Unwritten Rules are Not Part of the Game

In all games, within game contexts, you may only do things expressly allowed by the rules. This is what it means to have rules; it is the covenant you have agreed to by agreeing to play. You can play tic-tac-toe in a van while yodeling, but putting a Z in a box is out of the question. It is not up to any rulebook to say that you can't use a memory aid; rather it is up to the rulebook to specifically allow it, or else you can't use one. It doesn't matter how much the game for you is not about...

 Ten Golden Rules of Go

Tan Bu De Sheng ?????? - The greedy do not get success Ru Jie Yi Huan ?????? - Be unhurried to enter opponent´s territory Gong Bi Gu Wo ?????? - Take care of oneself when attacking the other Qi Zi Zheng Xian ?????? - Discard a stone to gain sente She Xiao Jiu Da ?????? - Abandon small to save big Feng Wei Xu Qi ?????? - When in danger, sacrifice Shen Wu Qing Su ?????? - Make thick shape, avoid hasty moves Dong Xu Xiang Ying ?????? - A move must respond to the opponent's Bi Qiang Zi Bao ?????...

 Importance of Incorporating Change into your Life

Daily change is helpful for anyone, not just gamers. Try taking a new route home, or ordering something you've never eaten, or getting off the train at a different station than usual. It doesn't matter how small, the important thing is to change. With this approach, anyone can induce change at any time. Gain some more experience, and before you know it you'll start to notice that your outlook on things is broader than before.

 Tournaments are a playground for people who practice for ...

Tournaments are a playground for people who practice for growth. It's where they show off their achievements. Once I made that realization, I finally started making continued growth my goal, rather than winning. Games enrich my life by allowing me to grow as an individual, and that's what motivates me to keep on going.

 How New Games/Releases Impact the Meta

A new series release means more than just updated graphics or different character costumes; sequels can have new rules, or introduce entirely new systems, so everyone was starting more-or-less fresh. Experience and knowledge of previous games in the series help to some extent, but you're still learning the new rules from scratch. Being strong in the previous game means less than learning the new one, so without putting in the required work last year's champion can become this year's scrub. Th...

 A 2030 Vision for Gaming Culture

Young gamers are having fun, learning from each other, and learning to be good citizens of gaming and online communities. They are able to transfer some of their skills and citizenship sensibility to other aspects of their lives. They are connecting and mentoring each other in online gaming spaces that are safe, mixed age, and centered on creation, exploration, inquiry, and friendly competition. Youth and their parents have a deeper understanding of digital citizenship, supported and taught...

 Roots of Toxic Online Game Culture

Streamers behave badly as a way to increase their views and likes, which in turn maximizes their profits and those of their company sponsors. Game companies cannot fully control who plays their games, despite Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings. Younger players play mature games and learn through their interactions with older and often toxic audiences. Cultural stigmatization of gaming leads to a lack of educator involvement in supporting prosocial and educational gaming sp...

 Sirlin's Traits That Make a Gold Medalist Gamer

• Familiarity with tournaments • Deep knowledge of the game at hand • Love of the game • Mental Toughness • Mental attitude toward winning, losing, improving • Technical skill (usually dexterity) • Adaptability • Knowledge/ability in other games of that genre • Yomi • Appraisal

 Know the Algorithm

“Adaptability” is a loaded term. First, let’s look at its opposite: Planning. Some players are highly concerned with knowing exactly how the game “system” works. They have deep knowledge of the game rules, the consequences of the rules, and the optimal situations they want to create. They have a plan. They will know that in a certain situation the opponent has, say, five reasonable responses. They will know the optimal counter that minimizes overall risk and maximizes overall reward. Perhaps ...

 Exploring the Topology of a Game

I think of a game as a topological landscape with lots of hills and peaks that represent different tactics/strategies/characters. The higher the peak, the more effective that strategy is. Over time, players explore this landscape, discover more and more of the hills and peaks, and climb to higher locations on the known hills and peaks. Players can’t really add height to these peaks; they are only exploring what’s there, though that is a rather philosophical distinction. The problem is that wh...