• monotremata@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    This is why I think Go is actually significantly more approachable than chess. With chess, you really need someone of very similar level; if one of you is a little better, that person will almost always win, and that’s often kinda boring for both of you. But Go has a handicapping system built in that makes it way more forgiving of differences in skill, so that you can both play a pretty challenging game. I think it’s contributed a lot to the culture around the game being more open and focused on teaching others, too.

    That said, there are still a lot of things that high-level players memorize. But it seems like there are a lot more folks just playing for the joy of the game, and at the low levels, those folks will often outplay those who get very into the memorization too early.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      My only problem with Go is that it can literally take days or weeks. That’s just more patience than I have with a single game. I love the concept, but the time required for a single game is just too much for me. Even played in chunks.

      • monotremata@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        It’s possible to play games like that, but most folks don’t. Even professional or tournament games are mostly played over the course of an hour or two; there are just a few extremely high level tournaments where the games are split over a few days. I’ve played a couple of postal games that went on like that, but people do that with chess too. All my in-person games have been under two hours, including in tournaments, and most under an hour.

        I’d encourage you to find a local Go club and check it out. As I say, the folks are very friendly and eager to teach newcomers.