Conquer Club

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2012 5:14 am**

Good comments.

This debrief shows the the risk/reward of bonuses.

Playing strategically with hindsight,my weakness to red is evident. It would have been interesting if I had used the active game log to ally with green, reinforce all to Bangkok to protect green's bonus and convinced green to deploy all to NY to spread the stacks out.

I may attempt to start using the game log in active SoC games for this type of discussion.

If I had taken this action and alerted the other players, what would have been your reaction to green's strength? Would it still have been to eliminate me?

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:19 am**

Fewnix wrote:Red here. while it may seem premature o start looking in round 2 at the possibility of eliminating someone, that is one part, one important part of the F4M guidelines - always knowing who is the weakest player, and even more importantly, whether or not you can eliminate him. Two separate questions. . In a map with settings - Terminator, sunny, unlimited forts- the search for answers to those two questions should be a priority. we also need to keep in mind the flip side all the other players are looking at the chances of eliminating This started to be my focus in plans for round three

Hi Fewnix;

First of all I think that we need to understand that the F4M are not commandments written in stone to be obeyed or we are put to death if we disobey. The F4M are really guidelines which if we follow we should be OK in the formation of our game. This does not mean that there are not exceptions to those guidelines which would serve us better not to follow the F4M. For example, A hypothetical situation...

It is your turn to play. It is the first move. Your drops are Chicago and New York, two neighboring regions. Also you have Moscow and Stockholm, another two neighboring regions. And your final three drops are all in the south of Oceania. So you got Perth, Sydney and Port Moresby. And just to sweeten the deal there is only 1 troop on Jakarta. All your regions have 3's on them. What do you do?

The F4M states that on the first move you "Deploy Only" and do not attack on round 01. And if that was a command then that is what we should do. But obviously in such a hypothetical situation as this one, it would greatly be to our advantage to assault Jakarta and take Oceania in that first turn. Thus the F4M is a guide to us which states that all things be equal and even, the best thing to do would be to "Drop Only" and do not attack. But obviously when a situation presents itself that is toward our best interest, to follow the suggestions of the F4M is then only to our detriment. Our own harm.

Let us also notice that the F4M only mentions to be alert of weaker players starting in Move 4. That's because the first three moves are really Survival moves. You very well can't be thinking of eliminating any players when your priority should be based on the survival of the game. That's what the F4M first three moves is really all about. Survival. Building up numbers, combining stacks of 3's into stacks of 5's because stacks of 3's are easier to kill then stacks of 5's.

For example, if a stack of 7 assaulted a stack of 5 the assault may very well fail simply because the odds of two dice would allow a double chance of a 6 or other high number to come out for the defender. Where as if the defender only had one die to defend himself with then his only hope might be a six because out of three dices attacking, one of them got to beat the defenders die. So 7 troops against 5 troops are not good chances of winning. But a stack of 7 can more easily take on two stacks of 3's and have room for dessert.

That's because after the stack of 7 gets the first two troops then that last troop can only use one die. and so the 7 wins easily there and if only four are left, 4 vs 3 on the second stack of 3's, the odds are better then 7v5 simply because if by sheer luck the first roll eliminates the first two defending troops then the defender is once again reduced to only one die. So it is more conceivable that a stack of seven has better chances against two stacks of 3's then a single stack of 5. Or look at it this way, two stacks of 3's will be using a single die in their defense, twice, but a stack of 5 will only be using a single die in it's defense just the one time. every roll in a stack of 5 will be two dice until the last troop. That makes a stack of 5 harder to kill then two stacks of 3's.

So it's all about survival. That is what the F4M really is; A survival guide. and that is why we "Deploy Only" and do not attack and combine our stacks and all of that. But then in the fourth move, now we can keep our eyes open for potential targets because if we did the first 3 moves correctly, we should be surviving and thriving. If we did not, then it makes no sense to keep alert as to weaker targets because then we are the weaker targets being looked at.

The only reason why I just went into such detail about this is because your focus up to now should not be about looking for easy targets but about survival and that is all. The first 3 moves is all about survival. Survival and growing strong because no weakling survives for too long.

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2012 6:30 am**

kierkegaard_2 wrote:Good comments.

This debrief shows the the risk/reward of bonuses.

Playing strategically with hindsight,my weakness to red is evident. It would have been interesting if I had used the active game log to ally with green, reinforce all to Bangkok to protect green's bonus and convinced green to deploy all to NY to spread the stacks out.

I may attempt to start using the game log in active SoC games for this type of discussion.

If I had taken this action and alerted the other players, what would have been your reaction to green's strength? Would it still have been to eliminate me?

Under the same circumstances I would still have eliminated Blue when I did simply because if I did not some one else would. Better it be me then another.

But lets keep in mind that this is still only round 03. We are jumping the gun when we analyze what has not happen yet. If we analyze the whole game in this round then what will we have left to say for those rounds. when we get to them.

So far everyone is playing well and doing their best. Up to this point. The next round is the round that truly shows some of the errors and horrors of our play.

Posted: **Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:14 pm**

Fewnix wrote:Red here.

The most likely target for me to eliminate in round 6 is Blue currently the weakest player on the map with 19 troops and 3 spoils. Assuming my plan listed above works, in round , 5 I would have 18 troops basically adjacent to blues 19 or so troops, depending on what happens between rounds. With only a 3 deploy and a set only IF I I pick up a third red this round ,that would give me about 25 troops to eliminate 20? or so blue troops. possible but not likely, and I hear you teach, trying would just make me a target,.>

But If I take a spoils this round and a spoils round 5, I start round 6 with 4 spoils, I could have a set to cash and that set could be worth more than 4. if someone has cashed a set, While there are other possibilities, blue is most likely to be the weakest player then , I would probably have a reasonable chance of eliminating him and then and it would trying. Blue is about my rank so eiminating him would give me about 20 points virtually guaranteeing I do not lose any points this game. Picking up blues 5 spoils would give me another set and a good chance to survive and eliminate at least one more player, before being eliminated. giving me a net gain of over 20 points . Etc.

I sincerely hope that I am not sharing too much information here with everyone. I wouldn't want to bore anyone.

If I am wrong in anything that I write I am sure that sooner or later an instructor will make a correction in what I am saying. I think however that the important thing and the purpose of this debriefing is to just share our thoughts and ideas because the truth of the matter is that when we try to teach others by sharing our thoughts, even if we are wrong about something, we still learn and get more from the sharing then if we just stay quite. Some how just participating in the thing, whatever it may be helps us to learn and to appreciate and to grow then when we just only read and sit stagnantly, and so I sure would like to see more participation in this thread just to see more people understand what it is that I just finished saying. I am sure that Fewnix understands 100% what I am talking about here. If you never leave your house, then you never go anywhere.

Now one thing that I am learning, just like I am sure that Fewnix is as well; Is that when you eliminate another player, if you do not do it in a proper fashion and way then you yourself get eliminated. I am learning that eliminating other players in rounds 6 through 8 is way to early for that kind of activity unless you do it correctly, and here is why.

In a 6 player escalating game, assuming that everyone has been earning spoils on every play since round 02, the last person to trade their spoils for troops in round 06 will have received 15 troops for their spoils. That's about half of the total averages of troops per player. In other words, the average player would or should have about 25 or 35 troops by the end of round 06. How do we know this? Lets do the math.

We start out with 7 regions times 3 troops per region, that's 21 troops. We gain an additional 3 troops times 5 rounds, that's 15 troops. for a total of 36 troops. Assuming that we lose about 9 troops or so because our single troops will be taken by other players who will be carding off of us and we also may lose an average of 1 troop per round trying to get spoils perhaps even more, brings our total troop count to 25 - 30 troops or so by the end of round 05. So in round 06 we have an average of about anywhere from 30 to 40 troops on the board that's including the spoils trade in, which is obligatory in round 06. That's assuming that everyone plays by the book.

It is rare to see anyone with a spoils trade in round 07 and so in round 08 the spoils trade begin at 20 troops for the first trade perhaps 25 if anyone had traded again in round 07. Usually people just hold on to them cards looking for a higher trade in. At any rate to use a spoils trade of say 30 troops to eliminate a player who has 30 troops in round 08 leaves you at the same troop strength as you started unless that player has a set for you to trade in. If they do then you are right where you should be if not better off at around 50 troops or so but if not then you are left behind at about 25 troops or so and easy prey for the next player to come along and eliminate you from the game.

So any thought's of eliminating any other players in round 06, 07 or even 08 is way to premature and risky at best. The right and proper time to think about eliminating another player from the game would be around round 09 and up when the spoils trade in would more then make up for what you would lose in eliminating another player. otherwise you may be eliminating a player with 30 troops only to gain 20 or 25 troops in return. In other words it would be like taking a step backwards in terms of troops strength and survivability. You could eliminate someone early enough in round 06 or 07 and then find yourself eliminated in round 08 because you would be just to weak to defend yourself from another player by then. It would be better to wait and see who might try such a thing and then eliminate that player gaining a much better trade in of troops in return. At least in those early rounds.

Posted: **Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:18 am**

F4M as Opening Move and a reply to some points

Much of this discussion involves the First Four Moves( F4M) that are the core of SoC teaching and that we should all attempt to master. Here's my thoughts and an attempt to reply to some points..

I see F4M as an excellent "opening move" covering the first phase of a Terminator game, played on the Classic map with settings - sunny escalating spoils, unlimited fort. As in chess the opening moves cover only the first phase ot the game , the other phases being the middle game and the endgame. While there are defense elements in F4M, decreasing the chances of you being eliminated early in the game, it is strong on offense, putting you into a position where the odds favour you making 1-2 kills per game (winning 25% or so) and "that will be enough to see your score move up and your fun increase",

Sorry Vice, F4M tells us, I believe correctly, that in the first move, except in certain situations, you should pass on trying for a spoils and concentrate on building up the stacks, It also tells us you may pass on getting a spoils in the second round, if the circumstance are not right, but should look to taking one if reasonable. If you have not taken a spoils in the first two moves, you should look to getting spoils your third and fourth moves, even in unfavourable circumstances. Putting that together, as the game enters round 5 and the middle game begins, you, and most of the other players, should have 2 or 3 spoils - a pass in one of the first 4 moves equals 3 spoils, a pass in two of the first 4 moves equals 2 spoils.You should also have a reasonable number of troops 20+ concentrated on 3 to 5 stacks 6+? in different parts of the map- North America, Europe, Eastern Asia?..

I try in the first four moves to:

Always know who is the weakest player and whether or not you can eliminate him

.

That doesn't mean that I would try to eliminate someone in the first four moves, most likely the odds would be against a successful attempt., but I would attempt to know from teh beginning of the game to the end, if there is someone I could eliminate or am close to eliminating and adjust my play accordingly..

At round 5 we can say the middle game begins, with most players in the game looking for someone they have a reasonable chance of eliminating. There will almost certainly be one or more elimination attempts by round 9, quite possibly by round 8 and possible by round 7 or even 6 or even 5. I see any attempt to eliminate someone, whether tried by you or someone else, whether successful or not, as the start of the end game. . Not the end of the game. though it may be the end for someone, the start of the end game.,

Posted: **Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:51 am**

10476657 Game Log Round 04

Spoiler

2012-01-30 06:15:11 - Incrementing game to round 4

2012-01-30 18:07:36 - kierkegaard_2 received 3 troops for 4 regions
2012-01-30 18:07:42 - kierkegaard_2 deployed 3 troops on Nairobi
2012-01-30 18:07:44 - kierkegaard_2 assaulted Cairo from Nairobi and conquered it from Kiwi_NZ
2012-01-30 18:07:48 - kierkegaard_2 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-01-31 02:00:17 - Kiwi_NZ received 3 troops for 6 regions
2012-01-31 02:00:36 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 2 troops on Istanbul
2012-01-31 02:00:41 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 1 troops on Montreal
2012-01-31 02:01:06 - Kiwi_NZ assaulted Berlin from Istanbul and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-01-31 02:01:19 - Kiwi_NZ ended the turn and got spoils

2012-01-31 17:12:39 - bman8397 received 2 troops for holding South America
2012-01-31 17:12:39 - bman8397 received 3 troops for 9 regions
2012-01-31 17:13:05 - bman8397 deployed 1 troops on Sao Paulo
2012-01-31 17:13:07 - bman8397 deployed 1 troops on Bogota
2012-01-31 17:13:10 - bman8397 deployed 3 troops on Anchorage
2012-01-31 17:13:19 - bman8397 assaulted Vancouver from Anchorage and conquered it from Viceroy63
2012-01-31 17:13:30 - bman8397 assaulted Los Angeles from Vancouver and conquered it from Kiwi_NZ
2012-01-31 17:13:42 - bman8397 reinforced Sao Paulo with 3 troops from Magadan
2012-01-31 17:13:46 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Magadan
2012-01-31 17:13:48 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 2 troops from Bogota
2012-01-31 17:13:51 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Los Angeles
2012-01-31 17:13:57 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-01-31 17:13:59 - bman8397 reinforced Los Angeles with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-01-31 17:14:10 - bman8397 reinforced Mexico City with 1 troops from Havana
2012-01-31 17:14:12 - bman8397 reinforced Mexico City with 1 troops from Los Angeles
2012-01-31 17:14:15 - bman8397 reinforced Mexico City with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-01-31 17:14:22 - bman8397 reinforced Sao Paulo with 1 troops from Mexico City
2012-01-31 17:14:37 - bman8397 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-01 02:09:10 - Viceroy63 received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-01 02:09:19 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Chicago
2012-02-01 02:09:41 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Johannesburg
2012-02-01 02:09:49 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Delhi
2012-02-01 02:10:00 - Viceroy63 assaulted Moscow from Delhi and conquered it from Kiwi_NZ
2012-02-01 02:10:20 - Viceroy63 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-02 01:09:29 - Fewnix received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-02 01:10:56 - Fewnix deployed 2 troops on Dubai
2012-02-02 01:11:14 - Fewnix deployed 1 troops on Novosibirsk
2012-02-02 01:14:39 - Fewnix assaulted Cairo from Dubai and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-02 01:15:09 - Fewnix ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-02 01:23:09 - ronshippau received 2 troops for holding Oceania
2012-02-02 01:23:09 - ronshippau received 3 troops for 10 regions
2012-02-02 01:23:14 - ronshippau played a set of Montreal, Johannesburg, and Astana worth 4 troops
2012-02-02 01:23:17 - ronshippau deployed 9 troops on Bangkok
2012-02-02 01:23:26 - ronshippau assaulted Cairo from Dakar and conquered it from Fewnix
2012-02-02 01:23:58 - ronshippau reinforced Lagos with 2 troops from Madrid
2012-02-02 01:24:03 - ronshippau ended the turn and got spoils

Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 04

Spoiler

kierkegaard_2, Blue would have done better moving his stacks further away from one another. His stack in Astana is right next to his stack in Hong Kong. Why? You do not need two stacks right next to each other as it defeats the purpose of having stacks. You might just as well then make one very strong Hong Kong stack.

What Blue should have done in this round is to deployed 1 troop on Nairobi and 2 on Astana. Assault Moscow from Astana, advancing all troops. Also I would have moved the stack on Hong Kong to Manila. That way those two stacks would have been as far away as possible from each other and the Stack in Manila would be away from Green's stack of 11 troops. At what ever point that Green sees Blue as a threat, Blue is toast.

The whole point of the game is to survive first and then to win. With the lost of his regions in the America's in round 03, Blue is in a weakened state. Blue's only mission now should have been to run and hide and live to fight another day. Thus you move the stacks as far away as possible from each other so as to make them harder to kill. It could also just have been possible for Blue to move that stack little by little across Europe and into the Americas. Who can say?
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Kiwi_NZ, Yellow, comes next after Blue. Seeing that Blue has now become the weakest player on the map and that he is not moving his stacks across the globe, Yellow should have placed himself in a position to directly oppose Blue. Yellow should have dropped all 3 troops on Instanbul for a total of 9 troops there. At the end of his turn, he splits them, 4 troops to Moscow and 4 troops go to Cairo. Yellow would then end up with 5 troops on Moscow to confront Blue's 5 troops on Astana, and Yellow would also then have 5 troops on Cairo to confront Blue's 5 troops on Nairobi. And with the 7 Yellow troops on Beijing assaulting Manila, Yellow would then have that stack there facing Blue at Hong Kong as well.
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bman8397, Pink now plays after Yellow. Pink has already secured himself a bonus zone. The logical course of action now would be, to continue with the strategy of creating strong stacks all over the globe. For example deploying 2 troops in London would secure that stack there for Pink. He can then deploy the other 3 troops to Mexico City to protect his Bonus Zone.

While the Assault on Vancouver from Anchorage was an excellent move to continue to assault that stack of 3 on Los Angeles was in my opinion, fruitless. In an escalating spoils game you just want to get the spoils. Anything more then that is a waste.
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Viceroy63, Cyan, I played next after Pink played. I saw that Blue was weak but was also not in any position to do anything about it. So I just continued with my game hoping that I would not lose Chicago to Pinks local area strategy. I assaulted and conquered Moscow when Manila would have been much better Instead. I missed that one, I guess.
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Fewnix, Red also was in an excellent position to take out blue but as with the rest us, not enough troops strength. It's a race to see who gets the spoils first and who is the first to use those spoils in getting to Blue.
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ronshippau, Green, with his last forting move indicated that he saw Blue as weak and set into motion to get within striking range. But Green is not concentrated in his efforts. Green could have moved all of his troops from Madrid and Dakar to bear on Nairobi but he did not. Had he done so then he could no doubt had place all of his troops on his stack on Bangkok on the next round to bring all of his fire power to bear on Blue and not make the half ass job that he did in round 05.

Viceroy63 Reply To Fewnix

Spoiler

Fewnix wrote:F4M as Opening Move and a reply to some points

Much of this discussion involves the First Four Moves( F4M) that are the core of SoC teaching and that we should all attempt to master. Here's my thoughts and an attempt to reply to some points..

I see F4M as an excellent "opening move" covering the first phase of a Terminator game, played on the Classic map with settings - sunny escalating spoils, unlimited fort. As in chess the opening moves cover only the first phase ot the game , the other phases being the middle game and the endgame. While there are defense elements in F4M, decreasing the chances of you being eliminated early in the game, it is strong on offense, putting you into a position where the odds favour you making 1-2 kills per game (winning 25% or so) and "that will be enough to see your score move up and your fun increase",

Sorry Vice, F4M tells us, I believe correctly, that in the first move, except in certain situations, you should pass on trying for a spoils and concentrate on building up the stacks, It also tells us you may pass on getting a spoils in the second round, if the circumstance are not right, but should look to taking one if reasonable. If you have not taken a spoils in the first two moves, you should look to getting spoils your third and fourth moves, even in unfavourable circumstances. Putting that together, as the game enters round 5 and the middle game begins, you, and most of the other players, should have 2 or 3 spoils - a pass in one of the first 4 moves equals 3 spoils, a pass in two of the first 4 moves equals 2 spoils.You should also have a reasonable number of troops 20+ concentrated on 3 to 5 stacks 6+? in different parts of the map- North America, Europe, Eastern Asia?..

I try in the first four moves to:
Always know who is the weakest player and whether or not you can eliminate him
.

That doesn't mean that I would try to eliminate someone in the first four moves, most likely the odds would be against a successful attempt., but I would attempt to know from teh beginning of the game to the end, if there is someone I could eliminate or am close to eliminating and adjust my play accordingly..

At round 5 we can say the middle game begins, with most players in the game looking for someone they have a reasonable chance of eliminating. There will almost certainly be one or more elimination attempts by round 9, quite possibly by round 8 and possible by round 7 or even 6 or even 5. I see any attempt to eliminate someone, whether tried by you or someone else, whether successful or not, as the start of the end game. . Not the end of the game. though it may be the end for someone, the start of the end game.,

Hi Fewnix;

From the introduction to the F4M...

F4M Introduction wrote:
These are some guidelines to help you learn how we play terminator escalating games. Once you master these concepts, you'll be able to play almost any other game type. Keep in mind that you will not win every game you play with these tactics even the best among us only win 25-30%. What we have learned is that we can make 1-2 kills per game (winning 25% or so) and that will be enough to see your score move up and your fun increase.

One thing that we have to understand is that the game of world domination is nothing in comparison to the game of Chess. The game of Chess has absolutely no element of chance or luck in it what so ever. Chess is a game of pure mind power and a language which translates into the game pieces. Who ever understands and masters that language of Chess is ultimately the winner and that is all that there is to Chess.

All things being equal the better Chess player will always win at Chess but all things being equal at the game of world domination does not guarantee the win to any player. The best that we can strive to do in the game of world domination is to survive long enough and to be in the right place at the right time so that should we find ourselves lucky enough that when we can win, we will be in a position to take advantage of that opportunity and go on to win.

But all things considered and being equal, this game of world domination is really just a Roulette Wheel where you are either red or Black and the ball has to land some where.

We see the Roulette Wheel at work with the spoils trades. The first trade is for 04 troops, then 06 troops, then 08 troops, until it gets to 12 and then jumps to 15 and then it counts by 5's after that. Round and round she goes and where she stops nobody knows but we all know that she has to stop some where. And sure we can skip turns or be the last one to get spoils so we get the most for our spoils but none of that guarantees that we win. It ultimately falls on the person who was just lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. That person who got just enough of a spoils trade to make the difference in the game, and eliminated the first player, got that players spoils and then moved on to the next. If there were a next?

The point is that the F4M are only strategies to survival and that is all. strategies to insure that you maintain enough troops for the spoils at hand. For as the book states, If you have too few troops and much spoils then some one will try to eliminate you in an early round for your spoils if it is worth it." So the strategy is to survive long enough to see if we are lucky enough to make it to the point where fortune may smile upon us. Where we may be the one to see that big enough spoils trade to see the difference and win the game. Also being in the right place at the right time in term of stacks in diverse places is also a part of the strategy of survival as well and it helps in the winning should the spoils fall to you in your favor.

Posted: **Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:46 pm**

I split my troop deploy here,I think it was wise,as to build equal stacks across the board.

I just read >
Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 04
hindsight is a good thing,most likely the right thing to do,with my troop deploy here

Posted: **Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:57 pm**

Kiwi_NZ wrote:I split my troop deploy here,I think it was wise,as to build equal stacks across the board.

I just read >
Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 04
hindsight is a good thing,most likely the right thing to do,with my troop deploy here

Hind sight is an excellent way to learn tactics. All the best boxers watch videos of themselves in previous fights to see what they did wrong and not do it again. Also the military is famous for teaching from past battles lost what the mistakes were so that future general will not repeat those mistakes.

That is why this "Debriefing of Game 10476657" is an excellent study tool. You just can't beat pictures for learning from. I could write a thousand words and it may not even be worth the picture up there of round 04. But what really makes this worth the while is your participation in this event.

So, Thank You Kiwi_NZ, for your comment and participation! It is much appreciated.

Posted: **Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:16 am**

Good analysis Viceroy, not much I could add. It's painful watching green and pink at this point.

Posted: **Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:47 am**

Thank You Dhallmeyer;

Just dropping by and paying us a visit means a lot to us especially me. =)

Tomorrow I will be posting Round 05. That's the Round where the shite hits the fans.

Posted: **Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:40 am**

Blue here. Thx 4 advice. That would have been best.

Posted: **Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:40 pm**

kierkegaard_2 wrote:Blue here. Thx 4 advice. That would have been best.

kierkegaard_2, Blue would have done better moving his stacks further away from one another. His stack in Astana is right next to his stack in Hong Kong. Why? You do not need two stacks right next to each other as it defeats the purpose of having stacks. You might just as well then make one very strong Hong Kong stack.

What Blue should have done in this round is to deployed 1 troop on Nairobi and 2 on Astana. Assault Moscow from Astana, advancing all troops. Also I would have moved the stack on Hong Kong to Manila. That way those two stacks would have been as far away as possible from each other and the Stack in Manila would be away from Green's stack of 11 troops. At what ever point that Green sees Blue as a threat, Blue is toast.

The whole point of the game is to survive first and then to win. With the lost of his regions in the America's in round 03, Blue is in a weakened state. Blue's only mission now should have been to run and hide and live to fight another day. Thus you move the stacks as far away as possible from each other so as to make them harder to kill. It could also just have been possible for Blue to move that stack little by little across Europe and into the Americas. Who can say?
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Hi kierkegaard_2:

If you are referring to the above assessment of your move then I can only hope that we both have learn something that we can both take with us into future games. When I was in that game with you, that thought never occurred to me either. It was only now upon re-examining this game that this thought had occurred to me. That is why it is all so important that people participated and share what they learn. That sharing does not seem to be happening too much in this debriefing. It's like no one really understand with the exception of one or two what a valuable tool this really is.

It's not the fact that I am looking at these and coming up with these suggestion but that all of us could be doing the very same thing. Many computers hooked up together and networking can and are more powerful then just one computer processing information all by himself. What I get from this exercise many will never come to know. If you only knew that I do this by myself. I play a game and then I review my own game. Especially the ones that I lost.

The idea of a mock up game has been suggested by myself and others as well in order to illustrate the basic reasoning of the F4M and other tactical play and positions. The pros and cons of many diverse ideas such as BMing or attacking prematurely. When to attack and when not to and those sort of things. But it is a large undertaking. Or does any one think that these photos of the game just happen by themselves. No, they do not. I have many more photos of all the players moves but I am only showing the first player photo. All the other moves in that round can be extrapolated from that photo.

This is an idea that I really wanted to share with others but sadly the world may not be ready for it. If I must remind everyone to visit here and not to forget to leave an input and a comment then they surely are not interested. For this reason I will no longer be sending out post messages to the players of this game but will just leave this as it is an open forum and that anyone can comment on if they wish. Otherwise I may become know as a spammer or worse.

So I am glad that you enjoyed the assessment and I hope that you continue to stop by and read the other rounds but I hope that if you leave a comment it is because you sincerely desire to do so. I don't want any one to feel under any obligation to leave me a "thnx" Just because I reminded them that the next round has been posted.

Posted: **Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:06 pm**

10476657 Game Log Round 05

Spoiler

2012-02-02 01:24:04 - Incrementing game to round 5

2012-02-02 05:43:24 - kierkegaard_2 received 3 troops for 4 regions
2012-02-02 05:43:31 - kierkegaard_2 deployed 3 troops on Nairobi
2012-02-02 05:43:42 - kierkegaard_2 assaulted Dakar from Nairobi and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-02 05:43:46 - kierkegaard_2 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-02 19:59:57 - Kiwi_NZ received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-02 20:00:06 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 2 troops on Istanbul
2012-02-02 20:00:15 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 1 troops on Montreal
2012-02-02 20:00:35 - Kiwi_NZ assaulted Madrid from Istanbul and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-02 20:00:45 - Kiwi_NZ ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-02 20:37:27 - bman8397 received 2 troops for holding South America
2012-02-02 20:37:27 - bman8397 received 3 troops for 11 regions
2012-02-02 20:37:42 - bman8397 deployed 1 troops on Los Angeles
2012-02-02 20:37:43 - bman8397 deployed 1 troops on Havana
2012-02-02 20:37:51 - bman8397 deployed 2 troops on Vancouver
2012-02-02 20:37:56 - bman8397 deployed 1 troops on London
2012-02-02 20:37:58 - bman8397 assaulted Reykjavik from London and conquered it from Kiwi_NZ
2012-02-02 20:38:27 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Mexico City
2012-02-02 20:38:30 - bman8397 reinforced Los Angeles with 1 troops from Mexico City
2012-02-02 20:38:36 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Vancouver
2012-02-02 20:38:38 - bman8397 reinforced Los Angeles with 1 troops from Vancouver
2012-02-02 20:38:46 - bman8397 reinforced Mexico City with 3 troops from Havana
2012-02-02 20:38:50 - bman8397 reinforced Vancouver with 3 troops from Los Angeles
2012-02-02 20:39:06 - bman8397 reinforced Anchorage with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-02-02 20:39:12 - bman8397 reinforced Anchorage with 1 troops from Los Angeles
2012-02-02 20:39:15 - bman8397 reinforced Anchorage with 1 troops from Havana
2012-02-02 20:39:25 - bman8397 reinforced Sao Paulo with 3 troops from Anchorage
2012-02-02 20:39:28 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-02-02 20:39:36 - bman8397 reinforced Los Angeles with 1 troops from Sao Paulo
2012-02-02 20:39:40 - bman8397 reinforced Vancouver with 1 troops from Mexico City
2012-02-02 20:39:52 - bman8397 reinforced Mexico City with 1 troops from Vancouver
2012-02-02 20:39:53 - bman8397 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-03 00:25:36 - Viceroy63 received 3 troops for 6 regions
2012-02-03 00:25:48 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Chicago
2012-02-03 00:26:01 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Johannesburg
2012-02-03 00:26:12 - Viceroy63 deployed 1 troops on Moscow
2012-02-03 00:26:26 - Viceroy63 assaulted Berlin from Moscow and conquered it from Kiwi_NZ
2012-02-03 00:26:53 - Viceroy63 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-03 22:13:55 - Fewnix received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-03 22:14:07 - Fewnix deployed 2 troops on Dubai
2012-02-03 22:14:21 - Fewnix deployed 1 troops on Edmonton
2012-02-03 22:15:12 - Fewnix assaulted Mumbai from Dubai and conquered it from Viceroy63
2012-02-03 22:16:15 - Fewnix reinforced Dubai with 7 troops from Mumbai
2012-02-03 22:16:40 - Fewnix ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-03 22:25:21 - ronshippau received 2 troops for holding Oceania
2012-02-03 22:25:21 - ronshippau received 3 troops for 9 regions
2012-02-03 22:26:09 - ronshippau deployed 5 troops on Lagos
2012-02-03 22:26:16 - ronshippau assaulted Nairobi from Lagos and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-03 22:26:28 - ronshippau assaulted Dakar from Lagos and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-03 22:26:40 - ronshippau assaulted Hong Kong from Bangkok and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-03 22:27:30 - ronshippau ended the turn and got spoils

Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 05

Spoiler

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kierkegaard_2: Blue, deployed to Nairobi which was good but leaving two weak stacks in Asia makes no sense. I would most probably have assaulted Delhi from Hong Kong, advancing all and then fort to Delhi 4 troops from Astana. Blue would then have a strong stack of 9 troops in Nairobi and another strong stack of about 9 troops at Delhi.
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Kiwi_NZ: Yellow, The only good move that I can see for Yellow at this time is to continue to stay close to Blue just in case. So instead of going for Madrid, I, being Yellow, most probably would have dropped all 3 troops on Beijing and assaulted Manila advancing all troops. Yellow would then be in a better position to eliminate Blue should the opportunity arise.

At this time I would like to point out that Green had a nice string of territories from Stockholm to Dakar and all of them had stacks of 3's on them. Where are they now? Stacks of 3's are weak compared to a stack of 5 or more. The reason is because the only real fight that a stack of 3's can put up is for one roll or two. And sometimes, none. Once the initial two troops have been eliminated the the defending stack of 3 is reduced to 1 and is using only one die instead of two dice. At which point the defense is practically lost.

This is why creating a stack of 5 by combining two stacks of 3's is preferable to having two stacks of 3's. A stack of 5 will simply last longer because it is stronger in a fight, as is now viewable when you look at where Greens stack of 3's are now. Go to the first page and compare Greens stacks to this current page.

Another aspect that I would like to point out at this time is, that what is happening to Greens stack's of 3's from Stockholm to Dakar is simply the signature of BM activity. A BM does not give consideration to any of his stacks over the one stack, The bonus zone. Everything else is expendable.
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bman8397: Pink; Assaulted and conquered Reykjavic for a spoils. This was probably not the best use of Pink's potential power. While dropping 3 on London to secure that Stack there in Europe is a good move. the assault and conquest would, in my opinion, have been best at Dakar. Taking Dakar would have place the power of Pinks forces with in striking range of 5 regions in Europe and Africa. It would have also added one additional color (Blue) to the list of targets that pink did not have access to before.

I being Pink then, would most probably have deployed 2 troops on London and 1 on Magadan, assault and conquered Dakar from Sao Paolo and reinforced Magadan with 2 troops from Mexico City. That way Pink would have a stack of 4's at Magadan and a stack of 5's at London. This is also another signature mark of BM activity. The need to safe guard the bonus zone at all cost, even at the loss of potential striking options. From Magadan could arise the possibility of a strike to eliminate another color but the need to safe guard the bonus zone quickly eliminates that possibility.
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Viceroy63: Cyan, at this point in the game, I only had 2 spoils, r:Moscow and b:Vancouver. Not enough to secure a successful victory at eliminating Blue. So I simply continued with my development and gaining another spoils. Once again, assaulting and conquering Manila at this point was the best move that I could have done. But once again, I did not see it.
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Fewnix: Where Cyan could just barely make a successful assault on Blue, Red had no where near the troops strength to even attempt it. So Red continued to simply bide his time and gain another spoils. The thing about attempting an assault and failing is that some one else will reap the benefits of the labor. As is the case with our next assessment, Green.
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ronshippau: Green has got to be the sorriest assessment of this round. This next assessment is simply what happens when Atmospheric Noise runs amok.

It is just plain bad luck and this is also, unfortunately, a part of the game.

After eliminating Blue in Africa Green now goes after Blue at Hong Kong. With an overwhelming 20 troops to just 5 Blue troops Green wins Hong Kong but with no more troops to continue the assault on Blues other regions in Manila and Astana. All of Green's troops are depleted in the assault and conquering of Hong Kong.

With a failed attempt at eliminating Blue, Green goes back home in a fit of depression. Just like the dinosaurs who dominated this planet for 150 million years and that was no guarantee of survival, so also does dominating an entire bonus zone does not guarantee a successful elimination.

[Note] Date of Note: 2012, 02, 23. As pointed out by Dhallmeyer on the "Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 06" comment reply, the spoils trade is still too low to be attempting to eliminate any player at this time. "Even in a Terminator Game." The best time to attempt an elimination is when the spoils trade will leave you with more spoils then are spent in eliminating a player. Or at the very least the taken spoils should provide to make one's troop strength stronger and not leave one weaker.

In this case Blue has 18 troops to eliminate and the spoils trade is only 06 troops. Not enough troops in the spoils trade to justify the weakening of Greens troops strength by at least 12 troops. The best course of action for Green would be to ignore Green and let some one else attempt to eliminate Green while the spoils trade count goes up. For this reason alone, Blue should consider itself relatively safe. But not 100% secure.

Posted: **Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:13 am**

It's a train wreck. Gruesome and gory, but I can't take my eyes away.

Posted: **Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:54 am**

I can not tell you from my heart just how much I am learning here, especially from the mistakes of others. I realize that many are reading this thread and perhaps learning from it as well but the original players of this game could contribute so much more and gain themselves that much more in the process.

What I wanted from this can not be fully realized but that's OK. At least this thread will be here for future use to all who will learn from this thread. When I finish this one I will start another one and will continue to do so, as I can't help but feel what an important learning tool this really is.

And you stopping by, really helps me to feel supported in this endeavor.

-Thank You Dhallmeyer.

Posted: **Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:44 pm**

2012-02-02 19:59:57 - Kiwi_NZ received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-02 20:00:06 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 2 troops on Istanbul
2012-02-02 20:00:15 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 1 troops on Montreal
2012-02-02 20:00:35 - Kiwi_NZ assaulted Madrid from Istanbul and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-02 20:00:45 - Kiwi_NZ ended the turn and got spoils

At the time

I thought equaling out my stacks was the best,
but In hindsight,I didnt keep an out out for the weakest link > blue
I'm now doing this before and after my moves,I've read the soc guide,a few times,but my human nature is to skip read at times,even though,I read the bit about the weakest player

Posted: **Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:59 pm**

Kiwi_NZ wrote:2012-02-02 19:59:57 - Kiwi_NZ received 3 troops for 5 regions
2012-02-02 20:00:06 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 2 troops on Istanbul
2012-02-02 20:00:15 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 1 troops on Montreal
2012-02-02 20:00:35 - Kiwi_NZ assaulted Madrid from Istanbul and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-02 20:00:45 - Kiwi_NZ ended the turn and got spoils

At the time I thought equaling out my stacks was the best,
but In hindsight,I didnt keep an out out for the weakest link > blue
I'm now doing this before and after my moves,I've read the soc guide,a few times,but my human nature is to skip read at times,even though,I read the bit about the weakest player

Do you know that at the time I did not even considered Blue as well? I don't think that anyone really did and when it fell into my laps I was like, Dame! what good luck. I was not trying to be ready for blue or anything and if anyone else had blocked me it would not have been me who won that game but some one else. I am learning here, just like you are.

But yeah, one needs to think just a few moves ahead. I don't know if you read the SoC Newsletter but soon I will be posting a three part article about BM's. It will be basically this game that I will use as an example. But it's in good taste, I promise. Hope you subscribe to the Newsletter.

Oh and one thing that I learn, now that you mention it is that at some point you can't just be evenly divided. You need to set an objective and set your troops in that direction but always the timinng is crucial. You don't want to leak your hand before time and let everyone know what your up to but sooner or later you must make your intentions clear.

Watch me and learn as we all learn from one another.

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:21 am**

With a failed attempt at eliminating Blue, Green goes back home in a fit of depression. Just like the dinosaurs who dominated this planet for 150 million years and that was no guarantee of survival, so also does dominating an entire bonus zone does not guarantee a successful elimination.

I want to point out something here. I don't know if Green used the right click or not and he is certainly not debriefing us that information and I am not about to drag him in here for a confession, if he wants to share, he knows where the office is; But I suppose that Green used the right click on the assault and conquer of Hong Kong.

I am not sure how that Atmospheric Noise Random Dice thrower works But at least we know to blame the Atmospheric Noise when we get bad dice. =) But my point is, and mind you all that I am just learning this along with all of you at this same time, but in a critical elimination like this one when failure could mean your own extinction, I think it would be best to go with the regular click and be able to step on the brakes if things go to badly.

I think that what had happen was that Green right clicked and then saw that there was 1 Blue troop to his 3 troops and screamed as loud as he could. "DDDDDDAAAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNNNN IT!!!!!!

I could have sworn that's what I heard that night and I thought that it was some one in the streets in front of my house but now that I think about it; It was Green, that night. I'm sure of it now.

Anyway realizing that he lost 17 or 18 troops in that one right click, he figured, "why not, might as well." And so Green just clicked away the last troops. But at least he got Hong Kong?!

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:17 am**

Sometimes single clicking and losing is harder to stop than Auto. Hard to say what actually happened from this vantage point.

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:57 am**

dhallmeyer wrote:Sometimes single clicking and losing is harder to stop than Auto. Hard to say what actually happened from this vantage point.

That's true; But when you get to the point when you see that you don't have enough troops left to finish the job, then you might, just maybe, if you have any self control left, figure, "I better stop." I'm just saying that if you have that kind of self control then regular click would be the way to go. I thinks so anyway. I think that I would have at least stopped at 04 troops left Because there would not have been enough troops for the job then.

But perhaps your right and the emotion of being there is different than the logic of hindsight?

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:18 am**

10476657 Game Log Round 06

Spoiler

2012-02-03 22:27:30 - Incrementing game to round 6

2012-02-04 19:18:55 - kierkegaard_2 received 3 troops for 2 regions
2012-02-04 19:19:28 - kierkegaard_2 deployed 3 troops on Astana
2012-02-04 19:19:32 - kierkegaard_2 assaulted Delhi from Astana and conquered it from Viceroy63
2012-02-04 19:19:35 - kierkegaard_2 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-04 19:29:28 - Kiwi_NZ received 3 troops for 4 regions
2012-02-04 19:29:37 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 2 troops on Beijing
2012-02-04 19:29:40 - Kiwi_NZ deployed 1 troops on Istanbul
2012-02-04 19:30:04 - Kiwi_NZ assaulted Berlin from Istanbul and conquered it from Viceroy63
2012-02-04 19:30:15 - Kiwi_NZ ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-04 21:38:18 - bman8397 received 2 troops for holding South America
2012-02-04 21:38:18 - bman8397 received 4 troops for 12 regions
2012-02-04 21:38:44 - bman8397 deployed 2 troops on Havana
2012-02-04 21:38:50 - bman8397 deployed 2 troops on Los Angeles
2012-02-04 21:38:54 - bman8397 deployed 2 troops on Sao Paulo
2012-02-04 21:39:09 - bman8397 assaulted New York from Havana and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-04 21:39:34 - bman8397 reinforced Sao Paulo with 1 troops from Vancouver
2012-02-04 21:39:39 - bman8397 reinforced New York with 1 troops from Los Angeles
2012-02-04 21:39:41 - bman8397 reinforced Havana with 1 troops from Los Angeles
2012-02-04 21:39:46 - bman8397 reinforced New York with 1 troops from Mexico City
2012-02-04 21:40:13 - bman8397 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-05 02:19:02 - Viceroy63 received 3 troops for 4 regions
2012-02-05 02:19:13 - Viceroy63 deployed 3 troops on Tokyo
2012-02-05 02:19:22 - Viceroy63 assaulted Stockholm from Moscow and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-05 02:19:57 - Viceroy63 assaulted Delhi from Moscow and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-05 02:20:19 - Viceroy63 assaulted Manila from Tokyo and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-05 02:20:27 - Viceroy63 assaulted Hong Kong from Manila and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-05 02:20:36 - Viceroy63 assaulted Astana from Hong Kong and conquered it from kierkegaard_2
2012-02-05 02:20:36 - Viceroy63 eliminated kierkegaard_2 from the game
2012-02-05 02:20:36 - kierkegaard_2 lost 22 points
2012-02-05 02:20:36 - Viceroy63 gained 22 points
2012-02-05 02:22:34 - Viceroy63 played a set of Moscow, Hong Kong, and Delhi worth 6 troops
2012-02-05 02:22:34 - Viceroy63 got bonus of 2 troops added to Moscow
2012-02-05 02:22:34 - Viceroy63 got bonus of 2 troops added to Hong Kong
2012-02-05 02:22:34 - Viceroy63 got bonus of 2 troops added to Delhi
2012-02-05 02:23:11 - Viceroy63 played a set of Vancouver, Anchorage, and Yakutsk worth 8 troops
2012-02-05 02:23:29 - Viceroy63 deployed 7 troops on Johannesburg
2012-02-05 02:23:59 - Viceroy63 deployed 7 troops on Hong Kong
2012-02-05 02:25:30 - Viceroy63 reinforced Hong Kong with 2 troops from Moscow
2012-02-05 02:25:42 - Viceroy63 reinforced Hong Kong with 3 troops from Delhi
2012-02-05 02:26:29 - Viceroy63 ended the turn and got spoils

2012-02-06 00:07:47 - Fewnix received 3 troops for 6 regions
2012-02-06 00:08:09 - Fewnix played a set of Buenos Aires, Lagos, and Cape Town worth 10 troops
2012-02-06 00:08:09 - Fewnix got bonus of 2 troops added to Cape Town
2012-02-06 00:08:22 - Fewnix deployed 2 troops on Cape Town
2012-02-06 00:08:55 - Fewnix deployed 11 troops on Mumbai
2012-02-06 00:09:22 - Fewnix assaulted Cairo from Dubai and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:09:43 - Fewnix assaulted Nairobi from Cairo and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:14 - Fewnix assaulted Lagos from Cape Town and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:22 - Fewnix assaulted Dakar from Lagos and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:35 - Fewnix assaulted Bangkok from Mumbai and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:43 - Fewnix assaulted Jakarta from Bangkok and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:50 - Fewnix assaulted Port Moresby from Jakarta and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:10:56 - Fewnix assaulted Perth from Port Moresby and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:11:02 - Fewnix assaulted Sydney from Perth and conquered it from ronshippau
2012-02-06 00:11:02 - Fewnix eliminated ronshippau from the game
2012-02-06 00:11:02 - ronshippau lost 21 points
2012-02-06 00:11:02 - Fewnix gained 21 points
2012-02-06 00:12:21 - Fewnix reinforced Cape Town with 1 troops from Dakar
2012-02-06 00:12:33 - Fewnix reinforced Lagos with 1 troops from Dakar
2012-02-06 00:12:54 - Fewnix reinforced Cairo with 1 troops from Dakar
2012-02-06 00:13:33 - Fewnix reinforced Yakutsk with 3 troops from Novosibirsk
2012-02-06 00:14:20 - Fewnix reinforced Port Moresby with 3 troops from Nairobi
2012-02-06 00:14:56 - Fewnix reinforced Jakarta with 1 troops from Nairobi
2012-02-06 00:16:14 - Fewnix reinforced Perth with 1 troops from Jakarta
2012-02-06 00:16:33 - Fewnix reinforced Sydney with 1 troops from Port Moresby
2012-02-06 00:16:52 - Fewnix reinforced Jakarta with 1 troops from Port Moresby
2012-02-06 00:17:08 - Fewnix ended the turn and got spoils

Viceroy63 Assessment of Round 06

Spoiler

As Dhallmeyer has pointed out and as is the main strategy of the game; One must merely survive the rounds until the spoils trade reaches a point high enough, when eliminating a player and taking his spoil is worth the elimination. Currently in this game the spoils are low (06 Troops) and some of the attempts that I am mentioning here are just not worth it. Especially when I speak of Pink but the facts are that if it were worth it, would Pink be in any position to take advantage?
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kierkegaard_2: It is a very bleak morning for Blue. It's bad enough that he wakes up to learn that he was almost eliminated from the game but out of 4 spoils trade, Blue doesn't even have a set to trade in for at least 06 troops? That's very disheartening! There is no real recommendation that can be made for blue except prayer. To make his final peace with his maker and to just go out fighting like a man.
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Kiwi_NZ: Now this next assessment is what happens when you don't eat right, get plenty of rest and exercise everyday, and don't remember what the SoC Handbook states about always being aware of who is the weakest player before you begin your turn.

It is conceivable that Yellow could have very possibly eliminated Blue from the game but at last being human does have it's disadvantages to being perfect and always on alert. Some times we just miss those opportunities and there is always the off chance that what happened to Green could also have happened to Yellow and who can say if the game would not have ended any sooner?
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bman8397: Now here in lies one of the greatest weaknesses of BM activity. In a month from now, in the SoC Newsletter, I will be posting a three part (Special Report) article on BM activity. Unless I can get my boss to post it as a special report in the next issue of the News letter? I sure hope that every one here is a subscriber to the SoC Newsletter, because this article will certainly explain in full the reason why it just does not pay to be a BM; And how to take advantage of the game if there are BM's in it. I will be using this very game for examples as well as other games and there will be a lot to be learned from the article series, I can promise you that. For now what I am about to write, this will just be like a taste compared to the Article Series.

The strategy of survival and winning these games is based not just on troop strength which is certainly important but also upon being in the right place at the right time with the right number of troops for the task, and to do that you simply need to be in at least three diverse locations as far apart as possible. We see in the map above that Pink does have a region, Magadan, under his control but it only has one troop on it. Pink paid so much attention to forming his South American Bonus Zone that he neglected to build up his stacks in other parts of the world.

Now just imagine how differently this game could have been had Pink maintained a stack of perhaps 10 troops right there in Magadan? Pink certainly had the troops as they are in four different stacks in North America. Now upon Greens failed attempt to eliminate Blue, Pink could have added to that stack of 10 another 6 troops, which is what Pink now receives per turn, broken Cyan's 6 troops and gone on to eliminate Blue's 5 troops. It's quite conceivable and possible that it could have gone that way were there a strong stack at Magadan. Building strong stacks in different parts of the world is what it is all about. But when you concentrate solely on that Bonus Zone and keeping it safe, then you sacrifice to much of the game advantage for only a couple of extra troops per turn.

Pink did not get to be as big as he is because of the bonus zone but despite of it. Pink at this point is at 33 troops strong but not because of the bonus zone. I don't have a bonus zone and I am at 29 troops strong. I am comparable with Pink at 33. Red also does not have a bonus zone but at 27 troops strong Red poses some serious competition to either Pink or Cyan. So really the bonus zone did not help Pink all that much, but it did hinder him as he sacrificed position for glory. Yes it looks impressive that Pink has a bonus zone but what does it matter if for all of your might and power, you can not take out 5 Blue troops on the other side of the world?
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Round 06. Cyan to play.

What can I say? Lady luck smiled upon me because lady luck is a tramp.

In my original plans I was also going to eliminate green as well in one turn but then decided to only take the easy elimination and leave it at that. You can read my game plan in, "Viceroy63 Game Form for Round 06"

Now that Dhallmeyer has mentioned it and upon hindsight; It was best that I did not try to eliminate Green as well or I would have been left terribly weak myself as well. Some kind of instincts held me back and I am glad that it did. The spoils Trade for eliminating Blue was worth it because I traded two sets of spoils for 6 and 8 troops but to eliminate Green who was 20 troops strong to only receive 10 troops for that task is comparable to slave labor and hard bondage.

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Fewnix: And this is what could have happened to Cyan (Me) if I took green. Let us remember that Fewnix was at 27 troops strong when he eliminated Green but as we shall see in the next round that Fewnix ends up at about 20 troops strong and that is with the spoils trade that he got for eliminating Green. The elimination of Green actually left Red in a weakened position then he was before. It would have been better for Red not to eliminate Green at this point as he only went backwards and not forwards.
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So this round saw a lot of action. With two early elimination and a possible third one on the way, I find myself in an incredible position of having grown stronger from this round. Not in troop strength though but in potential striking capabilities and fewer competition to have to fight with. The rounds from here on end promise to be most exciting in deed as the fireworks have just begun.

Viceroy63 Game Form for Round 06

Spoiler

Link to Game: Game 10476657

Spoils to turn in:
r:Moscow,
b:Vancouver,
r;Beijing.

Next spoil set value:
06 Troops.

Do you have a set of spoils?
No.

Your Plans: Round 06. Receive 3 troops for 6 regions.

An unprecedented event has occurred. A lieutenant (Green), no less, and an SoC 'something' or other (no Training Field), has become a willing party to his own demise. Previously Green had 20 troops on Bangkok [A7] and Blue only had 06 troops on Hong Kong [A5]. Some how in a "Right Click Assault?" Green lost all 20 troops eliminating Blue's 06 troops conquering A5.

This leaves Blue and Green in a most precarious position. Blue the weaker of the two with only 05 troops on the Board, has a total of 5 spoils on hand. An instant trade perhaps the possibility of me exchanging two sets for I will then have 8 spoils in total upon eliminating Blue. for a total of 14 redeployment or Mid Game troops with which to take out Green.

When all is said and done I should be about 25 troops strength in a total of 13 regions and be left with 5 spoils in hand for round 07. The fact that I have 08 troops in Chicago just may insure my survival to round 07 but if not, I take out two players plus gain their points. This is a terminator game, I say we terminate some players.

Deployments:
A11 - 3 troops. This will be my main attack force in the game.

Assaults:
E5 from E6, advancing none.
A3 from E6, advancing all.
A2 from A3, advancing all.
Should I not be successful in that last assault, I can recover from the main attack force on A11 as I swing by.

A8 from A11, advancing all.
At this point Blue is eliminated from the game and two sets of spoils are exchange for a total of 14 troops. If not then the plan continues with...

A5 from A8, advancing all.
Finishing off Blue at A2 should I fail in the previous assault from A3.

At this point I should at least have 4 or 5 troops on Hong Kong [A5] perhaps more as I could very well succeed with assaulting A2 from A3 which would mean that I would then have a possible 7 or 8 troops strength in Manila [A8]

Continuing....
Mid Game Deployment of 14 troops:
F6 - 07 Troops. This will give me a total of 13 troops at F6.
A5 - 07 Troops. This will give me an approximate total of 12 troops at A5, most likely it will be more with any luck.

I should then be able to march those 12+ troops into Oceania taking Green out from there first. Then if successful I march the 13 troops in Africa against Green for a certain victory there.

Reinforcements:
None.

End turn and collect spoils.

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:31 am**

Even in a term game, stretching for a kill when the spoils are that low is dangerous. You haven't reached replacement value, even with a double cash. Better to wait, even if it means someone else gets the points.

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:27 pm**

You mean for green to try to take out Blue? I agree. But I see what you mean; You only lose more troops then you gain at this point and become weakened by it.

Thanks for mentioning it. I shall add that to the assessment of round 06.

Very good point to make. Thanks Dhallmeyer.

Posted: **Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:06 pm**

Thanks to Vice and the SoC for this discussion - much fun and much to learn.

My decision to go for the elimination and the fine tuning involved, working with the mighty and masterful Macbone. I see the first four moves, F4M, as teaching an opening move strategy, positional play and working the odds to have fun and win points, without trying to eliminate every player in every game. It's a numbers game.

Keep in mind that you will not win every game you play with these tactics: even the best among us only win 25-30%. What we have learned is that we can make 1-2 kills per game (winning 25% or so) and that will be enough to see your score move up and your fun increase.

Your Plans: Cash my set and eliminate green,

My set will give me 10 plus a 2 auto -deploy on Capetown F5 where I already have 4. That Capetown F5 6 and the 8 I have on Dubai A1 would give me 14 troops and a good shot at eliminating greens 7 on South America - 14 v7 . To up the odds a bit, I plan to deploy one (just one 1) on Capetown giving me 15 v 7 a 8 surplus. I have only one troop on Mumbai to attack the 5 green on Oceania, so I plan to depoly 12 there, Mumbai A6 giving me 13 v 5 another 8 surplus. I am open to fien tuning the deply.

Once I eliminate green I will have points for the elimination and a reasonable chance of survivng to cash my newly acquired 5 set and eliminate another player. I may want to set up a string of doubletons to increase my chacne of survvial,noting:

Yellow, the player after me and the to be elimianted green, will have to cash a set worth 12 and starting with 24 troops has some chance of eliminating someone and running the board . Perhaps more importantly, pink, the player after yellow will have to cash a set wotrh 15 and with 34troops currently and a 6 deploy could run the board. Cyan with 44 troops and 3 spoils may be able to cash the set and run the board. If I survive to the next round. I will have a set worth 20 and some chance of taking out another player and running the board.

P.s. There is some chance I could eliminate yellow and get his 5 cards, cash them and then eliminate green, run the board.. but there is not a good chance and trying would weaken me for elimination and a net losss of points..

The above respectfully submitted.
your student,
Fewnix

Re: Basic Terminator 10476657 -student Fewnix
by macbone on Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:31 am

Fast-moving game, eh? One player down already, and another about to die, and it's only Round 6. By all means, Fewnix, fien tune that deply! =)

You're faced with a dilemma here. Do you go for a kill, perhaps evening your points won/lost, or do you play for the win? Yellow is tempting, but your chances are only about 27% of taking him out.

If you go for the green kill, you're going to be depleted in troops and ripe for elimination.

I usually deduct -2 from each additional stack in a particular kill run, since you won't attack usually from there with 3 or less, although in this case, a 3v1 is certainly doable. I'd advise 2 more on Cape Town, not 1 more, and only 11 on Mumbai.

This will give you 14 v 3,2,1,1 (89% success) and 12 v 1,1,1,1,1 (93.5%), for an overall 83% chance of success. This will likely leave you very weak, however, and Yellow and Cyan are in particular positioned to take you out, given the cards and good dice.

I'd like to see you play for the win, but in this case, you might as well go for the low-hanging fruit. Good luck, man!

Posted: **Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:45 am**

I wasn't saying that you should never go for a kill in the early rounds, because there are some players who just NEED killing.

But you have to be tactful about it, and not suicide yourself for a small reward. Hangings are a great thing, but you have to be careful about how hard you work to clean up after one that will not start a sweep. That's the key question: Will eliminating this player leave me in a better or worse position?

Conquer Club

Debriefing of Game 10476657 (With Photos)

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