Computer simulation of the ensemble behavior of large interacting systems is hampered by the relative paucity of low-energy configurations. The stochastic sampling must, therefore, be guided toward the capture of configurations which, though rare, aretypical, in the sense of contributing the maximum term of the partition function, Max log . In a previous Monte Carlo study by the author, such a guidance was applied to anab initio construction of lattice configurations with a stochastic chain of steps, the transition probability at each step depending of both near and far neighbors. This study is now put on a more systematic and broader basis. It is argued that any computer study of the emergence of long-range order in large systems must be guided by Max log .