SpielByWeb

hans · Joined: 06 Mar 06 Posts: 5 Location: Nashville, TN USA

I have the Tikal board game but haven't played it yet. Does the SpielByWeb system use the basic rules or an auction for the tiles?

Is there a way that I can start a game and see what the interface looks like?

Also, what about joining games. If a game is password protected, how do you ask if you can join?

Thanks in advance for helping a new Tikal player.

Golux13 · Joined: 14 Jul 05 Posts: 209

The game as currently implemented uses the basic Draw-a-Tile mechanic. There is some discussion of trying to implement the auction, but so far I don't think the Powers That Be on SBW have figured out how best to do it.

As for joining a game, don't worry about the passwords. Start up a no-password game yourself, title it "Learning Game" or "Tikal Virgin" or something like that, and people will join you. You may get crushed the first time you play, but most people will respect your rookie status and be willing to answer questions.

When you are more comfortable with the game and the gameplay, and if you think you will be able to check in frequently, there is a standard frequent-player password, "speedy," and you will sometimes find games that say to use that.

Good luck and have fun!

Duda · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:28 am Post subject:

Auction for tile, sure. It's very, very better, eliminating almost all luck factor of the game and makes it much more strategic.

I'm expecting this variant in spielbyweb as soon as possible! Smile

fteplin · Joined: 30 Aug 05 Posts: 70 Location: San Diego, CA, USA

TheCat · Joined: 15 Feb 05 Posts: 97

RyanMC · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:15 pm Post subject:

We are planning on adding the auction.

I used to enjoy it a lot more than the nonauction version, but as I have gotten more familiar with the game I think its not as big a difference as I once thought. Either way its planned for the future.

We are finishing up Hacienda right now, then the auction will probably get worked on at that point. The auction has some serious drawbacks in the pbw format(the reason we didn't do it initially) as it will add a huge number of turns to the game. It won't be bad in a 2 player, but in a 4 player it will add a minimum of 100 turns to the game, and the possibility of way more than that. We will see how many people play it once they see how long it drags their games out.
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TheCat · Joined: 15 Feb 05 Posts: 97

Yea! Auction!

Yea! Hacienda.

Happy happy joy joy.

Mabi · Joined: 13 May 04 Posts: 36 Location: Italy

I don't care about Tikal auction, but I'm eagerly waiting for Hacienda. Which map did you implement? Did you consider the possibility to add different maps in future?

HappyProle · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:40 pm Post subject:

A big part of what attracted us to Hacienda was the possibility to play on different maps. The first thing we implemented was a way to upload maps created using the Westpark Gamer's map-generator program referenced in the Hacienda game rules.

There will be a map browser that lets you look at thumbnails of uploaded maps along with basic stats (counts for each land type, play counts, etc.) and of course create a game using any available map.

Mabi · Joined: 13 May 04 Posts: 36 Location: Italy

Myke, that's really great news! I think it will add immensely to the game replayability (which is important here, where you can play hundreds of games Smile

).

JimPAX · Joined: 30 Jun 05 Posts: 9 Location: Chicagoland, USA

I know that this isn't how the auction works in the actual game, but a compromise position that saves a lot of game time is to have an "in the fist" auction where every player bids VP's blind in order to set the next turn's tile choosing order. Ties are broken by the player that is closest (clockwise) to the winning bidder (or the previous first player if all bids are equal).

Araneuz · Joined: 05 Mar 06 Posts: 9 Location: Finland

qzhdad · Joined: 31 Aug 05 Posts: 16 Location: Clarkston, MI USA

You could also do an "In the fist" variant.

Have everybody enter their max bid to go first, then resolve, then the remaining their max bid for going second.

This would eliminate the 1,2,pass,pass,3,4,pass,pass...

RyanMC · Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:50 pm Post subject: Re: eBay style auction?

Golux13 · Joined: 14 Jul 05 Posts: 209

Except you know (a) how many points your opponents have and (b) how much you think they are likely to need a particular tile or turn position. In my (admittedly limited) experience, nobody bids more than 2-3 points most of the time, unless there is a specific tile they really need or if they really need to go first. The in-fist auction could be a reasonable compromise between the "real" Tikal auction and the limitations of SBW -- provide auction functionality without turning each game into a six-month epic.