Monday Musings: 6 June 2011

The magic of Magic

Well, in the last 10 years I've had varied hobbies. In NUS, music was a big part of that life, but yesterday at a wedding rehearsal, I realized just how rusty and neglected my musical skill has been. As a teacher, I returned to my roots, as a gamer, not much of a computer gamer but games that really make you think too much. It started when I saw my colleagues playing Saboteur, and I decided to get a set myself. I ended up buying Citadels at the same time.

Rest is history, in the past 4 years I've collected quite an interesting array of games, Great Wall of China, Starcraft the Boardgame, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Navegador and of course the improved versions of some Hasbro games like Monopoly Deal, Cluedo Suspect, Monopoly Junior and Risk. However, at the end of the day, you have to realise that most of the games above all have some mechanic taken from what I think is one of the best games of all times, Magic, The Gathering.

I've already talked about that game once, somewhere in my archives and why I really enjoyed playing that game when I was still a secondary school student and how it shaped what I am doing today.

So, in recent times I have spent some time getting back up to speed with what has been happening in the MtG world, and I have to say the environment has completely changed. Gone are the controversial themes that made it a target for conservative groups; in are ideas that the game can be used for educational purposes. In the recent expansion block, the game felt more science fiction than fantasy, with the bad guys resembling the Zerg of Starcraft rather than the dragons of the Old Mountain.

Indeed, the whole demograph of the players has changed, no more school kids dominating the scene, but serious post-NS professional players who now have some spending power. The game itself still has it's old charm, and the game play has become a highly evolved exercise in mathematical precision, and that's what I've always liked about it.

And it's good to see that the educational value in the game has been seen by Hasbro who has incorporated it's mechanics into more mainstream games like Monopoly Deal and Cluedo Suspect, I actually encourage people to play these games to exercise their brains a little more, maybe that is what is missing in today's mathematics education spectrum, the outlet to play real games. Maybe that's why NS guys play the game a lot more, an opportunity to use their brains!

Well, it's been ten years since I left the game, it's good in some way to be back. But no, my main gripe with the game still exists and in fact is now worse, that of cost. It is a rich man's game and there is no way on earth I can afford playing that game again, except in a limited fashion. So well, it's been fun dabbling back into the old the past few weeks, but no, won't be playing it in a serious manner anytime.

Now that I'm going back to NUS, I will have to focus back on my studies a lot more. Who knows, maybe I will do a PhD in Mathematics Education and focus on games; hopefully something I can contribute to the way mathematics is taught here in Singapore.