Tips & Strategies (11)

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Tips & Strategies (11)

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6
Strategist
Amateur Advisor
Tinkerer
25 of 26 gamers found this helpful
“Balance your numbers!”

Especially when trying for a stretch number (2, 3, 11, or 12), it’s important to have numbers on the opposite side of the spectrum (preferably of higher probability) as a safety.

People often bust when they’re trying for something like 3, 5 and 7, even though 5 and particularly 7 are significantly higher probability, because the dice roll out as only 4s, 5s and 6s.

A much safer bet is to work on 3, 7 and 9, which has the same probability for the individual numbers, but will account for a wider variety of different dice rolls.

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2
I Am What I Am
24 of 25 gamers found this helpful
“Stealing Columns”

In my group, when someone completes a number column, everyone else is kicked out of that column, but they can start over and climb back up. The column is only locked for the player who owns it, and if someone else reaches the top, they steal it away and kick all the other players out, including the previous owner. This rule really ups the tension and humor later on in the game, especially when playing with more players.

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7
Guardian Angel
Baron / Baroness
USA
Miniature Painter
31 of 33 gamers found this helpful
“Short but Sweet”

I found that it is often a wise bet to shoot for the the 2 and 12 columns. Those numbers may not come up often – you have to roll double 1’s or 6’s to get them – but the columns are short. You only need 3 hits to lock them out.

I suggest that if one of these results comes up, take it, but then pas your dice. It’s slow going climbing these short ladders, but can pay off big in the end.

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8
I play purple
Football Fan
Movie Lover
24 of 26 gamers found this helpful
“Need a portable version? Just grab dice and poker chips”

This is a great and classic game, but the boxed version is large and unwieldy. All you need are the following common game items for a portable version:

4 6-sided Dice (add 17 more to use the dice to indicate the number for each column 2 through 12)
up to 5 colors of poker chips, 11 of each color for each player and 83 of a base color for the actual board (3 in a row for 2, 5 in a row for 3, 7 for #4,… until 13 for #7 and back down to 3 for #12)
3 markers of the same color (dice, chips, etc) to indicate the current turn locations

That’s it! Even with every extra piece, it all fits in a small bag or box. It’s easy to customize and you can replace any of the above with coins or pieces from other games (like cubes from Pandemic or trains from Ticket to Ride). This way, even if you don’t have a bag of goodies around, you can still play this game with other game pieces.

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9
Gamer - Level 9
Lookout
Explorer - Level 6
Guardian Angel
24 of 27 gamers found this helpful
“Two aren"t cheaper than one”

When rolling the four dice at the beginning of your turn if you roll combos that give you the same number choose that over 2 different numbers, if possible, as that will only place 1 white marker and extend the number fo rolls you can make witha white marker available. An example of this would br rolling a 1,4,3,6. 2 sevens instead of 10 and 4 works out better for placement.

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8
Intermediate Reviewer
Paladin
Tinkerer
Novice Advisor
24 of 27 gamers found this helpful
“Why chose that path?”

This game is all about calculated riscs and probability, and there can be more than one reason to pick a certain path.

The most obvious one is that you want to win that path.

The second reason for picking a path is to use it as an engine for the path you REALLY try to win. I’m especially fond of 3 & 11. Why not 2 & 12 you may ask? Well, they can be nice too, but there are twice as many combinations of two dice that will earn you progress, and the path is not twice as long. The harder numbers will come up, but it’s no good to only go for them. If you want to roll 3 you need many chances, and that means you cannot go only for combinations that makes you bust easily. So, if possible, 3/7/8 is a great combo (better than 3/6/7 in casee you missed that), the 7 & 8 will keep you alive and hopefully help you progress at least halfway up the 3.

So, sometimes the best option is to grab a middle one, even if you have no progress there and you opponent is almost finished. You never intend to fight over that path, only use it to help your other projects.

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9
Gamer - Level 9
Lookout
Explorer - Level 6
Guardian Angel
24 of 28 gamers found this helpful
“Safety first ”

When rolling to advance markers I stop most of the time 2 spaces from the top. There are exceptions-other players close by, I still have white markers to place etc…, but I do this because if I stop 1 space away then on my next turn if I roll that number and place the white marker that number will immediately become a dead number for use while covered by the white number. With the extra space, however, I can roll it once on future rolls and it will be helpful.

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9
Gamer - Level 9
Lookout
Explorer - Level 6
Guardian Angel
24 of 28 gamers found this helpful
“Stretch your 7s.”

Seven is the most commonly rolled number. While you want to close out 3 numbers to win, if you have all 3 white markers on the board and one of the choices is a 7 and you have a choice between advancing the 7 or advancing another number advance the other number. This will help keep the 7 “alive” for future use longer.

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9
Gamer - Level 9
Lookout
Explorer - Level 6
Guardian Angel
24 of 30 gamers found this helpful
“dead numbers for fun and victory”

As the game progresses certain numbers will become “dead”, that is unusable by being covered by a player’s marker. This makes it harder to get the remaining numbers. The rule says that on a die roll at least one choice must be usable. If you roll combinations that give you 2 choices that you would prefer not to place 2 white markers on(maybe you have no marker there, or have 2 numbers you are close to finishing that you did not get as a choice) see if you can make a choice of 1 dead number and a choice. That way you only have to choose one placement for the white marker and save the 2nd white marker for another roll.

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9
Z-Man Games fan
Tasty Minstrel Games Fan
Plaid Hat Games fan
Indie Board & Cards fan
24 of 31 gamers found this helpful
“Use Both Results”

Sometimes my gaming group plays with a house rule that forces you use all 4 of the dice, rather than possibly using just 1 result from 2 dice. So once you have your first result from your first grouping of dice, the 2nd grouping must either advance another one of your makers, or bring a new marker onto the board.

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9
23 of 34 gamers found this helpful
“Check with Eagle Games rep”

This is just a little heads 7up. The company made 2 additional colors-Orange and Black- that thry hand out as promotionals at conventions, etc… you might contact them and see if they still have them available.

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