Yay extremely picky: is war gaming a sport?

[Eric]

You cannot have an element of chance in a sport, unless it is modified by skill.

Do you mean that skill can be used to overcome the chance? The elements add a degree of randomness to many sports - toss a coin to decide who kicks off or which team gets the end of the pitch with the sun in their eyes, quality of the ground, etc. So wind, rain and the rest might add a degree of unpredictability, which could impact one or both sides, are dice a simulacrum of that in our scale games? I suppose (and I am playing devils advocate here) you might argue that a very skilled gamer can handle poor dice rolls through better tactics, ie their skill modifies it? Although I suspect that is limited to a degree, those Snotlings are not taking down the Titan...

Mainly arguing here so I can claim to be a sportsman at last of course

 

[ManicMan]

no dice based sports? funny you should say that... but we will get very much more messy then already is if we start to go down there cause it very much comes into differences between countries and stuff.

also mind sport is sport. clue is in the title.
like how war games are still war gaming, despite a few issues.

also also, yep, going with Eric in that how much randomness is in 'sport'.. very much alot... I can refer you to some of the statistician teams which pretty much all major football clubs have. that's some bloody complex math and takes into account the large amount of randomness. very interesting guys if you are into that kinda stuff.

I wonder if we can find some army guys who would love to moan if you claim combat is very much only luck based ^_^

 

[Rogue Blooper]

Do you mean that skill can be used to overcome the chance? The elements add a degree of randomness to many sports - toss a coin to decide who kicks off or which team gets the end of the pitch with the sun in their eyes, quality of the ground, etc. So wind, rain and the rest might add a degree of unpredictability, which could impact one or both sides, are dice a simulacrum of that in our scale games? I suppose (and I am playing devils advocate here) you might argue that a very skilled gamer can handle poor dice rolls through better tactics, ie their skill modifies it? Although I suspect that is limited to a degree, those Snotlings are not taking down the Titan...

Mainly arguing here so I can claim to be a sportsman at last of course

There is chance and luck in everything of course, and sports and games specifically control that through rules e.g. ball bouncing off a spectator into a goal doesn't count as a goal.

I would argue that conditions affecting a game affect the level of skill needed for both sides, but rules stipulate that all else must be equal e.g. changing sides halfway through a match to reduce bias from a sloping pitch, from sunshine etc.

Games typically allow a random element that only affects one player, e.g. dice roll, draw cards. The level of skill varies a lot, from snakes and ladders being only chance to poker for which skill is clearly involved. Look at the controversy created when different shoes or swim suits are used in the Olympics - everything should be the same in a sport apart from the competitors.

I hear you on mind sports @ManicMan but I'm not convinced e.g. war games aren't war just cause war is in the name, and the mind games organisation isn't something I've voted for.

 

[ManicMan]

^_^ while it might seam funny, I'm not on either side really. I'm more on the side of 'what Am I missing in trying to figure this out and just what is what, and can others with different view points say something which I can't counter.' If you can counter an argument, then it kinda falls down. Though I admit, I'm not fantastic at the scientific method.

I always like that on football, they change sides half way, helps balance it up a bit, though by that point, the pitch is in worse condition then it was at the start, though on both sides, depending on how the players were playing, though reminds me of some issues with things like F1 racing.. way too much of it is down to the engineers of the car, which the racers themselves have no choice in. If they are team ford, they have to use a ford car with the sprocket high or low, the tires in a certain way etc, when it would be more skilful to the racers if all of them used the SAME car.. that would balance it into a game about the skill of the driver.. but it's about the skill of SOOO many independent factors... Whoa.. having flash backs to my gonna be a while before article on Attackix.. where the figures themselves are a major factor (with moving arms and stuff, how you pose them at the end of their movement, how balanced the figure is, etc, can decide if it survives a turn or not.. as well as how steady the hand and aim is of the player.. I really gotta get some tying up done to get them photos I want done..