[Castout]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

Just play the computer game already

The following I learned just by playing ONE boardgame called Shogun, a German game with Japanese theme
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20551/shogun

That one game has taught me ALL the following:

1. It has taught me to always be under the blanket in life pursuit and not to attract unwanted attention or threaten the enemy confidence that all of them would make some sort of unspoken deal to deal with you first and foremost PERSONALLY denying you victory no matter what. Do not make the enemy fear you or present an image of supremacy early in game! Stay low.
2. It has taught me that it is paramount to understand the enemy and try to guess his mind and plan and act accordingly to outmaneuver and thus surprise and outwit and defeat him by using his own plan to help you.
3. It's wise to appear weak and uninteresting with regard to possessions to the enemy so to distract him to other more worthy pursuit and other players. Give no reason why downing you is rewarding to him or present an impression that it is uninteresting and hardly rewarding to fight you. Make your possessions unregarded. Nobody would want anything that is not interesting and unrewarding
4. Draw your enemy when you need to. Set up trap. Present bait for him to take if he's static.
5. Make contingency always make contingency. No plan that's going to work 100% 100% times.
6. Expect the unexpected
7. Think outside the box, be creative in your approach to a solution or plan. Don't let your intention and plan be guessed.
8. Make a diversion when necessary. Fool the enemy to think that he knows your plan and intention to stop him from thinking your real motive.
9. Sometimes losing is advantageous. Sacrifices must be made to reach bigger goals.
10. Plan ahead. See what's coming in the short and long term and plan accordingly. Also make your plan according to your strategic insight and motive but be flexible to change them accordingly.
11. Take calculated risk. Life rewards those who dare.
12. If you can't win try to minimize your losses. It's not about winning or losing but how well you play the game.
13. If you fight the enemy long enough he will understand your stratagem and learn from them or even copy them. Don't use the same method. In life don't fight for too long so as not to allow him to learn. Finish the enemy as quickly as you can.
14. DO NOT engage in personal rivalry or vendetta. It will destroy both parties and give huge advantage to other enemies even if one won the rivalry. Rivalry is bad it is stagnation. Avoid it at all cost!
15. Do not try to defend the unwinnable unless without choice.
16. Do not attack the hardly winnable or leave the result mostly to chance/luck. It's important to put the focus and strength to plan and effort that would bear fruit otherwise it's stagnation. A pyrrhic victory is no more than a delayed defeat or another enemy's soon victory.
17. Those who stay out of most fight will emerge the strongest because its forces never get reduced and it could continue to build upon them so beware of enemy who stay out of fight mostly while you and others engage in conflict. Most likely he's trying to gain by letting everyone to destroy everyone else before he moves in after everyone's weakened.
18. Having only too little money left means not planning ahead. Having too much money means not doing enough!

*Note
No I don't copy this from Sun Tzu's Art of War. I hardly ever read Sun Tzu but the first few pages and I learned the above merely by playing Shogun. It has become my most favorite board game because it can teach you so much!

And now I know what strategy is.

You see computer games are merely and almost exclusively about entertainment while board games have a social, educative and psychological aspect to it. It can be a brain churner. It's just much much more fun.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I remember when it was released, and played it once with a friend. I wouldn't pay $20 for it. Kid's game. About the same time the same friend bought World In Flames. Now that was a strategic board game! On the other hand it needs lots of friends and lots of patience.

Ah thank you Steve your words in that post is gold you just confirmed my fear that it is a kid's game even though it seems many older people are playing it

Originally Posted by Raptor1

If you're looking for a more complicated strategic level board wargame, you could try GMT Games' A World at War, if it's still in print. We ran a game of it a while ago on these very boards and it was quite awesome (It should still be around somewhere too).

The only thing I'm trying not to buy paper map board game they are expensive for the mere paper map one's getting. I bought one paper map board game for 80 bucks and felt kind of cheated. I ended making a mounted map for it.