Good game. Check it out.

I'm very fond of Internet Checkers, which is a game preloaded on to various computers I get, apparently because of Windows. Checkers is a simple game, but a fun one, and playing against a live opponent is facilitated by this program. In fact, it's so simple that you can only communicate with your opponent with a list previously chosen comment.

It's interesting to me that they add this capability even though it's so limited. Some of them ease an abandoned player ("Sorry, I have to go now" "Be right back..."), while others ease the impatient ones ("I'm thinking...").

The sentences I use most often are the simple little ones reflecting everyday politeness. I begin every game with "Hello. Good luck!" The exception here is if my opponent has turned off their chat, by which my opinion of them is immediately lowered.

From this point on, there are several possibilities which will ultimately determine how much I like a person, based entirely on their skill and how they use the chat box, if at all. The first area people can get points is the greeting. If they have chat open, and they respond with a "Hello," I give them points. It's not uncommon to then receive either a "Thank you!" or a matching "Good luck!" If this does happen, they get further credit. Overwhelmingly, they don't say anything, but so long as they haven't turned the chat off, I consider this acceptable.

From here on, skill does most of the talking. I do not consider myself a master at checkers (I played at the intermediate level), but I feel l like I have a pretty solid grasp of the game. It's not uncommon for me to be totally obliterated, nor is it uncommon for me to sweep the board and claim victory with ease. I will, however, always endure until the bitter end.

The reason for this is that, all too often, I will suddenly be winning, and my opponent will leave the game. This is offensive to me, a player, who wants to play his game. That loses them major points. Sometimes, if they're ballsy, they request a draw. Yeah. Right. At least it's better than leaving. I will always reject a draw unless I feel like it's well-deserved. At this point, if they continue playing, they basically regain any potential lost points.

Towards the end of the game, I have to decide my closing comments to my opponent. "Good game" is the option I use, but I have come to use it sparingly, and only if I really thought the game was good. There are some criteria for this:

-If I win too easily, it was not a good game.

-If I win too easily and I wasn't trying, it was definitely not a good game.

-If I wasn't trying and I lose, it was not a good game.

-If I was trying and my opponent mops the floor with my face, it was not a good game.

-If I wasn't trying but it didn't seem like the opponent was either, it was a good enough game.

-If I was trying, and there was a struggle, it was a good game.

Now, these are general circumstances, and each game deserves its own consideration. Generally, though, a "good game" is issued. There can, however, be great games. These are recognizable by the massive about of conversation that goes on between my opponent and me, even considering our limited contact. This has happened to me twice.

The first time, it was a long and hard game, where we kept essentially equal. Eventually, a large jump was made by both of us, and we found ourselves equally matched with very few pieces. I sent out a ":-)", which was returned. We whittled away at each other until we each had only one piece left. It's possible that I'm lying here, and that (s)he had just one piece, and I had two, but we were both being stubborn and not letting the game end. This resulted in a draw, and lots of smilie faces.

The second time was a game that was mostly in gridlock, until suddenly most of our pieces were destroyed. At one point I was at a clear disadvantage, about to lose, but turned things around just a tiny bit. At this point I was offered a draw. I still had a piece on the board, so no thank you. A move or two later I was bound to lose and I put out the "good game," which I like to do early in case my check-mate leaves too soon, but my opponent then made the one move that guaranteed defeat (it was surprising, considering that there were several moves that would have guaranteed a win). (S)He threw me a sad face, which made me feel sort of terrible. I sent out a "it was luck," so to help him/her feel better, and several other "good game"s and a "thank you!". The game then ended.

Both of those games were sort of sweet to me. It felt more or less like an actual conversation was happening. I know that none of you care, but that's okay. I'm only writing this for a class assignment anyway. This isn't to say, of course, that I'll never get into it. I'm just not into it now.

Goodnight.