Keith just reminded me that we have a game session tonight. Luckily I don't have to worry about reading up on a new game because we will be playing what we always play - Taj Mahal. Last time I managed to scrape a draw without really knowing what I was doing. This time I want to do just as well, not accidentally, but by having A Plan.I'm thinking I want to go all out for elephants and commodities. I've never yet managed to get a high-scoring network going in Taj Mahal, and it will be a relief to stop trying. I also want to do my best to hang onto the +2 card again, as Trevor and Les seemed quite relaxed about letting me get away with this last time. Hopefully they haven't woken up to the issue yet.
I realize that I will have to modify my plans depending on the cards I get, and what's available in the draw pool, especially in the first round. I'm considering dropping out of the first auction in order to get an initial card advantage.
I know it's risky to publish my planning just before a game session, but hopefully Keith and Trevor will not read my blog before 8pm this evening - they don't seem like the kind of guys who would know about RSS!
I'll let you know how it all turns out.
Tag: boardgames
2 comments:
Going after commodities is great, but the real trick in the game is to identify the undervalued sources of VP. In some games, there's too much competition for one or another source of points, leaving relatively open other avenues. You have to be flexible--going into a game trying to do one particular thing is a problem, but being prepared to do one of a dozen things is the real way to go. In a five-player game, usually two people are focusing on palaces, two on commodities, and one is getting points opportunistically wherever they can.
You'll probably have a better idea what to focus on after the first couple of regions, and then you can sit back and start planning out the rest of your game--when the things you're looking for are coming up, and when you can sit back and regroup.
TM isn't really a game where you can really create your own possibilities--you can't change what comes out and when, you can't move stuff once it's placed, etc--but you can maximize your ability to take advantage of what the board provides.
All about the Dao...
(I usually drop out in the first region, unless there's some low-lying fruit to be grasped. If everyone drops out but me...sure, I'll take everything.)
Thanks for the insightful comments Alfred. In the event I was able to successfully carry out The Plan. I think this was mainly because the other 3 players allowed me to dominate the elephants bidding - they only really started to compete with me when it was too late. I'm sure it will be different next time!
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