Good Game, Well Played

I stayed up way too late playing Dominion Online last night. I was just going to take a quick look at it, since it's free to play, but I ended up in a vicious loop; if I lost a game, I'd feel the need to try again, but if I won, I'd be pleased with how I played and would want to try and repeat my performance. While I lost far more games than I won (I was impressed with the AI, actually), it nevertheless ate up my entire night.

So either Dominion is a highly addictive game, or I'm just really stubborn. Maybe I have that competitive urge that supposedly all male gamers have? It's certainly possible. I know that when gaming with my friends I really focus on the game and I almost always play to win. I'll certainly help new players when they want advice, and I'm usually rather open about my strategies, too. I mean, really, if I can help my friends get better at a game that I like to play, they'll be more likely to beat me, and thus will be more inclined to play again. Nobody likes to get trounced at a game, especially when they feel the winner had an unfair advantage, like experience. I can relate to this; I know that I can get a bit sullen when I lose, though I like to think I'm fairly gracious in defeat. Well, most of the time. At least, when I feel the game was a close one. Let's face it, when losing feels like a foregone conclusion an hour before you finish the game, I think everyone is entitled to be a bit moody when the final scores are added up.

Still, it's a bit funny; outside of gaming, I love seeing my friends do well. Their well being brings me great happiness, and I'm thrilled when they succeed. So isn't that always the case when I'm gaming with them? Is it because I know that there are no consequences if my friends lose? Or is gaming the one medium where I can vent my frustrations and indulge my repressed selfishness? (As a side note, this dichotomy may be why I like cooperative games so much; I can be competitive and try to win, but I also get to see my friends do well and succeed.)

At the end of it all, I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer any of these questions. For one thing, I'm still pretty tired from my night of constant Dominion. (Oh dear... Out of context that sounds really bad!) Still, I do know that when things are going well for me in a game, I get excited and really pleased. Seeing a deck that I've built hum along, even if it's just for a turn. Or seeing everything fall into place in a worker placement game. Or even correctly divining someone's play before they make it. These are all thoroughly satisfying to me, as is winning a close game. Mind you, I also get a similar satisfaction from the sound of rolling dice or the feel of shuffling a deck of cards. It might just be a mild obsession with order and things falling into place. I honestly don't know.

I think what I can take away from all of this is that I should be able to find a similar satisfaction in seeing my friends win at a game. And, thinking back, there have been times when that has been the case. There are games that I've simply enjoyed playing, and the outcome hasn't really been an issue for me. Win or lose, I did something fun during the game, and even if the scoreboard didn't reflect it in the end, I know it was a good game. By contrast, games where I've just stomped my opponent have never felt as satisfying; sure, I won, but there was no challenge, no uncertainly. I just got lucky, and my opponent didn't. It almost doesn't feel fair.

As for those nail biters, where it could go anybody's way, where everyone played well and can feel proud of what they did? Those games are always the best, no matter who wins.

13/13