SpielByWeb

[andyp]

Hi all - just had a very interesting game which raised 1-2 issues. It might be good to have general rules on blocking so people don't hold grudges - not that you can really undo a block once done anyway.

2 questions arised -

1) when ethically is it acceptable to block
2) and what type of tactical block is acceptable

the first is fairly straight forward - the aim being to stop someone scoring whilst not losing too many points or giving away too many points yourself - thus enhancing your position to win the game. This generally works when you can look at who's winning and aim to block them. Most agree its block the leader but you have to benefit even if thats through their lack of score if it doesn't help you and you're just trying to help the 2nd place player overtake the leader then this would seem un ethical. I have seen a slightly grey area here where in a final in order for one player not to win two matches and thus win the final players 'gang up' or non helpful blocking can occur to stop 2 wins.

The second I think is a little bit of grey area and I have come accross it now 2-3 times.

it occurs when you're either playing a semi or qualifying match where its fairly essential to finish 2nd when you are struggling or finding hard to finish first. Many 4 player quali's or 3 player semi's are decided on 2nd spot or indeed who you've beaten in head to head matches. Would it therefore be acceptable to play for 2nd place or block the non leading opponent so that you can qualify for a semi or final? This tactic doesn't work in finals as its all about wins and 2nds are un important.

what do others think - in principal you shouldn't be blocking the non leader (sometimes very hard to determine anyway), also hard to determine whether you have no or very little chance of winning sometimes. But it does clearly help you to qualify so in theory is the best tactic for you personally on very rare occassions in tournaments.

[Total_Twit]

I agree that sometimes blocking is a bit of a grey area. I've also seen blocking using water take place on go three or four and I think that water blocking shouldn't be allowed until at least go 10.

as a general rule I tend to use water blocking as a last resort although blocking using land/animals seems more acceptable.

I think it's worth remembering that when you start becoming a top ranked player that you should expect to be blocked more since other players need to balance the game out sometimes.

from an ethics in finals perspective, a kind of agree that block should be reserved to something that either hinders the leader (and early on this is not know easily) or to you the player blocking the possibility of more points themselves

[IBX]

I tend to play mostly 2p games, so I feel like blocking in those games is always acceptable, but at your own risk. You only hurt/help yourself.

In multi-player games, unless it is V2, I don't calculate points, so I am generally playing by feel. I will only block someone in two scenarios a) if I feel like it will benefit me (i.e. hinder leader and NOT move me further away from other competition) or b) if it is a generally neutral move for me and it is to block the leader who has already blocked me.

[Zaui]

I'll admit I get annoyed when I get water blocked, but it motivates me to connect to markets sooner rather then later.

I looked at your game, andy - I'd be looking for blocks also in a game with Kanga and Reb.

[Rebelslayer]

As the player not blocked in the game in question, its worth noting that I felt I was in the lead at the time and recall looking at the block and thinking "hmm, not sure why he did that".

I was about to start some judicious blocking of my own as I was to almost all of the markets and Kanga and andyp had both spent turns buying land while I did market grabs.

The move didn't seem at the time done to be any more than a "kill off Kanga's game who was going to come second" sort of move (and apologies andy if I'm misinterpreting that, just trying to flesh out the discussion). I actually thought he may have done it as I have just come back from a long break and was more likely to stuff up my own game (which I actually did at one point but the mistake helped Kanga to the tune of 10 pts or so not andy).

The way I see it, if andy felt that Kanga was a bigger threat to win and that I was likely to self-explode, then his move was fine. If it was a move to get from third to second and he just chose the player he was most likely to overtake I don't like it.

This brings us to the real discussion. What andy did is at current a perfectly fine strategy as the playing group has no informal rules regarding blocking.

I personally feel that blocking is an integral and huge part of this game. I feel that blocking to get into a better position to win is fine and to hold onto your win if you are ahead is also fine. Blocking to alter position or to decide who wins is not fine.

I can remember having this discussion several times over the years and most people have agreed this is the best way.

Thoughts?

[brennus]

I usually look at blocking purely from a points standpoint.

"I can place this water here and earn 7 points, or use it to block 8 or more points from someone else who i want to overcome."

If blocking stops the direct competition from 8 points that is basically 8 points for me. So in that situation i use the block. If it only stops 6 points then i wont use the block.

A few games ago i had a 4 player V0 game where someone (djura?) had a 16 point lead at half time. It was obvious i could only try for second. In those cases i would block my direct competition using the same thinking as above, even though that player will not be the person with the most points.