Author Topic: Princess & Dragon League: Princesses (Read 45124 times)

Chooselife · « **Reply #45 on:** January 26, 2016, 11:57:55 AM »

the crcr with the tunnel is a game changer on P&D and usually goes unnoticed

jungleboy · « **Reply #46 on:** January 26, 2016, 02:08:11 PM »

jungleboy 176 kettlefish 144

My strategy was a bit dangerous in this game but it paid off. I had 3 farmers in the main farm (later 4) for most of the game and 2 knights in a large city. Kettlefish led for most of the game while I often had 0 meeples, but eventually I completed the large city for 44 points with about 30-35 tiles to go. I then used those meeples to pick up some other small scores here and there while making sure the dragon didn't eat any of my farmers. The farm was worth 36 points so this was the difference in the end.

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #47 on:** January 26, 2016, 03:10:03 PM »

Evening all. Just got in - things have been somewhat hectic recently! However, I should be free just after 7pm UK time tomorrow for a few hours and also probably Friday from 8pm. I'm looking forward to playing my first league game, although if I'm honest I am a little apprehensive that you guys will be experienced masters by now! Anyway, hopefully see some of you in the chatroom tomorrow eve (although PM me if you want to schedule a time). Cheers

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #48 on:** January 27, 2016, 11:09:31 AM »

Just to let you guys know, I'm online and in the chatroom should anyone fancy a game.

jungleboy · « **Reply #49 on:** January 27, 2016, 11:18:20 AM »

I'll be available in an hour or so if you're still around Rich. Edit: probably more like 1.5 hours.

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #50 on:** January 27, 2016, 11:22:37 AM »

Quote from: jungleboy on January 27, 2016, 11:18:20 AM

I'll be available in an hour or so if you're still around Rich. Edit: probably more like 1.5 hours.

I'll try to be but it will depend on how the kids behave at bedtime (the Mrs is out so I'll be in trouble if they're still up). Thanks for letting me know you're around later.

MrNumbers · « **Reply #51 on:** January 27, 2016, 01:31:35 PM »

MrNumbers vs. Halfling
169:146

Very tense and enjoyable game with Halfling! Dragon had much work to do, it constantly ate my farmers, but I managed to get them back on the same farm. Near the end, with a help of the portal I managed to steal the farm all by myself. Princess also was busy - twice I closed Halfling's city with a princess tile, leaving the city empty. Halfling hoped for a cloister with a road tile to add third farmer to the big farm, but I drew that tile (and connected mine). Halfling earned 28 points with his last tile (yellow "2"): closed his city with the Fairy and completed his cloister.

Chuck · « **Reply #52 on:** January 27, 2016, 01:33:44 PM »

Sorry for my absence in the last days, but I am sick. Fever, cough, you name it, I got it.

I hope to be back in action in the next days....
Reading here via tapatalk, so I can see how my oponents are doing! ;-)

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #53 on:** January 27, 2016, 01:53:16 PM »

I finally managed to get my P&D league started and finally played my first match against Halfling. I'd managed a quick practice game with one of the kids last week, but I certainly wasn't very confident - particularly as last time we played against each other, Halfling beat me and won the beginners tournament so you could say that I had a score to settle! I'd like to say that it was a fairly friendly game (particularly considering it was against my team mate from the Dream Team competition), but it didn't take long until I drew a Princess and managed to remove his knight from a city to take the points for myself! Halfling used the Princess well and got several bonuses when completing features, which reminded me to try and do the same! I took a gamble and went farming quite early on, ending up with 5 farmers (4 of which were in the same huge field by the end). I spend quite some time with no spare meeples, but it paid off in the end as the farms proved to be decisive - we scored very similar points for roads, cities, cloisters and the fairy. It was a really enjoyable and pretty fast paced game, which kept us on our toes until the end. Thanks very much for the game.

Rich_The_Fish : 185

Halfling : 161

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #54 on:** January 27, 2016, 01:58:31 PM »

Having taken a while to get my act together and start the tournament, my next opponent turned up just as I'd finished my first game. Despite coming into this from a close victory, I certainly wasn't confident, but now was going to be as good a time as any! To illustrate just how unsure I was, I got my excuse in right at the beginning of the game! Jungleboy and I both tend to play as green, but when I joined the game my colour of choice had already been taken. My opponent was very decent and offered to restart the game with neutral colours, but this was not going to be necessary – I quite like having an explanation if things didn’t go well!

The dragon didn’t hang about and appeared on the board when the very first tile was drawn. We both battled hard to ensure that neither of us got the upper hand, trying to share points for cities and roads. Jungleboy was very strategic in using the dragon, I assume he was thinking potential moves through before actually moving it – as a result my meeples frequently ended up being a tasty meal!

I took periodic screenshots during the game (mainly to help me with this write up), and looking back at them the scores were pretty close throughout a lot of the game. The first screenshot showed that with 38 tiles left there were just 3 points separating us at 38 v 35.

The 7 tile city in the southeast was fought over, with the FCCC Princess tile thankfully deciding the outcome in my favour, enabling me to claw my way back and sneak into the lead at 67 v 62 with 33 tiles remaining.

The next big feature to complete was the 8 tile city in the northeast, with the points being shared. Scores were still very close at 99 v 95 with 20 tiles left. There had been a long running battle for control of the city towards the west edge of the board (containing the monastery). Initially it looked like I’d be outnumbered 1:2, but the dragon had helped remove a couple of knights leaving it vacant. I took a bit of a gamble and placed a meeple in the virtually finished city thinking that even if it wasn’t completed it was still worth 13 points (at the time jungleboy commented that it was a big move and that it could end up being decisive). However, he hadn’t given up on it and used a portal to claim an edge on a FFFC tile, meaning that we’d share the spoils if a FFCC tile was drawn and placed. The dragon had been sitting just 2 tiles away from my knight for quite some time, so I kept moving the fairy to protect my follower and hoped that one of the few remaining dragon tiles wasn’t going to be drawn. As it happened, I got lucky (again) and the exact tile that I needed (with the lovely Princess) appeared, meaning that I could finish the city and claim all the points! It was now 134 v 109 with 17 tiles to go.

I couldn’t believe how things were going – I was still in with a chance, but was significantly outnumbered in the fields. Every time I tried to even up one of the fields for a share of the spoils, jungleboy skilfully managed to place another farmer and keep control. I managed to finally claim the road in the centre of the board after having battled for it throughout the game – at one point I’d managed to trap jungleboy at the top of the road meaning that only an RRRR tile would free him, but he outsmarted me with the dragon (again) and I ended up having to eat his trapped meeple (thus freeing it) rather than one of my own! Eventually though it did pay off, as I managed to draw the unusual RRRR tile (with the curved roads and portal) and managed to claim the now longer road for a cool 14 points.

I had no idea who was going to win until the final scores were revealed after the last tile was placed – I knew that I’d been totally outscored on the farms but hadn’t worked out by how many. It was an enthralling game and I was rather fortunate that I’d drawn some dream tiles – jungleboy played really well throughout the game but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Cheers for the game and chat afterwards.

Final scores were:

Rich_The_Fish - 196

jungleboy - 182

danisthirty · « **Reply #55 on:** January 27, 2016, 11:15:33 PM »

Congratulations on your wins Rich! A merit for your detailed post-match reports; I really enjoyed reading them.

Quote from: Chuck on January 27, 2016, 01:33:44 PM

Sorry for my absence in the last days, but I am sick. Fever, cough, you name it, I got it.
I hope to be back in action in the next days....
Reading here via tapatalk, so I can see how my oponents are doing! ;-)

Get well soon Chuck!

jungleboy · « **Reply #56 on:** January 28, 2016, 03:31:19 AM »

Thanks Rich for the great game and the write-up! I enjoyed it even though I lost.

Quote from: Rich_The_Fish on January 27, 2016, 01:58:31 PM

There had been a long running battle for control of the city towards the west edge of the board (containing the monastery). Initially it looked like I’d be outnumbered 1:2, but the dragon had helped remove a couple of knights leaving it vacant. I took a bit of a gamble and placed a meeple in the virtually finished city thinking that even if it wasn’t completed it was still worth 13 points (at the time jungleboy commented that it was a big move and that it could end up being decisive). However, he hadn’t given up on it and used a portal to claim an edge on a FFFC tile, meaning that we’d share the spoils if a FFCC tile was drawn and placed. The dragon had been sitting just 2 tiles away from my knight for quite some time, so I kept moving the fairy to protect my follower and hoped that one of the few remaining dragon tiles wasn’t going to be drawn. As it happened, I got lucky (again) and the exact tile that I needed (with the lovely Princess) appeared, meaning that I could finish the city and claim all the points! It was now 134 v 109 with 17 tiles to go.

For me this was the key to the game. It also showed how well the different elements of P&D work together. Even though it's not my favourite expansion, in my opinion it is definitely the best integrated one. Basically in this city, the dragon ate all three meeples, we both got back in using magic portals, and Rich finally claimed it by using a princess tile to close it and kick me out of it at the same time. So I think this city was a great example of how P&D can be played. After Rich closed this city I knew I couldn't win even though I had control of the farms.

Chuck · « **Reply #57 on:** January 28, 2016, 09:35:43 AM »

Quote from: danisthirty on January 27, 2016, 11:15:33 PM

Get well soon Chuck!

Thanks, Dan!
Feeling better already, it's a wonder, what antibiotics and some sleep can do!

I hope to find some of the other princesses in the chatroom now, because now I have some spare time. I don't know what about later, since I don't know, what Mrs. Chuck and Little Chuck have in mind for me later on...

Rich_The_Fish · « **Reply #58 on:** January 28, 2016, 09:56:26 AM »

Quote from: Chuck on January 28, 2016, 09:35:43 AM

I hope to find some of the other princesses in the chatroom now, because now I have some spare time. I don't know what about later, since I don't know, what Mrs. Chuck and Little Chuck have in mind for me later on...

Glad you're feeling better.
If you're still free, I can be ready in about 5 mins