June 7, 2007 - Samurai

Rubber Match between Matthew Frederick and I. Our previous head to head matches were split, as we figured out the differences in play for two-players. This time out, I tried for a cautiously aggressive game. After I few turns, I decided that unless Matthew changed the way he was attacking the board, I'd try to set things up such that I could end the game by eliminating one of the types from the board. This appeared that it might work, as I tried to feed Matthew pieces of the type he already had a majority in (buddhas). Near the end, I felt like I had a good shot at ending the game in two turns, unless Matthew had some move I couldn't see. Unfortunately for him, he tried for an extra hat and fed me another rice piece giving me majorities in rice and hats. My next move took the last two hats off the board ending the game. I've said it before, but I really like this game. I really enjoy that it plays quite differently for 2-3-4 players.