by mfaulk80
doctoryes0 wrote:
mfaulk80 wrote:
I still think 200 can be had with competitive play. We watch each other's boards, but you still have play your own board as optimally as possible.
Who says?
Playing optimally can be scoring 145 while holding your opponent to 135. That's like telling a basketball player not to spend too much energy on defense.
Points denied are always better than points scored; that's how the game is built.
Don't let your opponent finish that region this round. Don't let them combo livestock. Don't let them have the building type they haven't played yet, even if it's a crap building. Stay ahead on shipping to draw first. Place castles at the beginning of a new round so you don't have to burn workers to pick off your opponent's target tiles.
There is SO MUCH defense to be played in this game.
Play my board optimally? No thanks, I'll play yours instead.
mfaulk80 wrote:
As for shipping, it can be useful in a 2-player game when the appropriate bonus tiles come out (as well as the buildings that allow you to sell).
Yes, and you can poke someone with the handle end of a knife, which can be irritating.
All I'm saying is that if you stop the player from gaining 10 points somewhere while you only gain 2 points to block, but they're able to take another action to gain 8 points, then blocking them while may not have been the best move.
I do all of the things you pointed out, but I weigh out how detrimental actually blocking that spot will be in the long run. Going 100% on defense with nothing left for offense isn't the way to win either.
Obviously, I understand how zero sum works. There are just so many ways to gain points in this game that going all out to block isn't necessarily going to help you win the game. It's definitely situational. And I don't see how you can suppose to decide how the game is built....
Not sure how to judge your knife comment, so we'll just agree to disagree.