Where to play - In the beginning

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Generally the best way to play abstract strategy games is with others in person. Preferably someone slightly better than you. Sadly, these days for one reason or another this is not always possible. 

Finding a partner is not always easy, especially when most of your friends have probably never played. Coaching a few loyal supporters can work, but invariably they lose interest fairly quickly.

Fortunately, on the internet we have a wealth of options. Merrills is played on many games sites and you can pick and choose depending on your level.

The first for me was a site called Goldtoken. I had played various games there on a couple accounts off and on for over 15 years. It is a turn based site, in which you don't have to be online at the same time as your opponent. For a beginner like me this was perfect. It allowed me time to think of the best move without to much stress. The competition was good but not overwhelming.

After having played there for about 6 months I decided to think of something more challenging. I was wondering more often than not, and even though I was, and still am far from the best player there I needed to push myself.

The next step was Brettspielnetz. Why a German site? Well, Merrills, known as Mühlespiel there is actually quite popular. Many people play the game from a young age and it has a place in popular culture, unlike other European countries such as the UK.

This therefore translated to a higher level of challenge. This was clear from the start, and despite also being turn based I had to get used to losing.

The other advantage of Brettspielnetz was also the fact that reviewing games was much easier than Goldtoken. Goldtoken is a fabulous friendly site, but the GUI is a little challenging to use at times.

Once things had settled on both of these sites, it was time to look somewhere to play in real time. There are several choices and I will go into these in a later post.

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