MetaFilter posts tagged with strategy

Immortal Defense

Iridic — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:47:17 -0800

Immortal Defense, "the 'topping-out' of the tower defense genre," is temporarily available for whatever you care to pay.

Fluid dynamics and cybernetics!

cmoj — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:36:54 -0800

Creeper World Training Sim Something a little different for those who have been watching the Tower Defense genre's gradual stagnation. The full game is ten bucks from the makers.

I think, therefore I win

Molesome — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:38:25 -0800

Running since late 2006 under a Creative Commons license, Erfworld has now reached the end of book 1 in 150 pages of layered, fantasy roleplaying game ruled, pop-culture fuelled writing and consistently good, disarmingly cute artwork. Having previously been recognised in Time magazine's top 10 graphic novels of 2007 despite having no physical form. If web comics are your thing, this would be the perfect time to give it a go, I think you'll like it...

It's not about witches.

Caduceus — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:48:55 -0800

Almost-Friday-Flash-Fun: Hex Empire. A simple but engaging hexagon based strategy game. (via)

The Space Game

CrunchyFrog — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:06:15 -0800

The Space Game -- ~~Friday~~ U.S. Federal Holiday Flash Fun. This Flash game combines the resource gathering and management of a standard strategy game with the tower-defendiness of a tower defense game. Build a network of mining stations and solar collectors, and protect them from pirate raiders with repair stations and missile and laser turrets.

The War Of the Flea

The Whelk — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:45:34 -0800

Nano War: Infectious Flash Fun. Colonize blobs, send swarms, and win superior numbers. Free multi-player and level editor. Dangerously addictive. Found via this post. It ate up my entire Thursday and I felt the need to share.

Everybody wants to rule the world...

schyler523 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:45:17 -0800

Enjoy Risk? Then you may like Strategy Game Network [requires registration.] Strategy Game Network has similar gameplay and in addition to the classic map, there are many alternative maps. With 24 hour turn limits it isn't a huge time sink, just play a few minutes a day.

The "We Drink Your Milkshake Act" Passed

Eideteker — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:30:25 -0800

Oiligarchy is a resource management game reminiscent of their earlier McDonald's Game. Build your empire and keep the shareholders (all old, bald, white men) happy. Social activism wrapped inside an (admittedly simplified) game! via Make sure to remain politically active by funding both sides in each election (just in case). Be cautious with your resources at the outset; there will be plenty of time to indiscriminately rape the earth later, once you have tons of money and politicians in your pocket. And, most importantly, take the time to really enjoy yourself. You deserve it. You're making a difference in the world.

A-11 Offense

bigmusic — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:10:08 -0800

The A-11 Offense (All Eleven Players Potentially Eligible) is a new, scrimmage-kick formation based, offensive system in football... The Football Math.

McCain and the OODA loop

jrishel — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:46:03 -0800

John McCain was trained as a fighter pilot. Fighter pilot training is greatly influenced by John Boyd, who developed the OODA loop theory, which some say General Petraeus has adapted to the ground in Iraq, the real reason "the surge" appears successful. The OODA loop has been applied to business, computer security and now it appears that McCain is applying it to politics with some success. Obama has spent 19 months talking about change, and McCain and Palin have been talking about it for 2 weeks; Can Obama get back inside McCain's already tight OODA loop? It appears he's trying. By referring to McCain's recent attacks as "Dishonorable" the Obama campaign hopes to counter-act McCain's honorable military service.

insert extremely clever title here

infini — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 01:40:37 -0800

Fortunes are rarely won by playing it safe. On the contrary, the biggest fortunes have been won by those willing to step outside the box and change the way the game is played. Following are twenty-five business innovators of the past, present, and future whose stories are different in many respects, but all point to the same truth: Ingenuity, improvisation, and daring are more important than following the rules (even though you might find yourself on the wrong side of the law once in a while). Via Fortune. Despite its enormous popularity, Craigslist has not received a great deal of respect as a business. Part of the reason is that the world’s premiere classifieds service seems to go out of its way to avoid making a profit. Most of the service is free. (It generates revenue solely through small fees for apartment and job listings in select cities.) There is no advertising. No branding. No attractive user interface. In sum, Craigslist does not actively compete for business. Craigslist’s CEO since 2000, Jim Buckmaster says the key to their success is an anti-commercial value system based on three “ironies”: “the ironies of unbranding, demonetizing, and noncompeting.” Instead of going for the quick profit like other startups, Craigslist survived the dot-com boom and bust by providing a service as simply and straightforwardly as possible. Buckmaster says, “We’re definitely oddballs in the Internet industry, and we always have been. Lots of people made fun of us, especially at the height of the dot-com boom. Most of those people are out of business now.” Those values and that vision is Craig's. If anyone has a clue I'd be curious to know why CL has been represented by Jim instead of Craig?

The Last Stand 2

whir — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:14:56 -0800

The Last Stand 2 is a Flash game in which you play the survivor of a zombie apocalypse. During the day you search for supplies and other survivors; during the night you must fend off the zombies. Make it to Union City in 40 days. (via)

In the squares, not on the intersections, goddammit!

sonic meat machine — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:29:22 -0800

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, "International Chess" was the only widely known chess variant in the West. It had its problems. People tried to solve them. Of course, they could just play xiangqi instead. There's also janggi, Makruk, and the granddaddy of them all, chaturanga. Perhaps the most refined game in the family, however, is Japanese Chess--shogi. Shogi is a slower game than international chess, with few pieces able to range freely. Pieces remain in play throughout the game--captured enemy pieces can be "dropped" onto the board, using a move to do so; in practice, this thoroughly changes the strategy. Computer opponents aren't quite as good at shogi as they are at chess, probably due to the higher branching factor: even though pieces can't range as far, drops add a large number of possibilities to the game, particularly in the endgame. The game remains relatively unpopular internationally. "Western" Chess is played in most countries, including the Asian nations, and local variants (like xiangqi and Makruk) enjoy more popularity in their respective countries than shogi does. Even in Japan, shogi plays second fiddle to Go. Still, the game has its charms, and you might play a game or two to get a feel for it, though Kurnik lags significantly behind its go-specific brethren in terms of interface and features. Who knows, though? Soon there could be a boom in popularity. Shion no Oh is an anime with shogi as a central theme. Hell, it worked for Go, right?! Of course, Go never seemed to have an inferiority complex (or a board) quite this stupidly huge.

What does the future hold?

athenian — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:44:56 -0800

The Cabinet Office in the UK has published "Future Strategic Challenges for Britain" [full pdf, summary pdf, website], a 180-page document which summarises current futures thinking in the UK Government, with a horizon of about 20 years. It includes predictions on big issues such as democratic participation, foreign affairs, climate change, family life and public services.

The label says: Pull to save hostages.

kisch mokusch — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:48:20 -0800

Warbears Mission 3 is finally ready, just in time for Flash Friday*. Previously. *Yes, I know it's still Thursday for ~~some~~ most of you, but not all. And besides, I need help now! I can't even get past the first checkpoint :-(

So Iraq is over. But Iraq has not yet begun...

y2karl — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:02:21 -0800

...The U.S. has probably not yet fully woken up to the appalling fact that, after a long period in which the first motto of its military was "no more Vietnams," it faces another Vietnam. There are many important differences, but the basic result is similar: The mightiest military in the world fails to achieve its strategic goals and is, in the end, politically defeated by an economically and technologically inferior adversary. Even if there are no scenes of helicopters evacuating Americans from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, there will surely be some totemic photographic image of national humiliation as the U.S. struggles to extract its troops. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have done terrible damage to the U.S. reputation for being humane; this defeat will convince more people around the world that it is not even that powerful. And Bin Laden, still alive, will claim another victory over the death-fearing weaklings of the West.

Iraq hasn't even begun (more within)

CONQUER CLUB

Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:12:42 -0800

"You're a goddamn cheat Chris!"* were a string of words shouted at most of my childhood family reunions. For decades the males of my extend family have vented their most masculine, primordial, and often intoxicated angst around this small board. Today we find ourselves dispersed - DC, Florida, Rwanda, Los Angeles, etc - unable to throw temper tantrums over the loss Irkutsk. That is, until we discovered: THE CONQUER CLUB _{* I have no relation to these people}

integer

four panels — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:20:04 -0800

Machine beaths Man. Deep Fritz (.pdf) has beaten world chess champion Vladimir Kramnikin in Bonn.

We have no friends, America only has interests.

bukharin — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:30:48 -0800

Kissinger declares Iraq can't be won. Rep. Hangel, incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means, proposes to reinstate the draft.

adorably violent

timory — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 08:26:00 -0800

Warbears might be the perfect game. Once you are suitably addicted, feel free to be impatient here.

Iran’s regional position is key to its strength

y2karl — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:31:05 -0800

Iran's influence in Iraq has superseded that of the US, and it is increasingly rivalling the US as the main actor at the crossroads between the Middle East and Asia... As a result, the US-driven agenda for confronting Iran is severely compromised by the confident ease with which Iran sits in its region... The report also looks into the ideology of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and unpicks Iran’s complicated power structure. It claims that despite his popularity, Ahmadinejad neither holds an insurmountable position within Iran nor commands universal support for his outspoken foreign policy positions... On hostility with the US, the report argues that while the US may have the upper hand in ‘hard’ power projection, Iran has proved far more effective through its use of ‘soft' power. The report also holds a cautious view of the Iran-Israel relationship. It outlines four future scenarios for the relationship between the two states, one of which is the creation of a ‘cold-war’ style nuclear stand-off should Iran achieve nuclear capability.

Iran, its Neighbours and the Regional Crises
(full report in pdf)
See also Iran now the key power in Iraq, says UK think-tank
See also Iran 'boosted by war on terror'

The 48 Laws of Power

scalefree — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:56:46 -0800

Laws for an Outlaw Culture. Robert Greene is an unlikely guru for the Hip Hip Nation - a geeky white freelance writer & filmmaker. But his 48 Laws of Power have been embraced by the movers & shakers in the Hip Hop scene as their path to personal power. He's also written another book you may have heard of, The Art of Seduction. And he's just started his own blog.

Stealing al-Qa`ida's Playbook

scalefree — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 20:14:40 -0800

Stealing al-Qa`ida's Playbook (PDF)
If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete. - Sun Tzu

In 2005 Harvard's Olin Institute for Strategic Studies & West Point's Combating Terrorism Center worked together to translate what appears to be one of the most important works defining al Qaeda's strategic goals & methods, Management of Savagery (PDF) by al Qaeda strategist Abu Bakr Naji. Then they analyzed it along with three other al Qaeda works: Knights Under The Banner of The Prophet by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Between Two Methods by Abu Qatada and Observations Concerning the Jihadi Experience in Syria by Abu Mus’ab al-Suri. The result is Stealing al-Qa`ida's Playbook (PDF) (also Google cached HTML). If you want to understand more of al Qaeda than the simplistic cant that "they're evil", these two books are the place to start.

2. "Immigrant" is not synonymous with "Latino" ...

amberglow — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 04:02:45 -0800

Some facts about Latinos and immigration, and chances are good they haven't been mentioned at all during coverage of the "immigration crisis" . (and take a stroll down memory lane to past GOP platform statements on the issue)

Hnefatafl

apodo — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:47:19 -0800

Hnefatafl is an anglo-norse boardgame whose many variants are mentioned in the sagas (wearing a helmet during play is entirely optional) . Chess superseded it during the rennaisance, but Scholarly work has allowed the rules to be deduced in modern times, mainly on the basis of a 1732 diary account written by Linnaeus (he of the botanical naming system).

And now, thanks to the magic of the internet, you can play online.