Subject: MN: Re: MN-L: Game 11...

From: "Wayper, Paul" <WayperP@p...>
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:02:05 +1000

Taking this post from the Lyttleton list and reposting on the Discussion
list for more general comment.

For those not in the know, the question has come up about the "Stack 'em
high, sell 'em cheap" rules for Token exchanging. Jonathan's managed to
pull off a 2 silver token swap, and this brings makes others think of using
this more.

On Tuesday, May 18, 1999 9:32 PM, kevan@d...
[SMTP:kevan@d...] wrote:
> PaulWay wrote:
> > *shrugs* Personally, Token Stacking is my preferred 'IMCS-approved'
method
> > of gaining Golds.
> 
> It has a very traditional feel to it, certainly, but I don't think it's
> too compatible with the way that the game's working at the moment; Token
> Stacking is a fairly random affair, and quite hard (or at least
> uninteresting) to plan in advance ("Aha, if I do these pointless Actions
> this Turn, and these superfluous ones next Turn, I can complete a
> Stack"). And dropping Tokens along your route needs you to travel back
> and forth through the same Stations a few times for it to be of any use,
> which is less than exciting.

True. The [Hoarding] Action might be the most useful tool we have here.
One possibility is to open up the [Placing Token] Action to be able to put a
token anywhere. If you don't like that, then what about being able to place
tokens on any place you 'own' - Home stations, pegs, stubs, places you've
visited this turn and the like. Maybe once you've put a token on a stack
you can always place tokens on that stack.

So do people think that we should expand on this sort of Token gain method?

> Cashing in Hats is perhaps the most "proper" of Gold-gettings, at least in
> its general style - you have to travel to a fairly wide range of
> different Stations to get everything you need, and this lends itself to a
> pleasing list of Moves.

Indeed, although one wonders if we should perhaps expand the list and make
it five of any type out of a list of say seven.

> I think the other methods are all fair enough, though, and we really need
> such things to keep the game diverse and interesting; better to have
> numerous attacks and defences than a simple set of strategies, I think.
> It wouldn't be Mornington Crescent, otherwise.

Oh, absolutely.

> > Manoeuvres will always remain possible, [...]
> > But for my part I haven't done anything I wanted (yet) to put a
> > name to...
> 
> Me neither, and I do wonder if it's worth reinventing the concept of
> Manoeuvres, solving the flaw of their murkiness - perhaps a compulsory
> "I'm about to complete a Manoeuvre next Turn" Action, along the lines of
> Dunx's old "Atari" suggestion, would solve some of its troubles.

I don't really see the point of that; like everything else, the assumption
is there that you have to keep watching what other players are going to do.
I try to check what everyone's up to each turn - if for nothing else than to
make sure I'm not inadvertently shunted.

Comments, anyone?

Paul Wayper -- DPI ITS Computer Systems Officer
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