No Thinking Allowed

wise rule, I can relate, that's the only time I can enjoy a card game, when it ultimately doesn't matter, I win sometimes like that still.

I know what you mean about playing Gin Rummy. I had 4 older siblings with me being the youngest. I had to think quickly or not play cards with them. Then when I tried to play cards with my (peer) friends, I had little patience because I played quicker than them (and better). Not that Gin Rummy was a tough strategy game.

There's a poular game called Pictionary I don't think about while playing. I like playing that one. Monopoly I guess I don't think too much during those games. Perhaps because I know the game well and also tend to be in an altered state of mind when playing so I can't think too much.

Now chess was a whole other story. You HAVE to think with that game or lose a lot.

Ragman, You had to remind me of chess. I'm in a hurry. I lose a lot. Haven't played this for ages.

I play chess against my computer quite a bit. I lose a lot. (Sometimes I'm happy just to get a stalemate!)

But that's different from a card game or a run-of-the-mill board game e..g. Monopoly. I agree that quick action and a minimum of thought are important in such games. Follow your first impulse; just do it and don't kvetch about it if, in retrospect, it turns out to be a bad move. You play the hand as it lays with no Monday morning quarterbacking allowed.

Interestingly, that's the exact opposite of my philosophy of life. I'm a firm believer that if there's a real-life situation where I just don't know what to do, the best move is no move -- don't do anything until the situation changes and you get an inkling of what should be done. I hate it when people tell me, "Well, you've got to do something about this right now." No, I don't. Not if I don't know what the best move would be.

But that's life. We're talking about games here.

I hear 'ya.

The thing I learned about with chess is...it required some skills building (study) at some point ... study of opening and closing game moves ... as opposed to having your arse handed to you all the time by someone who's a better player.

I once had an electronic version that was a computerized chess board game called Chessmaster. You could vary the level by which the computer played you. So one day mysteriously it went flying out of the window. I'm thinking it was haunted or maybe it hung out for too long with the Ouija board.

For chess, the old saying that patience is a virtue applies. For everything else, not so much.

I used to play Scrabble against the computer. I allowed ten seconds per turn. More than enough time. I usually won. Monopoly against the computer, I always won. Why? Dunno.

Andy, Life is different. Patience has never been a strength of mine, but I've learned to wait. Games? Move or leave.

BTW, sometimes I enjoy a game just because I enjoy a game. I'm not all that interested in winning. I'm interested in playing.


But winning is better.

Gin rummy in my experience, say 1949 - 56, was quite fast. You could think if you wanted to, but that was usually while the other person was acting.

It was important to play it on the neighbor's front porch or in someone's house or apartment in winter.

No Thinking Allowed

i pretty much run my life by this particular motto

After thinking about your "No thinking allowed" rule, I'm thinking you're objecting to overthinking agonizing,waffling,dilly-dallying. You're aligned with Nikes" Just Do It !" Most card games are strategic, two exceptions:War and Slap Jack. Winning the former is just luck, how the cards fall; winning the latter depends on reflex speed. Even Go Fish takes a little thinking.

Like you I tend to get antsy with slow play.
One reason I prefer Boggle, 5 x 5 to Scrabble is there's no waiting for your turn. Every player is working on the same layout at the same time, in the same three minutes.

you give me pause for thought

osso, No porches in my neighborhood. Gin was always an indoor game for me.

Good for you, dj. Don't get caught up in the morass of thought. It just weighs you down. Of course, you don't wanna be thoughtless (insensitive.) But that's another matter.

Nextone, I am objecting to overthinking, agonizing, waffling, and dilly-dallying. But sometimes the other player isn't doing any of those things. The other player is just too steenkin' slow. Ooooh. I hadn't thought about slap jack in decades (it seems like centuries). Ouch (I'm not all that wll coordinated.) Go fish takes remembering. You pick a ten from the deck. Did somebody ask for tens? Boggle is a good game. Just one minor problem. I write so fast that I can't read what I wrote. I like Perquackey. There's a timer.

Miss Toad, No thinking allowed. No homonyms allowed.

Does anybody get the feeling that I'm not a patient person?

In golf, there are time standards one must meet under penalty of death. (Just kidding about the death!)

Pro's are often "put on the clock"...and can be penalized for slow play.

In the duffer's game...slow play is usually discouraged by a ranger who is out there to see that each group stays immediately behind the group in front of them.

Golfers usually are a very understanding and friendly lot...but slow play can test them.

Chances are, they're doing more than one thing. They're either playing multiple games, or web browsing between turns.

slow Scrabble players drive me mad

I like the online version based in Romania the best - you can set the amount of time you are willing to play for an entire round. i.e. you can say you want to play Scrabble with people who want to play their entire game with 5 minutes in total per player (or more or less) - it's more like official tournament play that way - except you can really push the time limit down

I'm working on conquering the 3 total minutes per player level. I'm not there yet - 5 seems to be my current threshold. 4 minutes I can occasionally win, 3 is still past me.

You do have to be sure that you've got a very stable internet connection to play.