Subject: MN: Re: Dollis Hill Loops

From: "Kevan Davis" <kevan@z...>
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 09:09:05 -0000

>> If the previous non-Pass Move in a Game is "Dollis Hill", Dollis Hill
>> is a Valid Move. In addition, all Stations other than Dollis Hill are
>> Invalid Move destinations, unless the Player taking eir Turn has
>> performed a "[Dollis Sidestep]" or "[Dollis Escape]" Action this Turn.
>
>My point here is that 'Valid Move' does not give you any information about
>where the player's Piece ends up doing.

The whole "Valid Move" thing could probably use a bit of a rearrangement, on
reflection; although it makes sense if you start at Rule 1.5.0 and read from
there, jumping straight in at 1.8.1 to work out what's Valid is likely to
get confusing.

>* If it performs a Move to get to DH, then (theoretically) it would have to
>obey 1.5.0, and specifically the way would have to be clear for that Move
>to still be Valid. This would leave most people in a Paradox.

If "it performs a Move"? I'm not sure which of us misses the other's gist.
Performing the "[Dollis Sidestep]" Action affects which Stations are Valid
and Invalid Moves when you come to make your actual Move; the Action itself
doesn't move your Piece at all, through teleportation, faux Movement or
anything else.

>I agree with Dunx - there shouldn't be the restriction of escaping the pull
>of a DH loop by pure LV only when situated at DH.

Maybe. It does weaken it a lot, though - as it stands (or stood in my mind),
the Dollis Hill Loop is quite a clever and useful tactic; if you can pull
one off just when your opponents have run out of Silvers and Golds, you're
pretty much guaranteed to inconvenience them. Having to wait until none of
them can get an LV of 10 is far more difficult, and makes the Loop into more
of a direct attack ("Well, Dunx can afford to Escape, but it'll
inconvenience Kevan").

Surely the whole point of a Dollis Hill Loop is that it affects all Players
and should be relatively tricky to get rid of? As I remember, "[Dollis
Escape]" was written in as a way to eventually break the Loop by force, if
you've been stuck there long enough.

I'm tempted to repeal the Escape Action, and perhaps reword the Loop rule to
permit other, "normal" methods of escape - Straddling, and whatnot. It
should really go by Piece location, rather than Move text.

Kevan

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