https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nT6BO0FH5M

A while back someone did a screencast covering a Wesnoth game that I played against the then reigning champion of Wesnoth, Dauntless (he’s still ranked #3 today). This may not interest you if you’ve never played Wesnoth, but I think Wesnoth is a fascinating combination of chess-like strategy and poker-like risk management, and I wish it were more popular.

The good news is that I won this game against a higher-ranked opponent, the bad news is that I won partly due to incredibly good luck at crucial moments. I made some mistakes, which Dauntless exploited to the hilt, but my luck allowed me to recover. Of course, Dauntless made mistakes too, otherwise I would never have had the chance to get lucky 🙂 At any rate, this was a hard-fought game with complex tactics and strategy, and despite my mistakes and luck I feel I acquitted myself well.

If nothing else, watch this video to hear the commentator Neki boldly advance his opinions and get really excited about the game ^_^ Sadly Neki left the Wesnoth community in frustration when his efforts to create a serious Wesnoth esports competition, complete with sponsors and prize money, fell through. I kind of miss him, as abrasive as he could be at times.

P.S. Make sure to watch the video fullscreen in HD quality, otherwise you won’t be able to read any text and it’s hard to tell what is going on.