Today we're going to talk a little about randomness and – specifically – why it's so strange that a lot of gamers dislike it.
If you were to take it upon yourself to wander through the darker annals of a site like BoardGameGeek, you may be inclined to believe that the many of the denizens of the forums are the kind of people for whom everything MUST be under their control. There is no room for chaos in their lives. All options must be visible at all times and any element that introduces even a smidge of randomness is evil and must be eradicated.
The most regularly noted offender is the humble dice. Whether it's the six-sided effort with its origins dating back millenia, the d20 that I keep in my pocket at all times (in case of RPG emergency) or anything in between, these little polyhedrons will send a large amount of gamers that little bit more batshit. I can guarantee that when it comes to any game that involves dice, you'll find someone out there who will dismiss it out of hand because "it's too random".
(As an aside, I have no truck whatsoever that you should refer to one of them as a die. Language evolves and I've been calling it a dice since I was a kid. Deal with it. [Puts on sunglasses])
Now, I can kind of see where these people are coming from. While for me the important part of playing a game is... well, the playing, for them it's all about mastering the game and (to a lesser extent) winning.
I don't give a crap. I just like hanging out with friends and playing stuff, and if I happen to pull out a victory once in a while then that's great. I'm never going to get annoyed if I don't win because it's not that important to me, but there are plenty out there who would crawl over broken glass to do so.
The weird thing is – as you and I know – that life is full of randomness. The cliche that you could be hit by a bus tomorrow is just that, a cliche, but there's certainly a possibility that it could happen. It'd be a very random occurrence but if the stars aligned you could well get flattened by a 42 to Didsbury. However, when it comes to games, whether you're playing something that reflects the real world or is deeply entrenched in some fantastical universe, the chaos is frowned upon. My question is why?
Image via Vegan Burlesque
Surely the joy of games is winning despite the chaos? Working within the confines of the rules presented to you but still managing to come out on top... it's a great feeling. That's when you can say that you have true skill in a game – manage to pull that off reasonably regularly and then, perhaps, you can call yourself a master.
You're never going to get total control over anything you play anyway because, regardless of the components included in the box, there's always something that is not just adding a random element – it's actively looking to beat you. I'm talking about your opponents.
There is nothing more random than a human being when it comes to games. You could roll a thousand dice, you could play a hundred cards, it doesn't matter – that human element can still surprise you.
Much as you may want them to constantly pull out the optimal move, they may not always do so. They may do something dumb because they think it'll be entertaining. They may indulge in a spot of kingmaking, meaning that you'll still lose even though you've done everything perfectly. People just can't be trusted to do what you want them to.
At least you know that rolling a standard dice is going to give you one of six results. That's a limited range that you can at least attempt to plan for. Try and figure out what your opponents are up to and you're really just wasting your time. Sure, you should give it a shot and work out what is most likely but don't go down the route of trying to figure out every single option – that way madness lies. Before you know it, you'll be melting down piles of dice and ripping up cards because they're the minions of chaos. Don't do that.
Boiling it down to a soundbite, there's bugger all you can do to eliminate randomness. Focus on working within the limits presented and deal with what's thrown at you. That's a much better approach than attempting to turn yourself into a supercomputer like something out of that scary bit in Superman III. Or, you know, you could just play a game for the fun of it. That's certainly an option.