Jump Drive 76

Feb 25 2024

Tags

I've start some plays of 9 rounds to get some statistics for games which go longer than 6 rounds (which is most of them). Up until now I've been stopping when I make or exceed the 50 point win limit, which very, very rarely takes 9 rounds, but will go 8 once in a while.

For this game, Brown seemed to be a good strategy, with two brown worlds placed early. But there was never any synergy with them, despite having really good early income. Still, came close to a win.

↓Turns	Game 76
1	0
2	1
3	5
4	11
5	24
6	48
7	81
8	118
9	185
Strategy	Brown

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.