Well, I haven't really played it for a while, and then not much before that either. I only play single-player when I do play. I keep current with the new expansions, buying a mega-box or two. I have most of the runes in the game. However, I still haven't played. I mean, I want to, but every time I bring the game up I close it and move on to something else in my life. Maybe if I didn't spend so much time reading these durned forums... I have also rejuvenated my chess career. I have been studying quite a bit since early January and started playing online at chess.com. It has been fun. After my spinal surgery I'm hoping I can actually travel to some tournaments around the L.A. or San Diego area. Now that would be fun.
Good luck with your chess amibitions! I find it rather hard to get into a match, too. So much time sunk, so much stress, so many wrong decisions to make
I'm kinda the same, though I'll play non-ranked PvP every now and then. Tbh kalasle summed up my feelings nicely in this thread: http://forums.poxnora.com/index.php?threads/playing-pox-and-emotional-fatigue.23145/#post-315145. In short I'd really love to play more, but I don't have the free time I used to, and with Pox being such an emotionally intense game I often find that my will to play more than a few games a day is sapped shortly after logging on. Ironically this used to be what drew me to Pox the most: the ability to spend an entire afternoon lost in the game, matching wits with one person after another. I love strategy games a ton, but it's so much easier to play when life doesn't weight you down. Back in high school for example I used to get straight As without putting in much effort, so finding time and energy for Pox was easy. University, not so much; I'm not a big fish in a small pond anymore, and there's a lot more on my plate. I know a lot of the other Pox vets can attest to this, since we're all around the same age. Not just with school either. A few players (and devs ) I know have children, which makes it hard to find time to put into hobbies that you once spent days on. When all is said and done, Pox is kinda low on the pole for most people. Unfortunate though it is, it can't be helped.
Well, if we can get 8-10 year old players like we used to (dedicated), that would be a good plus. Better yet, 8-10 year olds and their mom and/or dads to play. I have 8 Grandkids now and just found out last week that #9 is on the way! Most of the younger generation are console kids, though. And not only console kids, but shoot-em-up, twitch players. Not much strategy on console that I've seen, but there is always hope. Well, we can add tablet/phone game players to the mix as well, if we can ever get an android version.
I mostly play slow games as I can just make moves whenever and life doesn't get in the way. I have an account on chess24 but haven't played on it yet, just use it to watch the major tournaments. I haven't gotten to any blitz or bullet in my older days. I'll be more of a classic player. Username BillHall on chess24, username gaedel1 on chess.com.
I played in High School from 1978-1981 in Washington State. Went to State Championships twice and finished 7-2-1 at State. After that I didn't play much until mid-90's, then started back up on CompuServe, with a friend and went to a club. Then stopped in 1997 and just started it back up this year.
I'm 20. I'm doing my biology bach atm. I started playing now because I just finished calculus in a summer class (still waiting if I pass, which is meh because I don't like Cs but I guess it's ok for my weakest subject). I had a ps4 and sold this past semester. I was taking less credits but I was working at a hospital and still played ps4 a few hours in a day and still managed to get 3 clutch As. I am more credits semester so as I find time to play I may buy the ps4 again and leave pox again. I even lift weights and break dance 4-5 times a week so. It's all time management. The problem with this game is that. I have spent $200 on this game and that's about 3 Triple A title on the ps4 plus a 3 month plus. Which would you rather play? I think what happens with free to play is that they need to get better real quickly so they manage to survive. Poxnora is going slowly. Thank god that they're bringing a new GUI/menu/lobby design etc. Thing got old like 3 years ago.
Well, we haven't always been old. It's just that some of us have been old longer. There are also those of us that get old younger, which is in my case, all my football injuries in my youth and early 20's caught up to me. Now I'm having surgeries in order to keep walking. I never thought a back injury at 24 would hurt so much at 52. Anyway, I have noticed throughout the years with Pox there have been a good mix of young and old. I'm glad it is still the case.
Cough, Cough. Of course you played from a young age, but nothing that would violate section 2 of the Terms of service. https://www.poxnora.com/info/terms.do
Exactly On another note, its been a decade since I last played Chess. I did really get into playing Shogi for a while, but it's difficult to find people who play. At one point I was considering Go, but never went down that rabbit hole.
I took two separate 10-year hiatus from chess. I learned I'm never too old to get back into it. When I played chess in high school, my learning was limited by the people around you on the team, your instructor, the matches you played, and whatever book was available to you. Today there is so much information on the internet, several web sites you can play on, databases, books in PDF, everything is there. It is easy to study the best players in the world now, the sites are even free (more options for $$$). If I had all this information so readily available when I was in high school, I would definitely have been much better. As it was I wasn't too shabby. But man, only if. The top player near my area at the time I was in school was Yasser Seirawan. He now commentates on some top tournaments, including the US Championships and The Grand Chess Tour. The difference between he and I was that he lived in the same apartment building as a chess master. I lived on a farm in a small town. He was able to play against and learn from much better players in downtown Seattle. We might go to Seattle once a year. When my team went to State competition, Yasser's team was there (won the State Championships 3 years in a row as of the time I first went there). We didn't end up playing against his team, which was too bad. Would have been fun. But finishing 4-1 in my sophomore year and 3-1-1 in my senior year against the best players in the state with the limited training and experience I had is something I can be proud of. I have more chess knowledge now than back then, I was really green. But I had an unbelievable memory back then and could think much deeper than I can now. I played blindfold chess back then as well, up to 4 games at the same time. In my senior year I did beat the second best player in our league, who's team was actually the defending state champions. I don't doubt he was better than I was overall and was more experienced, but for that game I was better. Now my memory isn't so good and I can't think nearly as deep, but I know more. Anyway, just do what is fun.
I have some chess titles here in Belgium. Played internationally too, though I suspect Tiny is still better than me. Haven't played competitively in 5 years.
Congratz! I haven't won any titles or awards since high school, but I haven't gone for any either since then. I did beat a Grandmaster from Germany once in the mid-90's.
I've played chess competitively since Elementary School. Nothing major, won a few tournaments here and there, but no international titles, more of national thing.
