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This reminded me of an article in WSJ a few years ago that “Bridge is the ultimate war game”. > Great bridge players are great liars—as are brilliant military

by Hayvok 4y ago

This reminded me of an article in WSJ a few years ago that “Bridge is the ultimate war game”. > Great bridge players are great liars—as are brilliant military leaders and diplomats and politicians. > No board game can replicate the conditions of the battlefield or the maneuvers of geostrategy, for one simple reason: All of the pieces are visible on the table. The linked article talks about these ideas in more depth and compares bridge to other games like poker, chess, and go. Makes me want to give it a go, for sure. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bridgenot-chessis-the-ultimate-war-game-1431899680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/bridgenot-chessis-the-ultimate-...

bombcar 4y ago
It’s not true that all board war games are perfect knowledge - things like Napoleon at Marengo have army markers that face the player so the other player doesn’t know what the strength is (could even be a blank as a feint). Various other war games implement different forms of fog of war that can be quite strategic. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15839/bonaparte-marengo https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15839/bonaparte-marengo
brobinson 4y ago
> No board game can replicate the conditions of the battlefield or the maneuvers of geostrategy, for one simple reason: All of the pieces are visible on the table. Uh, Kriegsspiel chess? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegspiel_(chess) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegspiel_(chess) Maybe a combination of Chess960 + Kriegsspiel would be even better...
- amelius 4y ago
  And how about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratego https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratego
  - brobinson 4y ago
    All the pieces are visible on the table in that, though, even if you don't know what they are. Kriegspiel chess has an empty board.
scottLobster 4y ago
Uh, what about games like Monopoly that have a huge luck/negotiating component? Even in board games where all the pieces are visible, it is possible for a skilled opponent to feint or obfuscate their strategy.
jabl 4y ago
There's the board game Diplomacy, reportedly a favorite of JFK and Kissinger. Yes, all the pieces are there on the board for everyone to see, but the whole point of the game is the secret negotiations with the other players.

by Hayvok 4y ago

bombcar 4y ago

It’s not true that all board war games are perfect knowledge - things like Napoleon at Marengo have army markers that face the player so the other player doesn’t know what the strength is (could even be a blank as a feint). Various other war games implement different forms of fog of war that can be quite strategic. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15839/bonaparte-marengo https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15839/bonaparte-marengo

brobinson 4y ago

> No board game can replicate the conditions of the battlefield or the maneuvers of geostrategy, for one simple reason: All of the pieces are visible on the table. Uh, Kriegsspiel chess? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegspiel_(chess) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegspiel_(chess) Maybe a combination of Chess960 + Kriegsspiel would be even better...

amelius 4y ago
And how about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratego https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratego
- brobinson 4y ago
  All the pieces are visible on the table in that, though, even if you don't know what they are. Kriegspiel chess has an empty board.

scottLobster 4y ago

Uh, what about games like Monopoly that have a huge luck/negotiating component? Even in board games where all the pieces are visible, it is possible for a skilled opponent to feint or obfuscate their strategy.

jabl 4y ago

There's the board game Diplomacy, reportedly a favorite of JFK and Kissinger. Yes, all the pieces are there on the board for everyone to see, but the whole point of the game is the secret negotiations with the other players.