05-10-2021, 01:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-10-2021, 08:24 PM by GrimFinger.)
Fungus,
None of it comes across as insulting, and my log for the game is very much a personal log of madness. It will reflect things that I think and feel (rantings, ravings, the good, the bad, and the ugly - and sometimes, the pretty), that sort of thing. Not every player of such games will take time to read and grasp all of the rules ahead of time, and so I take that route quite deliberately, to try and figure out where the learning curve might be reduced, for games of Far Horizons going forward.
I do not agree, as a blanket rule, that one gets out what one puts into such things. Sometimes, yes. Other times, no. The great villain (for me, if not for others) is time. How much time does each respective player, both current and future, have available to read and digest (which typically requires re-reading various portions) the rule book? It will vary widely, of course. From my perspective, the rule book needs to be rewritten - or at a bare minimum, a rule book for beginners just getting started needs to be created, preferably one that sifts out everything except for what is relevant to the first turn or two, in order to reduce the prospect of a newbie to the game being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of text thrown at them by the rule book in its current form.
Not reading rule books, or just trying to quickly skim over them, can lead to a gnashing of teeth. This is no different, now, than it has ever been, Fungus, as you would likely agree. I don't have a desire to "bail on Raven." I didn't bail the last time around that I tried my hand at Far Horizons (around a decade ago), and I haven't bailed this time, either (thus far, anyway). Retention of understanding of the rules from the previous time that I tried playing the game has proven to be minimal, as in virtually non-existent - which is annoying all on its on, I might add. Not surprising (for me, anyway), but annoying, nonetheless.
I also do not agree that you cannot enjoy the game, if you do not understand it. I enjoyed attacking Ixnay's empire, the last time around, and I didn't understand it any better then, than I do now. In fact, my understanding of the rules is probably higher this time around than the last. Likewise, I wouldn't agree that one can't read the manual (aka the rule book for Far Horizons) at the last minute. That's certainly lies well within the realm of possibility, even if it is not my preferred path of approaching this test game of Far Horizons. Human beings have a long, colorful, and storied history of cramming at the last moment, whether for tests, exams, or even rule books for games that they want to learn how to play. Just ask Ixnay, sometime, if I seemed to enjoy the part of the game our last time around, where I found his homeworld and started attacking his empire's assets. Quite enjoyable, that was!
As for reading the manual and making notes, my postings in the forum here ARE my notes. By posting as I do, it helps me to retain information about how to play the game.
And unlike you, Fungus, King of Mud, I am older than I used to be, and my eyesight has been increasingly challenged over the last couple of years or so. I have to make use of reading glasses, these days, and I'm currently about two months or so into a bout of double vision. Those things, too, contribute to the annoyance and frustration factor, I'm sure.
Plus, the forum here can always use some new postings, I like to think, and at some point down the road, some may even find my postings on the game to have an entertaining quality, all their own. Or not, as forum users' mileage may vary.
None of it comes across as insulting, and my log for the game is very much a personal log of madness. It will reflect things that I think and feel (rantings, ravings, the good, the bad, and the ugly - and sometimes, the pretty), that sort of thing. Not every player of such games will take time to read and grasp all of the rules ahead of time, and so I take that route quite deliberately, to try and figure out where the learning curve might be reduced, for games of Far Horizons going forward.
I do not agree, as a blanket rule, that one gets out what one puts into such things. Sometimes, yes. Other times, no. The great villain (for me, if not for others) is time. How much time does each respective player, both current and future, have available to read and digest (which typically requires re-reading various portions) the rule book? It will vary widely, of course. From my perspective, the rule book needs to be rewritten - or at a bare minimum, a rule book for beginners just getting started needs to be created, preferably one that sifts out everything except for what is relevant to the first turn or two, in order to reduce the prospect of a newbie to the game being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of text thrown at them by the rule book in its current form.
Not reading rule books, or just trying to quickly skim over them, can lead to a gnashing of teeth. This is no different, now, than it has ever been, Fungus, as you would likely agree. I don't have a desire to "bail on Raven." I didn't bail the last time around that I tried my hand at Far Horizons (around a decade ago), and I haven't bailed this time, either (thus far, anyway). Retention of understanding of the rules from the previous time that I tried playing the game has proven to be minimal, as in virtually non-existent - which is annoying all on its on, I might add. Not surprising (for me, anyway), but annoying, nonetheless.
I also do not agree that you cannot enjoy the game, if you do not understand it. I enjoyed attacking Ixnay's empire, the last time around, and I didn't understand it any better then, than I do now. In fact, my understanding of the rules is probably higher this time around than the last. Likewise, I wouldn't agree that one can't read the manual (aka the rule book for Far Horizons) at the last minute. That's certainly lies well within the realm of possibility, even if it is not my preferred path of approaching this test game of Far Horizons. Human beings have a long, colorful, and storied history of cramming at the last moment, whether for tests, exams, or even rule books for games that they want to learn how to play. Just ask Ixnay, sometime, if I seemed to enjoy the part of the game our last time around, where I found his homeworld and started attacking his empire's assets. Quite enjoyable, that was!
As for reading the manual and making notes, my postings in the forum here ARE my notes. By posting as I do, it helps me to retain information about how to play the game.
And unlike you, Fungus, King of Mud, I am older than I used to be, and my eyesight has been increasingly challenged over the last couple of years or so. I have to make use of reading glasses, these days, and I'm currently about two months or so into a bout of double vision. Those things, too, contribute to the annoyance and frustration factor, I'm sure.
Plus, the forum here can always use some new postings, I like to think, and at some point down the road, some may even find my postings on the game to have an entertaining quality, all their own. Or not, as forum users' mileage may vary.