Agricola
I nearly won one of the top Agricola players in the world. The score difference was 8. 8 points is a world of difference when it comes to Agricola, but he only got those points from a single, fortunate draft pick. My first draft pick was Constable. This is a card that gives all players who receive no negative points 5 additional points at the end of the game. Constable is pretty much a double-edged sword, as you can imagine. (In Agricola you receive 1 negative point each if you have got no sheep, cattle, grain, vegetable, pasture, etc at the end of the game) Because it was my first pick, no one else saw it during the draft phase. But he drafted Yeoman Farmer nonetheless. This is an occupation card that says you receive negative points only for unbuilt farmyard spaces and begging cards. Nevermind about those - that card alone gave him 4 points (because you get from -1 to 0 with Yeoman Farmer, if you have, for example, 0 sheep at the end of the game), and secured him my Constable bonus too. On top of that, the card effectively saved him 4 moves, because he didn't have to spend moves picking up animals and vegetables to place in his farm.
Perhaps I should have drafted Yeoman Farmer during the draft phase, since I knew I had Constable. This would be a largely denial move, because I had aimed to go for a traditional farm setup with everything in place, meaning the value of Yeoman Farmer is less for me. Perhaps. That would have meant forgoing something else, but I can't recall what was in the Yeoman Farmer draft then, that I picked over it. It would have helped if Yeoman Farmer hadn't been in the draft packs in the first place. Admittedly though, such counterfactuals are tricky, because he would probably have done things differently if he knew he didn't have Yeoman Farmer.
All that said, even if I had won, it doesn't mean much. Just as in any sport, consistency is key in any comprehensive evaluation. It doesn't matter if you once beat Roger Federer on his off day when you are hundreds of places below him. It doesn't matter if a club beats Manchester United but loses most of its other matches against other clubs. And when it comes to that, I'm consistently performing poorly. I've played 101 games on the Agricola site and won only 2 of them. Granted, 4 players play in a standard Agricola game, and the vast majority of times only 1 person wins. But 2/101 is still a very poor record.
So now, why am I consistently performing poorly? A few reasons. 1) I tend to be too ambitious. I like to go for many projects at once, sometimes halting one in an incomplete state before moving to start another. 2) I tend to overvalue certain actions. I like spending a peep to go for the Starting Player place to get the Plow/Sow action next round. The Plow/Sow action is an incredibly efficient action in the game, but there could have been better options for me. 3) I still can't find the right frame of mind for the game, the right pacing, the right groove. I don't know when's a good time to go for rapid expansion, and when to slow down and develop a food engine. 4) I'm too self-absorbed in my own play. This starts at the very start, during the draft phase. When I draft my cards, I don't take special notice of the other cards in the draft packs - when actually that's very important. Same thing during play, especially in the middle of the game when things start to get messy. I become too absorbed thinking about my own combos and ignoring the others.
In any case, I find it enjoyable just watching 4 good players play. I learn alot, and I like observing creative and good moves being made. I think I need to start slow. Start getting my fundamentals right, and then I can start being creative. Without a good understanding of the game, I can't just do what I want and expect myself to deliver.
Perhaps I should have drafted Yeoman Farmer during the draft phase, since I knew I had Constable. This would be a largely denial move, because I had aimed to go for a traditional farm setup with everything in place, meaning the value of Yeoman Farmer is less for me. Perhaps. That would have meant forgoing something else, but I can't recall what was in the Yeoman Farmer draft then, that I picked over it. It would have helped if Yeoman Farmer hadn't been in the draft packs in the first place. Admittedly though, such counterfactuals are tricky, because he would probably have done things differently if he knew he didn't have Yeoman Farmer.
All that said, even if I had won, it doesn't mean much. Just as in any sport, consistency is key in any comprehensive evaluation. It doesn't matter if you once beat Roger Federer on his off day when you are hundreds of places below him. It doesn't matter if a club beats Manchester United but loses most of its other matches against other clubs. And when it comes to that, I'm consistently performing poorly. I've played 101 games on the Agricola site and won only 2 of them. Granted, 4 players play in a standard Agricola game, and the vast majority of times only 1 person wins. But 2/101 is still a very poor record.
So now, why am I consistently performing poorly? A few reasons. 1) I tend to be too ambitious. I like to go for many projects at once, sometimes halting one in an incomplete state before moving to start another. 2) I tend to overvalue certain actions. I like spending a peep to go for the Starting Player place to get the Plow/Sow action next round. The Plow/Sow action is an incredibly efficient action in the game, but there could have been better options for me. 3) I still can't find the right frame of mind for the game, the right pacing, the right groove. I don't know when's a good time to go for rapid expansion, and when to slow down and develop a food engine. 4) I'm too self-absorbed in my own play. This starts at the very start, during the draft phase. When I draft my cards, I don't take special notice of the other cards in the draft packs - when actually that's very important. Same thing during play, especially in the middle of the game when things start to get messy. I become too absorbed thinking about my own combos and ignoring the others.
In any case, I find it enjoyable just watching 4 good players play. I learn alot, and I like observing creative and good moves being made. I think I need to start slow. Start getting my fundamentals right, and then I can start being creative. Without a good understanding of the game, I can't just do what I want and expect myself to deliver.
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