“The whole game is optional” is a nugget of Twitch wisdom that has been passed down for generations.

Or maybe it’s an offhand comment Spleebie made sometime, I don’t know.

I heard it on concision’s stream during a discussion about Factorio, and analysis of which strategies are required to beat it, and which are optional.

On the one hand, I fully understand and appreciate the idea that this pithy phrase is intended to convey. But on the other, I don’t believe I fully agree with it. And I thought that it merits additional discussion.

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