When talking about games without an explicit score, “I almost won” is a very fuzzy phrase which can be translated to “I lost” without real loss of meaning.
I don’t think there’s any point in treating the “almost victory” as anything other than a defeat, for either the people who believe or disbelieve him.
If I am interested in the question of whether winning is possible in the game, “almost victory” and “utter defeat” have very different meaning for me. Why would I need explicit score?
When talking about games without an explicit score, “I almost won” is a very fuzzy phrase which can be translated to “I lost” without real loss of meaning.
I don’t think there’s any point in treating the “almost victory” as anything other than a defeat, for either the people who believe or disbelieve him.
If I am interested in the question of whether winning is possible in the game, “almost victory” and “utter defeat” have very different meaning for me. Why would I need explicit score?