I have just realised that the two people with loans probably won’t be betting big in any future auctions…
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I have no doubt that I’ll be bankrupt within 3 turns.
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I’m not as destitute as y’all seem to think! Very stock-poor though.
I mean, I could work it out if I wanted to…
But I won’t.
The real tricky scenario is if someone pursues a liquid cash strategy. That would be hard to keep tabs on since we’d be without the visual clues of the container stocks (and cash stack).
It’s certainly a tempting approach…
I’ve played one game where it was almost pulled off, to the complete shock of the entire table (including the player that did it - first game for them and they thought they flopped hard). She ended with literally nothing on her island and only got a few end game credits for containers. But she had an insane amount of cash on hand in the biggest denominations she could carry, and missed first place by something like $2. The winner was the polar opposite, with no cash and big debts, but he had such an amazing stockpile, it was enough to tip the scales. I performed miserably that game, but I was wrangling a full table of newbies, so I was happy for it.
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Still pretty early on, but how is everyone liking it so far? It’s really running beautifully via forum! Also happy to see some mid-term chirping and commentary as that stuff is a huge part of the game’s appeal, IMO.
[EDIT] Oh, and @RossM is there a way you can make the container supply available? The bags obscure the inventory. It’s good to have an idea throughout the game so we know when the endgame is coming. It can also be important mid-game as folks choose new machines since that can control tempo in a major way.
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Of course. How often? At the end of each round?
Is it as easy as just mousing over the bags? If so then once per round would be great! Also lets the bags stay around, which I’m sure is a boon (I loathe TTS for its fiddliness).
Yep, just mouse over. I will list it after my turn.
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Ah, I assumed they were in bags because it was hidden information.
I’m enjoying it (I think). Without external income - apart from the hard won auctions it’s hard to see how this game will accelerate like the other economic games I know (Age of Steam and Brass Birmingham).
I’m very aware that I’ve fired the starting gun, but does it always turn into a race to the bottom, with cheaper and cheaper goods?
I think I dug myself a hole in turn 2 which I’m slowly trying to crawl out of. It’s cost me a shot at both auctions and I can imagine struggling to get back in the game for a good while longer.
I like the fact that we’ve built an equal number of each machine.
@pillbox will save us!
It’s time to think about money at a macro level!
Buying facilities (factorys & warehouses) removes money from the game.
Producing and buying containers moves money around the table.
Auctioning containers and accepting other peoples’ bids creates money in addition to moving it around the table.
Auctioning containers and not accepting bids removes money from the game.
Develop your own heuristics, but mine roughly fall under the category:
- First and foremost: hold an auction that will get you good bids
- Second: Help other people accrue money so that I can benefit from a booming economy
- Third: try to hold down players that are doing better than yourselves.
So, at second blush: this game has more in common with Dead of Winter than either game has any right to be. Implicit Copetition as the result of a clever game design rather than Explicit that you’d find in modern semi-coop games.
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Pricing is fickle. As you start to get more comfortable you gain a little intuition with respect to supply and demand in the game. As a new player it’s the most obvious lure: they have orange at 4, so I set my new orange at 3. But there are so many variables like: how rare your colour of container is (can very turn by turn!), How likely/unlikely is a player to shop with you over another seller, and vice-versa.
Even your current pricing of the same container at two different rates needs some real consideration as it can provide an action-economy perk for the buyer (is the extra move(s) worth the savings?). Classic “convenience fee”.
In short: price wars aren’t uncommon but they aren’t the only way.
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Isn’t it bloody magnificent?
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I certainly feel compelled to help those that will help me.
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There’s that whole element too. It happens somewhat rarely, but there have definitely been games where a player has taken a particularly aggressive approach and it backfired on them big time. Nobody would buy from them.
[EDIT] Just remember any side dealing can’t involve bribes, etc. and turn order can ruin best laid plans since a player cannot decline a sale.
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Is collusion allowed?
I’m going low because I need to get my economy moving. Certainly not planning on staying low.
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