Reader Comment on Strategic Craps
by Mr JugglesGreat comment by marcel_marceau outlining the power of “Do you play this one?” on our Strategic Craps post:
The “Do you play this one” option is a classic demonstration of the teachings of Sun Tzu. By allowing the choice of whether or not to engage in battle, given a known dispursment of terrain and resource, one may regenerate situations until the circumstance is advantagious for victory.
Unless of course you choose wrong and a 7 way ass kicking ensues, ending with your hurling of mouse, docking station and Thinkpad across the neighbouring cube farm and the subsequent requisition of a wireless mouse to avoid the negative budgetary impacts of a repeat performance.
This is true and we refer you to more of Sun Tzu’s work on terrain selection which is highly applicable to Strategic Craps*.
The natural formation of the country is the soldier’s best ally; but a power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers and distances, constitutes the test of a great general.
*We are attempting an act of Wikiality, wherein if we say that something is not true, is true, it becomes true, because we, and other likeminded distorters of reality, have said it’s true enough. Hence, wikiality.
I prefer an anolgy from more modern times…
Risk:
1. Pick a map where you have dice in something that looks like Australia.
2. Capture Australia.
3. Dominate.
This is a good strategy. Another good strategy is:
1. Find a map where you do not have dice in something that looks like the Ukraine.
2. Not capture the Ukraine.
3. Dominate.