One thing that I now demand of all networking novices is an understanding of procedures in
correspondence chess, even if they don't all play chess. That's the closest physical analogue of how actual multiplayer games work, and it stops dead most rookie myths about multiplayer games.
- The connection is not a shared board between the players on a table, it's just the mailman in a correspondence game.
- Nothing happens on your board until you act upon mail sent out by your opponent.
- Nothing happens on your opponent's board until you send him/her mail stating what your move is.
- For the same reason you can't use chess notation in backgammon, bridge or StarCraft, you have to tailor the form and notation to the game.