i think his equation was to keep the 8 stack the way they are and base the other tables accordingly

This got me thinking. If the dice reserve were lower in general would people be more likely to attack, and less likely to sit?

Would it foster more aggressive gameplay and more interesting games?

Thoughts?

I would to see how an 8 stack table with 0 reserves would be played... people flagging and sitting with a few lands could not speculate on a late comeback like it's the case now

* insert like as word 3 *

ok, maybe allow 4 reserves to make it a bit more playable maybe

eom

yeah, that was my next guess too Ryan... because it's a ratio that translates well from 8stack to 4stack and 16stack. 4 extra builds per turn, makes sense.

but then i started thinking some more, and it seems that map size makes a difference. consider a couple of extremes on a 4stack game: 36-terr map and 24-terr map. lets look at an endgame situation that is headsup, and each player has half the terrs.

36-terr map: player has 18 terrs, gets 6 attacks per turn because -3 dice per attack.

24-terr map: player has 12 terrs, gets 4 attacks per turn because -3 per attack.

.....

god, i just dont know what to think. i think whats really going on here is that over the past (almost) 5 years, weve all become accustomed to 8stack games that its taking us all awhile to fully understand the differences created by a 4stack game.

(for the record, im not too concerned about the 16stack game, as i find the 4stack games MUCH more exciting).

anyways, the 4stack game...
the beginning and middle parts of the game are well-constructed as is. very exciting. the trouble seems to be the endgame, when everyone quickly reaches the maxstacks (and even max refills too). then it deteriorates into the ho-hum that the game should be designed to avoid. in my opinion (which might be different from the average lowtable noob?) the most exciting and addicting part of this game occurs BEFORE maxstacks are reached, generally in the first 6 or so rounds. sure, the strats of getting through the maxstack endgames are nuanced in some ways and interesting, but if they stretch too long, it makes the average game more blaise, whereas a quicker endgame leaves me wanting to play again.

so, for the 4stack, im not sure how to speed up the endgame. someone else suggested no reserves at all, that might actually work?

the other issue with 4stack games is that maps with bottlenecks are DEVASTATING in the endgame. as i mentioned previously, i was involved in a for-real game where we went 495 rounds, and ended then only because im convinced my opponent had him mum yell at him to gtfo the internet and get out of the basement. on that particular map, neither of us dropped to +16 dice until about round 180. neither of us dropped under +32 dice until like round 50. it was excruciating.

so my only ideas are: 1) either manually alter the 4stack maps so that there are no bottlenecks, or 2) force the game to end at round XX, and divide up the points according to number of dice.

anyways, its realllllly fun playing the 4stack game because it is so radically different strategically from everything weve known the 8stack game to be.

(im sure others find the 16stack equally exhilarating, i just prefer the shortstack)

another issue that lower table players have with the upper tables is how insanely important the chatbox is. lots of people want the game to be more swayed by strategy/rolling than by diplomacy/chatbox manipulation. i think the majority of kdicers want it this way. however, it's well established that the top tables are 90% diplomacy and 10% strategy/rolling (since most everyone has the same strategic levels up there).

i feel that chatbox manips REALLY get their advantage once the game slows down, especially once everyone becomes fully stacked. then they can start hammering the chatbox, and get rewarded for their schmooze. if we change the game design such that more of the play happens pre-maxstacking, then (i hypothesize) there will be less influence of chatbox/diplomacy, and more enjoyment of nonchatters (who are the vast majority of kdicers). i dont think this will subtract from the social aspect of the game/community, whereas it will subtract from the great divide between the i-play-10-minutes-a-day-on-low-tables-for-fun and the i-take-this-game-overly-seriously populaces.

doubble post fail comming?

Round 8 flags are also not geared toward tables that max at 4 stacks. But changing this would affect the dom calc for those tables too.

(+212 for 1st and +0 for dominance)
Rank: 715th Score: +212 to 616◆.
Marius_1987 finishes 1st in round 172

This with +16.