Lowest possible score puzzle

[Pistol Star]

Today's quite simple puzzle: What's the lowest possible score one can achieve in theory?

[Ra1ro]

I don't see how one can loose the first goods points, so my guess is 3.

[sorryimlikethis]

I also think the answer is 3.

To expand a bit more, you would need yellow tile 13 (get a silver when you take workers) to make sure you are able to spend your starting silver without scoring any points.

To expand even more, it would probably be on board 1? You can mostly fill a lot of regions without scoring any points so that you lose on tie breaks. Castle in the middle + 4 ships + 4 yellow tiles + 2 castles + 8 buildings.

[Ra1ro]

Oh, I was thinking about destroying tiles. I just need a map that starts next to yellow region(non single).

[Pistol Star]

I also think the answer is 3.

To expand a bit more, you would need yellow tile 13 (get a silver when you take workers) to make sure you are able to spend your starting silver without scoring any points.

To expand even more, it would probably be on board 1? You can mostly fill a lot of regions without scoring any points so that you lose on tie breaks. Castle in the middle + 4 ships + 4 yellow tiles + 2 castles + 8 buildings.

Congrats! You got it 100% right! You even improved my solution by also thinking about tiebreaks and ways of ensuring that we have more options to waste our workers in the last rounds of the game. I never thought about the scenario in which our opponent could challenge us on trying to lose. But I just realized, that you can't win the game with 3 points, because only 1 player can pick up yellow tile 13. However, if yellow tile 13 never appears, then it would simply be a race for first player. I'm not sure, if you can refuse taking goods by placing ships, but I think it's possible.

First player just wants to ensure staying first player for the rest of the game and picking up the winning tile Y13. If again Y13 never appears, then taking away most ships in each new phase to ensure staying first player for the rest of the game is absolutely mandatory. This also ensures placing down more ships than the opponent to lose most, if not all tiebreakers. So having a bunch of workers ready in each new phase would be absolutely mandatory. Best practise would be to start a new phase with like 8 workers I guess.
But the 2nd player would be able to take away most of the useless yellow tiles, while we are busy taking most ships away. That is a little dangerous, if not many of these useless yellows show up. Yellow tiles which would be fought hard over would include Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, Y13 (obv), Y26 and 4 points per watchtower and warehouses. Y1 would be the 2nd strongest yellow tile after Y13. It helps us to block the opponent from getting specific useless buildings.
We would usually simply refuse taking the free extra action of the town hall.

Another important aspect is to place our yellow 13 pretty late in game to ensure not getting into balance issues. With Y13 in play, we have a harder time ensuring ending up on 0 silverlings, 0-1 workers and placing as many tiles down as possible.

Another key to losing would be to time our late game workers destruction very well. Nothing worse than having the perfect roll in E and no more options to use up our workers. gg

[Pistol Star]

I don't see how one can loose the first goods points, so my guess is 3.

Congrats, you were right too Did you consider the need of getting yellow tile 13 to ensure ending up with 3 points? I guess so, because you guessed correctly.

[Ra1ro]

I don't see how one can loose the first goods points, so my guess is 3.

Congrats, you were right too Did you consider the need of getting yellow tile 13 to ensure ending up with 3 points? I guess so, because you guessed correctly.

Yea, I didn't want to give full answer to early.
I could play this variation with additional rule that you are not allowed to destroy tiles, interested?

[Pistol Star]

I don't see how one can loose the first goods points, so my guess is 3.

Congrats, you were right too Did you consider the need of getting yellow tile 13 to ensure ending up with 3 points? I guess so, because you guessed correctly.

Yea, I didn't want to give full answer to early.
I could play this variation with additional rule that you are not allowed to destroy tiles, interested?

That's a fantastic idea! Haha, this would be too funny. I think it would make good content for a youtube video and would be quite a challenge. Video title: Who will be crowned worst player in history?

I guess it would be quite a brain burner. What do you think?

[Ra1ro]

Sure, you can record and put it on YT We can also talk strategy while playing, so it would be more fun with discussion. Probably we should move this into private chat.

[Oami]

I was thinking about what would be the highest possible score.

This is as useless as this particular thread here, so maybe we can discuss that too without making a new thread. It requires absolute luck and full cooperation of opponents (stupidity of opponents is not enough, they must purposefully and carefully help you).

Anyway, I found a way to reach 533 assuming original rules, or 561 assuming Anniversary rules.

Details in Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/com ... astles_of/
https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/com ... _burgundy/