But then, when I stopped laughing, I said to myself, "Wait just a minute here; There is a lot to say about BM's and BM activity. Why not write it all down in a paper?" And thus the "Bonus Monkey Series," was born. I guess that if I had not been so damn cynical at the idea, then I probably would not have given this a second thought and none of this would have been done? At least not by me.
At any rate this shows that good ideas can come from anywhere and unexpected sources, so thank you all, who threw this out there for me and especially Macbone who help me so much with my writing. He really did help me out a lot and taught me to write, in a way, things that I should have known but did not. As time passes by I may make revision to this and even expand on it but as it is here and now, it can be read in the Conquer Club Newsletter editions 67, 68 and 69.
The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last. Part 01 by Viceroy63
[spoiler]The Bonus Monkey is your Friend, Leave him for last.
(Part 01) A Rare Situation
By Viceroy63
chapcrap wrote:PBecquey wrote:New player here... noob, I guess. What exactly is a "bonus monkey"?
They are referring to an escalating card game with a large number of players. Typically a bonus like Australia or something will not determine the winner of the game. The bonuses from the cards will get into the 30s, 40s, or even higher, so the small bonuses don't mean much.
A bonus monkey is someone who sacrifices too much to go after a bonus in these games.
In other words a Bonus Monkey or a "BM" is some one who places more consideration on acquiring the bonus zones, in particular South America or Oceania, than on the over all strategy of the game or his other stacks in more strategic locations. The BM has more of a short term out look on the game than the long range plan of survival and winning. The BM tends to think that the acquiring of 2 extra bonus troops per turn will assist them in their winning the game, but does not really consider the cost of acquiring the bonus zone in the first place. In these series of articles, we shall examine the pros and cons of being a Bonus Monkey and the true cost that it entails the BM himself.
This will be a three part article series but in this first part we will examine the only time when you should try to obtain the bonus zone. You may find this hard to believe but there is a particular situation when it can be beneficial to own a bonus zone if it is done correctly at the beginning of the game. Without of course placing at risk any of your other primary regions and stacks. But keep in mind that this is only the exception to the rule and not the rule itself. Also we can not truly consider this first situation that of being a bonus monkey but merely that of simply taking advantage of a rare situation, if the opportunity arises, of conquering a bonus zone while not incurring any risk to ones strategical posture.
At any other time or set of circumstances, other then the one that we shall go into, in this first part of this three part series; Being a BM is not only detrimental to your over all strategical position, it also leads to certain doom and failure almost 99% of the times. Again let me repeat that a true BM is some one who gives all consideration to acquiring and maintaining a bonus zone at all cost and is unwilling to part with the bonus zone even when more advantages opportunities presents themselves. The reason for this explanation will be made more clear in parts 02 and 03 of this three part article feature. But here are just some of the disadvantages of being a BM.
1. You'll be a target. Grabbing a bonus makes many players concerned that you're growing too powerful, and this situation is true in all types of spoil games. Some players will leave you alone, but other players will dedicate themselves to breaking your bonus.
2. You risk isolating yourself. Another strategy to dealing with BM's is to take out their territories in other parts of the map. If you focus on taking and defending Oz for example, you could find yourself losing your footholds on other continents, greatly limiting your offensive capabilities.
3. You may make it easier for someone else to eliminate a player. By conquering a continent you reduce the troop strength of the players there making those regions one less to worry about when it comes time to eliminate those players. And besides, a small continent is a great place to set up a nice block and keep the players inside safe from other players and ripe for elimination by you.
Again let's keep in mind, in examining the only situation when conquering a bonus zone would be beneficial, that this is not really being a BM but simply appears to be so at first glance. This is really just taking advantage of a situation if and when the opportunity presents itself. These circumstances are in fact extremely rare and exacting and should be considered in every detail before attempting to conquer the bonus zone. And while conquering a bonus zone under these circumstance may be easy, the hard part is to just let go should some one challenge your bonus zone as you would any stack that was under attack. Misunderstanding this principle will cost you dearly in the attempt of keeping your bonus zone and holding on to a bonus zone under fire is itself the act of a BM. The development of your other stacks must never be placed at risk for a bonus zone. It just would not be worth it.
First of all your initial drop would have to include 3 of the four territories on the bonus zone. Look to the above map as an example. For this example I chose South America as it is the better of the two lessor bonus zones because it gives you access to two other zones (North America and Africa) where as Oceania only gives you access to just the one, Asia zone. I also chose as an example the Primest of the prime properties, Dubai and Chicago. Now if by some extreme stroke of luck your drops included all four of the territories in your bonus zone, then it's not being a BM at all but just the way that things worked out. A BM is actively going for that which he does not have.
So you have 3 out of 4 regions of the bonus zone and of the other 4 regions (in a six player game you get 7 regions), at least two of them are side by side (Dubai and Delhi) so that you can form a stack of 5 troops there easily. If all 4 are connected two by two's in two different parts of the map then so much the better. But the odds of any two of the other four regions falling side by side are very low indeed. Out of 39 regions left, it is unlikely that even two of the four other drops will fall side by side. Even less likely that the drop will be in a prime locations. Also you must be the first player to play in the bonus zone. So with this criteria met, let's examine the why's?
The stacks:
You must have at least 3 good stacks in diverse areas or continents of the map, if you are going to survive and be in any kind of a position to eliminate anyone. If the initial drops are in good locations then so much the better. If you only have one stack for example and there is an easy player to eliminate on the other side of the world and you can't get to him with out having to fight off half the players in the game to get to that one easy elimination, then what good is having a single stack no matter how large it may be? This is normally what happens with BM's. They sacrifice all including their stacks in different parts of the world in order to attain that one bonus zone, that one stack.
The secret to winning an escalating spoils game is to simply survive to a point where the spoils trade in for troops is large enough to begin eliminating other players and start taking their spoils to make up for the troops lost in eliminating the other players. Otherwise you would be left in a weakened troops strength position and most likely be eliminated yourself by the next player for your spoils, early on in the game. So then, having stacks in diversified regions not only helps you to survive as some one looking to eliminate you might not be able to get to all three of your stacks but also helps greatly in the elimination of other players should fortune smile upon you and you are the one to receive the good amount of troops for your spoils trade. With that in mind, lets examine the set up.
The Set up:
Now that you are in a position where your other stacks of 3's can be combined and secured (or at least just two of them) and all you need do is to take out that fourth region in order to form your bonus zone plus the other two stacks that form themselves as well, then that would be the ideal situation in which to go for that bonus zone. After all the bonus zone itself would be like one of your stacks and you would not neglect any of your stacks? But remember that you must also be the first to play in that bonus zone to take that fourth region. For if the owner of that fourth region, drops on that region first, then the cost of owning that bonus zone has doubled and even tripled in most cases. And that would place the development of your other stacks at peril. Otherwise this is the only true ideal situation for going for a bonus zone.
This now takes us to...
Troop strength:
And this is the major point to taking a bonus zone in the beginning of round 01, because if you spend a whole lot of troops in taking a bonus zone then in general you are weaker than the other players. Every one will then have their eye on you as a potential target for elimination and this is a dangerous place to be in. Having the fewest number of troops overall makes one a prime candidate for elimination. But having many troops make all other players ignore you as candidate for elimination because it is simpler and easier to eliminate a weaker player (troops strength wise), than trying to eliminate a player with many more troops.
This is why you do not want to spend too much time and energy on trying to conquer a bonus zone. But if you can do it when there are only 3 enemy troops on that fourth region then it would make a nice investment in the building up of your other stacks during the rest of the game. This is why you must be the first to assault in the bonus zone if this is to work, because if that other player who owns that fourth region goes first and decides to deploy 3 troops there, then the cost of obtaining that bonus zone would cripple the development of your other stacks in other parts of the world. And should you fail to gain that bonus zone on the first turn, then just form a stack there from what ever troops are left and forget it.
But assuming that the drop was perfect for you and there was at least two other regions side by side and you combined them and so on one of the other two stacks of 3's you deployed at least 1 troop for a total of 4 troops on that stack there just in case and 2 troops on the region of the bonus zone that you will assault from and you lose approximately 3 troops more or less (an even swap of troops), then you can look forward to making up for your investment of 3 lost troops in the very next round and being precisely where you should be troop strength wise along with everyone else and every round after that is simply an extra 2 troops to build up your troops strength and your stacks.
That would be the only possible and ideal situation that this SoC reporter can see for conquering a bonus zone. But only if done under those particular criteria. You would then have, including the bonus zone, at least 3 stacks in 3 different regions in the game. Your troops strength numbers will be comparable with the highest troops strength players in the game and so will be your survivability and offensive capabilities in the long run. But at last, such ideal circumstances are rare and few between. You may get 3 of the 4 regions in the initial drop but will any of the other four regions be side by side? Where you can then just combine them? Or will you neglect them and risk them in view of the bonus zone?
If at least two of your other regions are not next to each other, then how can you build them all up and take a bonus zone at the same time? You can try but it would consume all that you have in the long run. Remember that the very first round is about considering which Stacks are vital to your plans of survival and the primary one should get 2 troops if you can not combine any two regions. That goes without saying even if you do have the opportunity to gain the Bonus Zone.
Another part of the over all picture is; Location, location, location. There are many negative aspects to being a BM and sacrificing good location is just one of them. We shall explore these and other situations in Parts 02 and 03 of, "The Bonus Monkey is your friend, Leave him for last.[/spoiler]
The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last. Part 02 by Viceroy63
[spoiler]The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last.
(Part 02) "The Benefits of the Bonus Monkey"
By Viceroy63
In Part one of “The Bonus Monkey is your friend, Leave him for last,” we examined the only situation under which it would be beneficial to acquire and own a bonus zone. But lets be perfectly clear about the fact that owning a bonus zone is not what makes one a BM. It's the obsession of owning a bonus zone at the willingness to sacrifice other greater strategical locations and considerations on the board and potential stacks in order to gain and maintain the bonus zone.
In this second part, of this three part article, we will examine the benefits that BM's provide for the rest of the players in the game, not themselves and what to watch out for and how to gain the advantage with correct play. The key to taking advantage of the situations that BM's create is to be watchful and patient and playing accordingly which includes moving your stacks to the most strategic location possible where you can be ready to strike when the time comes.
The BM actually provides a variety of services if you will, to the rest of the players in the game. One of the services that the BM provides is, That they actually make it easier to eliminate players that we might not otherwise be able to eliminate on our own. And by reducing the area needed to conquer and eliminate other players on the board, the BM help the rest of us to do more with less troops. As an example, take a look at the next two photos.
(Photo 01) - Initial drop, Round 01
(Photo 02) - Beginning of Round 04
viewtopic.php?f=341&t=164593
These two photos can be seen on the SoC thread, "Debriefing of Game 10476657." The link is provided above. It is an open to all forum that you can visit and leave as many comments as you'd like. In regards to the game that is. I often drop by to see if there are any new comments and discussions are welcomed on these threads.
Both photos are the same game. The first photo is the initial troop placement of the players. The second photo is from the beginning of round 04 of the same game. As you can well see that by round 04, Yellow, Red and Blue have been removed from South America by Pink. Red and Cyan also have been removed from Oceania by Green. This act of conquering these two bonus zones, made these colors more easily accessible to each other or all the players in the game.
The services that the BM's have provided in this scenario is that the colors that have been removed from these bonus regions are now easier targets for elimination to each other simply because there are now less of those troops to conquer. Also the area in which to conquer them is now limited to 4 continents instead of 6. Because the area of battle is reduced, then the troops needed to eliminate those colors do not have to be as much as when they were also located in those other bonus zones as well. Take a look at this next photo from a different SoC game and compare for yourselves the greater difficulty required to eliminate any player from that game.
(Photo 03) - A different SoC Game Round 06
Notice for example in photo 03, where Cyan has four good stacks in three different continents. Red has contact with Cyan in North America and in Asia but not in South America. In order for Red to get to Cyan at Buenos Aires, he must first fight and conquer Green's 6 troops at Sao Paulo. This makes it difficult for Red, for example, to eliminate Cyan. In this game it is round 06 and there are no bonus monkeys so this game must develop along a longer and more difficult path. Not with standing any errors that players may or may not make in the game.
What we must be watchful for then, from the very beginning is, who were the initial colors that dropped in the southern continents. That way when we see any BM activity, then we shall know who our potential targets will be for they will become the weaker of the colors. This includes of course the BM himself. In the above photo or third photo there are no BM activity thus this game will be that much harder to win because there is no BM activity simplifying the game for everyone else.
In other words there are no BM services being provided, so this other SoC game will not be a short and sweet game over in about 8 or 9 rounds. I predict that games such as these do in fact go the distance of up to 11 or 12 rounds and that what we see is at the very least two massive spoils trade in, with the spoils trade reaching as high as 30 or 40 troops per trade in, when the fire works really begins. This is anyone's game, but the keener eye will prevail.
Other services that the BM provide is that among novice players there is the psychological need for those players to assault the BM's bonus zone at all cost. The thought of receiving 2 extra spoils per turn in the short term panics some players and there is simply the self created mission to break that bonus zone at all cost. These are hostilities that are not aimed at us who are simply building stacks here and there. So the BM is actually drawing fire away from us and that is a good thing!
Sometimes you may even see two or more players actively fighting for a bonus zone. Leave them be, Please. While they are at it, they weaken themselves and become our potential targets. When we see such things happening in our games, this is when we should be on the alert and ever ready to move our stacks or divide them if necessary to locations that while they may not be prime locations such as Dubai or Moscow, those locations will bring us closer to within striking distance of our targets.
Prime locations can change locations in respect to the activity that is going on in the game. BM's are a very large part of the momentum of a game. So when we see BM activity, we must ask ourselves; "Where should I be just in case I get the chance to eliminate those weaker players? How can I best get there while still maintaining my large numbers of troops. Remember that the world is round. At least in the Classic Map it is? =)
Also we need to consider those colors that are right next to the bonus zones. That's because as mentioned, The true BM gives no consideration to any other stack but rather drops all troops on the bonus zone and expands outward from there. And here again we must ask ourselves some questions;
"What happens if the BM expands and take those troops right next to his as well?"
Are we in any good position to take the remainder of those colors should the BM remove those colors first?"
"If we are next to a bonus zone, should we consider moving from those locations in view of a BM expansion?"
In some cases and especially when working within a game alliance (in the chat box), A BM could be trapped in his bonus zone and forced to fight some one? No matter who the BM attacks, he loses. While this may appear to be unfair, there are no rules against forming alliances so long as it is done through the game chat. But really those kinds of tactics are unnecessary as the BM's own nature of play usually does him in with out any help from any player.
In the end, having a BM in the game is great for the many services that they provide the rest of the players. The BM's activity is predictable and therefore easy to plan our game around his. By anticipating what the BM's next move will be we can easily plan for it and even prepare counter move for it. So the next time that you see a Bonus Monkey in your game, Don't hate him because his beautiful???
Look on the bright side and remember, You may not know him, But he is your friend and he is going to help you to win the game if you watch his moves and pay attention to the whole game.[/spoiler]
The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last. Part 03 by Viceroy63
[spoiler]The Bonus Monkey is your friend, leave him for last.
(Part 03) "The True cost of being a BM that is never considered."
By Viceroy63
In Part 01 of this three part series, we examined the only situation or sets of circumstance under which a bonus zone may be acquired and benefited from. We also examined the definition of the word, "Bonus Monkey" and why acquiring a bonus zone is not necessarily the act of a BM if done correctly. In Part 02, we looked at the benefits or services, that a BM provides and how one can take advantage of the situation by being watchful and playing accordingly. In this third and final part of this series, "The Bonus Monkey is your friend, Leave him for last. Part 03" we shall take a look at what the true cost of being a BM, that is never considered; Is.
First, let us consider the objectives of the game. The objectives of the game are to grow strong enough and powerful enough to eliminate everyone else from the game. Strength and power are not the same thing however. Strength can be likened to numbers as in troop strength numbers. But Power is capability. The capability to survive by being in different regions scattered through out the map is power, as well as the capability to eliminate other players who are also scattered through out the map in different regions of the world. In fact it is the same power or capability. You can have all the capability possible but it would be useless without the strength. The same can be said for strength. Strength without capability is also a weakness that can be exploited. They need to go hand in hand to insure the most optimum position possible should you get the opportunity to win.
A lot of the times in the SoC Forms that I fill out for the games that I play, What I read often are, "Don't lose more then 2 troops." This is when I am going for a card. I am assaulting a region with only 1 troop on it and I may have 10 troops on the assaulting region but still I get that warning, "Don't lose more then Two troops." Why should that be so important? Because the game is also an arms build up or strength build up. It is a race to be the most capable with the most strength. Getting that spoil is secondary to maintaining my troop strength. If I lose all three troops received on my turn then it's like I got no troops at all on that turn. And even if I get the spoil in exchange for more then two troops, well that only serves to make me a bigger target to the other players.
So even if I lose two troops on the turn and got no spoil at all, it's like saying, "Well, at least I got one troop on this turn and grew one troop stronger rather then just get a spoil that makes me a target and did not grow strong at all." So growing in troops strength and power is what basically the true BM trades in exchange for the bonus zones.
I alluded to this from the start in Part 01 of this series and also when I said that "Location, location, Location!" is crucial and here is why. The escalating game is not won by owning a bonus zone or receiving the most troops per turn, although that may help, but the escalating game is won rather by a perfectly and timely trade of spoils and being in the most optimum position to take full advantage of those timely traded spoils. That's the strategy; That's the plan. To be ready for "IF" you are the one to receive those perfectly timely trades that assist's you in the elimination of other players. And "IF" you are in the right place and the right time with the right amount of troops (Strength), then you will be the one to win if the right spoils trade fall to you. If not, then the next person in succession will be the winner and if that person is also not ready, then the one after him. Somebody has to be the one who is ready to take full advantage of the spoils and win the game eventually. Why not you? But only if you are ready for it by preparing your stacks and your game.
Keep in mind also that often novice players or simply players who do not understand this principle well enough, make mistakes that you can benefit from as well. But barring any really big mistakes in the game, it is the wheel of fortune and your ability to be ready for the good fortune if it should stop on you that will determine if you are the winner or not. The fact is that most players, like the BM's, simply are not in any really good position to take advantage of the spoils trade when it befalls them. And so they never win and end up saying that "It's all luck!?"
Of course maneuvering into the best possible position when possible, plays an important role but there you can only do what best you can. But "If" you have conquered a bonus zone and it has cost you the Power and/or capability or both, of being strong in other parts of the map then what good is all that extra troops per turn if you can not eliminate a player that is at quite some distance from you? You could have all the strength in numbers that you want but if it is not enough to get to where the elimination is most crucial then how can you win.
Below is a fine example of BM activity in Africa. notice how weak in troop strength Cyan really is. Only 15 troops strong in all. As compared to the others with the exception of Blue, who are twice as strong; Africa had cost Cyan a lot. But the price that is really being paid is in those two dwindling regions that are just about to disappear off the face of the map under Cyan influence. Anchorage, a key land lock position and Astana, which can be utilize to eliminate players in that part of the map quite a distance away.
Round 03 Green to play.
Even if Cyan is able to maintain a hold of Africa and get an extra three troops per turn, it would still take five turns to catch up to the strongest player troops strength wise. Five turns! That's five spoils that could spell the end for Cyan or even the end of the game, in just trying to catch up. In the mean time he has to give up all hope of keeping and building on Anchorage and Astana or he loses his bonus zone. Cyan is committed to Africa at all cost and either way, he is most probably lost anyway.
In the taking of Africa, Cyan also weakened not only himself but Blue as well, and can not even get to Blue from Africa because he must first fight through a stack of Pink or Red or Yellow or Green, in order to get to Blue. In effect Cyan created a target for some one else. And because this BM will most likely not build up in Astana in order to preserve and maintain the bonus zone, then Blue will most likely be some one Else's prize. As will the game eventually. The reality is that some one is bound to assault Africa just because he appears to be too strong receiving three extra troops per turn. And this is only the third round.
In all probabilities, either Red or Pink or perhaps even Yellow will end up eliminating Blue and if done at the right time, will see those extra "Mid Game Spoils Exchange" troops, eliminate yet another nearby color and get their spoils and perhaps even continue like that until at the very end of it all, there will only be Cyan left. Huge in numbers yet the final spoils trade will finally take care of Cyan for all his strength and possibly be more then what is needed.
This is why we can leave the true BM for last. Because under these type of circumstances they can not do any real harm. But the elimination of other, weaker colors/players will help us in defeating the other players and eventually any strong BM empire and the winning of the game. That does not mean that BM's can not win especially when they also have well built stacks in other parts of the globe but normally a true BM is his own worse enemy.
The worse thing that you can do in a situation like the above photo is to engage a BM in battle and thus weaken your own position of strength and Power before the right time. In the end if you are powerful enough and strong enough to survive, even if you are left with just one troop on only one single region and the perfectly, timed spoils trade on hand, then just like Alexander the Great who with 30,000 troops defeated 100,000 Persians in a climactic battle at Guagamela in 331 B.C.; You also could come back to defeat a giant of a BM empire and win the game.
So when you see a true BM in your escalating spoils game, just remember that your number one job is to survive. The way to do that is to grow strong and Powerful and the best way to do that is to go for the easy cards and Just leave the BM for last.
---[/spoiler]
