h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Why people wargame - A688962
Author: The Wargamer - U188882

I hope this'll catch your eye, enjoy!

* Sound of cavalry arriving from the other side of the hill *


Well observed and analyzed! That's about what people makes wargame, and don't ask me how many opposing red and blue fleets I've sunk in my lifetime .

Alas, you don't mention computer games (and there's a whole lot of them). Plus, entries for the Edited guide are written in full sentences (3rd person) - you ought to put *verbs* in there!

May I suggest you read some of the entries on the ComingUp page to get an idea of the style?


Now that's a challenge!

Verbs? Aaagghhh! What are thay again?

I'm working on fixing the entry. I've just updated it with a bit about Computer Games and also Role Play Games. Tell me what you think!

Yepp, you're on the track

However, the main point (why do people do it) would need some more words to it. I'm thinking along the lines of
- expanding the points about martial arts (still verbs missing!).
perhaps adding something about
- the need to get rid of surplus adrenalin (imagine your boss had a bad day and let you feel it)
- inherited drive for fighting (this idea struck me when I saw some young boys doing their first experiments with construction kits. Guess what they built first... weapons!)

You can find help in the Guide too, there are oodles of edited entries about computer games and quite a few about martial arts (perhaps add links to them as examples):
A169346 A History of Computer Games
A206632 Castlevania - the Computer Game Series
A207280 Ultima - the Game for PCs
A209062 Dungeons and Dragons - the Game
A264359 How To Run a Live Action Role Playing Game
A271748 War - the Game
A295391 Gorkamorka - the Strategy Game
A295409 Necromunda - the Strategy Game
A308332 Air Attack - the Computer Game
etc, etc...

A132850 Judo
A337123 Aikido
and last but not least:
A649749 The Ultimate Martial Art?


GuideML:
You can add links to these by using Title of Entry

Paragraphs are looking better if you wrap and around them (just like the codes)

Lists can be done with the (Unordered List) tag:

first list item
second item






Bossel

Hi Wargamer!

Are you intending to put any of Bossel's excellent suggestions into this entry. There doesn't seem to have been any movement on it for some while.

If you are intending to amend the entry, I would suggest putting a definition of wargaming at the top. You seem to have spread the definition a bit wider than is usual (eg rugby) - although I agree that most sports have a tribal aspect to them, including chess, which I don't think you have mentioned.

Woah! This entry's still here!? It's been /ages/ since I looked at it! Sorry, but I've been really tied up... I'll try to get back to it, but I don't think I have the time...

> "deep down, everyone wants to hurt someone else"

Well that's a generalisation...

Re: computer games

IMO, You've confused 'god games' with 'real time strategy'. God games include Civilisation II, and typically have a much broader focus. Real time strategy often features units which are partially independant: able to act on their own, as well as receiving commands from the player. God games are also frequently single player, rather than multi-player. There's also 'turn based strategy', which is less popular, but arguably requires more intelligence.

Personally, I think you're losing your focus from wargames towards the broader realm of violent games. To be sure, boxing is violent, but one-on-one combat isn't war. You could possibly have Rugby, though, and other team games.

Conversely, chess is a classic war game, yet it involves no overt violence at all (except kicking under the table).

Am I making any sense? I think not...

A630497 is the Edited RTS entry.

I would also not state that in nature male animals are stronger. Most of the male animals are indeed weaker and are 'nothing but' semen donators. That is not true with mammals, here, there is no or only little difference in strength. Primates (including human beings) are no exeption. There is a cultural difference, a specialization of tasks, that is, men go hunting, women take care of the offspring. Males protect the tribe, women do the cooking. And so on. In principle men are a little more prone to develop muscular mass (due to the less complicated hormone metabolism), however, this is not really significant. Furthermore you should take into account that the human species has not thrived on the basis of muscular strength but in cleverness, which is where we return to wargaming. It's not just the hurting, killing and hunting that appeals to our animal instincts. It's the defeating, the humiliating, the conquering. Those are definetly of psychological magnitude. In my experience women are better at that.

HELL

Uh-Oh... Bossel's PR-Filter(tm) is lurking...

Hello, WarGamer,

Did you ever look at this entry again? Are you still nursing it?

HELL

Even if sie is, sie can nurse it just as well out of Peer Review...

Bossel's soon taking care of this I suppose...

Just adding my voice to this one as I may be interested in continuing this entry if it gets farmed out to the Flea Market...

No, I wasn't pointing at the Flea Market or somesuch. It was only meant as a reminder/wake-up nudge to wargamer that there still is something to take care of.

er... any news on this one?

I shall keep quiet...

Is the original author around at all?

looks like that, yes.