Community consensus / unwritten rules about blocking?

[Mr_Magic]

Actually, in hindsight its quite a complicated issue as that are valid reasons to not want to play with someone but sadly the red thumb blocking for those situations is also caught by the red thumbs for ‘they blocked me .’

[ExaltedAngel]

Actually, in hindsight its quite a complicated issue as that are valid reasons to not want to play with someone but sadly the red thumb blocking for those situations is also caught by the red thumbs for ‘they blocked me .’

That can apply to less competitive environments like simple games where you are able to select your opponents anyways and red thumbs simplify this process. In arena it's just plain wrong.

[Dan 1]

I have had multiple games where intentional blocking was done to me! Sometimes the opponent made NO attempt at their own tickets! While this is legal by the rules, I think it is poor sportsmanship. Unintentional blocking is okay; but to not attempt your own tickets at all(?)- poor.

[Ceaseless]

I have had multiple games where intentional blocking was done to me! Sometimes the opponent made NO attempt at their own tickets! While this is legal by the rules, I think it is poor sportsmanship. Unintentional blocking is okay; but to not attempt your own tickets at all(?)- poor.

I've played games where I don't bother making my tickets even when I don't block my opponent because the tickets were just trash. It's a game-by-game thing. In 1 v 1 you have to decide what holds more value, your tickets or your opponent's tickets, and whether there are meaningful plays to be made with regards to securing your own tickets or disrupting theirs. You may even decide that the battle for tickets isn't the relevant factor that game at all.

[g2e2]

I came here looking to understand the Friendly Mode in TTR. So I admit I have not read all 9 pages of posts. For the record, I dont usually set up my tables in friendly mode and I acknowledge blocking as a valid strategy. I find it mildly annoying but only because it inconvienced me not because it is wrong. HOWEVER, I thought friendly mode meant an understanding that there would not be intentional blocking that does not aid completion of your own routes.
I just completed a game where I joined a 1v1 game setup in friendly mode prior to me joining. Toward end of the game the other player blocked my route completion in THREE places, with no tickets anywhere near.
This seems dishonest at minimum. If you want to play a blocking strategy that is fine but don't advertise as if you wont.

[ahyangyi]

I block and expect to be blocked in 2p games.

In multiplayer games, I just don't think in terms of blocking. I think in terms of contesting. If a route is at danger of being contested, of course I would consider take it earlier than I would otherwise, but the purpose is defensive rather than offensive. Which also means I only contest the crucial segments, and am more patient about the parallel routes that I could go either way. I expect other players to block me but not at the expense of their own goals. Blocking me only to help the third player feels bad.

If you don't feel like getting blocked, try Railroad Ink or Steamrollers. There are other great games that let you to make your railway network unobstructed! You don't have to bend Ticket to Ride to do that.

[Ceaseless]

I came here looking to understand the Friendly Mode in TTR. So I admit I have not read all 9 pages of posts. For the record, I dont usually set up my tables in friendly mode and I acknowledge blocking as a valid strategy. I find it mildly annoying but only because it inconvienced me not because it is wrong. HOWEVER, I thought friendly mode meant an understanding that there would not be intentional blocking that does not aid completion of your own routes.
I just completed a game where I joined a 1v1 game setup in friendly mode prior to me joining. Toward end of the game the other player blocked my route completion in THREE places, with no tickets anywhere near.
This seems dishonest at minimum. If you want to play a blocking strategy that is fine but don't advertise as if you wont.

Friendly mode just means there is no rating on the line. You're still playing Ticket to Ride though. Nothing's changed about that.

[ij_26]

1) I don't block and would prefer others not to block my routes on purpose (fine when they need the path for themselves).
2) I don't block, but I have no problems with others blocking it to win the game or prevent me from gaining too many points.
3) I don't block, but I don't care when and why others block my routes.
4) I block only when I need the route for points and hope others do this only in such case too.
5) I block and don't mind others blocking for any reason.

6. Play to win with any strategy the rules allow, and don't get annoyed when other players also play to win.

But other players see completing their routes as a goal in and of itself. There's a feeling of fun and accomplishment

...another player places trains in a way that doesn't help them complete a route of their own and is obviously simply meant to thwart you, then it can feel malicious, or unfriendly, or "hard core," or "win by any means necessary," or something like that. The classic case would be someone who puts a train to connect Nashville and Atlanta, when you obviously need that and they don't. Unlike connecting Toronto and Duluth, which yields a lot of points on its own, this doesn't even give the player significant points. It's all about making you fail.

I fall into the category of 1. I share the sentiment of "a feeling of fun and accomplishment " from trying to complete my routes.

If I am blocked, I do go watch the replay to see if the opponent needed the route to complete their routes. If they fall in to the malicious camp or category 6, the red is an option.

[SpacerDude]

I vote the 4th option.

Did anyone count the votes to see how this turned out? I'm game for playing according to the consensus, whatever that may be.

I've also played against players who like to play more of a blocking game than a scoring game. I can play it that way if that is the standard, though it wouldn't be my preference...like I voted, I like the 4th option....I work hard to score the segments that I need to complete my routes. Sometimes I know that I'm blocking when I do that and other times I don't.

One of the cool things about the European game...If you get blocked, you can annex a blocked segment by creating a station.

[tchobello]

well, I may block when my objectives are done and if I don't want someone to finish LA-Miami or Vancouver- Montreal...

But blocking is not really effective as it's quite always better to score the most points as you're the only one improving your score instead of two people scoring less.

Whatever, it's part of the game.
Many people start playing Houston - NO or Nashville - Atlanta: what is it ?