Session: Stephensons Rocket, Santa Fe Rails

Last night I played two games in which my self-calculated expected odds of winning are greater than 50%. Both games contain subtleties that new players often miss, and which experienced players can leverage to their benefit. History has shown I'm extremely good at doing so in these games. In Stephensons Rocket all three opponents were first-time players. I came in fourth. And not even a close fourth, but dead last. It'd be convenient to blame my finish on the unexpected plays of opponents. I shouldn't call them bad plays, because all those opponents finished ahead of me so how bad could they have been? But in some cases, they were certainly bad. A player could have merged a train and effectively forced an opponent to give up enough shares to give the moving player a majority at the merge, but he didn't. Any experienced player would have. I expected him to do so, based my turn on that expectation. When it didn't happen, I was left in an unexpected position. I should have adapted to the style of play that was in evidence, but instead I clung to my dogma and got squished like a little bug.

Santa Fe Rails, in contrast, was played against two experienced players. We play with a house rule that you may not redraw a 2x card following a turn in which you play one, a rule that improves the game dramatically. Don't play without it. There's a big luck factor in Santa Fe, especially in the later turns when it's far better to be lucky than good. That luck factor can decide the winner. Even so, I'd handicap myself as being the runaway favorite to win any game of Santa Fe I'm in. This isn't boasting. Historical data-- from Gathering tournaments and pick-up games to local games in multiple groups-- bears me out. I see and plan many turns ahead. I manage my hand effectively. I grok Santa Fe. Consequently, I win a disproportionate percentage of the time. Last night was no exception. I had good cards, but in the late game while my opponents pulled lucky draws I got garbage. My good cards came earlier, which meant I played fewer special cards and got more cities onto the table-- far more I usually do. We were all roughly even on cash by the end, so being more focused in the early game and having more cities in play swung things in my favor. Santa Fe Rails is a terrific game that deserves greater esteem than it seems to enjoy today.

Posted by Peter at March 5, 2005 04:46 PM