Spreadsheet gaming

"Spreadsheet gaming," a term coined by Mnchngrngs in my chat, refers to the use of spreadsheets during gameplay to improve decision making and increase success rates. These spreadsheets typically are coded using lookup functions to allow the user to retrieve mass amounts of information with just a few manual inputs. They also include a lot of basic and intermediate math, which is the bread and butter of optimized play in luck-based games.

An example is my Battle Frontier lookup sheet, which can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xldlz0m7ja3wwig/Battle%20Frontier%20lookup%20sheet.xlsx?dl=0.

In this spreadsheet, the user types in the Pokemon they see from a Battle Frontier trainer and other relevant information, and the spreadsheet immediately displays all possible held items, stats and moves for that Pokemon, along with exact offensive and defensive damage calculations. This is considerably faster than manually looking up the information, and it can be done with little to no time loss in speedruns.

I make all of my spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel. Those who don't have Excel can view the spreadsheets online for free using Google Sheets. I prefer Excel to other forms of coding because of its visual appeal. Some spreadsheets don't have as much practical value for gameplay, but they help the viewer follow along with the game. An example is my Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories win rate calculator, which shows the player's chance of beating the game with the cards currently in their deck. This information is difficult to discern from the game itself, but it is crucial to the viewing experience.

While spreadsheets have a lot of practical value, I primarily make them because I enjoy the process. It's a fun problem-solving exercise because you get to decide what information is most important and how to organize it. When I finish a spreadsheet, I feel satisfied that I've created something of value while learning new skills.