Tournament Mode - 12 Rounds

Need 4 players to start - Max 2 computer players allowed

kipley joined the game in slot 1

Subarubrat visits

Subarubrat joined the game in slot 2

kipley: Howdy

Subarubrat: Nice stats there Kip

Subarubrat: I am good at second, seem to such at first

Subarubrat: Suck at first, like I suck at typing...

kipley: Winning can be tricky. It usually takes a bit of experience to get there.

luigik visits

kipley: Howdy, luigik

Subarubrat: If you don't mind, what are your strategies? I tend to focus on smithore and maintaining food and energy, as well as selling the smithore when it gets above 200

luigik joined the game in slot 3

kipley: Well, smithore is a big money maker, of course, but it's all about timing...

kipley: Smithore tends to be a money maker in the mid-game. But by the end game, crystite is often worth more (as all the plots are developed by then so there's less demand for mules)

Subarubrat: I can't seem to figure out the crystite thing, If I invest and assay, plany mules, etc. it never seems to pay off as much as the other guy.

kipley: So being able to switch over at the right time, from smithore to crystite, is key.

Subarubrat: Sounds like I am working backward a bit

kipley: You know how there's 4 high crystite plots on every board, right, and that the pattern is the medium and low plots "bloom" around the high plots, right?

Subarubrat: Dude, I played this on my C64 in "the day" and now, but I never knew that.

kipley: If you track down everyone's assay results, you can use logic to often derive the locations of the high crystite plots without actually surveying them... you can just deduce it from the surrounding assays

kipley: Another common beginner mistake is to under-value land when it comes to auctions... land is very valuable. It's often worth going temporarily broke to buy another plot of land.

luigik: up, down, rigth and left next to a high plot are medium , diagonals are low as well as the plots next to medium ones, im i rigth?

Subarubrat: See, I fight that one

kipley: Not only is it worth 500 just as "assets", it produces more goods (and therefore, money) for every phase of the game... and if YOU have the land, it means that your opponents DON'T have it!

kipley: luigik: Yes... it forms a "diamond shape" around the high plot

kipley: Like this:

kipley: --1--

kipley: -121-

kipley: 12321

kipley: -121-

kipley: --1--

luigik: nice, thx

Subarubrat: Ok Kip, what is your take on buying land or developing it late in the game? to me, it seems like you would never recoup in 3 rounds what it costs to develop a plot with a mule and equipment

kipley: It all depends on the price. You're correct that buying land late in the game is worth less, because you'll have less turns to be productive with it. But for the right price, of course buy it.

kipley: Figuring out "the right price" is the tricky part, naturally!

kipley: Another tip that beginners often don't realize is the Economies of Scale Bonus...

luigik: when does food go up?

kipley: For every 3 plots producing the same type of good, ALL plots produce an extra of that good.

kipley: So having 3, 6, 9, or 12 plots all producing the same thing can produce HUGE bonuses of that thing. (Often crystite). It's often worth rejiggering things / going in to pain if it means you can arrange things to make the next level of bonus, because the difference jumps up dramatically at each

kipley: new level (3, 6, 9, 12)

kipley: luigik: Food goes up based on demand... if the store has no food, and people aren't producing much, so they have "shortages"... the food price goes up.

kipley: Also, the last price food was traded at affects things... if sombody buys food for $100 one turn, that'll raise the price next turn.

kipley: Energy and smithore work similarly... the demand affects the prices.

Subarubrat: Kip, ever though of doing a strategy guide? If you post it at our show's site www.retrogamingroundup.com I would be happy to sticky and promote it. Our show and listeners are big MULE fans.

kipley: Crystite, on the other hand, is completely randomly priced. Nothing the players do affect it.

kipley: Well, I'm not really saying anything that's not in the FAQ, or in strategy posts in the forums. There's a lot of good strategy info out there, it just takes time to find it and read it all.

Subarubrat: I'll give you this, you paste it together well, better than I get ti

kipley: Surprised we're having trouble finding a fourth player... there's plenty of folks hanging around the lobby

luigik: everyone wants to host

kipley: Well, I would have joined Chucky Chuck's game, but he hadn't even joined his own game, which I took to be a bad sign

luigik: yeah i noticed that too

kipley: And Rhodan doesn't like me, so he'd rather create his own game than join one of mine.

luigik: no ones coming n i think i wont have time to finish the game, i apologize but i have to go

kipley: You guys want AI, then? Or keep waiting for another human

kipley: If we start now with AI, can you make it?

luigik: ai its ok if we start now, u tell me

Added computer player <J.I.M.>

kipley: We'll see if Subaru agrees!

kipley: ;-)

Subarubrat: No prob

kipley: Have fun, everyone

luigik: gl

Round 1 of 12

Round 2 of 12

Round 3 of 12

Round 4 of 12

Round 5 of 12

Round 6 of 12

luigik: no plots for sale

luigik: ?

kipley: yes, very rare not to have any land auctions by now

Round 7 of 12

luigik: OMG

Round 8 of 12

kipley: over 50 will spoil

kipley: On smithore... you'll spoil down to 50 at the beginning of next turn

kipley: For crystite, as well

Subarubrat: I was holding out for that 200, thanks for the tip

kipley: Yes, sometimes it's worth spoiling if you think it'll go up in price... but with 107 smithore currently in the store, it's probably not going to go up to 200 anytime soon....

kipley: are we stuck?

luigik is not responding to continue

Users who are not responding must be kicked to continue the game

kipley: looks like we lost luigik

luigik was disconnected

Computer takes over luigik

kipley: I'll give a couple minutes to see if he can reconnect

kipley: The computer auto-kicked him... bummer

Round 9 of 12

Subarubrat: You were right to the number

Round 10 of 12

Round 11 of 12

Round 12 of 12

kipley: Good game, Subarubrat

kipley: Selling on turn 12 won't improve your score any, BTW... as the goods are worth the same as assets as they are in cash.

Subarubrat: I learned a great deal, thanks!

kipley: Happy to help share some tips

Game Over

Saving score, please wait...

Score saved

kipley: Catch ya around next time!