[MISC] Point Systems

     Wanna watch me take my life into my own hands?  Anyone?  Okay, here

goes....

     Stargrunt II needs a point system.

     Why, you ask?  Or scream, as the case may be?  Because people THINK

that it does.  Does that make any sense at all?  Probably not, so let me

explain.

     Historical gaming has a context, generally.  If you want to play 
Fire and Fury, there is a wealth of historical data available to you 
about how the Union and Connfederate forces matched up.  Same with the 
Napoleonic era, or with WWII.  The better known fictional battles have 
pretty much the same information available: How well do Earth Alliance 
ships perform against the Mimbari?  Thus, in all these cases, players 
have at least some idea of the relative faults and merits of any given 
force.

     That's all well and good, but what about SF games?  The ones 
without a pre-established fictional background?  Tell me, anyone, pound 
for pound, whose troops are better?  The NSL, or the NAC?  I don't know.
 
Do you?  There is no context upon which to judge them.

     Because of this, the general consensus is that SF games need a 
point system.  I will not argue the rightness or wrongness of this 
position: it is irrelevant, in any case.  What matters in this case is 
what people THINK is true.  I wish that this was not the case, but there

you are.

     You can say, of course, that this does not matter.  Real battles 
don't work that way; no one really knows the worth of his foe until he 
meets him upon the battlefield, right?	Right.	However, this IS a game 
that we are speaking about.  And games are...different than reality.

     A lot of people on this list are guilty of thinking that there is 
really only one way to game--purely and simply for the pleasure of 
playing.  Hell, that's how *I* game!  And how most of the people on the 
list game, as well.  What we have to remember, though, is that is not 
how a lot of gamers, especially young gamers, play because they want to 
WIN.  Immature?  Perhaps.  But competitve gaming is as valid as any 
other way of playing.

     And, more importantly, to a lot of people the ONLY reason to play a

game is in order to win.  After all, to the man (or kid) on the street 
that's what playing a game is all about, isn't it?  Because SGII makes 
determinations of "fairness" difficult, at best, without extensive 
experience with the game, many people instinctively shy away from it.  
How many people on this list have wncountered people who refused to try 
SGII simply because it has no points system?  I've met more than a few, 
myself.

     What would the addition of a point system do to SGII?  Well, for 
one thing, it would broaden the player base.  This, simply, is a Good 
Thing.	Firstly, it would put more money in Mr. Tuffley 
pockets--something that we are all, I think, in favor of.  Secondly, it 
would give us all a lot more potential opponents.  Sure, we might have 
to civilize them a bit, but it would be a start, wouldn't it?

     DSII and Full Thrust poth have point systems (or did--I have not 
seen the Fleetbook yet, alas....), and I have heard no one complaining 
aboutn them.  Hell, I remember a LOT of people complaining about how 
unbalanced the Kra'vak are, points wise.  Can everyone here honestly say

that they don't use those point systems at all?  I know that even John 
Atkinson, our resident curmudgeon, uses the DSII point system...and if 
HE does, well!	ANYone would.

     All in all, I think that the addition of a point system to SGII is 
a win-win proposition.	You like being outnumbered?  Give your opponent 
twice or threee times as many points as yourself!  Or experenced players

can simply disregard the point values!	For us, it really doesn't 
matter...certainly nothing will be harmed by it.  For the newbies, 
though, it can make all the difference in the world.  And if it causes 
even one new player to pick up the game and give it a shot, it has 
proved its worth right there.

Tom Sullivan
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy, and good 
with ketchup."

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