Re: the tedium of playing it for real
Although I have to disagree with you there, I readily admit that the early stages of any StarCraft game (just like the early stages of any Dune, Age of Empires, Warcraft, you name it game) can be exceptionally tedious if you decide to play safe and build up your troops and resources before you try anything, or suicidally exciting if you decide you're bored and go off for a bit of a skirmish before you're ready