inconsequential ruminations

It has been unusually busy recently.

Helena Cheyne
2.55pm, 9th August
8lbs 10oz

Last night I ventured onto MSN and played Settlers Online. They have a free preview period until 10 August, so I thought I would give it a shot. Unfortunately, it’s Internet Explorer only, but sometimes you have to slum it.

The interface is very slick, in marked contrast to BSW. The initial game matching interface is the best I have seen in a game like this, as can they match you up to opponents automatically and quickly. There is no waiting around in a lobby having to advertise your game. The other excellent innovation is the trading interface. It is a little confusing at first, but it works well. You can make specific offers, or just offer a resource, looking to get counter-offers. I also like how when you are about to build they mark the intersections with a number showing the number of times out of 36 possible dice throws an intersection will score.

I would love to see some statistics from server logs. For instance it would be interesting to see the win rate of the starting player who puts down two settlements consecutively.

$30 a year seems a little pricey, but $5 a month is acceptable, as you will probably get bored after that. You might as well try the free trial.

Alfred just posted a great piece on books about games. This is the sort of thing blogs are best at.

I have not read too many books about games, just the basics:

• A Gamut of Games – Sid Sackson. Out of date and print, but there is still lots of good stuff.
• New Rules for Classic Games – R. Wayne Schmittberger. Excellent, particularly on abstracts.
• The Oxford History of Board Games – David Parlett. The author designed Hare and Tortoise. He is a bit too fond of his own creation, but I can forgive him for that. This book approaches the topic in the right level of detail for my taste.
• Dice Games Properly Explained – Reiner Knizia. This is OK, but I am not interested in pure dice games. I would rather he wrote a book about board games. I believe he contributed to a book on board games design.
• 100 Strategic Games for Pen and Paper – Walter Joris. This could be good, but some of the rule sets are too sketchy. I have yet to find anyone to play a game with me. I keep it in the glove compartment of my car with a couple of pens in case I am ever stuck somewhere with nothing to do.

My favourites are definitely New Rules for Classic Games and the Oxford History of Board Games.

Joe Huber’s book reviews at The Games Journal are good, but he has not yet enthused me about any of the books.

I am tempted to try Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. I love books about obsession by obsessives. It takes one to know one.