I’m far from an expert on strategy – I’ve not analyzed nearly as much or as well as many of the posters here, and I only started watching BB at BB4 (Alisore *shudder*). But I’ve had some thoughts kicking around in my head & thought I’d share them & see if I’m nuts, or if I make a little sense.

Perception of gameplay – good or bad/good or evil - has changed (for some) largely because of the way BB6 rolled out. Within the first few weeks of BB6, there were two very clearly defined alliances. Aside from the debacle of Howie nominating James & Sarah, there was NO interesting play, NO suspense. Once HOH was decided, you pretty much knew who would be going home the following week. The only things remotely suspenseful were the HOH competitions themselves. The cast of BB6 (all of them, not just the BB7s) defined “good play” by the strength of the player’s loyalty – not their strategy. *Gasp* James is trying to play with strategy!! Eliminate him!! (Even though James showed more strategic ability than others in BB6, he still over-played his hand & deserved to go. He had strategy, yes – but he wasn’t good at applying it.)

Anyway, the season was still entertaining because we had the gripping battle of good vs. evil – complete with opportunities to debate which side was which. But the season was definitely NOT about strategic play.

So here we are watching BB7, the supposed “All-Stars.” AGAIN, we have some very open, clear alliances. We have people espousing loyalty, honesty and dependability – as though the winner of the game should be a moral icon, not a game player. It’s mostly BB6 that is fueling these perceptions. “Chilltown” (good god I hate alliance names) is only open because, duh, it’s so well documented there’s no way they could hide it.

• There are players furious that some are “playing for themselves” – this is not exclusive to BB – we see this on Survivor all the time too. Well duh. We don’t even need to address why THIS is stupid.

• Players are complaining that the HOH expects them to vote the way he or she wants them to. So why do they do it? Who told them they have to do that? Isn’t the process: HOH nominates, hamsters vote? If they’re upset about it, why don’t they change their votes?

• Players are counting votes in advance to see who is going to be evicted…and then they’re ALL voting the same way – presumably so no one stands out. WHA?!?!? This is a UTR or Coat-tail technique. When does it become policy? When the bulk of the voters are either UTR (Danielle), Coat-taillers (Marcy, Erika), or Loyalty hounds (K, H, Jan).

• Much has been said about the “Floaters” not playing the game, not taking risks, not deserving to be there. Moves are being made to deliberately “force the ‘floaters’ to choose a side.” WHY??? First off, do we really want to see a household so cleanly divided as BB6 again? I don’t. And secondly, even if you are in an alliance (BB6), you need some ‘floaters’ as buffer, as voters, as targets, as chaff. PLEASE don’t make everyone line up on one side or another.

• And let’s touch on this use of the word “floater.” Oy. ALL of these "unaligned” people are not floaters. I thought that a floater was one who moved between alliances (secretly and/or smoothly – not clumsily & loudly like James). That’s not the same as a UTR player…who makes moves quietly behind the scenes rather than calling attention to themselves (Danielle). Or a Coattail-Rider, who just latches onto a more skilled or aggressive player and holds on for as long as they can (Marcellas, Erika).

These are only a couple of examples of the strange things that are considered “good” or “bad” play this season.

I began watching BB7 happy to see JKH&J back in the house. Even kinda rooting for them. (I hadn’t watched BB2 or BB3, and I hated everyone but Nakomis and Will W. on BB4 & BB5) Hey, they’re likable people, and I like to watch likable people (I don’t “love to hate” Alison & Jase, I just hate them. They don't entertain me.)

BUT…I also like to watch good game play. (That’s good vs. bad play, not good vs. evil.)

As weeks go by and they each show themselves to be…less than skilled, I’ve been really disappointed. Until I started to look at things from a different angle.

I AM seeing really good game play. Just not from BB6. I’m seeing really good game play from Will and Danielle. *sigh* yyyyyeeeeeessssssssss.

I just had to shift my perspective.

• RE: A matter of perspective...,chappi66, 03:51 PM, 08-04-06
• RE: A matter of perspective...,nailbone, 03:56 PM, 08-04-06
  • RE: A matter of perspective...,chappi66, 05:28 PM, 08-04-06
    • RE: A matter of perspective...,brvnkrz, 07:28 PM, 08-04-06
      • RE: A matter of perspective...,nailbone, 10:26 AM, 08-10-06
    • RE: A matter of perspective...,Aruba, 08:47 PM, 08-04-06
• RE: A matter of perspective...,brvnkrz, 04:01 PM, 08-04-06
• RE: A matter of perspective...,LIVEURBESTLIFE, 07:20 PM, 08-04-06
• RE: A matter of perspective...,Buggy, 11:55 PM, 08-04-06
  • RE: A matter of perspective...,bdemoney, 09:58 AM, 08-05-06
    • RE: A matter of perspective...,Denalio, 00:36 AM, 08-10-06
• RE: A matter of perspective...,Lasann, 10:31 AM, 08-05-06
  • RE: A matter of perspective...,Buggy, 06:57 PM, 08-05-06
    • RE: A matter of perspective...,LIVEURBESTLIFE, 07:24 PM, 08-05-06

Ditto, Ditto and Ditto again. You hit the nail on the head. BB6 is a little clueless right now on how to play a strategic game. If they knew what they were doing, even remotely, they would have taken out Will and/or Boogie by now. However, since Will does know how to play the game(and by the way I loved the whole bathtub scene), he has got Janielle thinking they are on the same side (so to speak). I love it. Will is a true game player.

Sounds good to me.

“Chilltown” (good god I hate alliance names)

Didn't they name themselves that way back in the beginning of BB2? it is a stupid name, I agree.

LAST EDITED ON 08-04-06 AT 05:31 PM (EST)

Yes they did and it was stupid then. I don't know what is worse Chilltown or the Four Horsemen. Maybe we should start another post and ask which alliance name is the most annoying.

Chilltown
The Four Horsemen
Soveign 4
Friendship Alliance

Ugh!!

I vote for the Friendship Alliance. It sounds so Pollyana.

A wonderful Tribe original