"I believe that there is no right or wrong way to play Go. There are strategies and tactics, yes, but an optimal and always perfect way? No." he said thoughtfully.

For a while, the two of them would lay stone around stone, and the game began to move into the final phase.

"It looks like the game will end soon, Chiruha-san" he said looking over the board.

----
Sorry for being a bit abrupt, but we should wrap up things till saturday
Shall we make the last roll of this campaign? A contested Games: Go/intelligence

(Not a problem and I'll allow it!)

As the game progressed, Chiruha grew more thoughtful and engrossed in the game. She was likely way above her head in understanding but she would like to think that she grasped some basics of the game as they proceeded to the endgame with the board taking shape. Even to a notice such as herself, it seemed it to her that the remaining choices were more pivotal as she tried to maneuver around the puzzle taking shape.

"Hm, I really wish I saved my power cubes for this," she chuckled in a small joke.

Day 11, Late Morning: Go Roll, void spent and unskilled: 4d10 23

Chiruha was good, and Nishida was sure that she would have won herself without the self-imposed handicap. He smiled, "It seems like you didn't needed Power Cubes, you beat me, Chiruha-san! An excellent game! I haven't had this much fun with it in a long time!"

He looked at the board.
"I have to admit, at the beginning I was skeptical about the division of the board as your advantage was so smart, but against you I guess I played a bit too defensively. I did not expect you to conquer the left side of the board so aggressively." He said bowing a bit as respect.

---
[D11:LM] Games:Go/Intelligence; +1k1VP; 1CR for emulating Handicap: 5d10o10k4-5 14

"Oh! Did I win? I won!" she exclaimed at the final board state, clearly amazed that she managed to do just yet. It was her first game, although she didn't know if there was such thing as luck in the game of Go. "Ah, well...things looked dicey in a lot of places and I suppose I perhaps got lucky with a few distractions in a few places. It is a fun game, a few places I had analysis paralysis and I guess I just had to test things out and see where they went. I would imagine it's a different game without the free opening moves."

She returned the bow as well and brushed her hair back after she straightened her posture, smiling shyly at Nishida, "thank you for the game, Nishida-sama."

"In my estimation, you would probably have won even without the handicap. For me this is a confirmation of your quick-wittedness, Chiruha-san." he said nodding.

"I hope to properly introduced you to the game and, at he very least, gave you a shallow oversight of the game. Maybe it will help you with Explorer Fleet?"

Chiruha giggled when he brought up her game, "Hm, well...I don't think my game will be anywhere near the next Go or anything close like it but I do think that I could probably take some elements from this game to make it just as exciting. My game does have dice involved so there's a bit of luck involved. Still, I can't overlook the strategy involved in this game and the decision making involved too. Maybe I could capture some spirit of it."

"I hope so! A big part of what makes Go so fascinating is the constant weighing and deciding. Adding this principle to Explorer Fleet would certainly enrich it!"

He looked at the digital clock the lobby had and frowned.

"I would love to discuss this further, but it looks like we forgot the time a little bit." he sighed. "Other duties await me, unfortunately, but I think we will see us tonight?"

Chiruha gave a glance at the time and quickly perked up, "Yes, of course! Time passes pretty fast when you're playing Go, or any game for that matter."

She showed a small smile, feeling a bit bad for keeping him. Nevertheless, she rose from her seat and bowed politely. "Thank you for the game, Nishida-sama. You likely have a very busy day but I will be at Tanabata tonight! I hope you have a pleasant day."

With her farewells given, she made her way out of the lobby with Shiba Rena beside her.

/exit