On throwing stones

When the going gets tough, the tough throw themselves headlong into ancient board games

One thing I’d like to get down here is my thoughts and feels around go, possibly the world’s oldest board game and certainly the deepest.

Since taking it up around 2016, the game has enriched my life on the daily and turned me into a quiet advocate. There is so much to enjoy, but what holds me close is the way go lends itself to narrative. Much as our right brains coax images out of clouds or Rorschach blots, a story rises out of every game. Every move has flavour, and the stillness on the board belies an astounding dynamism of play that hinges on timing and initiative. In a word, go is fun AF.

While Arch Fidelity is not dedicated to go, I will use the game as a lens from time to time, so it’s worth spending a few posts to explore various facets of what makes it so pleasurable and so worthwhile.

Tune in to Arch Fidelity in the coming weeks for an exploration of the history, play, equipment, study, and lore of go, ending with a personal note on how I came to the game and how it’s going.

I look forward to writing this, and although it is early days for AF, I’m hoping a handful of people might see it, read it, or even pass it along. Above all, please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below, so that we can interact and I can work answers into coming posts.

Alright, we’ll leave it there. Next week: The game and its misty origins.