than 50%) idea for ‘provisional’ players, or anyone with an ‘experience’ of less than 300, because any rating gains/losses are ramped up by a factor of up to 4: therefore you can gain or lose 80 RP in your first game if it is a 101 – see my article on rating points at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiVOQImWxz8H7tX7QQtitNrty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090715073806AAmYQ9a&show=7#profile-info-LWCl9HAYaa

I have noticed some players at tables with match points of 32, 64, 99 etc. Naturally you aren’t obliged to double (just as in a 101), so don’t play them unless you have time for 65, 129 or 199 games, lol. But why bother with them if you are going to automaticallly double (and your opponent IS likely to ask), as you get more rating points from simply playing a 101?

101 point matches only exist because of a defect in the ratings formula as used at Yahoo: although 20 rating points are at stake for evenly matched opponents, this reduces to 10 (for both players) if the ratings difference is 100 points.
If Yahoo used the rating formula correctly, then in the latter case the lower rated player would have much more to gain and the higher rated player more to lose (perhaps 30 points), similar to what happens in other Yahoo games. Therefore, 101 point matches would be very rare unless both were of very similar ratings, as the higher rated player would be risking more than his opponent; and overall ratings would not be inflated (especially for 101 point players) as they are now.

One aspect of the rating point differential: if it is 250 points or more between the 2 players, you actually earn more rating points from playing a 2 point match, compared to a 101 pointer. And you don’t have the hassle of an opponent refusing to double when losing.

Note that checker play in a 101 point match is the same as in a 1 or 2 pointer. Gammons are no help for either side, so checker play is slightly different than in a normal 3+ pointer: running, priming and holding games are popular, but blitz attacks do not offer the gains (from the extra points available from gammons) which would exist in a multi-point match and can over-extend your position. Also, a well timed backgame is advantageous (as the vastly increased gammon losses resulting are no longer adversely affecting the score and game winning chances).

101 point games aren’t a Yahoo invention, they exist at other servers also; at FIBS, some players play 99 point matches (the maximum possible there) with automatic doubles, for the same reason: why play a 1 pointer if you can earn 10 times as many rating points whilst playing the same number of games?

admin

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How many moves can chess players foresees?

Posted on 2508 September 2009 by admin in chess

How many moves can chess players foresees? Like Beginners, club player, Chess Experts, Grandmasters, World Champions. Does the Skills in chess depend greatly on the ability of foreseeing moves? And which other qualities matter to be a good chess player?
I am just a beginner and can visualize at the most 3 to 4 moves.

3 to 4 moves in correct situation is good.Knowledge,Practice and ability to recognize pattern is more important.

According to de Groot, this perception, made possible by years of practice and study, is more important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot also showed that chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly. The ability to memorize does not, alone, account for this skill, since masters and novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent recall (about half a dozen positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall

admin

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