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There are a lot of comments mentioning Threes! and holding it up as superior. I play a lot of games, and I greatly prefer Threes myself -- but I also remember v

There are a lot of comments mentioning Threes! and holding it up as superior. I play a lot of games, and I greatly prefer Threes myself -- but I also remember very well when 2048 came out; I was in college, and 75% or more of my dorm had no interest in Threes and preferred playing and remixing 2048. Threes is very stressful and intense, while 2048 goes straight for your brain's pleasure centers, like many other mobile games nowadays. There's value in that. There's massive value in 2048 that Threes! does not capture. Just because someone spends a lot of time designing something, it does not entitle them to attention or praise. Many great artists get famous for works they absolutely hate. Gabriele has been consistently courteous about all of this for 10 years, and I'd suggest people here could be a bit more courteous to him too.

bryanlarsen 2y ago
To me, Threes poorly straddles the middle ground between a "real game" and a "time filler". If I want a "real game" I'll play Factorio or something. When I need a break from mental work I can pull 2048. I rarely want anything in between.
- MattRix 2y ago
  Lots of people do want that “middle ground” game, especially people who exclusively play games on mobile rather than PC or console.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - MattRix 2y ago
      [flagged]
      - dspillett 2y ago
        An opinion was stated. An opinion that will no doubt be agreed with by many, me for one. But absolutely no claim was made that it is correct for all people. Or even most people. To answer your sort-of question: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… Those lots of people can play threes, or other games that exist in such a middle ground. Not every game needs to support every play style, nor does every person need to like every game. Or to be facetious and answer you in your own style: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… OK? But lots of people don't want the “middle ground” game, especially people who like more complex games on desktop/console and only simpler time-fillers on mobile. Or even more so: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… Yes… and?
        MattRix 2y ago
        Alright I'll admit the "Ok? But" was unnecessary, and I've taken it out.
- keeganpoppen 2y ago
  [flagged]
MattRix 2y ago
There is nothing wrong with pointing out the origins of ideas and concepts, especially on a site like Hacker News. 2048 was much more popular than Threes, often to the point where many people are unaware of Threes at all, so I think it’s important in these kinds of forums to make sure people know where the game idea came from, and that the originators get credit.
- pololeono 2y ago
  This manifestation of the threes trope below everything 2048 related reminds me of a comment I recently read below a Stephen Wolfram related post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41406645 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41406645 All: please don't repeat the usual Wolfram trope. (If you don't know what I mean by that, a decade's worth of explanation can be found via https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que....) The issue is not that it's wrong, it's that it's extremely repetitive and we want fresh discussion on HN, preferably about the specific content of an article.
  - samatman 2y ago
    I saw that comment but didn't follow the algolia link. I didn't realize Stephen Wolfram was dang's personal We Do Not Mention the Orangutan. I suppose that given the inevitable prevalence of clichéd back-and-forth tropes and exchanges on HN, there's little choice but to draw a line in the sand on specific versions and hope it serves as a stand-in for all of them.
    - dang 2y ago
      I don't know who the orangutan is, but that's just one of a thwack of tropes that make me wince on HN. A multithwack. A plenithwack. They can't be stopped but one can maybe dampen them a bit sometimes. Or not.
      - tptacek 2y ago
        TIL, and, on the off chance you didn't go look this up, it's extremely worth it: https://www.reddit.com/r/EdgarAllanPoe/comments/17cehq8/we_do_not_talk_about_the_orangutan/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EdgarAllanPoe/comments/17cehq8/we_d... (no matter whether it's true or not)
doppp 2y ago
Totally agree. I prefer Threes! myself but ultimately, the market determines what's fun. Grabriele has been so humble about his success and while I feel for the Threes! developers, they came across as exceptionally sore.
keeganpoppen 2y ago
there's also value in creating the "thinking man's" progenitor to 2048. both are extremely valuable. and if we're doing a weighing of the souls, 2048 probably wins. but you can't blame people on this site for gravitating toward the underlying ideas rather than their instantiation-- they're (ostensibly) makers, or at least moreso than the general population.

bryanlarsen 2y ago

To me, Threes poorly straddles the middle ground between a "real game" and a "time filler". If I want a "real game" I'll play Factorio or something. When I need a break from mental work I can pull 2048. I rarely want anything in between.

MattRix 2y ago
Lots of people do want that “middle ground” game, especially people who exclusively play games on mobile rather than PC or console.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - MattRix 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - dspillett 2y ago
      An opinion was stated. An opinion that will no doubt be agreed with by many, me for one. But absolutely no claim was made that it is correct for all people. Or even most people. To answer your sort-of question: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… Those lots of people can play threes, or other games that exist in such a middle ground. Not every game needs to support every play style, nor does every person need to like every game. Or to be facetious and answer you in your own style: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… OK? But lots of people don't want the “middle ground” game, especially people who like more complex games on desktop/console and only simpler time-fillers on mobile. Or even more so: > Ok? But lots of people do want that “middle ground” game… Yes… and?
      - MattRix 2y ago
        Alright I'll admit the "Ok? But" was unnecessary, and I've taken it out.
keeganpoppen 2y ago
[flagged]

MattRix 2y ago

There is nothing wrong with pointing out the origins of ideas and concepts, especially on a site like Hacker News. 2048 was much more popular than Threes, often to the point where many people are unaware of Threes at all, so I think it’s important in these kinds of forums to make sure people know where the game idea came from, and that the originators get credit.

pololeono 2y ago
This manifestation of the threes trope below everything 2048 related reminds me of a comment I recently read below a Stephen Wolfram related post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41406645 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41406645 All: please don't repeat the usual Wolfram trope. (If you don't know what I mean by that, a decade's worth of explanation can be found via https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que....) The issue is not that it's wrong, it's that it's extremely repetitive and we want fresh discussion on HN, preferably about the specific content of an article.
- samatman 2y ago
  I saw that comment but didn't follow the algolia link. I didn't realize Stephen Wolfram was dang's personal We Do Not Mention the Orangutan. I suppose that given the inevitable prevalence of clichéd back-and-forth tropes and exchanges on HN, there's little choice but to draw a line in the sand on specific versions and hope it serves as a stand-in for all of them.
  - dang 2y ago
    I don't know who the orangutan is, but that's just one of a thwack of tropes that make me wince on HN. A multithwack. A plenithwack. They can't be stopped but one can maybe dampen them a bit sometimes. Or not.
    - tptacek 2y ago
      TIL, and, on the off chance you didn't go look this up, it's extremely worth it: https://www.reddit.com/r/EdgarAllanPoe/comments/17cehq8/we_do_not_talk_about_the_orangutan/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EdgarAllanPoe/comments/17cehq8/we_d... (no matter whether it's true or not)

doppp 2y ago

Totally agree. I prefer Threes! myself but ultimately, the market determines what's fun. Grabriele has been so humble about his success and while I feel for the Threes! developers, they came across as exceptionally sore.

keeganpoppen 2y ago

there's also value in creating the "thinking man's" progenitor to 2048. both are extremely valuable. and if we're doing a weighing of the souls, 2048 probably wins. but you can't blame people on this site for gravitating toward the underlying ideas rather than their instantiation-- they're (ostensibly) makers, or at least moreso than the general population.