A tribute to Robbie Tiger upon his retirement

Dylan Baker · May 22, 2001, 07:53

Any accounting of the traits and experiences that have shaped Robbie Tiger must start with his mental gifts, his exceptional parents and his early start in Civ II under a series of devoted coaches. He has become, over time, eerily calm under pressure and an obsessive student of the game who reviews saves of old tournaments for clues about how to play each turn. He works hard at building his "Civ tolerance", or the ability to play 36 hours of Civ uninterrupted. But what is most remarkable about Robbie is his restless drive for what the Japanese call kaizen, or continuous improvement. Toyota engineers will push a perfectly good assembly line until it breaks down. Then they'll find and fix the flaw and push the system again. That's kaizen. That's Robbie. It's also Robbie's buddy Darflex, who works as hard on defense as offense and in his later years added a deadly diplomatic penchant to his arsenal. No matter how good they say you are, Darflex tells Robbie, "always keep working on your game."

Like basketball's Michael Jordan, Robbie not only dominates his sport but is changing the way it is played--and the way it will be played by the next generation. "It's cool now to play Civ," Robbie says, and if his Robbie Tiger Foundation succeeds in making the game available to more underprivileged kids, the game will "attract the better natural Civers"--including the brighter and more determined kids, many of them black and Hispanic and Asian. "Just imagine," Robbie muses, his eyes alight, "if Michael Jordan, with his size and strength and hand-eye coordination, had started playing basketball early?"

Any would-be Robbies will, in fact, have to start early. Robbie's dad, a Green Beret lieutenant colonel in Vietnam, took up Civ in his 30s, a few years before Robbie did. And though he became a first rate player, his struggles convinced him that kids should be taught the game as soon as they're capable of handling the heartarche of not having a life that the game involves. For his son, that was at 10 months. Robbie took a strong interest in the game, which, by all accounts, his parents managed to encourage without pushing and while keeping things fun.

His father taught the basics, but Robbie had trouble mastering the nuances of the game. Unable to comprehend the skills of trade and diplomacy, Robbie learned to compete through vicious sniper-esque military campaigns. His first instructor, Rudy Duran, recalls that at age five "Robbie had the skill and imagination to conduct very intricately designed campaigns on several fronts." Darflex, in contrast, feels he never developed a first-rate offense, particularly under pressure, because he didn't start playing Civ seriously until age 22, when he was already in college and determined to win through "peace at all costs."

What Robbie shares with other Civ greats is a first-rate mental game, a vital weapon in a game in which league pressure can crush even great players. Robbie has "the ability to stay in the present during a league game and focus on playing one turn at a time," Duran says. Robbie's profane outbursts, once common, are now rare. He has learned to laugh at himself more often, which he did even when he failed to notice a crucial Civil Disorder turn in a wonder race against Kuja.

Can Robbie Tiger be the greatest player of all time? Well, by the standard measure, he has to win and hold the the ladder's top rung for at least a year to pass the current record. Robbie and Darflex say they feel a bond, and the older man has been generous with compliments and advice--for example, counseling Robbie against playing so many games that he burns out. But Darflex is proud of his own acheivements and coy in some of his comments. For one: "Robbie is much like any other player who is at the top of his game." Translation: many players have a lucky run of starts for a few months and then cool off. It's often a matter not of game mechanics but of the vagaries of combining many subtle arts, where the eye and the touch can abandon even feared veteran players.

Robbie has put many Civ players on a different training regimen, forcing them to head for the computer. He is in peak physical condition, as well. He's added 10 lbs. of pizza weight to his 5-ft. 9-in. frame since his first tournament, and has developed an almost sickeningly strong "mouse-muscle," allowing many clicks per minute over the norm. In response, tribesmate Alexander has transformed himself by adapting a strict, tolerance development and tennis ball squeezing training program. Even Dylan Baker, a rail-thin, chain-smoking player, has been driven to a special Civ training program in Raleigh. Robbie has also prompted competitors to go easy on working or studying. At a dinner in Florida to honor former champions, Robbie recalled, EyesofNight and other players talked about the days when they would "take a few days off Civing and concentrate on job and family obligations ." Sober-faced, Robbie observed, "That doesn't work anymore."

drake · May 22, 2001, 09:58

Thats quite possibly the saddest thing I've read in a long time

bravelaker1000 · May 24, 2001, 01:44

how many places are you going to post this thing?????

Rasputin · May 24, 2001, 03:30

who the heck is this tigger guy ???

bravelaker1000 · May 24, 2001, 06:10

robbie tiger is a pretty good player that i met in mega ultra league. I have read about half of this post in the hs gameleague forum and i cant get through the other half of it cause i guess im just to impatient. Anyway like i said he is a pretty good player and dylan is part of his tribe in gameleague and likes to post things i guess.

Civ Retard · May 24, 2001, 19:59

You people are afraid of the truth! Ole' DillonBaker just came on these hear boards to pay omage to a dear dear friend who just happens to be a great civer and all you can do is insult him! Even though the post is pointless and longwinded and insulting to peoples intellagance and stupid and profame and self-agradising! So quit your pointless flamming Drak and Brave Lecker and just start playing Civ! Like Dillon does!

Dylan Baker · May 24, 2001, 20:08

I humbly apologize. I agree with you that an internet forum should be no place for independent thought, satire, or humor, particularly when it is within the context of the forum. In the future, I will try to comform to the standard of blinking, Philistine, semi-literate drivel that permeates some of these boards.

Oh, and Civ Retard, don't you think that your act is getting a little old?

bravelaker1000 · May 24, 2001, 20:30

dylan you are hilarious i wont say anymore man if i did i would give you away

Eyes_Of_Night · May 25, 2001, 00:58

I found it pretty amusing. However, humor isn't something you'll find on the apolyton forum unless it comes in the form of "geek humor".

Rasputin · May 25, 2001, 12:01

seems to me that since the demise of post counts in OT there are far more posts in the other forums!!!!!

drake · May 25, 2001, 12:10

Quote:

I found it pretty amusing. However, humor isn't something you'll find on the apolyton forum unless it comes in the form of "geek humor".

I'm sorry eyes, but with you and strategic king around here acting all high and mighty, it's kinda hard to tell whether some people are serious or not.........

Quote:

seems to me that since the demise of post counts in OT there are far more posts in the other forums!!!!!

particularly *cough* supersneak *cough*

Rasputin · May 25, 2001, 12:33

so what are the admins doing to control this abuse of our MP forums !!!!!

Big Lewi · May 30, 2001, 02:04

I hear you brother! It's a long road to greatness that should be started as early in life as possible.

Could you send me the details of some of those training programs? Good money could be made from some of those ideas.

That tennis ball training regime sounds interesting....
Perhaps an academy should be started.

Alexander2698 · June 5, 2001, 23:23

I once was one of the greats until i got burned out and stopping playing now i come and go depending on work,school, and family. I do indeed try to get on as much as possible but as many will say that i have not lost all my tactics and strategy in the game as some people are still learning some secrets that are not listed in cheats in-which is still a tactic if you are good enough.

But all and all as bravelaker and robbie would say i am a strong player if need be along with a few of the greats.

Robbie i solute you!!!!!

Eyes_Of_Night · June 6, 2001, 11:56

Good player huh? How about a game oh great one?

bravelaker1000 · June 6, 2001, 14:17

No eyes i have played both you and robbie and he isnt in your league yet he is pretty good. I wouldnt mind playing you again to see how far i have come up the gaming ladder since then.

Eyes_Of_Night · June 6, 2001, 15:49

I was referring to Alexander.

bravelaker1000 · June 7, 2001, 21:07

oh well he is a good fighter but he doesnt have the experience to beat you either there wouldnt be a point to that game either.