Blocking on purpose.

[dan_yell_la]

I thumbs down them so I never play with them again. I think it funnier to get as many routes as possible

[Wistama]

I thumbs down them so I never play with them again. I think it funnier to get as many routes as possible

You might want to consider going through this thread and the much longer one and pre-emptively red-thumbing all the players (including me) who’ve taken a different viewpoint. I don’t block a lot, and I’ve never blocked anyone just out of spite, but blocking is a tactic I use occasionally.

We’re all here to have fun. I have fun by trying to figure out the best way to win within the bounds of the rules. If you have fun by trying to complete as many tickets as possible, then our styles aren’t compatible.

[Ransri]

Constant debate on this topic.

Less competitive players invariably are not too interested in ELO points (typically 0 to 400) and enjoy the luck component of picking cards and the strategy component of connecting their routes. They dont mind losing, but they dont like people purposefully ruining their routes just for the sake of winning.

More competitive players recognize the subtle strategy of both the offense (connecting routes, 6s and 5s, longest route) and the defense (finishing fast, figuring out opponent's tickets asap, and of course blocking). These people hate the luck component of getting good routes or bad routes, and have learned that you can win with any tickets if you realize some tickets allow you to play offense and other tickets necessitate that you play defense.

Neither is necessarily right or wrong they just dont do well playing together.

Block haters need to realize that if someone with 700 ELO points pulled a 4 and 5 pt routes and didn't block you, they'd possibly lose 40 to 50 Elo points and have to beat you 40x in a row to get those points back!!! The only way they got those many points is by knowing how and when to block.

I suggest block haters adjust their settings to avoid players,with more then 400 ELO points then you will drastically decrease your chances of playing against those type of players.

[Vader300]

If the purpose of playing is just to connect routes and they don't care about winning or losing, then I don't see the point of playing multiplayer TTR. Just get a physical copy and play it as a single player game. Draw cards and routes, connect them, then tabulate the points in the end. There is no risk of getting blocked either intentionally or unintentionally.

[Strode]

Constant debate on this topic.

Less competitive players invariably are not too interested in ELO points (typically 0 to 400) and enjoy the luck component of picking cards and the strategy component of connecting their routes. They dont mind losing, but they dont like people purposefully ruining their routes just for the sake of winning.

I don't think that's as true as you think it is. There are plenty of us who don't care about Elo but still don't mind blocking, etc. Those are two different things to me.

[ExaltedAngel]

If the purpose of playing is just to connect routes and they don't care about winning or losing, then I don't see the point of playing multiplayer TTR. Just get a physical copy and play it as a single player game. Draw cards and routes, connect them, then tabulate the points in the end. There is no risk of getting blocked either intentionally or unintentionally.

I'm not sold on the whole "don't care about winning" argument: I think it's bullshit. Maybe it's true for some, but seeing how they react, many are just hypocrites who actually care. I had people whine because I closed the game too fast (no blocking at all), because I've been blocked so I took many sixers to compensate, because I didn't complete my tickets... Any excuse is good for whiners

And don't forget they mostly play arena. Why would anyone who doesn't care about winning do that?

[Vader300]

If the purpose of playing is just to connect routes and they don't care about winning or losing, then I don't see the point of playing multiplayer TTR. Just get a physical copy and play it as a single player game. Draw cards and routes, connect them, then tabulate the points in the end. There is no risk of getting blocked either intentionally or unintentionally.

I'm not sold on the whole "don't care about winning" argument: I think it's bullshit. Maybe it's true for some, but seeing how they react, many are just hypocrites who actually care. I had people whine because I closed the game too fast (no blocking at all), because I've been blocked so I took many sixers to compensate, because I didn't complete my tickets... Any excuse is good for whiners

And don't forget they mostly play arena. Why would anyone who doesn't care about winning do that?

Exactly. I was saying hypothetically if they truly didn’t care about winning that single-player TTR makes more sense. But the majority of people complaining seem to care about winning but get salty when they lose and find things to whine about. I’ve also had lots of people complain when I didn’t complete one or both of my tickets, saying I need to complete my tickets for the spirit of the game. So essentially their version of good sportsmanship is to let them complete their high value tickets and win even though I know where they’re going, while I should complete a lot of short routes to fulfill my low value tickets just because it is “the spirit of the game”.

[Cade37]

poor sports horrible people ban blockers

[Ceaseless]

poor sports horrible people ban blockers

It is true that there are poor sports that ban blocking. These players feel the need to cheat at Ticket to Ride by saying their opponent can't block, instead of just playing by the rules. Pretty sad.

[lunebands]

I’ve not once blocked out of spite, that just sounds a bit sad. However while I also found it frustrating when it first happened to me I soon realised it’s just another aspect of the game. I focus entirely on what I think is most likely to win the game in that moment (points increased for me or points lost by the opponent). I’d say 80-90% of the time that’s me continuing my route, but sometimes when it’s clear where the opponent is going and I’m trying to end the game quickly as I believe they’re behind, I’ll block.

I actually find it fun now to play against people that block a lot more. I started playing arena a lot only this week and got matched today against a person who I saw was in the top 10! I found their strategy so interesting, so many of their early trains were attempting to block me instead of forming any kind of route. In this case I was lucky enough to have a lot of sets of 6, so under the impression they were behind on their routes and that I wasn’t going to be able to finish mine any longer - I just placed every 6 and ended the game early. I barely scraped a win.

My point in saying the above, is that switch up and reactive tactics is what makes Ticket to Ride repeatable for me despite being such a simple and easy game. If you remove any blocking at all from that I think it takes the number of layers down and takes a lot of enjoyment away from it for me.

I have however made a few blocks (usually on players that have built on both sides of the board and are joining in the middle late-game) where I have then been sworn at in the chat, so I appreciate my enjoyment of this extra layer of the game may not be for everyone.

Edit in case it matters: I haven’t ever actually blocked in a 3+ player game or with friends, only in arena.