Playing Risk on Major Command after 5 years

Why am I still playing Risk on this site after 5 years?

by JCUK

JCUK avatar

 

Well it all began in 1996… just kidding, that’s how I started my first blog on Major Command. I just read that blog from 2017 back and it and had a little chuckle to myself. I thought it would be interesting for someone to read by first blog and then my views a few years later to see how my outlook has changed, if at all. Even I’m not 100% sure as I am penning this now.

My initial thoughts are that Major Command has changed a little, either that or I have, maybe a little of both. I have done some growing over the years. I suppose understanding who I am may help add some flavour to how you interpret my thoughts. I have a relatively late educational background having completed my first degree in my late 30s and then going on to complete two more degrees in the few years following. I am student of engineering, in the fact that I have been an IT Engineer for the last 25 or so years and love all things technical including engines et al. Although my main role is as a cyber security engineer, I completed an MSc in Leadership and Management with my dissertation based on Psychological Contracts in the workplace. A very interesting and enlightening subject. I have found that my research has helped me understand how people think and in particular what motivates them from a psychological perspective. It’s interesting watching people using psychology in games and in the forums and it often makes me smile as I’m sure it does you. My negative aspects are that I get into battles that I should walk away from as I feel I don’t suffer fools too well. In reality I should ignore them and walk away… occasionally I don’t and I hate myself for it. On a positive, I am told I am calming influence in a crisis and lead well. I think that has come from 25 years in the military and learning not to worry about things you can’t control and focus on what you can in the appropriate manner. This meaning that getting excited and angry won’t change what has happened but working calmly and methodically through the situation to resolve it. Yes…this totally contradicts my negative point but I think that’s because I am very much aware it, have learned from it and try to compensate. Well that’s enough of an expose, hopefully you will be able to understand why I think the way I do a little.

Firstly, what attracts me to Major Command and what probably keeps me coming back are the people. This site is an honest site, run very professionally, or at least as professionally as it can be for what is essentially a community site and the community is what makes it work with the busy owner ‘Sheriff‘ and the long standing ‘take no crap’ but honest and approachable Cardinalsrule steering the ship. I love the way that everyone gets a chance to screw up, learn the error of their ways, nothing more is said about it (too my knowledge) and the ‘let’s get on and play’ attitude. I say this from seeing a number of players blatantly cheating, the hammer coming down on them and then generally they play honestly there on in. Although I think we have all seen some of these players coming back under a different username to hide their shame, changing their persona to be avoid being discovered but really we know it’s them and ignore it as long as they play nice. I could honestly say there are a few players around here that are clearly older disgruntled players (of a different username) that have realised they just need to play nice but it’s interesting occasionally seeing some of their old unmistakable personality showing through. So why am I still here, well, all that said, this site still works as a community, people make mistakes and move on and we just keep playing.

So I left for around 12 months and had a break last year, why did I do that? I got to the point that I thought I was playing too much, it was a big part of my life as I know it is for many people here. Frustrations got to me and it was actually starting to affect me in the real world. I felt myself becoming argumentative in the forums and with people in general, this was not healthy. I reviewed why I play here and it was becoming more negative than positive so I made a decision to have a break, left the community, retired my account and got on with other things. I think being a tourney operator also has it’s stresses and I used to be very busy making lots of tournaments, responding to complaints which takes its toll on you. All I can say is that Sheriff and Cards have the patience of saints. As they will know, not all criticism is constructive and it does wear you down after a while. I have probably been one of those that has passed criticism over the years and hated myself for it after.

I think something I have learned is don’t be greedy, quality over quantity in the game sense. I used to have double the amount of games on the go and too many wears you down. My good friend F15 has suffered this and we have many chats about it, he reduced his game count and seems a lot more happy now, it’s great to be back playing with him again. I will also mention SamPaul who is another good friend I have on this site, we all met in a clan a few years ago and recently Sam came back from a break of a year and we have started playing triples again, good times. These guys are awesome and I love playing triples with them, win or lose, we have a laugh doing it… and that’s what it’s all about.

There are so many characters on Major Command, many come here for different reasons, escape the troubles of real life, to waste time, to meet new people and to challenge themselves. I can understand all those reasons as they are exactly why I am here. I will mention that many people I have played against over the years were just a name and it’s taken a long time to really get to know them and realise that they are genuine good guys. I now filter many of my games in the hope to be playing against these people and avoid many of the players that I don’t want to play against or with.

To answer the question I posed in the title: Why am I still playing risk on Major Command after 5 years? Hopefully some of this has come through in this blog but primarily it’s the challenge of the game and the good people that make up this community. I have learned a lot about the site and the way in which I play here, good and bad, and adapting my play and interaction on the site has made it somewhere I want to continue being a part of for the foreseeable future.

People Playing Risk Board Game

If you are having bad days, bad games, bad interactions… don’t let it consume you, take a break, change your games, people you play against and moderate your time on the site.

All the best

JC

ADDENDUM: FOLLOW UP FORUM POST FROM JCUK: A place where everyone knows your name!

Th-child Retiring at the Top of the Scoreboard

Happy Retirement to a Great Player!

Today we wish a happy retirement to a cornerstone of the Major Command team,

th-child!

th-child avatar

Th-child Posted his Official Announcement in the Forum:
Click Here To Read It

th-child has dominated the top of the scoreboard for countless months, and was an integral part of Major Command, both in front and behind the scenes. If anyone has ever played against him, you would know that th-child and dorcee were an unstoppable team.

RISK Game High Score

I know I got my butt kicked by them many times!!

My Pitiful Record Against th-child!

th-child joined Major Command a couple years before I became Sheriff. He had already been made an Admin staff member by Badorties before I came aboard, and was actively chasing down cheaters, keeping order in the forum, and generally making sure everyone was having a fun time…. and he did it all with a smile!

Despite the occasional troublemaking by disgruntled players, th-child always took care of business in a calm and collective manner. Which was an inspiration to watch when I felt myself beginning to lose my cool. And my guess is that his rational temperament, along with a keen sense of strategy, is possibly the key to winning all those games!

Rank of Major Commander
Rank of Major Commander

 

There will definately be a void felt in the Admin side of Major Command, and a void in the gaming side too… which leaves an opportunity for someone else to claim the rank of MajorCommander!

 

You can post your thoughts to th-child in several ways:

Now only a couple questions remain….

  1. When will he come out of retirement!?
  2. Who will take his place at the top of the scoreboard?
  3. And what the heck does the name “th-child” mean anyway?! 😀

Take care and have fun in whatever you do, and hope to see you soon again!!

I am the game of Risk Online

10 Commandments of Risk Online

by Redstorm
(Major Command Risk Game Player and Blog Contributor)

Light from heaven

NOTE: This article is purely for fun
with no intent to offend anyone’s religion.

1. I am the game of Risk Online. You shall place no other gods before me.

Well, when you hope and pray that the dice will be good, just exactly who are you asking for help? The dice, Zeus, Mighty Mouse and even, yes, God have all passed my lips when I really need that roll. My good luck charm probably fits in this category since it hangs right above my monitor. I do sneak around and play other games now and then as well. SINNER
lightening.gif
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

Oops. My game avatar is so cool that I couldn’t possibly live without it. The way the jagged lightning moves sends shivers down my spine. What harm could it possibly be doing to anyone? And the background color red really stands out to intimidate all my opponents. I just can’t play Risk Online without it. SINNER

3. Do not take the name of your Risk game engine in vain.
wash-mouth-with-soap.gif
How in the hell are you supposed to do this? Can you even get through one game without wanting to punch your monitor or your dog? The inexplicable dice rolls, your opponents not doing what you want them to do and, of course, the #%&ing site downtime. Whew, it’s enough to make you want to wash your own mouth out with soap. SINNER

4. Remember you have a real life and keep the game in the proper perspective.

Uhhh. SINNER

5. Honor your father and mother.

Hurrah, I got one this time. I love my parents dearly. Well, not answering the phone when they call while I’m conquering the known universe doesn’t count, does it? SAINT SINNER

6. You shall not kill/murder.
moses-10-commandments.jpg
Isn’t that the bloody point of playing Risk online? I mean, geez, how can you possibly win a game if you don’t kill a few troops, right? Silly commandant for a Risk player if you ask me. SINNER

7. You shall not commit the grievous crime of cheating on your game partner.

C’mon, you know what I’m talking about here. Did you really pass all the troops you could have to your struggling partner or did you hold back some? When you discuss strategy with your partner, are you thinking of the team or yourself first? There is lots of room for guilt here. SINNER

8. You shall not steal.

Take, conquer, overthrow, overwhelm are all very translatable to the word steal, you thief. It’s one of those immutable parts of playing Risk; you have to steal others’ territories to prosper. SINNER

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

I consider myself to be an honest and honorable player, really! Can I help it if another player takes everything I say during a game as gospel? Isn’t there some room here for a little disinformation tactic or two? SINNER

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s territories or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

RISK Board Game Commercial Gif

Guilty as charged. When I play I want it all. No apologies were given for that. SINNER

Where do you stand?

by Redstorm

The Psychology Behind Playing RISK

The Psychology Behind RISK

A short post for the community corner:

by JCUK

Psychology of RISK

The psychology behind playing RISK, the seen but not spoken….

RISK is a game of diplomacy, strength and threat. Not always obvious and sometimes people don’t see what is happening until it is too late. The best RISK players apply all elements of this strategy to best affect knowing which to apply and when. There are many players that discuss strategy such as ‘be every where and no where’ etc. What is never really discussed is the psychology behind some of these strategies.
Sun Tzu
‘Know your enemy’ Sun Tzu.
I have watched many players over the last few years, some recklessly lucky, some patient and strategic. Each of these players know who they are and how they play, what is constant is their general game strategy. Some will disagree but my observations are that many players very rarely change their strategy unless forced. I will not say that their strategy doesn’t change after being on the bottom, a bad run of dice or a lucky unpredictable player catches then off guard while they they are building and all is to play for.

Getting back to it, strategy, so what is this generally unseen winning strategy that is so successful? It’s the psychology of playing RISK that emotionally intelligent players understand so well. They are patient players that can see what is happening early and employ the right strategy early. Aggressive players go for a command early but can very rarely hold it. Intelligent players build boarders early with threat and use this as their tool enabling them to hold a command. Some call this bullying but at the end of the day this is war and war can be seen as unfair such as the dice. Nice guys lose wars! Don’t hit a guy with glasses, why? Because they have a vulnerability and it is seen as an unfair advantage and dishonorable. So how do you make yourself vulnerable without being vulnerable? Get your opponent to like you so they feel bad about attacking you, after all, that wouldn’t be very nice would it? Are they being nice because they like me or are they being nice so I don’t attack them? This is for you to work out but it’s interesting to watch from the outside when it is happening. The problem is, as your are watching it from the outside you are becoming a target from its effects. 4-6 player games of RISK are when this is seen to best effect.
RISK General Rank
Why do some RISK players never make General or even Major after being on this site for many years? In my opinion they are not patient enough, not in years, but in games. They want to win and get into the next game and win again, similar to the addiction of putting more money into the gambling machine. If there was a leader board for the most amount of money put onto a gambling machine they would be happy as they are at the top.

So why is patience important, it isn’t the thrilling part of the game, you don’t cover the map, so how can you win? It’s simple, stay small enough to grow and don’t be a threat. The threats become the target to other players, let them battle it out and slowly expand, their troops are busy elsewhere, plan your diplomacy’s to reflect this. Players will be comfortable with a diplomacy and often get into another fight and forget about that fact that their diplomacy will end at some point and being unable to show strength in the area to force a diplomacy renew. Great players will allow a diplomacy renew knowing that the opposing boarder will be even weaker the next time.
Sun Tzu
‘Know your enemy’ Sun Tzu. RISK is a game of attrition, let other players spend their troops and allow them to do it. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ Sun Tzu. This is only a drop in the ocean understanding the psychology of war, after all we can’t boil the ocean in a short blog. Things maybe not what they appear at first glance and don’t become a pawn in someone else’s game! RISK is a game of war and game of diplomacy, but don’t get the two confused!

Happy hunting!

by JCUK

Thanks for Everything

“Thanks for everything”

by ChefSmitty
(Long Time Major Command Risk Game Player and Valued Contributor)

 

“Thanks For Everything” is a message that was posted in the Private Support section of our Forums. ChefSmitty has graciously allowed us to share it with you.Originally posted in the forum on September 4, 2014
Howdy Sheriff,

I guess with the new regime taking over I feel the need to express my story to you guys, Sheriff or whoever might follow up on this.

I work in the food service industry. and I’m sure most of you have experienced this work yourselves, or at least know someone who has. It’s long, late hours. Staff usually consist of young “kids” needing a place to earn quick cash to well, party with. I used to be one of these kids. I did my time as the young and dumb and to be honest, I let it get the best of me. Long story short, I woke up one morning and realized that I was an alcoholic. It was a rude awakening that has seen many jobs lost, and a divorce that really sent my addiction into a tailspin. Anyway, October 12th will be 4 years of sobriety for me. Since then I begged my way into an opportunity to be Executive Chef/General Manager of a quite successful restaurant in my city. My girlfriend (who stood by me through all of this) have since bought a house and have a beautiful son Jackson who just turned 3. Yeah do the math, I can’t help think somebody was rewarding me for getting shit together. The hardest part of sobriety was not giving up the booze, it was finding something to do with the time I spent at the bars. It was finding an escape from a hectic and stressful job. Then came Major Command. I stumbled across the site by just wanting to play RISK online. It was a God-sent. I’m sure this sounds nuts to some of you, but it was the stress relief, the killing time, the thing that occupied me to keep me from temptation. I tell you guys this because though its just a game, and its just for fun, I just thought you should know that this little site has made a huge difference in someone’s life. You should be proud of it, as I’m sure in some way you may have helped someone else through tough times. Like I said; this might just sound crazy to you, but with everything I’ve have, I thank you. You have helped turn my life around.

So, I have had an issue with my payment before and brought it to Bado’s attention, as I feel I owe anything you ask from me to you. Believe me, I cant pay you enough for what this site has meant to me for the last 3 years. I’m just worried about games I’m currently in, or am awaiting, as I don’t want to be limited by them. Some are team games that would not be fair to the other players.

I’m sure you’re shaking your head wondering why this long ramble. I just thought the new regime should know that you’re doing good things for people…. and it is much appreciated!

Thanks for everything.
by ChefSmitty.