Friday Night Shots – If You Aren’t Playing the Game to Win, Are You Playing the Game?

I mentioned last week that this Boardgame Geek thread about unpopular opinions was going to be a gold mine for Friday Night Shots posts.

Lo and behold, here’s a second post!

Games are games, with winners and losers.

The cogent question this time around is “are you playing the game to win?”

An additional, and supplementary question, is how important is it to you to play a game to win versus just trying to have fun and enjoy the social aspect of the game?

That brings to mind a post that I thought I had written, but I can’t find, which basically asks “why do you play games?”

So let’s explore both of those questions in this post.

Because the basic answer to the original question is “yes, of course you are playing the game even if you aren’t playing to win.”

Though there is a bit of a caveat to my response on that one.

Are we just playing to win?

The object of a game is to win it, but what if there’s no way in Hell you’re going to, because you’re playing Cal in a game of Gaia Project, which you don’t know at all and he knows like the back of his hand?

Let’s explore that further.

Yes, games are there to be won and lost.

You should be trying your best to play well and hopefully win the game.

For many people, though, it’s the joy of playing that’s the thing, especially if you’re playing with friends and you love the socializing aspect of it.

If you’re just joining in the game and doing random shit, or not really thinking about your optimum moves, then maybe you should be doing something else.

However, if you’re honestly trying, but either the game is not something that you typically like, or is a type of game that you’re not good at, or maybe even you run up against a friend who is just light years ahead of your skill level?

There’s nothing wrong with losing in that respect.

There’s a difference between trying and failing, and not even bothering to try.

Games are not a social occasion just to sit there and not try.

If you’re going to do that, then maybe don’t play the game and just on the side and kibbitz or talk to other people.

But if you’re willing to give it a good attempt, even though you don’t know what you’re doing and you play really badly, then that’s awesome!

I love the fact that you’re trying something outside of your comfort zone.

There is a difference between not caring about winning, and not trying to win.

When I play games, I try to win.

I really do!

Even though it may not always seem like it.

Like in Heat.

How many times on this blog have I said “I suck at this game, but I really enjoy it?”

Too many times to count.

Sucking at a game is different than not trying, though.

I have seen some people who never win a game, and they’re perfectly fine with that.

I’d like to win a few here and there, but even I’m like that for the most part.

The play of the game, the social interaction with my friends, that is why I play games.

But it’s not the only reason.

I’d like to win.

I realize that it won’t happen very often.

But I try.

If I’m not trying, why not just go to get-together, sitting around in the living room and chatting away with everybody?

There’s also the same difference between “I don’t care if I win” and “I don’t bother to try and win.”

Any time I try to play any kind of economic game (like Brass Birmingham), I know my chances of winning are approaching zero percent.

I play that for the enjoyment (well, if I play it, which I don’t often because economic games break my brain).

I try to win, but there’s no way I’m going to.

One other way to look at it is what it does to your fellow players.

If you’re not actively trying to win, what does it say to them, who most likely are trying to win?

If one of the four players in the game doesn’t really care what they’re doing, is it really fair to them who are treating it like a game?

This is kind of a short post, but I feel like saying much more would just be repeating myself.

Almost all of us play games for the social aspect, but do you agree that you should at least try to win?

Even if we know we’re not going to?

Or do you think just participating

Let me know in the comments.