Homeworlds:
Andy vs. Russell
PBEM Game 1, Report #8, 3/11/4
Move 49: Game Over
[Previous Report] [Final History]
Russell: We've
been invited, as guests of honor, to a special convocation of
Cookie Bakers to be held on Paradise! Surely, no better sign than
this can be found that demonstrates the newfound Peace between
our two peoples! We got this really nice invitation, asking us
to arrive as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we're not really
in position to send the numerous high ranking officials and diplomats
and bakers that this event so clearly deserves - but we're scrambling
to get a couple of our Envoy Commanders to Paradise as quickly
as possible! We're also bringing home a shipload of environmental
clean-up specialists, who've been training with our forces in
the clean up of Cobalt and Garden. But the best news of all is:
we're bringing the Giant Wooden Donkey to Paradise! We've been
asked to keep this delivery a secret, but already word is spreading.
Soon the Giant Wooden Donkey will be delivered to the people of
Paradise, and free rides will be available through the month of
Jongstober! Just bring one of the coupons from the inside of the
biodegradable Cookie packages - you can freeze it to slow down
the automatic degradation of the wrapper. We're thrilled to be
invited! Thanks, People of Paradise! We'll be arriving shortly!
Andy: Arrggh!!!! Yup, you got me. There's no way out!
As a final move, I'm sacrificing the large yellow at Paradise
to move the 2 small red ships from Shade back to Paradise, there
to join with the other small red ship in creating a catastrophe
that wipes out the invading large red.
Russell: What?!?! Oh, the humanity! The large red wasn't
invading... it was invited! Didn't you get an invitation?
Andy: Unfortunately, this leaves me with no ships remaining
in my Homeworld. You have won, sir. Well done!
Russell: I'm afraid that is true - but this has been
a great game! I think I'm really starting to understand some parts
of this game better - but what an amazingly deep game it is!
Andy: True enough! Well, any final statements?
Russell: Despite the ample evidence to the contrary,
our commanders were completely caught by surprise by the piloting
errors that resulted in multiple orbital collisions around Paradise.
However, there was enough foresight to have completely unloaded
our Large Cookie Delivery vessel in preparations for the best
Cookie Party ever!
Preliminary reports indicate that the last members of the rogue
Tribunal government escaped somehow in their now-missing large
cruiser. We wish them the best of luck, and hope they find a more
willing planet to rule wherever they end up.
But the most pressing news is - just prior to the collisions
caused by the poorly trained Paradise pilots, The Giant Wooden
Donkey was delivered and arrived safely on Paradise . So - in
celebration of the liberation of Paradise, Giant Wooden Donkey
rides will be free for the remainder of the month - and half price
for the next several months!
Ride-enhancing Cookies will continue to be provided free of
charge.
John
Cooper: Hey, fine game! Very exciting from my seat up here
in the balcony. I thought Russell's last move was checkmate,
but I couldn't be sure.
Russell: I thought so, too - Andy so often pulls a rabbit
out of his hat (so to speak)... I'm glad you enjoyed our game!
John: I noticed that Green systems were the trend this
game; do you find that this is usually the case, at least in two
player games?
Russell: Well, at least a few of those green systems
only existed to keep me from getting them as ships - I didn't
get to a point where I could easily figure out how to get them
back into the stash, at the same time as keeping Andy from getting
them. One idea I kept playing with was to use a blue ship to drive
him out of the green system (somehow - it was a sketchy plan!),
and then sacrificing that blue, leaving the system empty (back
into the stash), and then converting another handy ship of the
right size.
However, that takes a couple of turns to set up - and I think
we were both really pushing each other the whole game - I didn't
feel like I had any "hmm, let me just wait and waste this
move" sort of situations. I needed every move, or so it seems,
to simply keep up with what Andy was doing, and I suspect he felt
the same about my moves (perhaps).
I think our format worked out pretty well, too - thanks for
the errors you caught. I think this is probably a way that could
work in the future if anybody else wanted to try this. I wrote
up a longish email (practically the only kind I write, it seems)
that explained the syntax - and I did refer back to it from time
to time to make sure I was being consistent.
Ciao!
[Final
History]
Copyright © 2004 by Andrew
Looney.
