The Tao of Gaming

Another game last night, another Druid win (although it was close). Since I'm almost at 10 games, some thoughts. (Use this helpful BGG file if you don't know all the names).

The balancing mechanism (a penalty for leaders once the mid-game starts) helps keep things close. (In a 5/6 player game, the trailing players get discounts). The hand size limit is a key obstacle, so players often have to save up for a turn. These two aspects combine for a leapfrog effect. One player will save up, buy something big, and jump in the lead. The next turn he'll hold, or make minor (non-auction) purchases to increase production & stay under hand size. Meanwhile, trailing players make a big purchase and leap into the lead.

The penalty helps prevent a rout.

However, first player still has advantages. You can advance a key knowledge (on the six magic tracks), then open up a Runestone/Mask/Talisman (making your free advance more valuable). The lead player often advances on the artifact track (qualifying for a discount), then starts an auction. The trailing players suffer; advancing increase the value of winning (or decreases the cost). Worse, a trailing player may not have a chip to advance (but planned on buying one). This is especially painful when bidding on Masks of Charisma (which provide a discount on all sentinels, as well as a free advance). The sentinel discount looms large, so Masks often go for a premium (meaning that a player who gets more value can outbid in safety. A trailing player who wins may have spent more than the value). Masks appear in the C deck, when players may not have an advanceable knowledge.

Another leader advantage — if you could use another knowledge chip you can open up the Mirror (or Shadow Cloak) after activating a sacrificial opal. If you win, fine. If you lose, you give up an opal. Most players (at least for the Mirrors, which are in the B deck) have a spare Opal; but, if the mirrors show up late some players may lose a sapphire (or worse). Often a leader will open the mirror willing to win it at cost, and happy to lose it. (Better to have the auction occur when you can rearrange gems, which you can't do after your turn).

The Opening — Getting a 3rd opal takes precedence over the 2nd sapphire. (The third opal earns exactly 5/turn, while the sapphire earns ~5 turn but costs twice as much). The early game is all about production. Income pays off a bit slower than Outpost, but it's still the key until the endgame. Don't buy an artifact on the first turn. Just ... don't. Many of the characters should hold off on buying an artifact on the 2nd or 3rd turn, as well. Fill up on gems.

The endgame — As you approach the ending, you have to position yourself to be able to grab sentinels. The winner will often get one/turn (with production and discounts). You'll need to produce big items (concentrated energy) or have a large hand size. At the endgame, gems are valuable for VPs, production concerns fall.

So it's a standard — income early, VP late, game. As usually for these, it's all about timing and when to switch. Remember that gems often take 4 turns to recoup money (the 3rd opal being the notable exception), so players used to Outpost may switch to VPs a turn too late. This means that in the midgame, if you think next turn will be critical (usually when a bunch of OK artifacts were purchased, and there may be good ones next turn) holding counts for more than increasing production. And sometimes tossing 2 dust (or a low sapphire card) since you can't spend it is the best play. Be careful about running the minor production increases. If you got emeralds, upgrading to diamonds isn't as important (although getting one via the elixir may be a good deal, as well as deny another player).

Knowledge tracks (and mages who start on them).

In general, the mage starting on a track will finish it, although some spring while others jog.

Knowledge of Gems (The Witch) — A track you need to get on early. The Druid should jump on this ASAP. The hand size penalty hurts, and to make back your money (22 for the first level, 50 for finishing it) takes an expensive investment. You can't assume you only by gems when you max out, you'll be purchasing them on the way. But on this track, you can often skip buying a gem while advancing. The Witch often gets to level 3 quickly. Buying a Runestone (for the final level) isn't bad (especially if you deny the Elf), but you'll be aiming for the elixir, so the discount on the Chalice of Fire isn't as useful. We've seen several games where the witch concentrates on the track and misses out on the spellbooks (emeralds) and then gets blocked on elixirs (diamonds). Then you are in trouble. Perhaps the Witch should jump on the Fire track, but that hasn't worked out for anyone yet. (Too early, you cripple your income. Too late, you can't finish). It may be a good idea; but the timing is tricky.

Knowledge of Energy Flow (The Elf) — A simple track. Everyone buy the Elf should avoid it. Other tracks will provide a better Return on Investment. The elf should rush it to completion immediately. Once you are on the track, each advance pays off quickly (3-5 turns, which is comparable to a gem), but getting on the track costs too much.

Knowledge of Fire (The Druid) — A tough track to jump on. Don't even think of it unless you have a solid knowledge of Gems (i.e., you are the Witch). But the Druid does well. The trick: quickly jump on the knowledge of gems and get it to level three. Then work on your first ruby. Ignore the artifacts in the A & B decks, until you get your first ruby. [Actually, the Druid will probably need one, such as a Crystal, Belt or Runestone]. The Druid lags in last place until he gets a few rubies, and then just outproduces everyone. The Druid will often max out both Gems and Fire during the C deck. If he made that last advance by winning a Mask of Charisma, you've probably lost.

Knowledge of the 9 Sages (The Fairy) — Not a bad track to go on. If you pay for it all, you spend (45 + chip cost, call it 65 or 70) to earn ~75 and two VP. Use good timing, don't advance wily-nily, but on turns where you are saving, so that next turn you'll have a huge hand. Advancing on a turn where you spend out produces a modest gain. (Of course, in the endgame you may be looking for the 2VP, mainly). The fairy will, of course, finish it. There are a few schools of thought on how:

• As quickly as possible — those returns will compound.

• Get up to diamonds then save the Rubies for the endgame — those 2 VP will jump you up, negating the $6 you earn for the final step. [Of course, if you got the final advance with the Runestone, that's different.]

• Only advance on turns when you are saving.

I personally believe that race to the top (option #1) is wrong, but I'm not sure about the other two. Of all the positions, the fairy may have to be most flexible.

Knowledge of Artifacts (The Mage) — Probably the favorite "secondary" track. Getting to level two quickly will pay off (26 or 31 pays itself off with a sentinel and 3-4 artifacts, everything else puts you in the bonus). Buying the final two levels provide a convenient way to "bank" money over hand max. You break even (or so) and gain a few VPs. The Mage should race out to the lead, snapping up production enhancing artifacts for cheap when not enhancing production. You'll have to pause in the midgame once the leader penalty kicks on, but with a good hand-size and discount, you can negate it. The mages decision as to which secondary track will likely depend on what he bought.

Knowledge of Accumulation (The Kobold) — An OK to good track, +1 hand size helps and the slot is worth a few VP and production. Belts and Wands will be scarcer in a game with an even number (each player can only have one), so the number of players may tip your decision. The Kobold has a solid, if unspectacular, opening. Opal + Sapphire (with an average draw on first turn), then advance this knowledge and hold, then a sapphire. Lots of options from there.

The artifacts

• Crystal Ball — The bonus to hand limit is nice, although I think you can usually work around it (even the Witch and Elf). Still, you'll want either hand limit or massive production.
• Runestone — A fair number of the characters want this to finish off a knowledge (and bank the Chalice discount). The Elf & Fairy earn an instant profit. Doubling up is fine, since Chalices are nice (less so for the Witch & Druid).
• Spellbook — Emerald Production is good for anyone (excepting the Druid, who should maintain laser-like focus on getting to level three in Gems and Fire).
• Magic Belt — Gem slots are nice. After you get 3 Opals + Two sapphires, replacing opals with sapphires (and keeping the opals), intending to buy a belt and reactivate them is fine. (In general, I don't sell my opals unless I'm a touch short, since I can use them with a belt and need to sacrifice 3-4 gems to the Mirrors & Cloaks).
• Crystal of Protection — A free emerald card, and the slot to use it. This takes ~6 turns to pay off, but doesn't use up a slot.
• Elixir — A good purchase for anyone, especially those who missed the spellbooks. [The Druid, of course, ignores this].
• Magic Mirror — Having the extra chip will often earn you 2 more VP at the end game. This effectively discounts the Mask of Charisma (and Talisman) because you'll be able to use the advance. If you have no advanceable track (because you capped your first one ... such as the Elf) then the extra chip gives you a place to spend odd amounts. Knocking off other players gems is a minor annoyance, unless they've completely gotten rid of opals.
• Mask of Charisma — Hugely valuable at cost. Twenty of Sentinels means you'll probably save 40 (in a 3-4 player game), and you get a bonus advance. In a two player game, you must be aware of when the Mask could show up, since each player could get three sentinels. With 5-6 players, these aren't as important, but don't allow anyone to double up.
• Magic Wand — A crystal ball + a belt.
• Chalice of Fire — Like Crystal of Protection, but better. With a Runestone (or Knowledge of Artifacts) this can pay off in under four turns, and provides it's own slot. The Druid often skips this to buy two rubies.
• Shadow Cloak — Like the Mirror.
• Talisman — If you can use two advances, then this is worth as much as your second choice sentinel (8 VP + 2 VP for maxing a track). If you don't have a Mask of Charisma, this may be a good back-up purchase (if you are just shy or a purchase, but remember you can sell gems at auction).

The Sentinels

Buy the one that's best for you, although if you are the only player who can really use a specific one, consider putting your second choice up for auction first (to drive the price up or win cheaply). Only do that if you know you'll have time to get a second sentinel.

One note where I disagree with the helper file. I believe the Phoenix Sentinel (two points per active gem type) does trigger on the Crystal/Chalice. These are listed as "like an active [gem]" under artifacts. The Salamandar (Bonus for rubies) and Scarab (bonus for emeralds) explicitly disallow counting Chalices/Crystals, but the Phoenix makes no such exception.

Most players will want a gem-related sentinel, and a non-gem. There just aren't enough slots to make two gem-based sentinels worthwhile.

Gem-based:

• Phoenix — If you play as I do, then this provides additional incentive to grab a Chalice (unless you are the Druid).
• Tomcat — Great for most players, because you can always sell Sapphires for Opals, converting your 1pt gems to 3 pt gems. So the Tomcat will often be worth 17 VPs (it's max) assuming you have slots. And, until you switch over to opals, you get to "hide" your VPs and fall back in the player order. Players with emeralds or better value this less, since they are giving up more VPs per slot. The only downside is if you are the leader and the game may or may not end this turn. Then you have to whether to downgrade.
• Fox — The consolation prize for not winning the Tomcat.
• Scarab/Unicorn — 1 extra point for each emerald/diamond. These will probably be worth 8-12 points (counting the base five), not bad. However, they won't be hotly contested.
• Salamander — With two points for each Ruby, this is usually worth 15 for the Druid and 5 for everyone else. [Chalice don't count]. We've seen players start to steal this as a denial play, treating this as a slightly inferior non-gem sentinel (worth 5 instead of 9] means you give up 4 points to force the Druid into his second choice gem sentinel. In a two way race, a good idea but usually too painful.

Non-gem sentinels

• Owl — Usually worth 9 or 11 points to most players. One player may max out four tracks.
• Raven [Two per Crystal Ball, Mask of Charisma, Magic Belt, Magic Wand.] and Toad [Two per Runestone, Crystal, Spellbook, Elixer.] This depends on who got what. I believe the Toad is slightly better to aim for, in that all of it's items are 'universally' good. [Although you can't double up on Belts or Wands, which doesn't matter in a two player game]. An additional thought on the toad: anyone who got Spellbooks probably didn't get Elixers (and vice versa) and may have ignored Crystals (since they could buy Emerands).