Board Game Arena

Drakien wrote: ↑10 September 2024, 09:43 I found that the accusations of dirty play go away once you get over about 400 ELO.

It must, I never have anyone complain about it. I think 99% of the players know that's part of the game. I'd be happy to make comments about why as I go along, some players like that and some do not.

skyeofskynet wrote: ↑11 October 2024, 20:16 I will be the weird one here, because I don't play Azul to win. I play to place as much tiles as possible until it's impossible to continue the game without finishing it. It's very rare to find an opponent who share that style. It happened a few times and these games were beautiful.

Now I understand strategy, but if I okay with someone who blocks me constantly I usually pick the option to never play with that person again. I get it - you play to win, but there's no pleasure in such aggressive game for me therefore let's not play together again.

Honestly thats not the players fault, that's your fault for playing that type of game. It'd be like "I like playing Santorini but only when each of us move to our own corner to build tall towers".
In all seriousness you should give Azul Summer Pavilion a try, I find players like a less direct version of Azul tend to like version much better.

Dirty play? Bad etiquette?

Ehh?

It's a game where the highest score wins. To quote Herm Edwards,
"You play... to win.. the game! Hello !??? "

Part of the strategy involves not allowing the other player to hate draft us out of our needed tiles, and/or sticking the other player with penalty tiles and avoiding allowing it to happen to us.

Bad etiquette should be reserved for
1) abusive language
2) rage quitting
3) Cheating (which should be impossible with proper programming.

Playing by the rules to get the most points should not be considered bad etiquette.

Some people might say that "running up the score" is bad etiquette, but that's debatable. And in many games, including Azul, it is not clear who the winner will be until the very end, thereby necessitating optimal play to make the play that results in the best net change in points.

Play to win, but if you do things that actually hurt you just to screw them, it’s annoying and you’ll end up losing a lot against good players anyways.

An example is on the first round, if you take the third I need for a three row when they is another 3 available or even a four. Like, fine, but it’s the first round AND that other three is more helpful to you or the four is way more helpful.

So many people don’t understand that there is no only one way to win. If you can’t win without dirty game — it does not mean that you are a good player, does not matter how much score do you have. I play to win using my mind, making my own stratagy, it is much more interesting that to win destroying another’s plans. And I play for fun, not for making war. If I want war I would play another games. That’s why I don’t accept dirty game. If you play dirty you will be banned and that's all.

landyshka wrote: ↑21 February 2025, 15:58 So many people don’t understand that there is no only one way to win. If you can’t win without dirty game — it does not mean that you are a good player, does not matter how much score do you have. I play to win using my mind, making my own stratagy, it is much more interesting that to win destroying another’s plans. And I play for fun, not for making war. If I want war I would play another games. That’s why I don’t accept dirty game. If you play dirty you will be banned and that's all.

There is a word we use to call people that try to force their opponents to not make legal moves in a normal game. We call them cheaters. That is what many of these anti-blockers are, underhanded cheaters that should be shunned from the Azul community for their attempts to hurt people. To call them players would be an exaggeration, because they aren't really playing Azul, they're just trying to bully other people. I don't mind those that choose not to block, they can do what they want with their own moves after all, but I have no respect for those that try to force their opponents not to block in any of their games.

landyshka wrote: ↑21 February 2025, 15:58 So many people don’t understand that there is no only one way to win. If you can’t win without dirty game — it does not mean that you are a good player, does not matter how much score do you have. I play to win using my mind, making my own stratagy, it is much more interesting that to win destroying another’s plans. And I play for fun, not for making war. If I want war I would play another games. That’s why I don’t accept dirty game. If you play dirty you will be banned and that's all.

1. There's nothing "dirty" about harming your opponent's plans. It's part of the game. You're just imaging that Azul is meant to be played the way you prefer.

2. It's actually more intellectually challenging to play Azul when you have to worry about other players futzing with you. You have to think more to make sure you don't get stuck with crummy tiles.

The idea that you are using your mind more is wrong. It's closer to the opposite: you're simplifying the game by removing some effective tactics.

landyshka wrote: ↑21 February 2025, 15:58 So many people don’t understand that there is no only one way to win. If you can’t win without dirty game — it does not mean that you are a good player, does not matter how much score do you have. I play to win using my mind, making my own stratagy, it is much more interesting that to win destroying another’s plans. And I play for fun, not for making war. If I want war I would play another games. That’s why I don’t accept dirty game. If you play dirty you will be banned and that's all.

Well, you sound unhinged.

So, drafting tiles that would otherwise score the opponent a lot of points is "playing dirty"? What?

Sounds to be that it is you who is playing the wrong game, not the "dirty players".

You expect your opponents to just let you get all the tiles you need?

Complaining about "Dirty play" that is actually just one type of strategic play is not a good way to improve one's game.

landyshka wrote: ↑21 February 2025, 15:58 So many people don’t understand that there is no only one way to win.

There are a lot of ways to lose according to your Elo rating though