Comments on: Winning Sucks: In Defense of Defeat

By: tommtg

tommtg — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:59:59 +0000

Your right about physical cards being alot of money. But that feeling when I open up a brand new MTG booster box just gets me every time. I want to go for digital games but it doesn't have the same sense of collectability. Other than that. Awesome article I enjoy roleplaying while playing magic too. Sometimes a blue wizard raining death from above, but also sometimes as the army commander.

By: NO MORE MOVES Frustration | Unwinnable

NO MORE MOVES Frustration | Unwinnable — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 04:02:03 +0000

[...] losing is fine. It’s when your loss feels like it breaks or changes the rules that failure becomes frustrating. [...]

By: Everton

Everton — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:50:06 +0000

I admit I'm a bit of a sore loser, but how pissed I get by losing varies according to the opponent and the situation. When I lose to human opponents, I usually keep my cool, especially when my opponent is talented and skilled in whatever we're playing. But I get quite angry when I lose because my human opponent used cheap, stupid tactics instad of elaborating more. A good example of this is when someone spams the same move nonstop in a fighting game.
Now, when my opponent is the AI, I only keep my cool when the game *is* hard, like Dark Souls or Touhou for example, or when I'm fully aware that I'm not skilled enough at that moment. But when I know I can win, and that I'm losing due to lack of focus or sheer bad luck, then I get angry, really really angry.

By: @Rirath

@Rirath — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:22:08 +0000

Well written and interesting, but the 'winning sucks' angle is a bit much. Everything else I agree with. I frequently tell people about a 6 hour game of Talisman with my family where it all came down to a single roll of the dice as to who would ultimately win. My brother-in-law beat me, but the game was no less epic.

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:35:24 +0000

Great article Nick. As a competitive player myself I understand the compulsion to win, but much like you I have come to find that my favorite games of Magic are often the ones I lose.

By: Current Times 26 | this cage is worms

Current Times 26 | this cage is worms — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:37:51 +0000

[...] Nick Robinson has a bit on Unwinnable: “Winning Sucks: In Defense of Defeat.” There is always a danger in games to see oneself as a hero–part of the destructive logic of [...]

By: @chrisfurniss

@chrisfurniss — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:28:34 +0000

I prefer helping other people win by supporting them in some way. Which is why I played a Bard/White Mage in Final Fantasy 11.

By: kunzelman

kunzelman — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:52:46 +0000

This article is really great. I know this looks like spam, but I promise it isn't, and there is something really interesting going on with the idea that players are being trained to believe that they shouldn't lose.