His Lordship Reviews: K2

In 1923, George Herbert Leigh Mallory was asked "why do you want to climb Mount Everest?". He simply retorted "because it's there".

In 1924, he was dead on the mountainside. If my mother had been in charge, his life expectancy would have been considerably shorter.

Photograph by Kogo

K2 is the second deadliest mountain in the world. Around 25% of those who attempt it will not survive to tell the tale. By comparison, my mother has got 75% of her climbers killed while attempting to scale K2. The board game, that is.

K2 the board game is the board game of climbing K2. Designed by an actual mountain climber. Here's how it works. Players have a team of two climbers, one with wavy sides, one with smooth curves. I call them "Bendy" and "Straighty". The aim of the game is to get both as far up the side of K2 as possible. Specifically, to get them further up than one's opponents. 

How would one achieve this? By an elegant combination of planning, audacity, and luck. Each player has their own, personal deck of cards. Each deck is the same, so everybody has the same opportunities, but not necessarily at the same time - every round, the player has a hand of six cards, of which they will play three. Each point on the board has two pieces of information attached - the cost to climb there, and the cost to "acclimitisation" (which might be referred to as "health" in lesser games) for every round they stay there.

Photograph by Mikko Saari

As a piece of game design, this works as a wonderful example of the meeting point of open and closed information. Everybody knows where everybody else is on the board. Everybody knows what they require to go forward, and how it will affect their fortitude. Health (and in some circumstances, movement) is also affected by the weather - however, you always have at least three days of forecast ahead of them, so everybody knows how the weather will affect them.

The problem, from a strategic perspective, is in the closed part of the information: what does one they have in their hand, and what is held by one's opponent. Am I planning to make a big move next turn? Will my opponent block your advance if I do? Even worse, am I trying to get down the mountain? If so, they may be moving to block your return. Perhaps I've calculated my movement and health budget perfectly for the cards I have in hand. I know I can make it up this round, and I'm pretty sure (given what's left in my deck) I can make it down next round.

Then some dreadful bounder moves in behind you. You've reached the top, and there they are, sitting right behind you. Some other fool is behind them. There's no way you can leap over both of them. They can't shift you. And every round, your bodily integrity is assailed by exposure. You pitch your tent for its modest protection and comfort. It's not enough. Bendy is dead, shivering and alone, an arm's breadth from his fellow climbers, his supposed compatriots, the true authors of his downfall.

Photograph by Marcin Niebudek

That would be one example. Another is the heartbreak when you get both your climbers ahead of everyone else, you control the mountain, and you realise that, with your present hand and the upcoming storm, there is no way in all the hells you can reach the top and live. Or even better, the pure elation of reaching the top and jumping off it in the same round, brilliantly leaving your opponent's homicidal blocking strategy empty and pointless. And that's just the easy game mode - if you want, you can play with winter weather, or attempt to scale the "difficult" face.

I have not tried these things. The game is more than heard enough on the easy setting. Maybe one day, when I've fully fortified myself with port (which is obviously the best time to go mountain climbing). However you choose to play it though, I confidently forecast you will not be disappointed. The game marries a compelling theme, satsifying mechanics, and brutal tension in a delightfully complete package.As the lazy days of summer give way to the chill winds of fall, you could do much worse than engage with the cold, hard brilliance of K2.

Mage Knight: Some Advice To My Fellow Beginners

Sir or Madam, I challenge you: can you look me in the eye and honestly state that there exists any game of the last few years to have received the universal acclaim of Mage Knight? It's ruleset may be dense, but the layers upon layers of strategy woven perfectly into the theme make it one of the most gloriously satisfying gaming experiences one can obtain, together or alone.

There is no denying, however, that it has a precipitously steep learning curve. I myself am no expert.

Picture by Gareth Lloyd

However, I have learned much in my dozen or so games (all successful, I am pleased to report, with the exception of one I quit two turns in after the most absurd starting hands imaginable). Since the discussion chambers of the automatic telegraph service are constantly filled with requests for tips for beginners, I will herewith provide my own humble suggestions.

1. Try to do something every turn

 Though this may seem outrageously patronising, I am making a point about how one should think about the options available to oneself. Even in the first turn, with a paltry five-card hand and no mana crystals, there exist a very large number of permutations of actions; it is a fool's errand to calculate the most effective way to use the cards together, then try to find a place to deliver this "killer combo" (just as it is pointless to build a seven-letter word in one's Scrabble rack when there is nowhere to place it). Instead, look to the board, and consider:

1. What enemies are there that I might be able to reach? Is there the possibility of acquiring a Spell (from a mage tower) or an Artifact? If not, how about a keep? 
2. If I have Influence rather than Attack cards, can I reach somewhere to recruit; if so, do I have space for a unit/a wounded unit to replace/a better unit available?
3. If I can't realistically gain anything through combat or interaction, can I reach a glade/mine or explore a new tile?

First look at each potential target in order of priority (which may vary by current needs), then check your hand to see whether it is achievable (bearing in mind that some enemies may have random aspects). In short, just as with almost anything involving a hand of cards (or, again, Scrabble), consider the game state first, and how to exploit it in the current turn, rather than focusing on just getting "biggest play" from your current hand or waiting for the "perfect hand" that never comes. Advance planning is all well and good if you are very familiar with your deck, but is more the province of expert players; at first, focus on getting what you can get right now.

2. Don't be afraid to take Wounds

This is probably the single most frequently made suggestion from experts to beginners, and it works in support of the above. Beginners (myself included) tend to play safe in the early turns, trying to pick off rampaging monsters and being very wary of tougher, fortified enemies in keeps and mage towers. When considering which actions are achievable this round, your immediate question should be "can I produce enough movement and attack power to defeat the enemy?" If the answer to that question is "yes", you should probably take them on unless the cost is extremely high. Even at the beginning of the game, a Wound or two is not such a big problem - you will have ample opportunity to Heal. Even three wounds is worth considering in early rounds if you'll get a good Spell or Artifact out of it (and particularly if it is near end of round, so the Wounds won't stay in your hand long). It is entirely possible to storm a mage tower in the first turn or two, even without improving your deck in any way beforehand. Blocking is nice if you can pull it off, but if you wait for that perfect hand containing all the attack, block and movement you need, it will most likely never happen; better to take a Wound or two, enjoy the spoils of the battle, and heal up later. Linked to this point is the suggestion that you should...

Picture by Marco Martellucci

3. Use your Units as damage sinks

Probably the biggest mistake I made as a beginner was unwillingness to sacrifice my Units. Units are unquestionably one of the best assets you can acquire in the game; they effectively exist as cards outside of your hand, each providing multiple options. Even a level 1 unit is the equivalent of an unimproved basic action, and will have greater flexibility to boot. Since Units are so useful, it is easy to attach too much value to them. Remember, that Influence you used to buy them in the first place is going to come back into your hand later to buy new Units with, and the Unit offer may well be better when it does. If a Unit is already exhausted for the round, do not hesitate to drop a Wound on it. This is particularly relevant to cheap units available at Villages that provide Movement - use the Movement to get to a mage tower or keep, provide the attack power yourself, ignore block, and drop wounds on your exhausted Unit(s). It's much better to stop that Wound from clogging your hand. You can heal the Unit later if you really desire; and you can replace it later anyway (and most of the time, you probably should). By the same token, don't be afraid to use a weak hand to visit a village and buy a unit you don't really want, if that is the best option available to you right now (following point 1); that poor unit can soak up damage even if it's not good for much else.

4. Mana is key

This was probably my other biggest flaw when starting this game. As a beginner, I tended to consider powering cards with mana as a "nice bonus"; in fact, it is the key to success with the game. A quick check of the various play-by-forum records on boardgamegeek.com will show just how much expert players utilise mana. Even in the first round, one should attempt to use at least one mana every turn. Those cards and (particularly) skills which provide mana tokens and crystals may seem boring by comparison with alternatives, but they are absolutely essential to success; if one is going to storm a City, one will need several mana-powered cards (crucially, including Spells) to have any realistic chance of success. Mana management is an essential skill to master. Take mana-granting skills that complement the cards in your deck; select cards to add to your deck which complement the mana sources you have available.
For example, when selecting a Spell from the offer, consider the crystals and skills (and possibly Source dice) you have available right now. Since any given card will only be played a small number of times over the course of a game, if you know you can power a Spell you are about to acquire in the following turn (and benefit from its effects), it may be better take take that Spell rather than a (possibly more exciting) Spell that you may not be able to fully exploit next turn.

Picture by Jaroslaw Czaja

Other points

The above four points are definitely my "take-home" messages; they are some of the most common tips given by experts, they are the mistakes I made the most as a beginner, and they are the suggestions that will probably improve your game the most. Following are a number of suggestions which, while of lesser magnitude, could improve your game.

• Try to use most of your hand each turn: even playing solo against a dummy player, that player will be averaging more than three cards per turn. That means you need to be averaging around four of your starting hand of five to keep pace (as you will most likely increase deck size faster than the dummy player). Point 1 above remains the priority - if the best target right now only needs one or two cards, then do that rather than emptying your hand for the sake of it - but in general, "churn" your hand, playing cards sideways if helpful this turn, rather than clinging onto a lot of cards and hoping for the perfect combo in a later turn (unless you really know your deck well and are pretty sure what's going to arrive next turn).
  
• Don't over-value Advanced Actions: a big error I made as a beginner was hogging Monasteries and buying up Advanced Actions, with the logic that they were better than the basic actions, and hence I could only be improving my deck. In fact, I was just fattening it, and I ended up having trouble keeping pace. While it's not wrong to pick up a bonus Advanced Action if a monastery provides something you really want, it's better to have a slimmer deck filled with Spells and Artifacts. 
• Don't under-value Keeps: they seem weak at first, particularly compared to mage towers which provide a Spell for one's deck rather than a mere temporary hand-size boost. However, a canny player can get a fair bit of use out of a Keep. For one, the extra card in the following round softens the impact of any Wound taken in the attack. For another, you can often utilise the bonus for two turns running, by using one turn to move one step outside the keep and attacking a local rampaging monster, and benefiting from the bonus in the following turn. Finally, remember the effect of Keeps is cumulative; a two-card bonus from a second Keep is huge, particularly as a prelude to a City assault. Keeps are still, on average, less useful than mage towers, but they are nonetheless a good option and should not be overlooked.
• Ranged attack isn't as useful as it looks: because more often than not, the enemies you are attacking will be fortified, either by their site or their own abilities. Reading the manuals makes it look amazing - you can kill an enemy without worrying about blocking or taking Wounds - but in practice, it's rarely an option, particularly in the early game. Even when not fortified, most enemies have more than 3 armour, so a single mana-powered Swiftness won't be enough, and it's highly unlikely you'll have both Swiftness cards and the ability to power them in the same turn at the beginning of the game. Since ranged can't be improved with normal attack (though normal attack can be improved with ranged attack), you need a lot of ranged (and/or siege) attack to kill anything worth fighting. I did once play an extremely successful game with a ranged-based deck, but I had acquired two separate powers which nullified fortification early in the game. In summary, unless you can remove fortification (or improve ranged attack to siege) AND have a lot of ranged/siege in your deck, don't expect to get much value out of ranged attack. Attempting to hold on to a ranged attack card and hope to combo it later is one of the easiest traps to fall into; better to use it as part of a normal attack unless you are sure you will be able to exploit it soon.

On The Strategy Of Kingsburg: Part The Second

(the first half of this series may be found here: http://lorddicely.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/on-strategy-of-kingsburg-part-first.html)

In the previous section of this discussion, I presented some ramblings on the general strategy of Kingsburg, mostly with a view to enlightening the beginner. This post takes a slightly more scientific approach than mere "expert opinion" - I have procured a number of strategies publicised by the estimable chaps at BoardGameGeek.com, and tested out each strategy several times.

I'm afraid I didn't have the stomach to perform too many tests, so this survey lacks true statistical power. However, in each case I tested in 2, 3 and 4 player games at minimum - most strategies were tested around half-a-dozen times. Experimental protocol was as follows:

• Plays were performed using Thomas Arnold's excellent Java software implementation. Plays were against computer intelligences. This spared human players the tedium, as well as providing a fairly consistent level of opposition. For reference, the artificial intelligences play fairly well, and I lost more often than won when learning this game.
• Another advantage of this approach was that I had access to a range of statistics at end of game. Thus I could determine how my rolls had compared to my opponents, and hence how sensitive each strategy is to poor luck.
• I played each strategy with 2, 3 and 4 players. Most of these were then retested at least once.
• Winter support from the King followed the standard rules (i.e. roll a die, receive 1 to 6 soldiers). Most variants provide less combat strength, which may sway the game towards more defensive strategies.
• Only the five rows present in the base game were used. The number of potential strategies provided by the expansion is huge, and far beyond the scope of this article.

I now present each strategy in turn.

1. The Strong Fortress strategy

This strategy involves building the Market, and then pushing directly to the Fortress, before buying towards the Cathedral. Thus the build order is usually Inn/Palisade/Market in the first year (if possible - the high cost of the Market may cause it to be missed in the first year), then buying Stable/Stone Wall/Fortress as soon as possible, then the Cathedral row. Having the Market can give the flexibility and reach to buy the high number of resources needed early in this plan.
This strategy provides a fair degree of combat strength at the beginning, before rushing for points. I did also try this strategy including buying the Crane - this didn't make much difference either way.
When playing this strategy, I won approximately half the time, coming second in all other cases. However, those second places were all accompanied by poor rolls (all-dice averages under 10 through the game). With average rolls, this is a surprisingly robust strategy, despite it's lack of Crane and defense in the later game. You will, however, have to remember to buy soldiers (and make use of the Stables) in later years; I once built a Cathedral, only to lose it in the final battle.

2. The Weak Fortress strategy

This strategy involves a more rounded strategy than the Strong Fortress, buying more of the low-value buildings:

• Year 1: Inn/Palisade/Guard Tower
• Year 2: Barricade/Crane/Blacksmith
• Year 3: Stable/Stone Wall/Fortress
• Years 4 and 5: buy row 1 to the Chapel level, then either fill the Wizard's Guild or Cathedral depending on preference and/or how much more combat strength is required, depending on the nature of the King's support.

In practice, the Strong Fortress strategy rarely reaches the Fortress by the end of Year 2, typically having to wait until the beginning of Year 3 anyway; hence it often has little advantage over the Weak Fortress, unless you are very lucky/have very accommodating opponents who will not block you. The strategy above actually produces more total combat strength; while it lacks the flexibility and power provided by the Market, it produces a more solid basis for combat support through the game (as with all strategies, though, remember to buy soldiers in the later game!).
When testing, this strategy delivered on a consistent basis. Not only did I win all but one attempt, but on several occasions I won despite having the worst die rolls of all players.

3. The Strong Embassy strategy

The main alternative for reliable VPs over time is the Embassy. As the Embassy provides points every season, it will produce three times the VPs of the Fortress; however, it provides no combat strength, hence requiring other routes (particularly the buying of soldiers) to support it. Furthermore, the Embassy provides more points the earlier it is constructed; this strategy involves building as soon as possible.

• Year 1: Barricade/Crane/Town Hall (6 resources in total thanks to Crane power, achievable in year 1)
• Year 2: Embassy/Guard Tower (7 resources in total, also entirely possible. By building the Embassy in the summer of year 2, it will provide 11 VPs over time, in addition to the 4 for constructing it)
• Year 3: Inn/Guard Tower/Blacksmith (fill in defense and flexibility in the year things tend to become tough)
• Years 4/5: buy Statue for easy VPs, then fill row 3 or buy row 4 for defense (depending on preference for Stable vs Barracks; note that, even though you have two buildings in row 3, it only costs 2 more resources to build all of row 4 at this point, which will give more combat strength and bonus VPs for battles, though fewer VPs for building value).

This strategy is more sound than it looks at first; though it ignores defence for the first couple of years, this gap is filled later. The main risks with this strategy are receiving little support from the King in early years, and the possibility of being blocked as the lack of an early Inn limits flexibility. The latter problem is slightly relieved by the cheapness of the buildings in this strategy. Overall I won consistently with this strategy, but nonetheless this strategy is risky.

4. The Weak Embassy strategy

This strategy involves more defense in the early stages, leaving the Embassy until later; this sacrifices some VPs from the Embassy, while taking fewer risks in battle.

• Year 1: Inn/Guard Tower/Palisade
• Year 2: Stable/Blacksmith/Barricade
• Year 3: Crane/Town Hall/Embassy
• Years 4 and 5: Buy as much of the Cathedral row as possible.

This strategy also won consistently, even with poor rolls. In one four-player game, I still won with an all-die average roll 1.4 less than the next-worse rolls.

5. The Magic strategy

This strategy is focused on filling the Wizard's Guild row. It is an interesting strategy, focusing on buying many of the lower-value buildings, and using Cathedral row buildings to buffer against disastrous rolls.

• Year 1: Guard Tower/Palisade/Barricade
• Year 2: Crane/Statue/Blacksmith
• Year 3: Chapel/Barracks/Wizard's Guild
• Years 4 and 5: Church/Stable/Stone Wall/Town Hall

This strategy provides good defense, uses row 1 for VPs, relies on inexpensive buildings, and mitigates disaster through the Statue/Chapel. However, it lacks the flexibility of the Inn/Market. Overall I came first only slightly more often than not; however, on one occasion I won despite losing the combat on round 3, and on other occasions despite having lower-than-average rolls. This strategy also brought one of my biggest wins (by a margin of 16 points over the second-placed player). Overall I found this strategy satisfactory, but not as consistent as some of those above.

6. The Farm strategy

As discussed in part one of this series, players rarely use strategies around the Farms, as the high reward is usually more than counteracted by the cost and downsides. Nonetheless I did attempt one strategy based around the Farms for comparative purposes.

• Year 1: Inn/Guard Tower/Palisade
• Year 2: Market/Blacksmith/save resources for Farms next year
• Year 3: Farms/Barracks (consider buying soldiers for defense using Barracks)
• Years 4 and 5: buy Wizard's Guild, then Cathedral row

This was the least successful strategy tested in this experiment. I only won once, and even then only by 3 points. I also suffered my worst loss (14 points below the next-placed opponent). I suffered my losses when I had worse rolls than opponents; this indicates the dependence of this strategy on dice rolls. Even where I survived all winters, and had comparable dice rolls to opponents, I still came second (4 VPs behind the winner). Consequently I cannot recommend this strategy.

Final thoughts

The most consistently successful strategies were the Weak Fortress/Embassy strategies. These strategies were also reasonably flexible, and relied largely on inexpensive buildings, thus mitigating the consequences of poor dice rolls. With alternative methods of Winter support, I suspect the Weak Fortress will only become stronger.
One other implication is that the most successful strategies open with Inn/Guard Tower/Palisade in their first years. This is a good plan for beginners, irrespective of how they then play out the game. Thus players should probably take Wood as their free resource at the beginning of the game; buying three wood in the first year is usually more difficult than obtaining two gold or one stone.
I hope this series has been useful to you, and wish you all the best with your future games.