Have you Ever Taken a Dive?

“Check mate in 6 moves!” My opponent grins at me lopsidedly.

“Too bad I see mate in 5!” I laugh back.

We had a good laugh and returned the game. But deep down, looking at the board, I knew I had him. I’m not even talking about “if the dice behave like they should” sort of have him - I have this guy dead to rights with triple redundant plans and even with poor rolling I have nothing to fear… this game is in the bag.
And that’s a problem.

It’s a problem because this is one of my best friends, and I’ve been stomping him all night. In fact the last few times we’ve gotten together I’ve stomped him. It’s to the point I’m starting to feel bad when I win. I know the quip he just made was a bit of humorous bravado to soften the impending blow. I have broken the man’s spirit.

So I make the choice: it’s time to take a dive.

Not as Easy as it Sounds
Throwing a tactical war game can actually be quite tricky. If I’m trying to lose in order to build up my opponent’s confidence then running my guys up the middle to be slaughtered will be so obvious that I could actually make my opponent feel worse! No one wants a pity win from their friend.

It takes a delicate touch, bringing units in from reserve where they will only do superficial damage, accidently move something out of range or out of line of sight are good starts, but if done too much this can again, raise suspicion. A more subtle way to lose is by responding to his threats blindly; take the a bit he is offering and pretend you don’t see his counter attack coming.

Dubious Results?
Now it could be argued that throwing a game is counter-productive. By intentionally losing all I am doing is rewarding poor tactics. My opponent will get a false positive about what he is doing and will continue doing things that will make him lose unless I keep taking a dive. If he doesn’t learn, he will never progress, and we learn by making mistakes.

This is a very valid point. However, we aren’t Spartans and this isn’t the agoge. We play this game for fun and getting curb stomped every time we play isn’t fun. If your opponent spends enough time not having fun, they are going to move on to something else. I don’t want them to move onto something else, I want them to keep playing.

So if  keeping people around the table rolling dice requires me to play down a notch or two once in a while… I think I can handle that.

Do you ever throw games, if so why? Is throwing a game an abomination to everything war gaming stands for? Tell us!

Live Show ep. 7 Convention Talk

Weekly recap show discussing the world of tabletop gaming.

Episode #7
Topic of the week
1.  Conventions.
Gen Con planning and prep. What someone would expect to see. Gaming and painting. Feast of Blades tickets go on sale. Salt City Gladiator Games

News for the week
40k
1. Stormclaw http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Sanctus-Reach-Stormclaw-EN

Warmachine/Hordes
 News
1. Hordes Exigence http://privateerpress.com/

Infinity
 News
1. Bundles and all things Gen Con
2. Icestorm week on BoW https://plus.google.com/u/0/115730001046458418830/posts

Other
 News
1. Hawk Wargames DZC Resistance preview https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hawk-Wargames/215887118516882
 Kickstarters
1. Infamy KS https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/infamyminis/infamy-welcome-to-the-big-smoke

Like, comment, share, and subscribe.
Tune in next week!

Booth Babes

When Corvus Belli (CB)announced they would have a cosplayer at their booth at GenCon, the internet reacted – badly.

Almost immediately people began voicing their concerns that CB was selling sex and denigrating their brand and those associated with it all in the name of driving booth traffic. The idea of a booth babe was so infuriating people were pledging they wouldn't visit the booth or abandon the game completely.

But then some additional information came to light. This woman, Tabitha Lyons, is a prop designer and semi-professional cosplayer. CB had come to her company to design and manufacture props and when she saw the look of the game she fell in love with the character designs. She is designing, building, and attending GenCon all on her own dime.

Does this change anything?

I’m not a subject expert on cosplay, but I do know that those who do it as a hobby (and more and more as a profession) do it for a number of reasons: They enjoy researching the topic, making the costume, play acting for the crowd, and expressing their enthusiasm for their subject matter and most do this with their own hard-earned money.

(Enthusiast, paid actress, both?) 

This differs from a “booth babe” in that the babe is there for a paycheck, self-promotion, and typically has little to no interest or knowledge of the subject matter. But because the booth babe is paid to be enthusiastic and friendly it can be difficult for a third party to separate the two. Introducing moralistic outcry on the skimpiness of the costume only further muddles the issue.

(Only one of these people is a booth babe... can you guess which one?)

Several questions can be asked:

•           Would it be different if this young woman was wandering the convention floor instead of standing at a booth?
•           Would it be different if CB hadn't announced her being there?
•           Would it be different if she was taking a paycheck?
•           What if she wasn't pretty?
•           What if she wore more (or less) clothes?

-          How much does she need to know to be considered a “fan” and who gets to decide that divide?

I think the most important question to ask is this: Does this help or hurt the game?

Personally I only see this helping the game. She has a number of followers who are now learning about Infinity. A person in costume will garner more attention at the convention. And even the furor roiling in the game forums by players will only attract more attention by people wanting to see what garners such passion in an often jaded hobby.

This, of course, is my opinion, but feel free to tell us what you think below.