Emu ranchers / discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page Emu ranchers.

Similar to Lost Cities

maka 1227363922|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

This seems to be a nice variant on the game Lost Cities, more free-form and with more flexibility in your options (thanks to the multiple suits per card, the fact you can play the ace or crowns at the end too and the lack of a maximum predetermined number of expeditions).

It does seem to be a nice game and I'll be giving it a try :)

I wonder though, why the scoring works different when winning profit than when making a loss… Wouldn't it be simpler if when winning a profit you'd just substract 18 from the total sum? Does it really change the game a lot? I'm interested in reading your thoughts on this…

Re: Similar to Lost Cities

pmagnus 1227377580|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Just subtracting 18 would be a simpler rule, but I find it harder to actually do. I can add up a two digit number and subtract 18 in my head, but then I have to remember that number when I perform the same operation on the next bird. (Also, subtracting 18 is a bit harder than subtracting 20 as in Lost Cities.)

With this rule, I discard upkeep from each bird and then come back to total up the remaining cards. Since each Ace or Crown is worth a flat rate of 5 points, I don't have to add up the profitable birds separately. So there is less calculation and memory involved.

This rule also makes several smaller cards more valuable than one big card. If I have 7,8,9, I need to discard all three and get no profit. If I have 3,5,7,8, I can discard the 3,7,8 to score 5. (I chose 18 as the target because it's the lowest number that requires at least three number cards.)

As you note, however, this rules means that profitable birds and losing birds are handled differently. In playtesting, it seemed as if the advantages were worth that complication.

First Impression

maka 1227488124|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I gave this one a try tonight (one year) and liked it. I like the gameplay changes the dual suits introduce to the "Lost Cities" concept. You have to think about how to use each card, as sometimes a card you have could be used for two of your "birds".

The different scoring methods for profit and loss didn't bother me that much, but I still find it faster to just subtract 18 from the total than to look for the right combination of cards to remove…

What I didn't like much was the way the round ends. In Lost Cities, there's a time pressure element in the deck running out. You have a limited number of turns in which to play all the cards, so keeping them in your hand is dangerous. There are limited ways of extending the time (by not drawing and using cards from the discard pile) but ultimately, you may end with cards in your hand you couldn't play.

Here, as you can play all the cards you want when the round ends, you don't need to be careful. Keeping cards in your hand becomes a good strategy, as you know you won't lose them, so waiting for the right ranked card is easier, as you don't feel the pressure to play the cards you do have before the round ends…

I'm curious to read your thoughts, but I want to try the game with the variant where the whole hand is discarded when the round ends…

Re: First Impression

pmagnus 1227489097|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

One difference is that there are fewer cards in the deck than in Lost Cities. As such, the draw pile is exhausted sooner. Discarding when the year ends seemed too claustrophobic to me.

There are several pressures not to just keep cards in your hand indefinitely. With only 6 cards in your hand, you will run out of space— especially if you're holding cards for more than one bird. You can collect a few cards further on the sequence, but frequently you'll have to jump a step or two to avoid discarding something you want.

Also, you can only pick up a discard if you play a card. If your opponent sets down something you want, you need to go ahead and play.

Re: First Impression

maka 1227531322|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I mostly agree with your points, but somehow have a "gut" feeling it is wrong to let players just play all the cards they want at the end :D

The round didn't seem too short to us, so I didn't see that as a problem. But the fact that I can keep that 9 (or even worse, a crown/ace) in my hand until the end of the game to see if I get other cards of the same suit without risk feels a tad wrong…

I'll be trying it both ways to make up my mind, but maybe a variant for this alternative system could be added…

Re: First Impression

pmagnus 1227568437|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

You can only keep the 9 in your hand if you are playing or discarding other cards. I often find that my hand fills up with cards that I can't play but which I think will help my opponent, so I either need to let them have it anyway or play one of my own.

If you still feel this way after playing both ways, I'll add it as a variant. When I decide the rules are close enough to final, I'll put them in the wiki— and then you can add the variant yourself.

Questions

maka 1227488432|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

We had a couple of doubts: When scoring a hand, does the pawn score as many points as the card it was replacing? Also, do you have to say what rank a pawn is replacing when placing the card, or can you wait until it is actually defined by the card you put next?

Re: Questions

pmagnus 1227488683|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Yes. (The Pawn scores as the card it's replacing.)

The latter. (You don't need to declare exactly what a Pawn's replacing when you play it. As an aside, the game plays well without the Pawns— they really are an optional extra.)

last edited on 1227488736|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by pmagnus + show more

Re: Questions

maka 1227531030|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Thanks, we played the other way (declaring the value) but somehow I felt we were doing it wrong :)

I like the pawns, but the excuse seems too random and powerful. Still, the fact you basically get your hand reduced to 5 cards if you want to keep it may make up for it…

Emu Ranchers Online Play

wtanaka 1260093446|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I created an implementation of Emu Ranchers which can be played online for free:

Play Emu Ranchers

If anyone has any feedback, suggestions, questions, etc, I'd love to hear from you