Oh, bugger...

Ender's Game has always been one of my favourite books, though I've come away from it with different ideas each time I've read it. The main thought it generally, "Well, it can only be a surprise once." I shall just share some other points that have stood out to me:
Though a collective intelligence, the Buggers demonstrate much more intelligence than their human counterparts upon meeting another race in the universe. Where the Buggers learn from their first mistaken conceptions, the humans react only with blunt fear (which reminds me of the human reaction to a snake in the grass- rather than discovering if the snake is a poisonous or harmful variety, the fearful human just proceeds to smash it out of existence). Where the Buggers use the humans' own technology to find a human ally to help preserve their race, the humans' only survival mechanism is to breed the ultimate fighting machine and hope with crossed fingers that their produced boy can beat ridiculous odds against an enemy that hasn't shown any signs of aggression. It is the Buggers who initiate contact with a human and try to understand.
After so many speculative years about, "If we make contact with aliens..." you would assume humans would be a bit more receptive, or at least foreseen some difficulties in communication with a completely alien species and not reacted with such hostility. Even after the First Invasion, shouldn't some attempt at communication have been tried before plotting to destroy the Buggers' home world? However, I think Card has an interesting point in how the humans do react to aliens, initially and the second time around. The people in charge aren't necessarily interested in the exploration of alien cultures, so much as power-driven and fearful of this unknown they're faced with.
Adult behavior overall is appalling. The children are exploited. Pitted against one another. Planned. Sculpted into nothing more than tools without any chance of having a childhood. Yet the adults are willing to place the fate of humanity into their hands. And it works. It always amazes me that people are so willing to manipulate one another, though this is just personal opinion and Card's portrayals are generally realistic in politics and war.
Through all of this is poor little brilliant Ender. His charactre causes some protective instinct because he is always so small and picked on and he seems to genuinely feel for others and just need a friend. At the same time, he's fearsome. He is capable of killing before I could drive (and I live in a rural state where you get your license when 15). Ender is complex, but still a charactre that can be related to because despite his violent tactical side, he remains compassionate and is always searching for his true friends.
As for the games throughout the book, they all serve the same purpose. The Fantasy game, the battle room, and the computer games towards the end are all merely tools to manipulate the ultimate weapon- Ender. How such a brilliant boy didn't figure any of that out is beyond me, though I didn't catch on during my first read, but wasn't he supposed to be the hope for the entire human race? Anyhow, Card's use of the games shows Ender's growth and thoughts, as well as his development of military tactics, without making this just a boring battle against aliens. It's the battle of a lonely little boy who doesn't want to cause any harm and is tricked into causing the most harm any human has done. The cruel irony.
But the humans lived. As they would have anyhow.