Absolutely Aces (8)

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I've Been Playing It All Wrong.

The game progresses by "rounds," where each round is starts fresh with 5 cards each. The way I've been playing it is with a single round, no reshuffling and dealing after each score. While that might well be a valid game, it can go into massive loops.

We're off!

Round 1

Schlock opens with Climb 6, Kaff with Break 4. Discard Climb 6 and Break 4 into Schlock reserve.

  1. Schlock opens with Climb 7.

  2. Kaff plays Ace 1, takes Climb 7.

  3. Schlock blocks with Joker, takes Ace.

  4. Kaff blocks with Scissors 2, takes Joker.

  5. Schlock blocks with a pair of Breaks, takes Scissors. Schlock 2, Kaff 0.

  6. Kaff plays Scissors 2, Joker into hand.

  7. Schlock blocks with Ace, takes Scissors 3.

  8. Kaff blocks with Joker, takes Ace.

  9. Schlock blocks with Scissors, takes Joker.

  10. Kaff blocks with Climb, takes Scissors 2.

  11. Schlock has nothing, loses round to Kaff.

Schlock 2, Kaff 7.

Round 2

Schlock opens with Scissors 3, Kaff with Swoop 9. Kaff takes Scissors 3, discards Swoop 9.

  1. Kaff opens with Swoop 11, Scissors 3 into hand.

  2. Schlock plays a pair of Climbs for 2 points, takes Swoop 11.

  3. Kaff plays Break 4.

  4. Schlock blocks with Roll 8, takes Break 4.

  5. Kaff blocks with Scissors 2, takes Roll 8.

  6. Schlock has no way to block, loses this round, Kaff +2.

Schlock 2, Kaff 9.

Round 3

Schlock opens with Roll 10, Kaff with Climb 7.

  1. Schlock plays Scissors 2, which Kaff cannot answer to, Schlock +2. Schlock 4, Kaff 9.

  2. Kaff plays Scissors 3, takes Scissors 2.

  3. Schlock plays Climb 6, takes Scissors 3.

  4. Kaff blocks with Roll 8, takes Climb 6.

  5. Schlock blocks with Ace, takes Roll 8.

  6. Kaff blocks with Break 5, takes Ace.

  7. Schlock has nothing, Kaff for 14 points and I'm calling the game here.

It makes a big difference to play bu the actual rules.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.