The dreaded BIS plan.

[BangkokGarrett]

I hate it when the dreaded "BIS" plan shows up as one of the 3 plans. I never know how to deal with it. It's extremely difficult to fulfill and even if you do, you lose massive points for your efforts. I'm now tending to ignore it and planning for a game that will go until someone gets 3 permit refusals. So, do you all just ignore the BIS plan too?

[kytbell]

Pretty much. I treat it like a park when all of my parks for that row are finished: good to fill a hole but nothing more.

[Vandaley]

If it comes up with two "regular" plans, it is a quick path to the win as long as you don't hit a bis drought. I win with that plan more often than I don't.

The key is that even though you are losing massive points, you make up for many of them with the plan bonus AND you can get to the other two bonuses faster than your opponents as you have more houses than they do. This only works when paired with traditional plans and you need to watch to see what they are going for so you can beat them to it, but it is very affective when implemented well.

[Vandaley]

Here is a screen shot of how you can use it to be very efficient and win if it pairs well with the other two plans.

[Vandaley]

I just finished another with the BIS plan. This one was closer, but again, it allowed me to be efficient with my planning and I beat my two opponents (both experienced players) to plans and I was even able to win despite not getting one of the plans first.

So the BIS plan is one that can work out for you if you know when to go for it.

[BangkokGarrett]

Very helpful advice! Thank you! I shall not ignore it, then, if it's paired with 2 other standard plans.

[Vandaley]

Very helpful advice! Thank you! I shall not ignore it, then, if it's paired with 2 other standard plans.

A couple of other pointers that I learned the hard way.

1) all BIS must be on the same street.
2) you cannot split a bis into different estates, so you need to be careful with how to place them such that you don't mess yourself up. For example if you have a 5 () 6, when you go to put a bis in the () you can pair it with the 5 or the 6, and that might make a big difference in your ability to make a specific sized estate.

[postmans]

I would actually suggest you do ignore the bis plan, so far I've never seen somebody win on competitive tables with a bis plan.
If you play against it you have to keep track though of when your opponent is about to finish, also be ready to cover all houses (if nobody goes for bis), just make sure not to have any lose houses and score well on other stuff and you should manage without going for this plan.

In advanced mode (roundabouts) there is quite often an occasion to ignore plans (bis is the only one to always ignore, others are situational).
I'm starting to see more and more games where people win with only 1 plan completed (against good 500+ ELO players).

[mstaten]

If you are looking for an all situations rule, then yeah, don't go for it. But, I do agree with Vandelay, if the situation is right, you can win with it, even against advanced opponents. I don't go for it if the other plans require a lot of fences, pools, or parks. The other plans have to be straightforward.

I also look for a situation where I feel like I am getting Bis cards early in the game. I'm happy to take one or two Bis without committing to the plan. One situation that encourages me to go for it is seeing a Bis plan on the current turn and and one coming on the next turn.

For me, the seven temp agency and two streets with all the pools are trickier decisions. I've lost too many games going for those plans when I shouldn't have gone for getting points in other ways instead. You can give up a lot of parks, plans, and estate points just to because your are being picky with a park or temp agency card.

[mstaten]

...so far I've never seen somebody win on competitive tables with a bis plan.

It can happen, but beating skilled players is hard enough on its own. I don't recommend going for the 5 Bis plan unless you are feeling lucky and really know what you are doing. I will say though, winning with that plan feels great.
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