Author Topic: Minis League: Final round  (Read 15356 times)

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2017, 01:38:03 PM »
F4 group has two games today, first was Piet_Agoras vs. What If?, screenshots will be published later (I hope), and second one was MrNumbers vs. Piet_Agoras - 220:122. Not much to say about this game, I've got tiles I needed and kept the score ticking :)
"I never lose. Either I win or I learn." (Nelson Mandela)

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #16 on: October 05, 2017, 01:33:11 PM »
F4
MrNumbers vs. What If?
154:152

Wonderful and very enjoyable game! I was in the comfortable lead the whole game, trying to trap as many opponent's meeples as I can. In the end What If? started to try to share the main farm. I was able to add 5th farmer, but with his last tile What If? boosted his points by 25! With one tile he completed the road (taken just one turn earlier) and grabbed 4 gold pieces. If I wouldn't have a meeple in hand for my very last turn, I would lose this game. Thanks for the game!

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #17 on: October 05, 2017, 01:37:09 PM »
F4 - final standings
MrNumbers - 10th overall,
What If? - 11th,
Piet_Agoras - 12th.

Offline danisthirty

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #18 on: October 09, 2017, 01:36:00 AM »
Merlin would you be freebto play this evening?

Offline danisthirty

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #19 on: October 09, 2017, 01:44:22 PM »
:blue-meeple: Dan 159 - 149 Merlin :yellow-meeple:

Exhausting. Seemed to spend most of the game exactly 14 points behind, and gave up hope when I lost the main farm. Will type more later. Screenshot below...

Matches against Merlin are always a challenge, and this one was no different from any other. I started, and the first two tiles out of the bag were from the CC2 expansion. Mine was an rrrr with club and Merlin's was a crfr with pitchfork but it was too early in the game for either of these special abilities to make any difference. Merlin was the first to score with his 4-point city, but I was quick to follow it up with a 5-point road which allowed me to enjoy a short spell in the lead by an all-important point! Next I tried to trap a knight that Merlin had placed, but unfortunately he drew a handy crrr tile immediately afterwards to complete a 6-point city and a 4-point road at once. I was behind again, which is where I stayed for the vast majority of the game (mostly by 14 points for some reason) with the exception of a short period where I had a lead of 1 or 2 points for a few tiles much later in the game.

Merlin did well with cloisters, drawing 3 quite early in the game. With so many other options available to him as the landscape began to develop though, completing his cloisters clearly wasn't a priority for him so I started focussing on trapping them as best I could. This was a little frustrating as I wasted several turns trying to build unfillable holes only for him to draw the required "escape tile" just before I was able to complete the trap. However, whilst his first monk escaped back to his hand, I did manage to slow him down somewhat by trapping another and then leaving a third needing an rrrx to complete it. Furthermore, I placed a farmer on some wasteland near to the cloisters such that he would be joined to the main farm if the rrrx was placed. In the end, I completed his cloister for him as I wasn't sure how many tiles were left that would fill the gap and it became more of a priority for me to get a second meeple onto the farm than it was a disadvantage for Merlin to be one meeple short.

After being forced to play a cccc onto a ccrr tile (there was nowhere else to put it) that I'd claimed much earlier in the game, my chances of ever completing that city were pretty much zero but I continued to expand it anyway knowing that it could end up being worth good points at the end of the game, especially if the Mage was also in the city. Merlin never tried to share these points, which were boosted somewhat when I was able to join it to a completely separate city that I had built purely to provide an opportunity to trap a thief belonging to Merlin. Even though he drew the only escape tile (the crcr tile from the Goldmines expansion), he never managed to complete the road and so never took the extra 2 gold bars which could have made a big difference!

In terms of farms, there was one main farm which we shared with 2 farmers each for much of the game. Merlin had another farm serving 5 cities in the north-west of the landscape but I couldn't see how these farms would merge so I was happy to leave him to it up there. However, after I drew a much-needed (by both of us) crfr tile to complete a city and claim a few extra points from a handy road, Merlin decided to take a risk with his last meeple and went to take the farm outright. He successfully joined it with his very next tile and I felt then that it was all over for me unless I could find another way of getting onto the farm and winning back a share of these 24 points. As it turned out, I couldn't, but I did later end up sharing his separate 15-point farm which came as some consolation at least…

As always, I underestimated the significance of the gold bars. Obviously I recognise their importance and do everything I can to ensure I win as many of them as possible but this is often more luck-based than anything else, and as long as you can place your tile such that a feature will be completed quickly there's little thought involved (in my opinion). Following on from my outrageous good fortune in my game against Adrornalin where I won 7 gold bars by completing a single cloister, I was lucky enough to draw 2 of the Goldmine tiles consecutively and claimed a 4-point road plus 4 pieces of gold in the process (and a cloister [which I never completed]) in the mid-game. In terms of gold, the final score was 7 – 3 to me which translated to an 18 point benefit as my gold bars were worth 3 points each whereas Merlin's were worth just one.

With less than 10 tiles to go, Merlin and I both completed cities in the south-east corner of the landscape. Merlin's included the Mage and so was especially valuable. I made a bad mistake here and placed a farmer on the bottom half of the cfcf splitter with shield (CC2) rather than the top. I can't explain why I didn't notice, but for some reason I had thought it was also connected to the farm at the top which is why I placed a subsequent cfff above it, increasing its value from 3 points to 9. This came as a bit of a shock to me when I noticed it after the game had finished, but fortunately I'd been able to get onto Merlin's second farm and claim a 4-point road with my last tile, and this was enough to give me the win. :o

Overall it was quite a game, and my brain was exhausted by the end of it! Merlin confided in me that he knew the game was lost when I drew the final crfr but he's said that to me before and then gone on to win so I didn't want to let my guard down, and genuinely didn't know who'd won before the final scores had been calculated. Many thanks for the game Merlin, and good luck in your final game against Adror. That's certainly a game I'd pay to watch! 8)

Many thanks to MrNumbers for his efforts in organising this tournament. This seems to have been a very awkward one to be in charge of due to lack of commitment from several of the participants, so I'm especially grateful that it was somebody else making the difficult decisions on this occasion. @everyone - please do your best to find the time to play any outstanding matches. We're all busy, and I know it's rarely easy or convenient to schedule matches between timezones, but it would be great to get this tournament wrapped up without any more forfeited matches and I've already offered to buy a drink for everyone who finishes all of their games! O:-)
« Last Edit: October 10, 2017, 03:17:59 AM by danisthirty »

Offline thodekey

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #20 on: October 09, 2017, 01:56:50 PM »
Congrats, Dan, in winning your second expansion league in a row!  Drinks for everyone on Dan's account if I may suggest...  :P

Offline Merlin_89

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #21 on: October 09, 2017, 02:02:15 PM »
Congrats Dan! But believe me, it was more exhausting for me! I could have had small lead, but Dan had major advantage on map... He blocked my 2 meeples early, and I could only play desperate tactics from then on. But gold tiles preferred you, your golden circle (4 gold bars). And I had little hope... Like that one tile, which would score road, 2 gold bars for me... Didn't happen. My desperate tactic played out on farm but it was not enough, not for a game with expansion.

You're becoming master with those expansions Leagues! Good job.

Offline thodekey

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #22 on: October 09, 2017, 02:14:52 PM »
Thodekey vs TheSteveAllen 190 - 140

Although the end score suggests otherwise this was a tight game till the end.  As many times before, gold was the big game-changer and I was lucky to draw many gold tiles.  On the other hand, I seemed to get the witch always in my town.

I was focussing on cashing the gold, blocking some meeples of TheSteveAllen and taking over the main farm:
- The first thing went quite well
- I blocked 2 meeples of TheSteveAllen: one on the bridge over the city in the N and one in the city in the SW where the mage ended. (all the matching tiles to complete that city where gone).  Then I made a mistake that could have cost me dearly: when drawing the last crop circle tile with a shield, I choose the option to remove a meeple instead of placing an extra.  In that way, TheSteveAllen -who had run out of meeples by that moment- released his meeple in the city and began scoring small projects on every turn.
- the taking over the main farm went wrong too: north of my 3 meeples on the main farm, I placed a straight road tile. (with a flyer on it). In order to take over the main farm, I wanted to place a farmer north of that road and join it with another straight road to the main farm. That would have worked because I drew 2 more straight roads.......if it wasn't for the stupid fact that I mistakenly placed the meeple on the flyer instead of on the green area...undoing wasn't possible anymore and there went my chance to take the lead in the main farm.

Lucky enough, gold gave me the victory.

Well played, TheSteveAllen!  Nothing is decided yet: the last game against Khalidqasrawi will decide the ranking in F3.
« Last Edit: October 10, 2017, 01:49:09 AM by thodekey »

Offline danisthirty

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #23 on: October 09, 2017, 03:03:04 PM »
Congrats, Dan, in winning your second expansion league in a row!  Drinks for everyone on Dan's account if I may suggest...  :P

Absolutely. What's everyone having? 8)

Thodekey vs TheSteveAllen 190 - 140

Congrats Thodekey, and commiserations Steve. I hope it was a fun and challenging game for both of you regardless of the outcome. :(y)

Offline thodekey

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #24 on: October 10, 2017, 01:47:32 AM »
Congrats, Dan, in winning your second expansion league in a row!  Drinks for everyone on Dan's account if I may suggest...  :P

Absolutely. What's everyone having? 8)

I'll have an Orval, please.


Thodekey vs TheSteveAllen 190 - 140

Congrats Thodekey, and commiserations Steve. I hope it was a fun and challenging game for both of you regardless of the outcome. :(y)

I can only speak for myself but i had a good time, a game as it should be: challenging for but sides, tight till the end and a rather fast game.  Makes me want to play more games against TheSteveAllen.

Offline TheSteveAllen

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #25 on: October 10, 2017, 02:40:46 AM »

I can only speak for myself but i had a good time, a game as it should be: challenging for but sides, tight till the end and a rather fast game.  Makes me want to play more games against TheSteveAllen.

Thanks for the kind words thodekey. It was a very tight game indeed, despite the point difference saying otherwise. I really enjoyed the game and look forward to a rematch or ten some time in the future. I am always easy to contact in #thepieshed if you want to organise a game.

Offline Decar

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #26 on: October 10, 2017, 03:48:31 AM »
Good work Dan!

Congratulations on a fine victory; especially against so many competent players!

That's some impressive 2017 statistics - wonder how the ELOs looking now  ???

Offline Rosco

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #27 on: October 10, 2017, 11:24:48 AM »
Yea well done Dan! 

I think whatever you have gained on ELO, I will have lost double!

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

Just lay the damn tile!

Offline MrNumbers

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #28 on: October 10, 2017, 12:59:35 PM »
Congratulations to Danisthirty for winning Minis League! :(y) Great achievement! You are the first to win 3 leagues! Time to catch up, 'cos the next league isn't far away ;)

And I can just echo what Dan has said: please, find a time to play your games. It isn't impossible mission to complete :)

Offline Adrornalin

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Re: Minis League: Final round
« Reply #29 on: October 10, 2017, 01:27:43 PM »
hi there,
the overall second and third place has been played out tonight.
gold tile distribution plus some preparations for gold tiles as well as for crop circles plus a bigger portion of luck made me win this game.

Adror 201 vs 118 Merlin


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