Superman vs Reed Richards (Read OP)

[Masonicon]

here's the games that both will play:

• Chess
• Checkers
• Chinese Chess
• 3-dimensional Chess
• Japanese Chess
• reversi
• 4-dimensional chess

you can suggest more mind games here

who will win?

note: we use post-crisis comic Superman and 616!Reed Richards here

[Sharpandpointies]

Reed wins every game other than possibly Checkers, though I don't know anything about 'reversi'.

[Alan2099]

I do remember seeing a comic where the Flash was repeatedly beating Superman at chess played at super speed.

[big_adventure]

This should be massive domination for Reed. He's much more intelligent than Kal and is significantly better at strategy, tactics and planning.

[Captain Smith]

Read a CBR column that while Kal has been indicated to be superintelligent, he doesn't show it much. It goes for Reed.

[master of read]

outside of that chess match he had against flash (it was injustice superman), i dont think i've ever seen clark play anything other than checkers.

so yeah. reed.

[Powerboy]

Reed wins every game other than possibly Checkers, though I don't know anything about 'reversi'.

And even Checkers. I remember seeing a video where a World Champion Checkers player said most people think Chess is the intellectual game while Checkers is the game for retired farmers sitting on the porch. But, at the Master's level, they are both about equally intricate and checkers maybe even more complex.

[Sharpandpointies]

And even Checkers. I remember seeing a video where a World Champion Checkers player said most people think Chess is the intellectual game while Checkers is the game for retired farmers sitting on the porch. But, at the Master's level, they are both about equally intricate and checkers maybe even more complex.

Well there you go. ^_^

[Powerboy]

Well there you go. ^_^

The real Checkers question should be: Reed Richards versus Rain Man. That horribly named idiot savante thing is true. I had a great uncle (and he was a *great* uncle) who was mentally handicapped but nobody we knew could ever beat him at checkers. People came from other towns just to play against him.

I know that's not the same thing as playing against a world champion, or Reed Richards, but still impressive.

[Sharpandpointies]

A lot of it is pattern recognition and recollection of past patterns, I imagine. Same as chess, in a way. Given Reed's strategic skill and mathematical capabilities (which in some cases has allowed him to calculate all the variables and extrapolate from that to 'see' the future, as I recall), I can totally see him looking at the first move and calculating all of the possible ways the game could run from that point, then making his move, seeing the next move and narrowing things down, and working towards his end goal.

It's checkers, there are no random variables or vast amounts of different variables that need to be calculated as it would be when he's looking at stuff off a game board (and successfully does, often); there are 'only' patterns and set moves that become more and more narrow in scope as the game progresses.

I couldn't do it, but the guy who can hold and comprehend the entire universe in his mind? This seems like a Tuesday for him. ^_^

[master of read]

The real Checkers question should be: Reed Richards versus Rain Man. That horribly named idiot savante thing is true. I had a great uncle (and he was a *great* uncle) who was mentally handicapped but nobody we knew could ever beat him at checkers. People came from other towns just to play against him.

I know that's not the same thing as playing against a world champion, or Reed Richards, but still impressive.

kind of reminds me of komugi from HXH. a woman who isn't very smart but a beast at gungi. so much so, she unlocked her nen to be better at gungi.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Would Superman's super speed give him any kind of help her.

Specifically in that he could think through hundreds, if not thousands, of scenarios and strategems in the blink of an eye while Reed is stuck with normal human thinking speed to ponder things over. Or comic book super hero levels of normal thinking speed.

Yes, Reed i smarter and the better strategist. But I've always wonder if super speed thinking would help in board games.

[Postmania]

Would Superman's super speed give him any kind of help her.

Specifically in that he could think through hundreds, if not thousands, of scenarios and strategems in the blink of an eye while Reed is stuck with normal human thinking speed to ponder things over. Or comic book super hero levels of normal thinking speed.

Yes, Reed i smarter and the better strategist. But I've always wonder if super speed thinking would help in board games.

In case of Chess at least it would help in terms of calculations for sure.

One of the advantages of computers isn't just "finding the right positions" but "finding the right positions at great speed", which can be evidenced by how if you restrict a chess engine's time down to milliseconds per turn they make moves that are closer to human (although they will still destroy a human at this point)

So superman could process the positions a lot more thoroughly. That said, I still don't think that's concrete enough an advantage in terms of comic terms to really say he'd beat Reed here.

On a side note I wonder if the thread had any relation to this rather incorrect chessboard scene lol



Definitely a draw guys, you got it

[Sharpandpointies]

I'm guessing it must be White to move, then.

[big_adventure]

In case of Chess at least it would help in terms of calculations for sure.

One of the advantages of computers isn't just "finding the right positions" but "finding the right positions at great speed", which can be evidenced by how if you restrict a chess engine's time down to milliseconds per turn they make moves that are closer to human (although they will still destroy a human at this point)

So superman could process the positions a lot more thoroughly. That said, I still don't think that's concrete enough an advantage in terms of comic terms to really say he'd beat Reed here.

On a side note I wonder if the thread had any relation to this rather incorrect chessboard scene lol



Definitely a draw guys, you got it

That's infinitely hilarious. First, getting to that board would be nearly impossible against decent players. Second, if it's black's move, the next move is literally checkmate.