-I bought Car Wars when I was just a kid. I remember it just like it was yesterday.We had this gigantic bicycle store in my town. They even had a gigantic bicycle on the front of the building. Odd place; they're still in business today. You'd walk in, though, and go to the back and up a ramp and they had all sorts of hobby stuff. An electric train ran all around the section. It was mostly model stuff, but they had one little rack of Car Wars stuff for some reason.There they were... little black pocket boxes and zip lock baggie expansion sets. I was enchanted. I bought the game and went home. I was just a kid, though. It had to be just the 4th or 5th grade or so. I opened it up and read through it. It was the coolest thing I'd ever bought.I couldn't really figure out how to play and I didn't know anybody that could pick it up with me. I don't know what happened exactly, but somehow I got frustrated. I went to my brother to ask him to help me learn to play it. (He's eight years older than me.) He wasn't very helpful and something sort of pushed me over the edge. I think I just wanted him to play with me and he wasn't even going through the motions of explaining or reading the rules. I burst into tears."I just wha-wha-want to play this game!!!"I'll never forget that next moment, though. There I stood... hoping that somehow my big brother would have mercy on me and take a couple hours to play the game with me. He looks at me... pauses a moment. Then:"They should never have sold this game to a little kid!"He turned and walked off. I pulled myself together and went back to trying to figure it out myself. If only I had bought Ogre instead-- and if only Ogre came with some decent solitaire rules-- maybe then I would have grown up to be a regular person.... [Rolls eyes and chuckles at self.]Gaming Note-- Good solitaire rules for Ogre appear in The Ogre Book. ;)
 
   

 


 
 
0 on
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I guess in my mind comparing Car Wars and Ogre are like comparing apples and oranges. I can certainly agree with your assertion that Ogre is easier to set up and play and if time is an issue, Ogre may be the way to go. However, that only establishes that the games are different.As far as teaching yourself the game, I don't think that Ogre is any easier than Car Wars. If you are talking about showing someone else how to play, I would argue that Car Wars would be easier to learn. I have played Car Wars with my son (third grade) and he can easily play the game. I suppose he could play Ogre, but I don't think he would be as big a challenge as he is in Car Wars.Another difference is that while both games are designed to be played by more than one player, Ogre can be somewhat played solitaire as the it is within the spirit of the game to have the Ogre programmed to follow a set of instructions. There are too many nuances in Car Wars to make this possible.
jeffro on
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Just trying to tell a funny story. The "If only I had bought Ogre instead" is said tongue in cheek.The real reason I had trouble learning the game is not due to any complexity in the design, but rather due to the lack of an older people in my life willing to sit down with me and mess around with a silly little game for a while. C'est la vie!
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[snip]due to the lack of an older people in my life willing to sit down with me and mess around with a silly little game for a while[end snip]Sorry, I guess I missed the tone of your post. However, the above is the EXACT reason I taught my son to play Car Wars. Everyone (myself included) can whine about SJG's lack of support for Car Wars and how we will never regain the fun we had in Car Wars' "glory days."Sit down and teach the game to a kid and live vicariously through their excitement.

 
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