You know you're playing too much AE when...

[USS Henrico]

When you're with an inlaw (an Army JAG lawyer) at the pool and he says that "We gotta sink the Bismarck" keeps running through his head, and you respond "the heck with Bismarck, Mutusu and Yamato are much more important" and proceed to explain recent naval operations in your PBEM game.

OK, it was hot at the pool tonight...[8D]

[Schanilec]

When your labrador starts bombarding you with milk bones and tennis balls. Damn a second front.

[AW1Steve]

When your wife says "OK , so you lost the Enterprise. You have got other carriers to lose!"[X(]



(I think she's annoyed that I lost her, CVN-65 USS Enterprise was HER ship!). [:D]

[Misconduct]

You know when your gf shows up with a case of newcastle beer knowing you rather sit in front of the PC arguing over your turns,
rather then go to ball room dancing classes.

/Yes I am being asked to do it
//Put my foot down and said NO ma'am

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

When your wife says "OK , so you lost the Enterprise. You have got other carriers to lose!"[X(]



(I think she's annoyed that I lost her, CVN-65 USS Enterprise was HER ship!). [:D]

Well, when she's right, she's right, Steve-O. [;)]

[bradfordkay]

When a friend tells you that he's going to Truk to dive the wrecks and you say "What wrecks? My carrier raid failed miserably!!!"

[Icedawg]

Or when you do something as boneheaded as what I did when UV first came out.

I had ordered the game a week or two before my Christmas vacation. When I arrived back at my apartment after the last day of classes, I saw that the UPS truck had arrived. So, I rushed out of my car, grabbed the package, rushed inside, loaded the game onto my computer and proceeded to play the game for my entire two-week long vacation. I never left the apartment for those two weeks! (I lived on coffee and pizza/Chinese food delivery the whole time.) On the morning of my first day back to work, I went out to my car and discovered that in my haste to get started with UV, I had left my car door open. My car was filled with drifted snow and, needless to say, the battery was dead. I had to call my principal to let him know that I would be late for work. All I told him was that AAA was coming to jumpstart my car. I was too embarrassed to tell him the whole story!

[Grfin Zeppelin]

If the dishes start to pile up in the kitchen [:(]

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Icedawg

Or when you do something as boneheaded as what I did when UV first came out.

I had ordered the game a week or two before my Christmas vacation. When I arrived back at my apartment after the last day of classes, I saw that the UPS truck had arrived. So, I rushed out of my car, grabbed the package, rushed inside, loaded the game onto my computer and proceeded to play the game for my entire two-week long vacation. I never left the apartment for those two weeks! (I lived on coffee and pizza/Chinese food delivery the whole time.) On the morning of my first day back to work, I went out to my car and discovered that in my haste to get started with UV, I had left my car door open. My car was filled with drifted snow and, needless to say, the battery was dead. I had to call my principal to let him know that I would be late for work. All I told him was that AAA was coming to jumpstart my car. I was too embarrassed to tell him the whole story!

I think you won the prize right here...

[bigred]

You know you're playing too much AE when...

As a grocery store manager w/50 employees I sneek a turn on Saturday morning at the work computer. Hope my #3 manager is not playing games at night after I go home.. it could get ME fired.

[LargeSlowTarget]

You know you're playing too much AE when you see cars but think ships.

I'm living in France. Over here there has been a major revision in the system of car license (registration) plates some time ago. The new pattern is AA-001-AA and counting up. After a year or so they are now at AY-nnn-XX. So I am surrounded by license plates starting amongst others with AD, AE, AG, AK, AM, AO, AP, AR, AS and AV. A few months more and I will spot the first BB. Another year or so for CA. An estimated 15-18 years for PC, PG, SS. Too bad that LST is not an option... 

[Sardaukar]

When you make Newbie Introductory AAR and while you are typing explanations and uploading pictures, the voice in you head says " You know, you could have cranked MONTH worth of game turns during this time! In BOTH of your Campaign games!". [:D][:D][:D]

[MichaelU]

When your PBEM opponent tells you how he shouted at his wife for interrupting while he watched the critical carrier battle, and you laugh at him. Then he sends the turn -- and you shout at your wife for the same thing.

[Grfin Zeppelin]

ORIGINAL: MichaelU

When your PBEM opponent tells you how he shouted at his wife for interrupting while he watched the critical carrier battle, and you laugh at him. Then he sends the turn -- and you shout at your wife for the same thing.

[&o]

[DavidTheGreat]

When while watching the turn resolution late at night you're wife calls from upstairs "it's me or the game !!" and you seriously consider.

[Grfin Zeppelin]

ORIGINAL: David The Great

When while watching the turn resolution late at night you're wife calls from upstairs "it's me or the game !!" and you seriously consider.

Most women only see that you are playing with tiny little icons and tiny little ships. Its almost the same as you would be playing with toy soldiers.
Explain to them that this game is about a war simulation and 1000 times more complicated than chess. Tell them how much thinking it involves and how much planing. Compared to this chess IS like playing with toy soldiers.Then tell them if you leave now months of work will be lost. Most women will understand and wait (but dont overdo this)
If you play your cards right they can even brag about what her husband/boyfriend is doing.The thought of their husband doing smart things is much less sore then the thought he is playing tiny little games.

[Alfred]

ORIGINAL: Gräfin Zeppelin

ORIGINAL: David The Great

When while watching the turn resolution late at night you're wife calls from upstairs "it's me or the game !!" and you seriously consider.

Most women only see that you are playing with tiny little icons and tiny little ships. Its almost the same as you would be playing with toy soldiers.
Explain to them that this game is about a war simulation and 1000 times more complicated than chess. Tell them how much thinking it involves and how much planing. Compared to this chess IS like playing with toy soldiers.Then tell them if you leave now months of work will be lost. Most women will understand and wait (but dont overdo this)
If you play your cards right they can even brag about what her husband/boyfriend is doing.The thought of their husband doing smart things is much less sore then the thought he is playing tiny little games.

Sorry but I strongly disagree. Chess is a much more difficult and complicated game to play. To play chess well at tournament level against international rated opponents one needs to:

(a) manage time pressure well
(b) have a firm grasp of theory - knowing the AE manual off by heart (and many players here on the forum demonstrate regularly they don't have that mastery[:)]) does not even come close to the amount of work necessary to be fully abreast of theory
(c) cope with the fact that there is no FOW, both players have access to the same ingame positional and combinational data
(d) calculate accurately because a single subtle mistake is enough to lose whereas in AE a single mistake does not guarantee defeat
(e) have a greater capacity to both adapt to the different styles of play from different opponents in the same tournament and preduce your own innovations/refute your opponent's prepared innovations (remember the time pressure mentioned above[:)])
(f) impose one's will on an opponent where there is no abstraction to simplify operations

Now if you are referring only to "coffee house" chess, I can see why you might hold that view, but for competition chess, I am afraid you are much mistaken.

Alfred

[Grfin Zeppelin]

Hell yes you are right of course. But most people dont know that. I was talking about sweet little lies and not the entire truth. Chess has a good reputation and my point was to use that reputation to your advantage [:)]

[witpqs]

Alfred,

Your point (d) is wrong. A single mistake does not guarantee a loss in either game, although in either game in a specific contest a specific mistake can doom one to a loss barring sufficient mistake(s) by one's opponent.

[Alfred]

Witpcs

I don't know how proficient you are at chess. I assume you are better than a "coffee house" player, a term which our German readers should be well aquainted with.

At a high level of chess, where both players are technically proficient, a subtle single positional mistake is sufficient to lose a game of chess, hence why the phrase "it is a technical win now" is often heard. Why do you think there are so many draws. Part of the reason is that both players have to accurately calculate several moves in advance precisely because they know the consequences of making a positional mistake. The draws result because no mistake is made to be exploited.

Between weak players, yes a game of chess usually consists of several mistakes and the loser is the one who makes the second last mistake (an observation first made by Grandmaster Savielly Tartakower). Between strong international players, a positional mistake suffices. Engaging in tactical fireworks may lead your opponent astray but if he can solve the tactical difficulties you set, the positional mistake will ultimately be exploited, even if it takes 40 or 60 moves.

So my point (d) is not wrong regarding chess.

Alfred