by davypi
dcclark wrote:
One of the best things about Castles (in my opinion, of course!) is that you can make big changes in your strategy midway through the game, by taking advantages of the tiles which show up. It doesn't sound like you have a problem which needs a solution. The other player needed to focus harder on changing their strategy to catch up to you. The game not only permits, but encourages that.
But there is a bit of a contradiction here. If the player in the lead is just as skilled in making adjustments as the players who are behind, there is still no catch up. You've not actually suggested something that the lead player can't also do him/herself.
I think what is more to the point is that Burgundy is a game about consistent efficiency. All players are going to cover 80% of their board, probably closer to 90%. Its very difficult to ignore a specific terrain type - you have to know how to take advantage of all of them. Being superlative in one area isn't good enough if you perform poorly in the others. There is no inherent catch up mechanism in the game. There shouldn't be, as that isn't the point of the game. At best, you can try to make other players' choices less efficient. Unless you are near the end of a phase, there are too many options for others to choose from to make "blocking" viable.
The best I can suggest for trying to catch up is manipulation of the turn order track. Given that every action needs to be the most efficient it can possibly be, having first choice of tiles gives more options towards achieving that efficiency. This is probably even more important at the start of a phase when you can get first pick of the tiles in the market. Most of the really good techs cost silverlings. Swiping the three best tiles from the board at the start of the round can make difference.