Between Memorial and Labor Day, those most American of holidays, I always make it a point to declare, “This summer is the summer of victory!” Alas, it was not so this summer. But the fates were against me, I tell you. Not only was I busy writing my master’s thesis, but my wife ended up on bedrest too as we awaited the birth of our first child. And Her Royal Cuteness came a few weeks early, roughly eight days before the summer was over. So it’s not my fault, I swear.
I’m sorry to report it was a summer of defeat, though by a relatively small margin. I played 38 games and won 17, a respectable .447 win average. I also played a nice mix of games, from Cribbage and Carcassonne to the World at War series and Washington’s War. And there actually is a small glimmer of hope in all the number crunching. In two player games, I was 15-1-2, a phenomenal record in a wide variety of war and deep strategy games. I’m hoping this means good things when Joe returns from active duty (though he’ll probably still stomp me).
So although it wasn’t a “summer of victory” in the way I wanted, it was still an enjoyable few months of gaming. And these days, I’m learning all sorts of new tricks, including…how to game with a newborn in my arms. Awesome.
Margin of Victory 
I ended up a few games over .500 this summer. Although I got in a lot more plays thanks to my ‘gamer wife.’
15-1-2 in two player games is ridiculous. Seriously. I can’t believe that you would consider that the summer of anything but “Victory.” In multiplayer games, you should consider anything over your average ratio as a victory of varying degrees. For example, winning two out of four in four player games is twice what a “middling” player should expect. While you are .500 in wins, that is actually double what an average player should win right?
I hardly think that the hot streak I was on before I left will translate into any stomping when I return.
I don’t keep stats. If I included Cribbage (in which Laura beats me mercilessly despite not knowing how to score her hand), Ticket to Ride, Carcassone, Settlers, Small World, and other big multiplayer games, I highly doubt I would be sporting a record of 50% despite winning a crazy amount of Manoeuvre and H:RvC.
Or was that always the point? Achieving that extremely difficult task of overcoming those odds? I think I forgot the explaination from when you first introduced your Summer of Victory concept.
Really the purpose is sheer vanity when you think about it! 🙂 And I’ll compute my multiplayer standings at the end of the year. I usually finish in the top half…unless it’s Carcassonne.
John – You aren’t cut throat enough in Carcassonne. Think of it as an area control wargame and you’ll do better.
Hmmmm, and I find I’m most successful when I’m not cut throat at all in that game.
[…] Memorial Day I declare a “summer of victory.” You may also remember that last year, the Summer of Victory III, didn’t go so well. However, it was nothing compared to the utter debacle that was the Summer […]