No Battle Plan Survives Contact with the Enemy…

8th Dec 2024

Barry

3 mins

I think anyone who has ever played me knows I don’t really have a plan. I often turn up to a tournament having not even played the list generally. I mean I understand the mechanics of what I bring to the table but usually my shambling attempts involve undermining your plan.

And that sparks joy in me (as noted previously).

How long that feeling lasts I do not know so I have to appreciate it as long as I can because after that someone decides on a new plan and that usually means resorting to in-game violence (or perhaps swearing in my face repeatedly). The former might be an idea if you were to assume your opponent lacks any agency and that’s a terrible mistake because they absolutely do in most cases.

Unless they committed everything just in that specific unnerving venture.

But that’s where I live. After that initial effort that’s where my trouble begins because most of those tools are expensive and if it doesn’t play out to my benefit what is left? I didn’t plan for this remember which has been demonstrated many times before. All I can do is try and play it out and see what happens hoping that neither of us have the remnants of a plan. It’s just a lot of nonsense for the next few rounds.

I feel I’d be more successful in terms of competitive gaming if I had a plan.

Ignore the plan and choose violence.

I don’t have a reason for not really coming armed with a rigorous plan – tested and true – is because even in setup plans fall apart let alone contact with your opponent. But it also irked me how meticulous some people were when placing obstacles in setup for X-Wing so they knew how and when to turn a ship.

Which if I recall was a fundamental part of the playing process?

So of course I thought the best thing to do was to just throw rocks on the table somewhere that restricted that placement and yielded no useful information. I still do that in X-Wing but everyone is used to that now. Armada forces some kind of planning through the list building, and again I focus on generating sub-optimal performance.

Remember the enemy can - and will - shoot back.

After that I’m out of ideas.

I’m happy with my casserole of nonsense approach to playing games of any kind. I live in wilful ignorance of being a good player and it is absolute bliss. I have ideas on how to roll more dice but I long ago gave up any idea that I’d win the game with those traitorous blocks of plastic.

They’re not part of the plan.

  - Barry