'The Player of Games' (1988) by Iain M Banks
Jernau Morat Gurgeh, a famously skillful player of board games and other similar contests, lives on Chiark Orbital (space station), and is bored with his successful life. The Culture's Special Circumstances (SC) inquires about his willingness to participate in a long journey but won't explain further unless Gurgeh agrees to participate. While he is considering this offer, one of his drone friends, Mawhrin-Skel, which had been ejected from SC due to its unstable personality, convinces him to cheat in one of his games in an attempt to win in an unprecedentedly perfect fashion. The attempt fails, but Mawhrin-Skel uses its recording of the event to blackmail Gurgeh into accepting the offer with the condition that Mawhrin-Skel be admitted back into SC.
Gurgeh spends the next two years travelling to the Empire of Azad in the Small Magellanic Cloud, where a complex game (also named Azad) is used to determine social rank and political status. The game itself is sufficiently subtle and complex that a player's tactics reflect their own political and philosophical outlook. By the time he arrives, he has grasped the game but is unsure how he will measure up against opponents who have been studying it for their entire lives.
-
2:59:48
Jewels Jones Live ®
1 day ago“TARGETING TRUMP’S LIFE” | A Political Rendezvous - Ep. 93
96.1K30 -
21:20
MYLUNCHBREAK CHANNEL PAGE
13 hours agoThe Palace in Dallas?
73K25 -
59:56
Trumpet Daily
1 day ago $2.68 earnedSwooning for Kamala Didn’t Work - Trumpet Daily | Sept. 27, 2024
69.4K33 -
1:05:58
Tate Speech by Andrew Tate
13 hours agoPETER PAN PEANUT BUTTER ALERT | EPISODE 11
174K105 -
26:51
Michael Franzese
1 day agoThe Moment That Changed My Life Forever...
102K32 -
3:48:28
The Big Mig™
1 day agoRage Against The War Machine Live in Washington DC
82.6K20 -
1:41:25
Tactical Advisor
13 hours agoInaugural Show | Vault Room Podcast
81.9K12 -
2:00:13
I_Came_With_Fire_Podcast
23 hours ago"The Truth About China’s Hidden Influence: From Information Warfare to Military Power"
68.6K17 -
16:00
Josh Pate's College Football Show
2 days ago $0.09 earnedUGA vs Alabama - Josh Pate's Preview & Prediction
96.8K5 -
3:58:31
Vigilant News Network
1 day agoJoe Rogan Issues Dire Warning to America | The Daily Dose
124K67