gg! I felt like I was struggling just to keep up with you the whole game!
Ahh. Yeah, that seems a bit confusing to me. (Charity is already hard to explain to players, but is also necessary to prevent death-spirals when you have a weak economy.)
Do you think that both forms of charity are too powerful, or just one of them? Are good players taking charity more often than not? (The intended balance to taking charity all the time is that many upgrades you buy have snowballing value, so skipping an upgrade on a turn sets you back in a way that is not necessarily offset by the extra currency you get.)
Also, re: charity’s naming - “extortion” is probably more in-theme, though I really like the fact that all sections in the upgrade shop end in “y”…
There are all kind of “charity”. At least, that’s how I was understanding it.
Extortion also sounds like something you would get a victory point for. I have no problem with the thief putting on his/her scruffiest rags and spending a turn in front of the guildhall with a tin cup, conning passersby out of some (gold??) coins or lamp oil.
Yeah, I also like the idea that charity isn’t something a Master Thief should be going for! It’s a handout.
That said, I make use of charity a fair bit but rarely for lanterns. Lanterns have a delayed use whereas coins are immediate. I feel that skews things considerably. I’m not sure how you tackle this. Either you nerf the coins, or buff the lanterns. I wonder whether a simple 3/2 ratio adjustment might make the choice a little tougher? 4/3 could be too generous. Dunno.
I like the idea of decay but feel it could stagnate the game later on, or hobble someone who perhaps slipped up once or twice. Perhaps that’s the price you pay? Decay at least encourages players to ensure they’re getting income of some sort instead of falling back on to Tiny Tim’s crutch. I did wonder whether charity could arrive at the end of your turn (so effectively giving coin the same ‘delayed use’ as lanterns) but that seems… heavy handed.
Season 1 Result: belouski > @Thraeg, 5-4 in 16 turns
Extremely close game. I could won a turn earlier if the last house I burgled hadn’t already been hit by Thraeg. Thraeg would have won if he could have burgled a single lantern. That would have been his first non-Contract VP. I only had a single Contract to go along with two Bribes and two Blackmails.
I beat Thraeg 5-0, but I think you were distracted by the spoils of our glorious game upthread.
Hmm, maybe I should have asked everyone to boldface the results. Or is there a way to search a thread for mentions of myself?
But, but, I did boldface the tgb result in my original post (click on the up arrow in the quote field).
I think tgb slipped Dave a Benjamin to overlook our posts.
I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, running all these tournaments… power corrupts after all.
I believe you! But if it’s not done by everyone, then I don’t know to look for it.
Everyone, please boldface your results!
He wanted two.
Zebra 5, @tgb123 3
I tried to take the Cap Darnay for a ride up the coast with my Urchins but tgb may have spent precious resources to try and take it away to use himself. In the meantime, I was able to take out Mr. Nullhart (6 health) to seal the deal.
This game plays so well, even when I lose. I’m interested in trying new approaches but at the same time, I’m so afraid to be totally embarrassed!
Late edit: I forgot to add, so I am embarrassed. Gg @tgb123 !