A newsletter for Icehouse players
| Issue #9 | May, 1993 |
An Introduction by Dr Cool
Hello again, Icers...
Here's Hypothermia #9. Sad to say, it's kinda lightweight (we were hoping you folks would send in more letters and such, but the old mailbox has been a tad empty of late). Anyway, we figured you'd like know the details of the rapidly impending tourney, so we slapped together a Hypo with whatever material we could scrounge up. Another tournament? That's right! Our fifth one! It should be a blast, too. The enclosed flyer provides all the info you should require, but there are a few points I'd like to emphasize:
1) Due to the turmoil caused by last year's group win, teamwork has been officially outlawed, and the tourney rules have been tinkered to make it harder for teams to do well. This means that those of you who were discouraged by the turn of events last year should come back ready to kick some butt!
2) Three words: practice, practice, practice! Another thingy we noticed last year is that some people have gotten incredible good at this game, and if you haven't brushed upon your tactics and your skills, you might get squashed like a bug. So don't wait until the last minute to refresh your memory on the finer points of the game!
3) In view of the increased skill of tournament players mentioned above, we've also rearranged the schedule a bit. This year, you won't have to pay a registration fee until after you qualify. This means you can show up on Saturday and play as many games as you want without shelling out a nickle. Therefore, beginners are still encouraged to come! Even if you don't end up entering the tourney, you can still have fun and learn a lot of strategies during the Saturday session.
4) Lastly, this year's tournament is once again at a different hotel, this time out near Dulles airport. Sorry about the increased distance for some of you, but as long as we keep clinging to Disclave's back like a parasite, there's nothing we can do about it. Luckily we did manage to get a very nice function space room... follow the signs to the Cal Rodgers Suite.
Included in this mini-issue of Hypothermia is some advice from two-time world champion Keith Baker on the ins and outs of Icehouse diplomacy, along with a little variation you can use to hone your skills when practicing for the Tournament. (Incidentally, Keith ain't coming this year, so for those of you seeking revenge, you'll have to wait for Number 6.) Also inside is a little variation cooked up by my Dad. Give it a try, it's also a good practice tool. (Did I mention how important it is to practice?)
One more thing: Hopefully you didn't throw away the envelope this rag came in without noticing the business cards rattling around in the bottom. They are for you to use as you see fit. Carry them with your set when you're out playing somewhere and give them to people who seem interested in the game. Or give them to your friends. Or stick one of them in A ith a letter to your grandma. Or leave it in a public place where a stranger will find it. The idea is to spread 'em around, like a virus, so that more people will find out about Icehouse. If you need more of these cards, let us know and we'll send you a bunch. Or ask us at the Tournament. (You are coming to the Tournament, aren't you?)
As for me, I'm still in California... the day job has me working my fingers to the bone out here. Bin don't worry! I'll be back in time for the Tournament!
See ya at the tourney (right?),
Dr Cool
By Keith Baker
First off, as the organizer of the Bates Discordians team which caused so much trouble last year, I would like to say that I completely support the decision to abolish teams in this %ear's tournament. I still think that it was an interesting experiment, and that it would have been done sooner or later; but I realize that it made the tournament less fun for the other players and for that reason it is inappropriate for tournament play.
However, even if teams are a thing of the past (at the Tournament at least), diplomacy still exists and remains the most powerful- and interesting- tool in any Icehouse game. Getting prisoners and using them wisely is the key to winning the game, and the key to getting prisoners is to work with other players. The Prisoner Exchange is still one of the simplest and best ways to do this. Try to pick a player who is unlikely to hose you (i.e. no( the guy who could break your only fortress if he got a prisoner) and offer to exchange a piece for a piece. Unless you already have prisoners, you really don't have a lot to lose in an exchange.
Once you do have a prisoner, don't just use it right away. In past tournaments, I've seen players throw away prisoners as soon as they get them, using them only for a single play often even hosing the person who gave them the prisoner. Even if you aren't playing on a team, if you make a deal with someone you may as well try hose the other two players first otherwise, you may have a hard time getting people to deal with you in the future.
Anyhow, if you have a prisoner, don't be in a rush to get rid of it. Once you have a decent understanding of how to restructure attacks, a single prisoner can quickly become man% prisoners, or many squandered enemy pieces. While I don't really have space to go into restructuring advice, here are two suggestions on using prisoners:
Move attackers back. If you don't have any clever ideas, it never hurts to over-ice yourself move other attacking pieces as far away from your defenders as possible, and then reclaim your original prisoner. Even if you still don't have any clever ideas, you've lost nothing and there are a lot of possibilities for the attack to be messed up over the course of the game (cross-blocking, placing a smaller piece in front of the attackers to get another prisoner. squandering, etc.). And you still have your original prisoner for when you see a better opportunity. (This strategy is officially known as The Forced Retreat.)
Play defending pieces. Normally, once you have an impenetrable fortress, there doesn't seem to be much reason to play additional defenders. However, once you know how to restructure attacks and have one or two high-value prisoners, playing defending pieces at a reasonable distance from the main action of the game is an excellent way to squander your opponent's pieces and to get more prisoners. On top of which it keeps the game moving. This may not be a good idea if you don't know much about restructuring attacks; on the other hand, there's only one way to learn. (This strategy is officially known as Drawing Enemy Fire.)
In conclusion, if you are playing a game and two of the other players start to engage in diplomacy, DON'T GET LEFF OUT IN THE COLD! See if there isn't some kind of deal you can make with the fourth player, to equalize the game. Or even make a deal with one of the first two players, to keep clear lines of allegiance from being drawn. And remember if they aren't making a deal with you, it just might be because one of them is afraid of what you could do if you get your hands on a prisoner...
Finally, whatever you do, don't end up as the only player in the game who doesn't have a prisoner! If you ever find yourself in this situation, try to make a deal - fast!
I won't be at the tournament this year, due to an unfortunate thing called "Graduation" (so no new dirty tricks coming from my direction this year). I wish you all good icing, and I'll see you at number 6!
In this variation, players make bids, before starting the game, for the number of points they expect to have at the end of the game. The player who comes closest to correctly predicting their final score is the winner.
There are two ways of collecting bids: secretly or publicly. The players must come to an agreement on which system to use before starting the game.
With secret bids, the players write their bid down on a scrap of paper and then hide it under their stash pad. No one is allowed to know what anyone else bid until after the game ends.
With public bids, everyone announces their bids and they are all written down on one piece of paper. Bidding can be done by letting everyone call out their bid randomly, or by going around the table in an orderly fashion. Players may have the same bids as other players if they wish.
A third way of playing Contract Icehouse is for the group to agree on a single score that everyone will try to match, while keeping the other players from doing the same. In this case, if no one gets the right score, the player who came closest wins; if only one player gets the right score, he or she wins; and if more than one player gets the right score, it's a tie.
Note that a bid of zero is never allowed, as this would be very easy to obtain. (All you have to do is get yourself in the Icehouse.)
By Keith Baker
I'm still waiting for the establishment of a national Icehouse league, since Donovan Chase's article in the last Hypothermia. If you do have a group of people who you play with on a regular (or even irregular) basis, I'd like to suggest a variation we've been playing at Bates for practice, which we've found to be both useful and fun: Two players work together (yes, a team), but with the goal not just of winning, but of tying their scores; the other two players try to win WITHOUT working together, and attempt to keep the team from successfully tying.
Tying a game is not as easy as it sounds, especially if the other players know that you are trying to do it. The value of this exercise is threefold: For the team players, it provides a lot of chances to experiment with diplomacy and the use of prisoners; and more importantly, it helps to develop a sense of what the scores are in any given game. To tie a game, you have to be constantly aware of your score and that of your partner. Once you've developed this ability, it is useful even in games without teams, in that you are quickly able to determine how far ahead of your opponents you are, and what sort of deals you can afford to make.
For the independent players, this teaches you to stand alone against diplomacy, which is useful in those games in which you DO end up being the only player without a prisoner and no-one wants to deal with you. In all our practicing, we've never had one of the single players win (although they are usually able to block the attempt at tying), but it's always a fun challenge to try, and it teaches you to come up with attacks that cannot be restructured and fortresses that are more difficult to crack.
Keen to get a Not to worry! We'll sell you one by mail order! Just send us a check for $12, plus 60 cents tax If you live in Maryland, and $2.90 for shipping, and we'll send it right out to you. But act now while supplies last, since we may not have any left after the tournament is over. Please be sure to include your T-shirt size (M, L, or XL.) |
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