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        Arimaa >> Say Hello >> Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
        
(Message started by: Simnik on Feb 13th, 2012, 8:03am)
Title: Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
Post by Simnik on Feb 13th, 2012, 8:03am
Hi people out there!

I have been playing this game for about 2 weeks now, and I feel it is time to say hello. I found Arimaa via an xkcd strip (#1002 (http://xkcd.com/1002/)), and after a few games I really liked it. So simple and logical rules, yet so much strategy and tactics. I haven't played that many games, due to self-postponed homework, but so far I really have enjoyed every one.

I have played some bot games, but haven't yet been able to defeat bot_arimazilla (I did once, but that was by illegal bot move so it doesn't really count). I hope I will not be stuck here for very long, I have been learning a lot until now.

I really like the games I have had against real humans. I am a bit surprised about now many people have been challenging me. So far I have mostly lost, but have won a few. I just won an auto-postal game against alih, which I have been very concentrated about (game 215377 (http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=215377&s=b)). I have learned a lot from seeing what other people did in certain situations.

I will enjoy hanging around here, there seems to be a good community around a very good game.

Simnik

PS: Am I pronouncing Arima right when I do it like this: [a'ri:ma]
Title: Re: Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
Post by Fritzlein on Feb 13th, 2012, 12:09pm

on 02/13/12 at 08:03:54, Simnik wrote:
Hi people out there!

Hello and welcome!


Quote:
I have played some bot games, but haven't yet been able to defeat bot_arimazilla (I did once, but that was by illegal bot move so it doesn't really count). I hope I will not be stuck here for very long, I have been learning a lot until now.

Don't worry; you'll get over the hump soon, either by reading or practice.  Have you looked at the Arimaa Wikibook yet? http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Arimaa


Quote:
PS: Am I pronouncing Arima right when I do it like this: [a'ri:ma]

On the home page, there is a video in the middle of the page.  In the video you can hear how one person pronounces Arimaa.  I pronounce it about the same way.  http://arimaa.com/arimaa/
Title: Re: Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
Post by Adanac on Feb 13th, 2012, 12:29pm
Welcome to exciting world of Arimaa and it’s great that XKCD attracted so many new players, including yourself.  Arimaa was also mentioned in the novel “Edge” by Jeffrey Deaver (who also wrote the latest James Bond book) but the XKCD mention probably brought in 100 times more new players.  I had no idea so many people read XKCD and I was even more surprised by how many were curious enough to research the game.

I completely agree that Arimaa’s simple, logical rules make for a very addictive game.  And yes, the depth of the game is amazing – I’ve been playing for seven years now and I FINALLY now feel that I have a decent understanding of the opening strategies. It’s easy to get confused/frustrated about what to do in the opening when your opponent is strong enough to thwart all your obvious plans.

If you’re interested in playing more games versus human players, here are some upcoming events:
-      Postal Mixer in April.
-      World League which officially runs during the middle of the calendar year but usually there’s a 2nd season in the fall.  There are 4 teams to choose from and most Europeans choose…Europa.
-      I’m thinking of organizing a 2-year tournament with a series of head-to-head knockout matches.  I’ll post more details this afternoon.
-      If you feel you’re ready for the 2013 World Championships after another year of practice, you can sign-up either in December, or maybe even next January.  This year’s cost was $80 which scared some people off but next year will be much more affordable, from what I understand.  You can have an exciting time in the World Championship even if you don’t expect to win it all.  You’ll get plenty of challenging games and you may even get commentary & large audiences which is always fun. Plus you can review the audio/video files later the same day to learn what the commentators were saying during each move.  You can learn a lot from that experience and you’ll always hear good ideas & suggestions that you overlooked during the game.

Your pronunciation of Arimaa sounds the same as almost everyone else’s I believe.  Originally I thought it was air-ee-MA but now I’m glad the correct emphasis is on the first syllable.
Title: Re: Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
Post by Simnik on Feb 14th, 2012, 8:24am
Thanks for the replies!


on 02/13/12 at 12:09:47, Fritzlein wrote:
Don't worry; you'll get over the hump soon, either by reading or practice.  Have you looked at the Arimaa Wikibook yet? http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Arimaa

I have seen it, but haven't got the time to read it, due to my previously mentioned self-postponed homework. I will look at it once I get the time. So far, finding out strategies on my own have also been quite educational. About Arimazilla, I have already beat it twice, so things are going well already.


on 02/13/12 at 12:29:14, Adanac wrote:
I’ve been playing for seven years now and I FINALLY now feel that I have a decent understanding of the opening strategies. It’s easy to get confused/frustrated about what to do in the opening when your opponent is strong enough to thwart all your obvious plans.

I also find the openings the hardest. If I let my camel out, it gets in trouble, and if I don't, the enemy invades my side, giving his pieces space to advance. There are so many possibilities, but you have no clue on what is best to do.


on 02/13/12 at 12:29:14, Adanac wrote:
If you’re interested in playing more games versus human players, here are some upcoming events:
-      Postal Mixer in April.
-      World League which officially runs during the middle of the calendar year but usually there’s a 2nd season in the fall.  There are 4 teams to choose from and most Europeans choose…Europa.
-      I’m thinking of organizing a 2-year tournament with a series of head-to-head knockout matches.  I’ll post more details this afternoon.
-      If you feel you’re ready for the 2013 World Championships after another year of practice, you can sign-up either in December, or maybe even next January.  This year’s cost was $80 which scared some people off but next year will be much more affordable, from what I understand.  You can have an exciting time in the World Championship even if you don’t expect to win it all.  You’ll get plenty of challenging games and you may even get commentary & large audiences which is always fun. Plus you can review the audio/video files later the same day to learn what the commentators were saying during each move.  You can learn a lot from that experience and you’ll always hear good ideas & suggestions that you overlooked during the game.

It do surely could be fun to participate in a tournament, but I would rather not commit myself very much, especially not far out in the future. I will keep these tournaments in mind, since I could very well change my mind once I get better. About the World League, then how would a newcomer fit in in a team-based competition?
Title: Re: Simnik says hello: "Hello!"
Post by Adanac on Feb 14th, 2012, 9:12am

on 02/14/12 at 08:24:28, Simnik wrote:
It do surely could be fun to participate in a tournament, but I would rather not commit myself very much, especially not far out in the future. I will keep these tournaments in mind, since I could very well change my mind once I get better. About the World League, then how would a newcomer fit in in a team-based competition?


In the middle of the first forum page there's a section "Team Games", and then a link to 2011 Arimaa World League.  There are 4 team forum pages for Europa, Rockies, Atlantics, Ring of Fire.  If you click on one of those threads and then ask to join the team....well, it's that easy -- you're on the team.

There are 6 rounds each season.  Each round, your team plays 3 games.  So players will volunteer and each captain selects 3 players for that match.  Your team will receive points for victories and then the team with the highest score at the end of the season wins the bragging rights.  Teams have a rating budget so there will be a balance of experienced & new players every week.  Trust me, teams are always searching for lower-rated new recruits, otherwise it's a struggle to stay within the budget.

Here's a link to the league rules on the Wiki:
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/mwiki/index.php/2011_AWL_S2_League_Rules


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