2023-12-24

• Recently, Elena and I did a board game night with some of her friends. We played a game I like called Skull. It was the second time I had played. And it was the first time for everyone else. This game me somewhat of an advantage, but was mostly just a really interesting view into how people learn to play this game well. The game is a nice mix of luck and strategy. And the strategy part is particularly interesting. Usually, in games where strategy or skill is involved, it isn’t very interesting to play when people have significant skill differentials. But this game is different. It involves skill but also is fun to play with folks of varying skill levels. The thing that makes it interesting is that each iteration of the game is slightly different from previous iterations, no matter the skill level of the people involved. How does this work? Well, the skill of the game is around correctly modeling the thought patterns and subsequent choices of players under uncertainty. If you can accurately predict what people will or won’t do in a given situation you will have an upper hand (tho, even in the best case you are not guaranteed to win, luck plays a noticeable but not overpowering role). The thing is that the model you have to maintain of other players thoughts/expected behaviors has to update with every round. Because each round all players reveal information about how they play, what they are capable of, what risks they take on and avoid. And that information is then fed back into each players model, which changes how they will behave and respond to similar situations going forward. The game is new/fresh at every step because the players involved are constantly growing and developing in their approach and strategy. Just when you think you know when someone is going to zig, they have realized that they always zig at that time, and decide to zag instead, and the surprise of it all is fun and exciting. It’s a great game. So much fun.

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