SCYTHE
What’s the Problem with Ending the Game Immediately?
I love the game of Scythe. It’s one of my top three favorite games. I always want to play it. But I have one complaint: There’s a rule that says, “If a player places their 6th star, the game immediately ends.”
What’s wrong with that rule? Well, I’ll present a demonstrative example, and then I’ll argue that it’s a problem in general.
Suppose, for example, that you only need two more stars, and you can get one with a enlist action. Suppose also that you can earn an objective star by spreading out your units with a single move action, but move is not paired with enlist. So, you can end the game and probably win it in two turns. Question: What should you plan to do on your next two turns? In other words, in what order should you plan to do the two actions that will earn stars (enlist, and move)?
Please think about this question before reading my answer, because I believe you’ll come up with the same answer as me, and that will strengthen my argument. I’ll give you some time to think... ... ... Take your time... ... ...
Okay. If your answer is, “It depends,” then, of course, you’re right. Isn’t that the right answer for many questions? Surely, the correct answer depends on several things. But the dependency I want to focus on is whether or not the game will end before you get two more turns. So now I have two questions for you: All else being equal, in general, in what order should you plan to do the two star-earning actions if you think you’ll get two more turns, and should you choose the same order otherwise?
Again, I’ll give you some time to think... ... ... Take your time. I have all day... ... ... Okay, are you ready yet? No? Then I’ll continue waiting... ... ...
Okay. That’s plenty of time. If you think you’ll get two more turns, then you should move last. Why? Because if you do that, then you can spread out your units as far as possible without worrying about defending your territories. Alternatively, if you move first, then all of your opponents get a chance to take territories away from you when you're in an overextended position. And your opponents are likely to attack you, because your units are relatively weak when they’re spread out. I hope you agree with me that, if you think you’ll get two more turns, then all else being equal, in general, you should move last.
But what if you enlist and then the game suddenly ends before you spread out your units? Well now you’re screwed. All of your opponents who spread out their units are likely to get higher scores than you, so you probably won’t even come in second place. If you think you will only get one turn, then you should move on that turn. With only five stars, you might not win, but you’ve got a good chance of getting second place, and if you're really lucky, you might even get first place.
But now what should you do if you don’t know whether the game will end in two turns? This is often the case, because objective cards are secret. Now you have to guess, and if you guess wrong, you probably won’t get second place.
I assert that this is an undesirable feature of a game. Second place should be awarded to the person who is second-closest to winning... not the one who makes a lucky guess at the end of the game. But in the example I gave, you could be just two turns away from winning the game while only one player is doing better, but with an incorrect guess, you don’t even get second place. That’s not good, in my opinion.
I have come up with a rule change, which is described here. In this case, your best plan is enlist and then move, and if you somebody earns their sixth star before you move, you’ll still get another turn, and then you’ll probably get second place. In this specific example, with my rule change, you should follow the same plan, regardless of whether another player earns a sixth star before you can move.
In general, this is often a problem in Scythe. That’s because your score depends on the number of territories you control at the end of the game. In order to get second place, you usually have to spread out your units before the game ends. But it’s best to do that on your last turn so that your opponents have the fewest opportunities to take territories away from you. If you spread out earlier, then you weaken your defenses and you’ll probably pay for that. And if you try spreading out very early, just to be safe, your ability to produce is less effective, since you can only produce on a limited number of territories.
It’s true that, if you’re paying attention to your opponents, you can sometimes predict when the game will end. But, since the objectives are secret, that’s not always possible. If an opponent can still get an objective star, then you cannot determine whether they will get that star sooner or later. So you either keep your units clustered on a few territories for better defense and better production, or you spread them out and hope that your opponent gets their objective star quickly. I have been in this situation many times, and since I always play to win, I usually delay spreading out my units until I’m ready to get my sixth star. As a result, I often end up in last place, even when I’m just one or two turns away from spreading out my units and getting my sixth star, earning the highest score.
Contact me: ken69samuel@hotmail.com