The Strategy of the SCA

I apologize in advance for doing another boring SCA post, but this particular theme comes up so often in my various history adventures, that I figured I would put electronic pen to virtual paper.

 

Part of the intrigue of our game involves the interaction between different groups – specifically different Kingdoms. And looking from the outside in, one would assume that each Kingdom is relatively the same, in that it is a subgroup of the SCA. Well, in many ways that is true. But just like neighboring cultures may share a number of similarities, there are as many defining differences as anything. And why is that, exactly?

 

To create an analogy, the SCA is all one big board game. You have a board. You have game pieces. You have lists of rules. You have players. You have people who strategize. You have people who have no clue what they are doing. You have people who argue about the rules. You have people who have mastered the rules down to their fine points. But here’s the rub. In the West, we’ll say, Board Game involves a board with two sets of flat round pieces. The game is played in a particular way (just like we did back in 1966) and that is all there is to it. Now, move on to another Kingdom – say An Tir. In An Tir, the game also involves a board and two sets of game pieces. But rather than being flat round pieces, they take the shape of rooks and castles and pawns, etc. It is still “Board Game”, but the rules are a bit different.

 

Now throughout the known world, each Kingdom puts its own spin on “Board Game.” In Atlantia, they are playing something that looks like Risk. In Meridies, it may look more like Monopoly. And ultimately, its all good… until there is border-crossing. Frequently, when the SCA puts together inter-kingdom events, such as the big war events, there are people who cry fowl back and forth. Those fighters hit too hard/too light! Or, those artists judge too harshly/not harshly enough! Or the administrators have a cow because those people don’t fill out the forms correctly! But when you look at it using my analogy, the problem is as basic as can be – one side is trying to play Checkers while the other is trying to play Chess, all while under the general guise of playing “Board Game”. See the problem?

 

I think frequently, we see casualties occur when a person moves from Kingdom A to Kingdom B. When a person decides to join the SCA in his or her local area, it is clearly because there is some aspect that catches his attention. But what he doesn’t know is that he isn’t really signing up to play Board Game. He is really signing up to play the local variant – which is only one of many Board Games to play. Now, what happens when he moves from Kingdom A to Kingdom B? Often, a harsh reality-check. So often, I known people who have had to move around the states, and when they land in a new area of the SCA, the inspiration fades away. Why? “Because it just isn’t the same.” Well, that’s true. And what it is that isn’t the same? It is an entirely different game.

 

I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Trimaris was, we’ll say, a Checkers Kingdom. I was ok with Checkers, but really wanted to see some variation to the game. Maybe change the board a little bit. Maybe change the rules a bit. Then I came out to Caid and found, low and behold, a backgammon Kingdom! Squeeeeeee!!!! That was what I wanted all along!

 

I have to wonder – how many people have taken a look at the SCA in their local area, and said to themselves, “that looks interesting… but it just ain’t for me.” Sadly, though, had that person who first saw the SCA in Ansteorra really been in Eldemere, he might have fit right in, having found a version of the game much more suited to what he wanted to see.

 

The SCA can be a very complicated game. It is a game of strategy, fantasy, discovery, and endless possibility. I’m very grateful to the SCA for what it has given me over the years, and at the risk of sounding sappy or sentimental, I truly believe it has made me a better person.

 

Onwards to the next project! Anybody up for a round of Board Game?