Re: Galaxy: Yet another idea to change a perfectly good game

From: saschreu@cs.vu.nl (Schreuder SA)

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 09:09:25 +0000

In David desJardins <desj@ccr-p.ida.org> writes:
>Brian Sutin <sutin@helios.UCSC.EDU> writes:
>>> Some very experienced players think that being in a corner is an
>>> advantage.
>
>>I beg to differ.  Compare to Diplomacy, where the best position, and the
>>one most sought after, is Austria, with the most diplomatic interactions.
>
>Galaxy is not Diplomacy.  Galaxy is primarily a game of economic growth,
>where one wins by expanding while remaining unmolested; Diplomacy is
>primarily a game of diplomatic interactions, where one wins by
>manipulating one's neighbors into assisting one in conquest.  You said
>it yourself: there is some advantage to being off in a corner, where you
>can grow without being harassed.

I haven't played Diplomacy myself, but Galaxy requires some diplomacy too.
If one survives the first 20 turns, one needs to expand while
there are no planets free. Solution: Attack a neighbour.
To have a good chance of winning, contact his other neighbours,
and divide the planets. They will become one's neighbours then,
so why not start an alliance with them?
Another reason to start an alliance: Safety! When one has allies
at some borders, an attack won't occur from that region.
(I know, never trust your allies for 100%) Only one or two directions have to
be guarded well, so defending and attacking is much easier.
Better still is when nobody knows that you are allied with another player.
That makes some interestic strategics possible: Join the enemy of your
ally, spy on him and attack him in the back several turns later.
(Disclamer: I don't use those tactics myself, of course!)

To sumarize: There is more diplomacy in Galaxy than one expects.
But it isn't complex.

>I think that the only way that you can determine which positions are
>best in a particular game is through substantial experience with that
>particular game.  Some people with such experience have concluded that
>corners are good.  You might think that they don't have enough evidence
>for that point of view, but it seems to me that you have to argue the
>particulars of that experience, rather than generalizing from other
>games.
I agree with this, but it is NOT neccesarily to have some experience
to play the game well. In my first galaxy game ever (galaxy 7), my first
PBM, so I had no experience with the complex diplomacy, I am one
of the leading races, while I have made some mistakes, missed a few turns
in row and didn't have a wonderfull position. But by not annoying
anyone and searching some allies, I have come that far.
In another game (galaxy Beta) I started with NO planets within 10 ly.
I still am one of the best players there. The question arises:
Am I that good, or are the others that bad, or have I been lucky?
Or am I one of the few players who think that diplomacy is a major
part of any game with more than 2 players with equal starting positions?

>Personally, I think that it's nice to have different kinds of positions;
>if every game and every galaxy were exactly the same it might get a
>little boring.  It doesn't particularly matter whether one is a little
>better or a little worse; the differences are small compared to other
>factors, and variety is good for its own sake.  But that seems to be a
>minority point of view.
I agree. I always want to get as much as possible out of a position.
And it satisfies me more when I am able to develop an almost hopeless
position than when I am able to win because all other players
have no idea what to do.

To help those players who doesn't know how to play galaxy,
I will give some hints:
- Research DRIVE. It is needed for all ships, and any attack
  will be deadlier because one is able to reach planets further in
  the enemy's empire, so he/she has to defend all his/her planets.
- Research SHIELDS. When your ships are invulnarable, they will
  always bomb the planet, even with an attack of 1: it is not needed
  to destroy all defending ships, the defender has to destroy all
  attacking ships.
- Contact your neighbours and start an alliance. But keep always an eye on
  your posibility to expand. DON'T have an alliance with all your neighbours!
- Be good to your allies. Trust them and help them when asked for.
  They will do the same to you.
- Don't attack more than one player at any time. They will cooperate and
  it will be diffilcult to destroy them.
- Don't design standard ships, but design ships for one purpose.
  So: Start with designing a Cargo-ship with only Drive and Cargo
  and able to reach the nearest planets in one turn exactly.
  Because tech will change almost each turn, make new designs for
  Cargo's whenever you build one. The only design that is constant during
  the game is the Probe: Only 1 Drive and nothing else.
- Don't allow anyone to spy on all your planets, and always try to
  spy all your neighbour's planets.

Sjoerd Schreuder
Galaxy 7    : Zwagonian
Galaxy Alpha: Newbies
Galaxy Beta : Fuzzy
Galaxy Gamma: Reame
Judgment Day: W.A.S.T.E. (We Are Stronger Than the Enemy)

References

Re: Galaxy: Yet another idea to change a perfectly good game
desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Sun, 21 Mar 1993 03:24:52 +0000
Re: Galaxy: Yet another idea to change a perfectly good game
sutin@helios.UCSC.EDU (Brian Sutin)
Sun, 21 Mar 1993 06:32:33 +0000
Re: Galaxy: Yet another idea to change a perfectly good game
desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Sun, 21 Mar 1993 19:32:58 +0000