Gaming the system

[zeugaaw]

Does anyone know if it's possible to somehow rig the game?

I just played a game where my opponent managed to build 4 Gizmo's without having the right color and/or right amount of energy. I went over the game turn by turn to confirm what I suspected. They had a few Gizmo's to convert colors and two Gizmo's to convert one energy to two energy. In the instances where they built a Gizmo that they didn't have the proper energy for, they were either able to convert energy to the color needed without having the proper Gizmo, or convert one energy to two energy without having the proper Gizmo. It was like, as long as they had a color converter, they were able to convert any color energy to any other color and as long as they had the 1 to 2 converter, they were able to convert any color energy to 2 energy.

[accidentally]

Looked at the last match you played, I think it's all just smart use of the converters.


Move #76, they have 1 blue, 1 red energy. They need 2 blue to build.

1. Convert blue to black
2. 1 black doubles into 2 black
3. 2 black converted to 2 blue

Move #88, they have 1 yellow, 1 blue, 2 red. Need 3 yellow.

1. Convert blue to black
2. 1 black doubles into 2 black
3. 2 black are converted to 2 yellow

Move #133, they have 1 blue and 1 black, need 3 yellow.

1. 1 black doubles into 2 black
2. 2 black converted into 2 yellow
3. 1 blue in converted into 1 yellow

And imo move #108 is particularly clever, they have 3 red, 1 black. Need 4 red.
Easy: convert the black marble to red and go, but they're smarter about it:

1. Double the black
2. Convert 2 black to red
3. Build, and they have an extra red left after this

[Meeplelowda]

It is far too common on BGA that instead of asking for an explanation of how something happened, people lead with an assumption (either implied or express) that someone rigged/cheated/hacked BGA.

[zeugaaw]

Thank you accidentally. I see it now and I had no idea you could do that, but it makes sense. Now that I know this, maybe it'll take my game to the next level.

@Meeplelowda - I wasn't accusing anyone of cheating, I was just wondering if it was possible, because what I saw didn't make sense to me. Fortunately I got an explanation from accidentally and now I know.

Going forward, if I see something I don't understand, I'll assume the player is using a rule that I'm unaware of and ask about it.

[zeugaaw]

Wow! I just used that trick to give an expert with a 553 ELO a run for their money. They only beat me by one point.

I'm glad I asked. Might not have been the best way to ask, but it was certainly worth it.