A Programmer’s Regret: Neglecting Math at University
I do sometimes think more math might unlock more options for my software career (like if I had a better grasp on calculus I could be more effective at 3D graphics and simulations, for example).<p>But right now, I probably use math more often in my main hobby than I do when I program, and that hobby is board game design.<p>I&#x27;m often resorting to math to figure out how to make sure my designs are balanced, how many cards I should use at different player counts, how many cards I should include if I have different combinations of symbols on them (first time I&#x27;ve had to break out combinatorial functions outside of school), determining and balancing probabilities of different things happening, recording the results of multiple playtests and compiling and analyzing various statistics from those playtests, etc. Some designs for my games have even been inspired by game theory, computer science structures, fractals, etc.<p>One of the most prolific game designers out there today is Reiner Knizia, who has over 600 published games, and has a doctorate in Mathematics. I can see why. There&#x27;s all sorts of neat fun things that can be found by probing different features and patterns in mathematics. What I&#x27;ve been trying to do is find corners he probably hasn&#x27;t discovered himself yet, and considering I&#x27;m only aware of about 50 of his more well-known games, so probably the concepts I think are pretty new could very well be hiding in one of his lesser known 550 other games. Several times I&#x27;ve come up with an idea, only to bump into one of his designs a month or two later that does something similar.<p>So if I can find a bunch of uses for math for game design, there&#x27;s probably a ton of potential applications I could see if I directed those energies more towards software engineering. And learn more math.