Carcassonne Central
Carc Central Community => Online Games and Competitions => Leagues (including expansion leagues) => Topic started by: MrNumbers on February 20, 2017, 11:13:56 AM
-
Bridges:
- Merlin_89
- Jéré
- danisthirty
- Rosco
- DeatzoSeol
If you are new to the competitions, please, carefully read the following tournament notes/guidance/rules before continuing.
If you already participated in some Carcassonne Central competitions before, the following rules are pretty much the same as always, except some changes in point 4.
1. Players have already been divided into three different groups (Bridges, Castles, Bazaars). Each player will play one game of Carcassonne against every other player in their group individually via a series of 2-player/ head-to-head games. The winner of each game will be awarded two league points whereas the loser gets nothing. If the game is tied, both players receive one league point each.
2. Players in each group will be ranked according to the number of league points they have scored. PD (Points Differential) will be used as an initial tie-breaker if there is no clear winner based on league points alone, and total combined score (from all games) will be used as a second tie-breaker if necessary. Your PD is calculated by taking the total number of points scored by you and subtracting the total number of points scored against you (combined across all games).
3. Games will be played online through the latest stable version of JCloisterZone (currently 3.4.2). Please ensure you have downloaded this and are familiar with its controls and features before the competition begins. It is also recommended that you have played at least one practice game against a live opponent in order to identify and resolve any technical problems before your first game.
4. JCloisterZone includes a number of artificial aids such as farm hints, projected scores and even tile-counting assistance. We all are busy people, and time is valuable for all of us. Many players spend decent amount of time anyway to count points for farms and uncompleted features, so with the purpose of speeding up our games, I allow to use "projected scores" feature. Other aids are still prohibited. I can't stop you from using them anyway, and won't know if you do, but I do urge you to play as fair as possible. I know it's a competition and we all want to win, but let's keep it fair, fun and friendly as far as possible...
5. Each game will include the basic tiles plus the Bridges, Castles & Bazaars expansion only (no other expansions please). This is 84 tiles including the start tile, so 83 tiles will be shuffled and randomly drawn for you and your opponent in turn. The starting player should be chosen at random through JCZ by selecting the “Randomize seating order” checkbox on the pre-game screen.
6. If any unexpected behaviour occurs during your game (for example if you think you have discovered a bug within JCloisterZone which may have altered the course of the game for you), please consult with your opponent and the CAR/ anyone else who happens to be in the chat room at the time to determine whether it appears to be a genuine bug. If it is, please save your game and post details of the bug along with anything else relating to how it came about on the forums. If however, you and your opponent are both happy to continue with your game despite the bug then feel free to do so, but don’t forget to mention the bug afterwards no matter how minor it may have seemed!
7. Please post a screenshot of your game, including final scores and score breakdown, back to your group thread as soon as your game is complete. It's always interesting to hear what happened during the game too, so please feel free to post any thoughts/ comments at the same time if you wish. If you're not sure how to capture/ post screenshots, please ask on the forums and either myself or someone else will explain how to do this (we're a friendly bunch!)
8. It is the players responsibility to liaise with their fellow group-members in order to find a mutually convenient time to play their game. This is expected to be done predominantly through Private Messages but feel free to use your group thread (here) too if this is easier. Please do keep any appointments you make, or at least give your opponent as much notice as possible if something occurs which prevents you from playing at the agreed time (more on the "Unwritten Rules" is available here (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=2700)).
9. Each of the 3 initial groups contains 5 players so the first stage of the competition will end when every player (all 15 of us) has played 4 games. At this point, the pool will split into 5 groups of 3 depending on finishing position in the initial groups. So, the top-ranked players from groups will form group F1, and those who came second in each group will form group F2. The same will be true for groups F3 to F5.
10. Play in groups F1 to F5 will constitute the second stage of the competition which will run in the same way as the first except with more groups and fewer people per group. League points, PD and total score will be reset at this point (but remembered for overall stats) so that no single player in any group has any kind of advantage. Finishing positions in groups at the second stage will determine overall rank: 1st=F1-1, 2nd=F1-2, 3rd=F1-3, 4th=F2-1, 5th=F2-2, ..., 12th=F4-4, 13th=F5-1, 14th=F5-2, 15th=F5-3.
Finally, you may find the following links helpful: Carcassonne Central IRC Chat (http://sydby.com/carcassonne/irc/index.html) and JCloisterZone (http://jcloisterzone.com/en/).
Good luck everyone! ;) :(y)
-
So, when do we start?
I'm free, usually in the evening, starting from 19:00 UTC, otherwise in the weekend, all day
-
So, when do we start?
I'm free, usually in the evening, starting from 19:00 UTC, otherwise in the weekend, all day
Hi DeatzoSeol - I was trying to get your attention in the JCZ lobby just now but it looked like maybe you were playing with someone else. I didn't recognise any of the other names. Perhaps another time...
-
Weird, I didn't notice anything, probably didn't even realise you were online and in my game group :D
Anyway, I'll be online tomorrow evening, so let's hope it works out then ;)
-
Weird, I didn't notice anything, probably didn't even realise you were online and in my game group :D
Anyway, I'll be online tomorrow evening, so let's hope it works out then ;)
OK cool. Perhaps if we can meet in the online chat room - http://sydby.com/carcassonne/irc/index.html - it would make life easier? Then we don't have to play on the online server either and can use my laptop instead... :)
-
Okay, first game of the group :)
DeatzoSeol 109 vs Danisthirty 201
I got owned really badly, so I guess I really should practice more 2-person Carcassonne :P
The start was pretty balanced, but then Dan started claiming that farm and was always a step ahead and managed to connect four meeples and I didn't even notice it until it was too late.
The screenshot is the only proof I'll ever need :)
-
Thanks for the game DeatzoSeol!
In your defence, you made a costly mistake at about the halfway stage when you closed a city of mine adjacent to the big city which allowed me to create a castle there (rather than just closing the city). A simple slip-up, and you might have gotten away with it, but then I drew a tile that could close it (provided I used a bridge) and because the main city was shared we both got 32 points but I got an extra 32 for my castle! >:D
My other castle token was planted next to a cloister that I had claimed. It took a while to complete it and I had road in the vicinity of the same castle on the go at the same time. I think I ended up completing all 3 at a similar time and getting some much needed meeples back as well as a decent handful of points.
Thanks again for the game! And good luck going forward with the competition...
-
I'll be available tonight after 21:00 or 21:30, in case someone is also available to play. Let me know!
Will send personal messages shortly to (try to) schedule all my games.
-
Jéré 87 vs DeatzoSeol 90
I got very lucky to win this one. It started off slowly with both of us scoring some smaller features. Jéré drew all the good "joiners" but I got some good "blockers" to keep them off my lawn, so to speak. I realised early on I was playing against a superior opponent since they trapped two of my meeples very early, with no way out. I got very lucky to draw the CCCR tile you see in the northeast (the BCB one with three separate cities and a road) splitting the city three-way and denying Jéré the chance for majority. Meanwhile, our game of "joining" and "blocking" continued as we built some castles (those in the north) without a lot of success since Jéré prematurely had them scored without me realising what they were up to.
The most stressful moment came when Jéré started building the giant city in the south, and placing a castle there. I ran out of good blocking options and if the city were finished, Jere would have won, easily. By then, I had also lost the battle for the farm and I got very lucky that city was never finished, since it would have given Jéré 32 points.
All in all a pretty tight game nonetheless.
-
2 games played, 8 left.
-
I feel very sorry for Rosco as he told me during the game that he didn't master all the rules. :-\
Rosco 102
Jéré 135
-
I feel very sorry for Rosco as he told me during the game that he didn't master all the rules. :-\
I wouldn't! A 33-point loss against you isn't a bad defeat at all, even for someone who knows all the rules inside out and back to front!
-
@Merlin_89, Jéré and Rosco - I will be available most evenings this week from about 8:30pm onward. Please let me know either via PM or by responding here if you expect to be free at the same time too...
-
DeatzoSeol 121 vs Rosco 133
Fairly balanced game all in all against a worthy opponent who aggressively pushed farmers onto the single board-spanning farm - I tried to catch up but alas, by then there were no tiles left and I was left with 0 points.
I did have one advantage though: a split mega-city and neighbouring castle that scored me exactly the same as the farm. 8) Unfortunately, that wasn't enough :(
Still, I'm glad i didn't lose 2-to-1 like my game with Danisthirty ;D
-
4 games played, 6 left.
-
danisthirty :blue-meeple: (134) - Rosco :red-meeple: (80)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/BCandB_Rosco.jpg)
This game was all about the farm, which I eventually won 5 - 3 (for 34 points) although Rosco had 2 further farmers waiting in the wings needing a crrf to join on. I seemed to draw all of these, which was especially unfortunate for Rosco as he needed another one of these to complete his cloister. Not much else I can say about this game other than that Rosco put up a good fight but my cunning plan to bribe my computer paid off and ensured that I got all the tiles I needed...
-
A tough game with Jere, as expected:
Jere :yellow-meeple: (100) - danisthirty :blue-meeple: (97)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/Jere_BCandB_scores.jpg)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/Jere_BCandB_map.jpg)
This game started off very close with a lot of thought going into each placement on both sides. I took a risk trying to complete a big city, and Jere certainly punished me for this by making my life as difficult as possible. But fortunately I drew the cccr splitter tile and later a cccf tile which allowed me to complete the city and get two meeples back. This didn't put me ahead though as Jere had been taking advantage of a tough patch I was going through with the tiles I'd drawn, but at least we were even again.
As the game progressed past the halfway point, Jere was very clear about one thing: he wanted to win the main farm. I couldn't really fight back very well as I'd used up all of my bridges elsewhere and struggled to anticipate sufficient ways on to the farm in the traditional way. So even though I had one on the farm and two adjacent to it (against Jere's 4) I didn't attempt to join the other 2 as they were worth 3 points each as long as they didn't join.
As we got towards the end of the game, it was clear that Jere had the farm but I had a small lead and had built up a decent lead from odd cities scattered about the place and a couple of roads. I hadn't worked out how close the game was going to be, but right up until the final tile it seemed that I had a chance of finishing ahead after completing a 10-point city and having a few more points hanging around in other incomplete features. As Jere decided what to do with the final tile of the game I started to add things up and worked out that I was 4 points ahead! Jere had a very convenient tile though, and was able to use it to claim a small city on his farm. This got him 4 points to equal my score, plus 3 more for the extra city on his farm have him the win... :'(
Annoyingly, there were two occasions where I could have generated sufficient points to have won the game but chose something else. One such case is my northern most farmer who ended up being joined to the main farm (by Jere) and so became worthless. If I'd claimed the city on that tile instead of placing a farmer it would have been +4 points. Similarly, when I claimed the 10-point city in the top-left corner I ignored a 4-point road (with bridge) that was completed at the same time. If I'd claimed this and then the city when I drew the tile to complete it... well, you get my point. Obviously you can't predict that Jere would have made the decisions that he made if I'd made a different set of decisions too, and ultimately it could have ended up being a completely different game. But that's just Carcassonne, and I'm pleased for Jere that he got such a well-deserved win.
I think 4 of us have played 3 games each now, and 1 of us has played 0 games. Here are the current standings before anyone plays Merlin_89:
danisthirty 4pts (143 PD)
Jere 4pts (33 PD)
Rosco 2pts (-75 PD)
Deatzoseol 2pts (-101 PD)
-
Hi all! Please forgive me, for my absence here... I hope to play all my games this week, I can show up in chat room and play each weekday evening. You can also write to me and tell me, when you're free.
I guess, I limited my chances against you... I see, you've already practiced a lot. Good work on games in our group!
-
6 games played, 4 left (all involve Merlin_89).
-
:yellow-meeple: Jéré 148
:red-meeple: Merlin 98
Great start from Merlin_89, I felt I was in trouble. Main field was getting more valuable and he had 2 more farmers than me at some point... while I was trying to finish fairly large cities. Then the second half was kind of disastreous for Merlin as I managed to finish my cities and counter attacking in the main (battle)field... got the tiles I needed, can't complain! Well played Merlin!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170306/b4fb937beb840a2684429478ebb2bb46.jpg)
-
So. This was a nice surprise... :D
danisthirty :blue-meeple: (114) - Merlin_89 :yellow-meeple: (111)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/Merlin89_BCandB_scores.jpg)
(http://www.dan.tehill.net/Merlin89_BCandB_map.jpg)
Merlin_89 got off to an overwhelmingly good start and I felt like I'd lost the game within the first 20 tiles. I managed to rescue one of my trapped meeples with a bridge and a cfff but the other was gone for good. I was however quite successful in developing his city and managed to win some good points for him. In fact, I think he ended up being the most valuable meeple left on the board at the end of the game!
I think because I already felt like I'd lost I was able to play a few riskier moves and mostly they paid off, allowing me to match Merlin_89 on most of his farms even though he was already ahead.
None of the bazaars felt particularly significant although I did spend a lot more points than Merlin in these. There was an ffff cloister that came up in the final bazaar though and I needed it to join a 3-point farmer onto a 10-point farm. If Merlin had it he could have neutralised a lead I had on another adjacent farm so I thought it would cost me dearly, but in the end I got it for 2 or 3 points, most of which I got back immediately by claiming the cloister (albeit with my last meeple).
Merlin spent a very long time deciding what to do with his final tile. I knew that things were close by this point, but I couldn't quite work out how close as the situation with the bridges was a little bit mad. Merlin needed 6 points to win the game, and there were a couple of 5-point roads he could add the tile to that would give him the 6 points he needed. BUT - in doing this, he would also have joined a spare farmer of mine onto the farm (regardless of where he placed it) so he couldn't claim either of these without losing more points than he would win. Eventually he placed it elsewhere and took 3 points for a farmer. I got 1 additional point by adding my final tile to my trapped knight's city and was delighted and surprised in equal measure when the final scores came up in my favour!
I feel bad for Merlin that this was the second game in a row he lost. But I can only feel so bad for someone who beat me by over 100 points in a World Cup (of CarcC) final ;) But thanks for the games and good luck with your final two games Merlin! :(y)
So this is how things are with 2 1 games left to play (one of which is currently in progress):
1st: danisthirty 6pts (146 PD)
2nd: Jere 6pts (83 PD)
Merlin_89 2pts (-9 PD)
Rosco 2pts (-75 PD)
Deatzoseol 2pts (-145 PD)
-
:red-meeple: Merlin_89 128 vs :yellow-meeple: DeatzoSeol 84
Third time's the charm for Merlin_89, as he finally eked out a comfortable victory. To be honest, Merlin played it hard very early and ran away with all the points while sacrificing some of his own meeples to trap mine. I know, I probably shouldn't have tried building a massive city that could have been blocked so early, so it's partly my fault, but I didn't expect Merlin to sacrifice their own meeples - those two meeples for example, in the upper part on the neighbouring cloisters, were there from the very beginning.
On the other hand... Merlin got dealt a string of very lucky cards that allowed them to complete pretty much whatever they wanted. I was left with roads roads roads and the special BCB three-way splitter cards that were essentially useless, because I didn't have anything to complete in the first place.
And still, the 40-point difference is a lot narrower than the true beating I got. Near the end of the game, I had given up the battle for the farm and decided to try my luck in the south-east corner, where Merlin themselves had started building lots of 2-tile cities. Not all farms are created equal and placing that one farmer in a sea of tiny cities helped me save my ass from a 100-point difference.
-
One game to go!
Congratulations to danisthirty on winning the group!
Jéré secured second place.
-
Any sign of that last game Rosco and Merlin_89?
-
Here we are! Last game of the group... not that it was important or sth...
93 :yellow-meeple: Merlin_89 - Rosco :red-meeple: 57
I played this game like my last one, no castle in use, one bridge... I'm not fully convinced, I play this expansion the way it is meant to be played, but whatever... I can only hope, I learnt... something.
Congrats to Dan and Jéré on their advancement to Final Round. I believe, it was indeed Death Group of Bridges, Castles & Bazaars League! Good luck and have fun!
-
Well done, group Bridges!
Here is the final x-score list.