IBL and Parents

This is an open letter to Internet Bolo League (IBL) players who are
still kids living at home and their parents, who understandably can be
concerned about how their kids spend their time. I wrote this in
response to reports that some kids often have trouble playing IBL games
because their parents do not approve. My hope is to explain to the
parents what Bolo and IBL are about, and suggest to kids ways to gain
their parents' approval to participate.

Bolo is an internet tank game that involves both strategy and tactics.
Unlike most video games, Bolo involves no sex or violence, and has no
alluring, gory graphics. It is a war game, so there are themes of
conflict, but it is designed to force you to plan and execute strategy.
In other words, you actually need to think. The US Army used Bolo to
study team interactions in war games.

IBL is an organized league to foster the teamwork aspects of Bolo.
Players are seeded using a ranking system based on the Elo system used
among chess players. Once or twice a week, players gather to play
"doubles" or 2x2 games. They need to show up on time, then they must
play 3 round-robin games in which they team up with each of the other 3
players in their divisions. The players learn important principles of
sportsmanship and teamwork - how to interact constructively with a
variety of other people, how to take advantage of the strengths and
weaknesses of himself and his partner, and how to handle both victory
and defeat.

In addition to the above social advantages, IBL also fosters a sense of
responsibility. Each night the player must commit to all 3 games in
order to complete the round-robin shuffle and ensure fair matchups. This
is probably also the main reason why kids get in trouble, since the 3
games can take 1-2 hours to complete. A responsible kid would presumably
arrange this with their parents in advance, much as they would if they
needed to stay up late for any special extracurricular activity.
Likewise, the kid may need to strike some kind of compromise with his
parents, such as playing less at other times to make time for this
special weekly event, or finishing homework and chores first.

Sure, Bolo is a video game and obviously not as healthy as chess club or
a swimming match, but if kids are going to play video games anyway, it's
certainly better to encourage them to play one that involves strategic
thinking, sportsmanship, teamwork, and responsibility.

I hope this clears up some misconceptions about the game and the league.
Parents can learn more about Bolo and IBL at the following web site. I
think you will be pleasantly surprised at the level of organization and
thought that went into this mere video game:
	http://www.lgm.com/bolo/ibl/iblfaq.html

Feel free to address any remaining concerns to myself.

Joseph Lo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Duke University Medical Center, Duke University