Vale, Christian Freeling

Wikipedia has announced that Christian Freeling died yesterday at the age of 79: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Freeling

Apart from his genius at inventing games, he was also a very clever and very resourceful player of many games, and not just the ones he invented. Personally, I loved played Havannah with him. He was a brilliant conversationalist: funny, endearing, encouraging. At one point he casually remarked "even a blind cow sometimes walks in the right direction." I don't know if that's an ancient Dutch proverb or something he made up on the spot, but I have often thought about that. He had a very distinctive perspective on the world. He was a very distinctive person.

I discovered Havannah on ItsYourTurn.com and was thrilled to be able to play games with its inventor here on Little Golem. At the conclusion of each game, I would always say "thank you for the game." He would often respond by asking if I meant the game he'd invented, or that specific instance of one of those games. And I would always say "both."

Vale, Christian. Thank you for the games we played, and especially for the games you invented. You did something extraordinary.

https://www.tubantia.nl/enschede/politie-overlijden-bewoner-met-slangen-in-enschede-is-noodlottig-ongeval~a0825925/

Off to meet Mocko in boardgame heaven!

I recently started playing Havannah again and I've really enjoyed it. I played it years ago and it didn't really click with me, but this time around I have a better feel for it. I always found it elegant, as the rules are so simple yet the gameplay can be very complex and surprising. I played two games with Christian recently and I managed to win one. We have a game going right now... I will be sad to see it disappear from my list when it times out.

Farewell, Christian.

I started playing Havannah on mindsports.nl with Christian and also with Wayne Schmittberger and there was quite some analytics going on, a single tempo made the difference. When we both moved to Little Golem we agreed that Havannah is a pure racing game and best played by instinct alone. Of course that does not always work and for sure not when you play the likes of Celuch or eobllor. However, he always was open for experiment and I will remember that.

Oh man, I'm very, very sorry to hear this. I've really enjoyed playing Havannah over the years. It's one of my all-time favorite abstract strategy games. I recall how honored I was when I was able to play Christian, the author... and actually beat him a few times too.

Christian played on this server almost every day from 2008 until his very last day.

Very sad to hear that.

I haven't played any other of his games apart from havannah but it's a brilliant game, wish it gained more attention. I feel honored to have played it with Christian himself once or twice here, years ago.

Rest in peace.

I was honored to collaborate with Christian on an abstract game, although I don't think either one of us was very pleased with the result :-) I will miss texting and playing with him. I'm glad to read his animals will be treated humanely. I hope he finds peace.

Rest in peace, Christian. Ingo.

He was a wonderful person, a great player, and an exceptional board game designer. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy of board games. Rest in peace, Christian.

Oh sad news ! I related a lot with his worldview. I regret not having played more with him. I was a strong supporter of bringing Havannah to this site (a very long time ago). And his opinions on how to cope with High IQ were very wise. Wise were also his positions regarding the swap rule. I was very much against the pie rule in Havannah and a bit extreme in my views (I wanted the original game to be respected as designed). It was astonishing to me that he was perfectly fine with accepting that his own creation would be tweaked and hacked with in this (for me at that time) shocking way. I see better now that the good designer needs to "tweak and hack" a lot to achieve that level in the domain of abstract game design.

My thoughts go to Ed van Zon, also who will probably have the task to perpetuate the legacy of Christian's website mindsports.nl.

RIP, Christian

Rest in peace, Christian.

Respect and thanks for the game.

My condolences to his family, friends, and fellow gamers.

I just found out now. Rest in peace Christian. Dameo is my favorite game and I enjoyed every game of it I played with him. I shockingly even beat him once iirc. He was a great player and greater designer.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Wow, T0afer did you adapt your avatar in honor of his fellow raccoons ?

Raccoon dogs/tanukis--the creatures Christian Freeling loved so much--are actually canids rather than procyonids (like true raccoons). Evolutionary coincidence just makes them look really similar. What's extra fun is that 'procyon' itself means 'before dog'.

I don't say that to rain on T0afer's avatar, if that's why it was changed. I just like that little fact, haha.

I just realized I never commented here earlier. I unfortunately only talked to him very little, but gosh, his mind came up with some wonderful games, and among many things his legacy will live on through them as we play on for decades more. Rest in peace, Christian.

I did not. Although that would have been a good idea. I apprently changed it awhile ago. Haven't been here in a bit idk.

I only now read this. Very sad to hear it. It was always nice to play against him, and I enjoy Havannah a lot. He will be missed.