This weekend I achieved a fantastic result completely unexpectedly.
I was trying to create the best possible game with the following "constraint": I wasn't allowed to collect food from the forest, nor eggs from the grassland.
The two remaining actions was then :
- Play a bird
- Play in the wetland
Here's the game in question. My previous best score of 174 (based on a powerful grassland) was completely smashed!
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FORMAT:
(Move #). (Move) <> Cards in hand | Eggs on Birds / Egg spots available | Food
Note : "Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods" => Means I draw 3 cards in wetland + 1 card exchanging one egg. I used the "tuck and lay egg" power 3 times. And get 2 foods with Hummingbirds
0. Start with 3 foods, Red-Winged Blackbird + random bird <> 2 | 0/0 | 3
1. Red-Winged Blackbird in Wetland <> 1 | 0/3 | 2
2. Wetland : (1-1)x card, 1x tuck, 1x egg <> 1 | 1/3 | 2
3. Play Ruby-throated hummingbird in Wetland <> 0 | 0/5 | 1
4. Wetland : (2-1)x card, 1x tuck, 1x egg, 1x food <> 1 | 1/5 | 2
5. Play Anna's hummingbird in Wetland <> 0 | 0/7 | 1
6. Wetland : (2-1)x card, 1x tuck, 1x egg, 2x foods <> 1 | 1/7 | 3
7. Wetland : (2-1)x card, 1x tuck, 1x egg, 2x foods <> 2 | 2/7 | 5
8. Play Bushtit in Wetland <> 1 | 0/12 | 3
9. Wetland : (3-2)x card, 2x tucks, 2x eggs, 2x foods <> 2 | 2/12 | 5
10. Play Yellow-Headed Blackbird in Wetland <> 1 | 0/15 | 3
11. Wetland : (3-3)x card, 3x tucks, 3x eggs, 2x foods <> 1 | 3/15 | 5
12. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 2 | 5/15 | 7
13. Play Mountain Bluebird + Painted Bunting <> 0 | 4/24 | 2
14. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 1 | 6/24 | 4
15. Play Greater Prairie-Chicken <> 0 | 5/28 | 1
16. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 1 | 7/28 | 3
17. Play Sprague's Pipit <> 0 | 5/31 | 1
18. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 1 | 7/31 | 3
19. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 2 | 9/31 | 5
20. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 3 | 11/31 | 7
21. Play Red-Eyed Vireo + Ruby-Crowned Kinglet + Cassin's Finch <> 0 | 9/39 | 3
22. Wetland : (3+1-3)x card, 3x tucks, (3-1)x eggs, 2x foods <> 1 | 11/39 | 5
23. Play Cerulean Warbler <> 0 | 9/41 | 3
24. Wetland : (3+1-2)x cards, 2x tucks, (2-1)x egg, 2x foods <> 2 | 10/41 | 5
25. Play Bell's Vireo <> 1 | 8/43 | 3
26. Say's Phoebe (12x eggs) <> 0 | 18/46 | 0
7 Bonus cards :
- Ecologist (10 pts)
- Historian (10 pts)
- Prairie manager (8 pts)
- Bird feeder (7 pts)
- Anatomist (7 pts)
- Viticulturalist (7 pts)
- Wildlife gardener (7 pts)
Score:
56 Bonus Cards
22 End of Round Bonus
55 Birds
18 Eggs
32 Tucks
Total :
183 points
Picture of the final game situation :
https://imgur.com/a/JtsGP3h
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Now, more interestingly, I'm trying to understand why this strategy is better.
If we think about it simply:
- In the "grassland" game, an ideal turn in grassland earned me 6 eggs + 2 tucks = 8 points.
- In this game, a turn in wetland earns me 2 eggs + 3 tucks = 5 points.
But that's "forgetting" what wetland gives me in addition. In reality, a turn in wetland earns me 2 eggs + 3 tucks +
1 card.
I think the extra card is the key here. In this game, I do absolutely everything from wetland, whereas in grassland I can't win any cards. I was forced to play mediocre moves to win cards. Therefore, I wasn't able to play as many cards that would have given me bonus cards.
This explanation seems sufficient to me, but it doesn't mean the "battle" is over. Perhaps there's a trick I haven't explored yet to make a "grassland" version even better, or even a "forest" version!
