Board Game Arena

Normandix wrote: ↑10 November 2024, 09:52 Oh yes indeed, I'd forgotten that sixth rule, which is absolutely true.

And I agree with your conclusion and your reaction to my little provocation: they're almost two different worlds that don't have much in common and don't necessarily need to rub shoulders.

But it's still interesting to see how the other works, if only to make sure you don't want to change sides .

The divides here are pretty simple. One side just wants to play TTR by the rules, the other side not so much. Now how far the other side wants to go to avoid the rules is a mess, some will scream at you if you so much as breathe over a route they want, whether you know it or not, others have weirdly complex rules about what counts and what doesn't. It's all over the place.

I'll steal from your previous quote and say I find them "narrow-minded, sad and bland." They only want to play TTR their narrow way and don't want to think outside the box at all. But they are even worse than that, because they try to force their ways on everyone else too.

The side that just wants to play by the rules of TTR? We don't care if you block or not. You can choose whatever strategy you want, we accept anything.

Normandix wrote: ↑09 November 2024, 21:24 As I was rated at 250 at the time, I was the little one and I found the experience highly instructive: Absolutely all my opponents followed the same strategy:
1°- Don't bother about the tickets drawn at the start. If they're favorable, great, if they're not, no problem.
2°- Never draw extra destinations: it's a waste of time and turns with no guarantee of interesting destinations.
3°- Accumulate your 45 to 50 wagon cards before starting to claim your first route.
4°- As soon as you've accumulated enough cards, build the longest continuous route possible, passing through all the “highest-paying” sections (5 and 6 pieces), if possible with your starting tickets, but again, this isn't compulsory.
5°- If your opponent doesn't adopt the same strategy and starts laying down his wagons earlier in the game, block him by taking possession of the most interesting routes (4 pieces and more) to the destination he seems intent on acquiring. If these roads match your tickets or your long route, this is a bonus, but not a requirement, as the aim is to make him lose points.

These are some thoughts you can have about playing, sure, but if you want to say "hey, I disagree with one of these, what if I try something else" we welcome it. In fact that's part of the game. Let's look.

1. Decide what you think of your tickets. They define your potential routes, but don't be afraid to reject them if they're so bad they hamper you instead. Maybe you should only make 1 ticket, or 0 tickets, be creative. There's no rule saying you're forced to mindlessly make all of them if it makes no sense, use your judgment instead to find the best way forward. If they're solid now find what path bests supports them and your plan.

2. Destinations take time to draw and also limit what routes you can choose. Time and flexibility are important, so it's often not a good idea to draw extra. Still, use your judgment. If you calculate your opponent reaches their endgame with more points based on what your calculations of your score vs your educated guess on theirs will be, maybe a last-ditch ticket draw is the only chance to steal victory from defeat, just make sure you didn't miscalculate and end up throwing the game instead.

3. Knowing what cards you have gives you the most information to determine where you want to place them, so it's ideal to draw first, play later. However, you also have to respect contested territory, so if your opponent claims a route you wanted first, that may be on you. Determine the essential routes you have to claim and you might end up buying them a bit sooner to guarantee they're yours.

4. Unsurprisingly, when the biggest routes give the most points per card and empty your cards the fastest, they are ideal. Naturally this has to be balanced with your ticket concerns and longest route.

5. If your opponent is committing early and it looks like something dangerous, you don't have to let them do it. If it doesn't seem too bad, ignore it.

How a player might choose to approach the details of these isn't always the same, and this can separate better players from worse ones. Each player can choose for themselves what works best, the better their judgment, the better they do on average.

Kaladry wrote: ↑14 October 2024, 02:04

Suoivax wrote: ↑14 October 2024, 00:16

Kaladry wrote: ↑13 October 2024, 23:01 Those types of people are not playing for fun so I don't want to play with them. Have some decency.

And who are you to dictate what "fun" is for me? My fun is winning the game as described in the official rules of the game.

If playing to win by being malicious to other players is what you think of as fun then you need to work on yourself. Don't be a villain.

Is it malicious to block someone when playing Tic-Tac-Toe? Unsportsmanlike? Connect Four?

thg0724 wrote: ↑02 December 2024, 16:29

Kaladry wrote: ↑14 October 2024, 02:04

Suoivax wrote: ↑14 October 2024, 00:16

And who are you to dictate what "fun" is for me? My fun is winning the game as described in the official rules of the game.

If playing to win by being malicious to other players is what you think of as fun then you need to work on yourself. Don't be a villain.

Is it malicious to block someone when playing Tic-Tac-Toe? Unsportsmanlike? Connect Four?

Well that's a bad comparison again because blocking in tic tac toe is literally the point of the game, it's not in TTR.

Kaladry wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 01:04

thg0724 wrote: ↑02 December 2024, 16:29

Kaladry wrote: ↑14 October 2024, 02:04

If playing to win by being malicious to other players is what you think of as fun then you need to work on yourself. Don't be a villain.

Is it malicious to block someone when playing Tic-Tac-Toe? Unsportsmanlike? Connect Four?

Well that's a bad comparison again because blocking in tic tac toe is literally the point of the game, it's not in TTR.

No, the objective in Tic-Tac-Toe is to get three in a row.

thg0724 wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 05:06

Kaladry wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 01:04

thg0724 wrote: ↑02 December 2024, 16:29

Is it malicious to block someone when playing Tic-Tac-Toe? Unsportsmanlike? Connect Four?

Well that's a bad comparison again because blocking in tic tac toe is literally the point of the game, it's not in TTR.

No, the objective in Tic-Tac-Toe is to get three in a row.

Comparing a complicated game such as TTR to tic tac toe is ridiculous and you know it. Stop being absurd and find a good comparison if you wish to actually make a point. Your useless arguing is doing absolutely nothing if your talking points have no relation to the argument. Sure you can say the point of tic tac toe is to get three in a row but its a literal 3x3 grid with 9 places to play so obviously it is expected that you will block your opponents 2 in a row on your way to attempting your own 3 in a row. TTR is way more complicated and maliciously blocking a route on purpose that you have no need for is COMPLETELY different from tic tac toe.

Like I've said before in this thread, I'm not arguing against the fact of blocking someone by taking a route you both needed, that's just part of the game. I'm arguing against people who maliciously block just for the sake of blocking, especially when they block all routes from one city or every possible connection. That is not the point of the game as you're trying to argue it is and that is what is unsportsmanlike and will earn you an automatic red thumb from me. Just give up, you have no argument and are drawing at straws.

thg0724 wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 05:06

Kaladry wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 01:04

thg0724 wrote: ↑02 December 2024, 16:29

Is it malicious to block someone when playing Tic-Tac-Toe? Unsportsmanlike? Connect Four?

Well that's a bad comparison again because blocking in tic tac toe is literally the point of the game, it's not in TTR.

No, the objective in Tic-Tac-Toe is to get three in a row.

Dont bother debating Kaladry, they refuse to see anyone else's point of view.

Kaladry wrote: ↑05 December 2024, 19:55 Sure you can say the point of tic tac toe is to get three in a row

I don't say it, the rules of the game say it. The winning condition, the objective, is to get three in a row.

but its a literal 3x3 grid with 9 places to play so obviously it is expected that you will block your opponents 2 in a row on your way to attempting your own 3 in a row. TTR is way more complicated and maliciously blocking a route on purpose that you have no need for is COMPLETELY different from tic tac toe.

Playing top left and then middle bottom is not "attempting your own 3 in a row". Those two squares will never be a part of the same 3 in a row.

The winning condition in TTR is to score more points than your opponent. One way to do that is to make it difficult (or impossible) for you opponent to complete tickets. So, it is OBVIOUSLY expected that there will be times when it is advantageous to block your opponent on your way to attempting to score more points than your opponent. It is not an example of unsportsmanlike behavior to employ this tactic in an effort to win.

Suoivax wrote: ↑06 December 2024, 02:53 Dont bother debating Kaladry, they refuse to see anyone else's point of view.

I think they see the other point of view. How can they not? They simply refuse to acknowledge it. I think it's a game they play.

thg0724 wrote: ↑07 December 2024, 06:00

Suoivax wrote: ↑06 December 2024, 02:53 Dont bother debating Kaladry, they refuse to see anyone else's point of view.

I think they see the other point of view. How can they not? They simply refuse to acknowledge it. I think it's a game they play.

I see that you don't understand the true point of a game.

Kaladry wrote: ↑08 December 2024, 21:17 I see that you don't understand the true point of a game.

I'm curious, have you talked to Alan Moon about the 'true' point of the game? If you do talk to him, ask him why he limited who can use a route. Why not let everyone use them. And why in a 2 and 3 Player game, limit the double routes, if blocking isn't a core part of the game.

I think he did invent a game that fits your world view better. It is called TTR:Europe with stations.

As for a different game that fits this argument pretty well is Backgammon. Both have some luck, both have an apparently unsportsmanlike way to play (hitting an opponent's piece and moving it to the bar).