finbar taub
United States
san diego
California
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Hello geeks!
Been playing Yspahan on line and have been thinking of purchasing. Here's the thing though - all aspects of the game are very fun for me and my girlfriend, who I play online with. This is a much lighter game than we're used to playing, but it's nice to frolic on a brightly colored board with a lite game sometimes. But the luck factor really creeps into this one. We've had games where you can roll enough on the vase tier to nab 16 points in one shot (with correct building help and no yellow). Problem is, the points are just plain luck - not coming from a strategic place at all. I know the canned answer on dice games would be that the rolls "even out" - but in practice, much of the time they do not. In all honesty, when I've cleaned up with the rare awesome roll in this game, i don't feel good about it either - so no sour grapes here. So here is what I was wondering - has anyone come up with a variant for limiting the really incredible rolls especially on the vase tier? I mean, it may be that a full game, or several, are played without rolling very large groups of dice, so it certainly wouldn't go against the mechanics or unbalance the game in any way to limit superb rolls (though some may say it would limit the fun factor, i suppose). Ive looked at the variants section and haven's seen anything. Perhaps there could be some rule (this is off the top of my head, so dont take this idea too seriously - just a hypothetical example) whereby if too many dice get placed in the vase, you have to allocate maybe two of the dice there to other tiers. This way you get the bonus of placing the dice where you want, but by having to split them up, you take down the massive swings a bit. I'de love to hear all your thoughts on it - but, i already know that it's a dice game and inherently "lucky" - im just trying to still get to play it because we like it so much except for that one aspect. Thanks so much!
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slogosh wrote: Hello geeks!
Been playing Yspahan on line and have been thinking of purchasing. Here's the thing though - all aspects of the game are very fun for me and my girlfriend, who I play online with. This is a much lighter game than we're used to playing, but it's nice to frolic on a brightly colored board with a lite game sometimes. But the luck factor really creeps into this one. We've had games where you can roll enough on the vase tier to nab 16 points in one shot (with correct building help and no yellow). Problem is, the points are just plain luck - not coming from a strategic place at all. I know the canned answer on dice games would be that the rolls "even out" - but in practice, much of the time they do not. In all honesty, when I've cleaned up with the rare awesome roll in this game, i don't feel good about it either - so no sour grapes here. So here is what I was wondering - has anyone come up with a variant for limiting the really incredible rolls especially on the vase tier? I mean, it may be that a full game, or several, are played without rolling very large groups of dice, so it certainly wouldn't go against the mechanics or unbalance the game in any way to limit superb rolls (though some may say it would limit the fun factor, i suppose). Ive looked at the variants section and haven's seen anything. Perhaps there could be some rule (this is off the top of my head, so dont take this idea too seriously - just a hypothetical example) whereby if too many dice get placed in the vase, you have to allocate maybe two of the dice there to other tiers. This way you get the bonus of placing the dice where you want, but by having to split them up, you take down the massive swings a bit. I'de love to hear all your thoughts on it - but, i already know that it's a dice game and inherently "lucky" - im just trying to still get to play it because we like it so much except for that one aspect. Thanks so much!
I usually win against the AI player in a 2-player but for example in a 4-player game is really hard to win. There must be different strategic choices that are better in a 4-player game than a 2-player game. For example you can pretty much forget the caravan in a 2-player game. Usually lucky start may give you a huge advantage(if you get a huge pile of camels at least). Probably you'd have to play at least best of five to see which player is playing better. I still think it's one the best filler games out there.
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Dave Dyer
United States
Playa Del Rey
California
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In some games, including Yspahan, you just have to roll with the punches.
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ddyer wrote:
In some games, including Yspahan, you just have to roll with the punches.
This is exactly what I've found. I've yet to see someone win a game purely due to rolls in their favor. Sometimes there is a roll that helps a player with their strategy, but often I've seen rolls come up that tempt the player with something that doesn't harmonize with the strategy they have been pursuing, like a pile of camels when they've invested heavily in souks. I can't remember a game where the winner hasn't been the player who made the best use of the alternatives available at the time.
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Maarten D. de Jong
Netherlands
Zaandam
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slogosh wrote: But the luck factor really creeps into this one. We've had games where you can roll enough on the vase tier to nab 16 points in one shot (with correct building help and no yellow).
If this is a regular occurrence, you should take up entering lotteries for a living. In my 25 or so games to date there have been a few lucky rolls, yes; but I've never seen a 16 point-position rolled just like that; and on the rare occasions that the 12 point-soukh is filled, players know better than to let that slide by unchallenged. I.e., one of those cubes is forced to the caravan. The loss of one or two actions to oneself makes up for nullifying the point difference.
My gut instinct tells me that the problem is not so much in rare lucky rolls, but in not realising fully yet how to counter them effectively. At least to the point where one can leave the table with a head held high.
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Was George Orwell an Optimist?
United States
Corvallis
Oregon
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It is very difficult, but also very rewarding, to learn how to manage probabilities effectively so as to give yourself the best chance of winning. Thomas Jefferson said: "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
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