This week's theme was "Connect Four"; games which work well with four players. Agent Easy had informed us in advance he would not be attending, so we were prepared. We began the evening somewhat late with Blokus, a game that really doesn't work well with any other number than four. While we were waiting for the inestimable Bharmer to tear himself away from work, we tried the three-player variant of Blokus, which requires three players to take turns placing the fourth colour's shapes.
As seems to be the case in many games we play where there is an "automated" or "group controlled" extra player, the red "bot" won. Shemp came in second, so I suppose technically he won. Bharmer tried to argue that since we were playing his seat until he showed up, he won. I don't think this would stand up in a court of law.
At this point, the suitably four-cornered vegetarian lasagna was ready. We dug in over an actual four player game. Ouch (or Luch, or Hapi, or whatever he's calling himself these days) tried an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful compressed strategy of ignoring the usual dash for the centre area and concentrating instead on placing his own pieces largely in his own corner. Bharmer did quite well for his maiden foray into the game, catching on quite quickly as is usual for him. It came down to a relatively close match between Shemp and I - I squeaked through to win by finding a way to place my pieces which I don't think many people saw until the endgame. I put down all of my pieces. I believe Shemp was second with something like 7 or 8 squares remaining. I usually do middling well in this game, so I was pleased to take the laurel.
We moved on to Vegas Showdown. This game continues to improve with additional plays, at least for me. The bidding is competitive without being overly frustrating or overlong, the mat tile-placement strategy is challenging without being convoluted, and there are definitely several strategies for success. I think that four players is probably a sweet spot for this game because with five you might have a lot more "thwarting" due to being outbid in auctions (there isn't an additional premier tile slot in a five player game). I don't recall playing this with five players yet, though we might have when Jaywowzer came by, so it's hard to say.
I won by a margin of 8 fame (I believe), taking something like 64 total (?), with Shemp giving me a definite run for my money. I often ignore income (revenue) early in the game, concentrating on quick fame grabs. Since the restaurants and lounges often give quick fame boosts from events, building them early on is one definite strategy which helped me out. I often fall behind in revenue, but this game I managed to have a fairly substantial income by the end of the game. Also unusual for me was my achievement of filling both Hotel and Casino sections and connecting the two entrances, something I haven't been able to do in all but one of my sessions with this game. I usually come in second or third in this game lately, so it was satisfying to win it as well. Four points from three-quarter finished red corners and the bonus points from the Famous Chef card probably put me over the top, but I did quite well in all categories.
Due to my incorrect reading of the rules, we played with the renovation rule incorrectly - forcing players to take one renovation action to remove tiles and a second to place previously removed tiles. This affected Shemp and Ouch adversely. We will review this rule again next time we play - I believe the correct reading is "remove 0, 1 or 2 tiles, then place 0, 1 or 2 tiles" with no limitations on replacing tiles which had just been removed.
This game has become one of the long-term favourites in my collection. Definite top 10 material, and quite possibly top 5.
We've taken to using 11.5 gram clay composite chips to substitute for the plastic chips provided with the game. It definitely improves the feel. If I could mount the player mats on more sturdy material, I think the overall impression of the game would improve even more.
My winning streak ended with a horrendous crash as we finished the night with TransEuropa - the version of TransAmerica set in Europe. I am not very good at this game at all - I have consistently played poorly with it, and last night was no exception. I was the "game ender" in both sessions. I think Ouch won the second game and Shemp won the first. I enjoy the simplicity and speed of this game, but I do feel that the random card draw can have a significant affect on one's odds of winning, even over three deals. For instance, in the first game, I was dealt Oslo twice. As far as I can make out, aside from Madrid and Bilbao, it's one of the most inaccesible locations, especially if no one else is dealt Stockholm or Malmo. Bharmer decided to leave a little early so as to catch up on rest, so we were playing with only three, which is not optimal for the game system (or so I gather).
I am getting better with additional plays and I do enjoy the game, but I am not good at this one.
Showing posts with label Blokus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blokus. Show all posts
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Thursday, January 13, 2005
When headaches are FUN
This week, at dictator Luch's request, we played Tigris and Euphrates and Blokus. It was an odd evening, because Kozure came home to find that his computer was so infested with virii and spyware that he was forced to spend the entire evening fixing it. Luckily, Tilli stepped in and took T&E head on.
She hadn't played before, so we explained the rules and got going. Disaster tiles were put to better use than they normally are by our group. Kingdoms were effectively sliced and diced this way with some pretty interesting results (fortunes were swinging wildly). The game was very different for another reason: Since we paid much more attention to moving our leaders around to maximize our points, rather than independently building kingdoms and scrambling for the treasures, the game actually ended due to lack of tiles (with 5 treasures remaining on the board!). Highly unusual! We also stumbled across a new strategy: placing tiles adjacent to leaders specifically to prevent them from playing red temples, keeping them vulnerable to inner conflict. I'm actually the one who did it, but it's not until Shemp pointed it out that it was apparent that this was a good strategy in many circumstances.
Unfortuantely, T&E can be daunting to learn. The difference between internal and external conflict, and particularly the consequences of each, are abstract and therefore often hard to remember. I would say that Tilli did better than most (her score certainly reflected that), despite the headache it was giving her. In the end, she said she had fun but felt somewhat dazed by the experience, and was going to sit out for the rest of the evening. We immediately tried to get her back with Blokus.
At first it didn't work. Kozure joined us for one round, but then he discovered that his computer disinfecting wasn't going as well as he'd hoped, so Tilli joined us for a second game. Blokus continues to be a fast paced, light and fun abstract strategy game. Whereas the first few games seem to revolve around finding opportunities to simply place your pieces, our most recent games have seen players much more on the attack. Blocking, carving out future growth paths, making pretty patterns... all valid strategies.
To finish things off, we had another game of T&E. For whatever reason, this three player game led to very high scores. Luch seemed in command for most of the game, with a stranglehold on two monuments and an on-again off-again relationship with a third giving him an enormous stream of points in three of four colours. his strategy was interesting: he frequently dumped tiles in order to have the ones he needed to win battles. This is how he succeeded in securing so many temples for so long. Amazingly, he actually finished last... All the tile changing and fortifying didn't leave him enough opportunity to beef up his one weak sphere. Still, it was a tight race, 3 points separating the first and last place.
Footnote: Every game, I build temples, and every game, they are quickly stolen from me. Note to self: Gretzky!!!
She hadn't played before, so we explained the rules and got going. Disaster tiles were put to better use than they normally are by our group. Kingdoms were effectively sliced and diced this way with some pretty interesting results (fortunes were swinging wildly). The game was very different for another reason: Since we paid much more attention to moving our leaders around to maximize our points, rather than independently building kingdoms and scrambling for the treasures, the game actually ended due to lack of tiles (with 5 treasures remaining on the board!). Highly unusual! We also stumbled across a new strategy: placing tiles adjacent to leaders specifically to prevent them from playing red temples, keeping them vulnerable to inner conflict. I'm actually the one who did it, but it's not until Shemp pointed it out that it was apparent that this was a good strategy in many circumstances.
Unfortuantely, T&E can be daunting to learn. The difference between internal and external conflict, and particularly the consequences of each, are abstract and therefore often hard to remember. I would say that Tilli did better than most (her score certainly reflected that), despite the headache it was giving her. In the end, she said she had fun but felt somewhat dazed by the experience, and was going to sit out for the rest of the evening. We immediately tried to get her back with Blokus.
At first it didn't work. Kozure joined us for one round, but then he discovered that his computer disinfecting wasn't going as well as he'd hoped, so Tilli joined us for a second game. Blokus continues to be a fast paced, light and fun abstract strategy game. Whereas the first few games seem to revolve around finding opportunities to simply place your pieces, our most recent games have seen players much more on the attack. Blocking, carving out future growth paths, making pretty patterns... all valid strategies.
To finish things off, we had another game of T&E. For whatever reason, this three player game led to very high scores. Luch seemed in command for most of the game, with a stranglehold on two monuments and an on-again off-again relationship with a third giving him an enormous stream of points in three of four colours. his strategy was interesting: he frequently dumped tiles in order to have the ones he needed to win battles. This is how he succeeded in securing so many temples for so long. Amazingly, he actually finished last... All the tile changing and fortifying didn't leave him enough opportunity to beef up his one weak sphere. Still, it was a tight race, 3 points separating the first and last place.
Footnote: Every game, I build temples, and every game, they are quickly stolen from me. Note to self: Gretzky!!!
Friday, January 07, 2005
Games are Like Jolly Ranchers
They're hard, sometimes sweet but sometimes sour, and they hurt your teeth. Wait. No. Santa head candies taste like Jolly Ranchers.
No.
Blokus pieces are like Jolly Ranchers.
*record scratch noise*
Well, we kicked off the 2005 season of WAGS with two classics and one newcomer, Princes of Florence, Pirate’s Cove and Blokus.
Princes of Florence is becoming more strategic as people begin to understand better the more subtle aspects of bidding, and the more coarse aspects like remembering to leave an action to actually play a work on the last round. This time I was very satisfied with my timing and my bidding, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent Easy from snatching first place. We are achieving higher scores than ever in Princes of Florence, with familiarity being the obvious cause.
Pirate’s Cove held up well on its third appearance, with some shrewd strategy and sneaky moves making appearances. All the other players managed to build up their ships quite quickly, while I limped off to Pirate’s Cove to nurse my wounds after two early round trouncings. Fortunately, I was able to claw my way back up, and despite Shemp’s apparently commanding lead on rounds 8-10 the final scores were fairly close. Shemp did win, but Easy and I had to fight it out for second.
The introduction of Blokus, a simple geometric strategy game with a lot of depth, was a success. Blokus is played on a raised grid of squares, onto which each player plays an assortment of differently shaped pieces ranging in size from five squares to a single square, 21 shapes in all. The pieces must be placed so that each newly placed piece only touches corners (not flat sides) of your own colour pieces, and no pieces may overlap in any way. The play proceeds with each player placing a piece until he or she is “out of the game” when unable to place a new piece. The player with the fewest total squares in their pieces remaining once no one can play a piece is the winner. Bonus points are given to players who play all of their pieces, as well as those who use the tiny one-square piece last.
Blokus is one of those games which you cotton to immediately. It has an attractive look, the pieces interlock easily and are removed easily, and the game play is simple but strategic. There is no theme to speak of, but in the case of this game, none is needed. It is a refined a game as you could expect, up there with Go, Chess, Backgammon and Chinese Checkers as shining examples of simplicity in design.
I kept on having fragmented flashbacks of the light cycles from Tron while playing this game initially, but more apt comparisons are to Qix, Domaine or fractal geometry – the successful strategy is a combination of defensive play to maximize your own future moves, while offensively blocking opponent options.
A very good game, destined to become a classic with many enthusiasts, I think.
For the records (being kept by me, but open for your inspection), scores and rankings:
Princes of Florence
1st Place = Easy – 63 prestige
2nd Place = Kozure – 59 prestige
3rd Place = Hapi – 50 prestige
4th Place = Shemp – 49 prestige
Pirate’s Cove
1st Place = Shemp – 37 fame
2nd Place = Kozure – 36 fame
3rd Place = Easy – 35 fame
4th Place = Hapi – 26 fame
Blokus, Session 1
1st Place = Easy – 7 squares
2nd Place = Kozure – 14 squares
3rd Place = Hapi – 17 squares
4th Place = Shemp – 19 squares
Blokus, Session 2
1st Place = Tie, Kozure/Easy – 7 squares
2nd Place = Hapi – 8 squares3rd Place = Shemp – 12 squares
Rules Question: Pirate's Cove
Can one person play a Royal Navy card, then another person play a Royal Navy card to send the RN somewhere else?
No.
Blokus pieces are like Jolly Ranchers.
*record scratch noise*
Well, we kicked off the 2005 season of WAGS with two classics and one newcomer, Princes of Florence, Pirate’s Cove and Blokus.
Princes of Florence is becoming more strategic as people begin to understand better the more subtle aspects of bidding, and the more coarse aspects like remembering to leave an action to actually play a work on the last round. This time I was very satisfied with my timing and my bidding, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent Easy from snatching first place. We are achieving higher scores than ever in Princes of Florence, with familiarity being the obvious cause.
Pirate’s Cove held up well on its third appearance, with some shrewd strategy and sneaky moves making appearances. All the other players managed to build up their ships quite quickly, while I limped off to Pirate’s Cove to nurse my wounds after two early round trouncings. Fortunately, I was able to claw my way back up, and despite Shemp’s apparently commanding lead on rounds 8-10 the final scores were fairly close. Shemp did win, but Easy and I had to fight it out for second.
The introduction of Blokus, a simple geometric strategy game with a lot of depth, was a success. Blokus is played on a raised grid of squares, onto which each player plays an assortment of differently shaped pieces ranging in size from five squares to a single square, 21 shapes in all. The pieces must be placed so that each newly placed piece only touches corners (not flat sides) of your own colour pieces, and no pieces may overlap in any way. The play proceeds with each player placing a piece until he or she is “out of the game” when unable to place a new piece. The player with the fewest total squares in their pieces remaining once no one can play a piece is the winner. Bonus points are given to players who play all of their pieces, as well as those who use the tiny one-square piece last.
Blokus is one of those games which you cotton to immediately. It has an attractive look, the pieces interlock easily and are removed easily, and the game play is simple but strategic. There is no theme to speak of, but in the case of this game, none is needed. It is a refined a game as you could expect, up there with Go, Chess, Backgammon and Chinese Checkers as shining examples of simplicity in design.
I kept on having fragmented flashbacks of the light cycles from Tron while playing this game initially, but more apt comparisons are to Qix, Domaine or fractal geometry – the successful strategy is a combination of defensive play to maximize your own future moves, while offensively blocking opponent options.
A very good game, destined to become a classic with many enthusiasts, I think.
For the records (being kept by me, but open for your inspection), scores and rankings:
Princes of Florence
1st Place = Easy – 63 prestige
2nd Place = Kozure – 59 prestige
3rd Place = Hapi – 50 prestige
4th Place = Shemp – 49 prestige
Pirate’s Cove
1st Place = Shemp – 37 fame
2nd Place = Kozure – 36 fame
3rd Place = Easy – 35 fame
4th Place = Hapi – 26 fame
Blokus, Session 1
1st Place = Easy – 7 squares
2nd Place = Kozure – 14 squares
3rd Place = Hapi – 17 squares
4th Place = Shemp – 19 squares
Blokus, Session 2
1st Place = Tie, Kozure/Easy – 7 squares
2nd Place = Hapi – 8 squares3rd Place = Shemp – 12 squares
Rules Question: Pirate's Cove
Can one person play a Royal Navy card, then another person play a Royal Navy card to send the RN somewhere else?
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