Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

In reading over issues regarding Glinski's Hexagonal Chess, my Catapults
of Troy, and Sam T's not-yet-in existence 'Crossing the Rubicon'
(including the well written Joe Joyce wargaming comment)... Sam now has
enough ideas and enough distance from Catapults of Troy that I feel I
should step out of this scene.  Also, in regard to all pieces moving at
once [on a side], I recommend looking at the game 'Conquest' by Donald
Benge.  In Donald's game you have Elephants, Chariots, Ships, etc.  His
later variant includes Catapults and Siege Engines.  Anyway, in that game
you can move several pieces on a turn.  Mr. Benge and I corresponded for
about a year in regards to Conquest and we tried to get it going in
over-the-board play in Ohio.  It didn't happen, no fault of the game
though... just too many couch potatoes in these parts... chess has even
dried up in my neck of the woods.  Anyway, back to the subject, the
Rubicon endeavor could end up being an effort to combine elements from
games of Glinski, Benge, and myself.  I tried a similar 'combo-concept'
when I created Shanghi Palace Chess.  Though I liked the results, many
others complained about it... I sure took a beating in the CV comments. 
May Sam's efforts go more smoothly than mine... I truly wish him well.

Sam commented that - 'It's a shame there isn't as much interest in board
games as there used to be in Ohio. I think this is because people are
playing online games instead.'  
GKG response: I need to clarify, it is really the 'my neck of the woods'
part of Ohio (east of Cleveland, along the Lake).  Other areas of Ohio:
Cleveland (south of it and west), Akron, Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnatti
seem to still be doing well at chess.  I managed to run a city club in my
area from 1996 up to 2005.  Even had rated USCF tournaments.... the last
one had 3 people sign up.  And the city's support for chess went
belly-up.

Sam also wrote: 'I never went for online games; if I am playing someone
at Chess and losing, I want to be 100% certain that my opponent is not
cheating so I can feel that he is winning fairly. I can never do that on
the internet. I think an essential human element is lost when people
interact with computer screens instead of real live people.'  
GKG response: I certainly understand.  I had actually quit playing on-line
and e-mail games for that very reason.  Then I was happy to find Chess
Variants and I thought, 'Great, games that computers can't play.'  But
then I found out that lots of games could be played by computers.... even
my own Pillars of Medusa (my first game)... I believe that the only true
fair games are the ones we can play over-the-board, face-to-face, in one
sitting (no adjournments).  But with players scattered all over the world,
we simply must be appreciative on the positive aspects of computers and
games which are:
1) they provide a means of playing against other people, all over the
planet
2) they provide a good training arena
3) they make for easier write up of game literature (chess books, etc)
4) they allow for the creation/presentation of complicated games, that
seem to need computer intervention in order to enforce actions that the
human-mind can find time consuming.  Time Travel Chess, for example, is
well at home on the computer...without it, the re-visiting of the past
becomes more time consuming and prone to error.
5) With this CV site (and possibly others like it) the computer provides a
means for us to quickly create and share new games. They allow for game
communications (talking) between players and developers, thus speeding up
game evolution.
I think these positives highly outweigh the one negative, which is that
some opponents might sit back and enjoy a burgandy, and while you think
you are playing against them, are instead playing against a silicon
monster.

Although it might be hard to tell whether an online opponent is cheating at
Chess, it is much easier for many Chess variants. When there is no strong
software available for playing a game, that's a good guarantee that your
opponent isn't cheating. In fact, I prefer to play some games online,
rather than against my computer, just because I know I can find a stronger
opponent in a human. Also, in my own case, I find that playing against a
computer lacks the human element of playing against someone online. It
isn't quite the same as playing against someone in person, but it does
let me play against people I would otherwise never even meet, and that's
a good thing.