GO (baduk, igo, weiqi) returns to Kumoricon! Want to play or help out?

[kagekara]

The strategy board game, GO, is back for 2009, and becoming a tradition at KUMORICON and other anime conventions! It's easy to learn and fun to play.

GO is thousands of years old! The game of emperors and samurai, it's played today around the world. GO was popularized by the anime, Hikaru no Go; you can see the game, and favorite characters, in the anime's final closing: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ebimV_aYuo

Are you a Go player? Want to play at the Con? Anyone willing to help out during a Saturday or Sunday afternoon workshop? Costumes a plus - your character probably plays Go!

P.S. Have you seen evidence that an anime character knows Go?
Shikamaru (Naruto): http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/amapal/anime/GoShikimaru.png

[ha~ma]

Go is pretty ludicrous, I don't know how it's fun as much as challenging.

[kagekara]

Go is pretty ludicrous, I don't know how it's fun as much as challenging.

Go's both fun and challenging for a lot of people, and in some parts of Asia, Go pros are treated like rock stars, so it must have something going for it, haha!

Anyway, it would be pretty boring if we all liked the same games... or the same anime, for that matter! Fortunately, Kumoricon provides a huge amount of anime, games, and plenty of other things to do, whatever you think is fun.

Hmm, I wonder how many different games are played at Kumoricon, with all the electronic gaming, RPG's, card games, etc?
^_^

[Higuma]

Go is fun. I have been teaching my kids to play

[ha~ma]

Go is pretty ludicrous, I don't know how it's fun as much as challenging.

Go's both fun and challenging for a lot of people, and in some parts of Asia, Go pros are treated like rock stars, so it must have something going for it, haha!

The thing is with go is that you have to dedicate your whole life to it if you truly want to understand it. If you really play Go your entire life is probably Go. I like to play a variety of games, and when I get into a game I want to explore it more / get into it more in depth. Unfortunately with Go the learning curve is incredibly prohibitive and the more you learn about the game the more complex it gets. Most games have a theoretical "ceiling" as to how good you can get, but Go is so abstract that the ceiling basically isn't there, making  it a necessity to continue to study new challenges and tactics. And it's not like I'm not up for a challenge here, I'm just saying do I want my only challenge in life to be Go? No. And yes Go pros should be treated like professional athletes and such. It's the psychological behemoth of all games. I never said anything was wrong with the game asides from how demanding it is.

[KogaRyu]

The thing is with go is that you have to dedicate your whole life to it if you truly want to understand it. If you really play Go your entire life is probably Go. I like to play a variety of games, and when I get into a game I want to explore it more / get into it more in depth. Unfortunately with Go the learning curve is incredibly prohibitive and the more you learn about the game the more complex it gets. Most games have a theoretical "ceiling" as to how good you can get, but Go is so abstract that the ceiling basically isn't there, making  it a necessity to continue to study new challenges and tactics. And it's not like I'm not up for a challenge here, I'm just saying do I want my only challenge in life to be Go? No. And yes Go pros should be treated like professional athletes and such. It's the psychological behemoth of all games. I never said anything was wrong with the game asides from how demanding it is.

LOL.  This is essentially why I stopped playing. After awhile I just didn't really have the time to dedicate to it in order to truly get better. I played Go nightly for about several months before finally stopping. Aside from playing online, finding people to play with can prove to be pretty difficult. Though the learning curve is what I think kills it for most.

[EggytheGreen]

can't the same thing be said of chess (when I think about it, most things are this way)?  you just need to play people about the same level as you for it to be more enjoyable...  to say you're not going to do something because you can't be the best at it seems... nonsensical...  especially for a game...

[DancingTofu]

Makes sense.  It's hard to enjoy playing a game when you're better than 99% of the people out there, but 90% of the other 1% can totally destroy you (random figures here, btw; just to demonstrate a mathematical point).  That's how Scrabble has become for me, which is why it has lost it's interest for me.  I can only enjoy playing against a very small amount of people who are actually at my level.  If I take my scrabble board with me to a meeting with 100 randomly selected people, the chances of me finding someone who can play at my exact level is nearly non-existent.

It's a lot easier to lose to a strong opponent when you're not a serious gamer.  It's a lot more daunting when you take games seriously, like ha~ma, KogaRyu, and I do.  Realising that, in order to beat a certain opponent, you'll have to practice, study, and observe for years of your life, while that opponent is working just as hard to improve his or her own skills, is demoralizing to say the least.  I still play Scrabble with my family, or with friends who I feel will be good sports if they lose by 150 points, or totally destroy me.  But it's not something that I can try to play seriously because there's just so much learning I have not done.

Chess, in my opinion, does not have quite the same strategic depth.  Certainly though, it exists under that same umbrella.  A person must, as ha~ma has already said, live Go to become a master of the game.

I might drop by for a few casual games of Go, though I'm a bit foggy on the rules.

[kagekara]

I can only enjoy playing against a very small amount of people who are actually at my level. ... A person must, as ha~ma has already said, live Go to become a master of the game.

I might drop by for a few casual games of Go, though I'm a bit foggy on the rules.

The rules are so simple it takes about five minutes to go over them. I should probably add them to the main post...

Unlike chess, Go has an excellent handicap system so people who are far weaker players than their opponent still have a shot at winning the game. I'm able to play people many ranks above me or below me on an even playing field.

Go games on smaller boards, 9x9 or 13x13, do not have the same degree of complexity (or take as long to play!) as full 19x19 games. A 9x9 game can take as little as ten minutes. I've seen kids playing together and having a great time.

In the past, workshop attendees have mostly been beginners, and play in the workshop itself has been on the smaller boards. People who know the game are welcome to play 19x19 on the side if they prefer, or at other times during the Con during open tabletop gaming. Lots of different games will be available!

[ha~ma]

I can only enjoy playing against a very small amount of people who are actually at my level. ... A person must, as ha~ma has already said, live Go to become a master of the game.

I might drop by for a few casual games of Go, though I'm a bit foggy on the rules.

The rules are so simple it takes about five minutes to go over them. I should probably add them to the main post...

Unlike chess, Go has an excellent handicap system so people who are far weaker players than their opponent still have a shot at winning the game. I'm able to play people many ranks above me or below me on an even playing field.

Go games on smaller boards, 9x9 or 13x13, do not have the same degree of complexity (or take as long to play!) as full 19x19 games. A 9x9 game can take as little as ten minutes. I've seen kids playing together and having a great time.

In the past, workshop attendees have mostly been beginners, and play in the workshop itself has been on the smaller boards. People who know the game are welcome to play 19x19 on the side if they prefer, or at other times during the Con during open tabletop gaming. Lots of different games will be available!

 Playing with a handicap in any game doesn't make you a better player or make higher level play more accessible to you. Handicaps in any game are kinda pointless if you are striving to be good at something. A win means nothing unless it earned in a zero sum environment.

[sakata1]

would it be possible to have a Go tourny some year at K-con?
 

[Seluecos]

I'd be willing to play ^^

Never really played much though XD

[kagekara]

would it be possible to have a Go tourny some year at K-con?
 

I don't know if someone will offer a Go Workshop in 2010. If you see one posted, do let them know of your interest in a tournament.

Even if there's not a workshop at the Con, Go equipment should be available in the Tabletop Gaming room. In the meantime, if you don't have a club where you can play, you might try out the KGS Go Server at http://www.gokgs.com.

[TanisNikana]

My help is discouraged here, yes?

If not, I'd like to help.