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2015-12-27 06:25:22
7 votes, rating 5.3
7 votes, rating 5.3
Tactics vs Strategy, part 3: Puerto Rico
If you missed them, here are part 1 and part 2. Go the read comments for part 1 if you haven't yet.
My favorite "pure tactics" board game is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a Eurogame for 3-5 players where players interaction through a variable phase order draft. The objective is to score points by constructing buildings and shipping goods. Strategy is in the game is fairly simple: mostly build, mostly ship, or a bit of both. Every meaningful decision by a competent player will revolve around the current board state and opponents' decisions and not the preferred strategy. In fact, committing too early to a particular strategy is the fastest way to lose. Instead decisions are based on finding tiny incremental advantages over the other players. Because you have multiple opponents, selecting options that hurt only one of them is usually sub-optimal. If you look for advice to get better at the game, there are vague recommendations about building and plantation selection. However, observing (and playing against) highly ranked players is the quickest way to improve.
Comparing Puerto Rico to Blood Bowl, there are similarities. Specifically, correctly analyzing the current board state before making decisions to find incremental advantages. However, Blood Bowl also requires a commitment to a general strategy before any dice are rolled (team selection), and anything that hurts the other coach benefits you (only two players). Strategy informs every turn in Blood Bowl while nobody knows the endgame plan in Puerto Rico until the several turns in. Therefore, Blood Bowl is more strategic (and less tactical) than Puerto Rico.
This doesn't answer our question, "Does Blood Bowl emphasize tactics or strategy?" However, it gives us one good point of reference and maybe part of our answer.
Next time we compare Blood Bowl to a game that is mostly strategy.
Sal-utations
My favorite "pure tactics" board game is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a Eurogame for 3-5 players where players interaction through a variable phase order draft. The objective is to score points by constructing buildings and shipping goods. Strategy is in the game is fairly simple: mostly build, mostly ship, or a bit of both. Every meaningful decision by a competent player will revolve around the current board state and opponents' decisions and not the preferred strategy. In fact, committing too early to a particular strategy is the fastest way to lose. Instead decisions are based on finding tiny incremental advantages over the other players. Because you have multiple opponents, selecting options that hurt only one of them is usually sub-optimal. If you look for advice to get better at the game, there are vague recommendations about building and plantation selection. However, observing (and playing against) highly ranked players is the quickest way to improve.
Comparing Puerto Rico to Blood Bowl, there are similarities. Specifically, correctly analyzing the current board state before making decisions to find incremental advantages. However, Blood Bowl also requires a commitment to a general strategy before any dice are rolled (team selection), and anything that hurts the other coach benefits you (only two players). Strategy informs every turn in Blood Bowl while nobody knows the endgame plan in Puerto Rico until the several turns in. Therefore, Blood Bowl is more strategic (and less tactical) than Puerto Rico.
This doesn't answer our question, "Does Blood Bowl emphasize tactics or strategy?" However, it gives us one good point of reference and maybe part of our answer.
Next time we compare Blood Bowl to a game that is mostly strategy.
Sal-utations
Comments
Posted by harvestmouse on 2015-12-27 09:13:40
I'm not sure I agree with your evaluation of strategy and tactics. I would say out of game actions, are a different department.
For me:
Strategy: This is your plan for that drive.
Tactics: These are the actions you do to make that strategy work.
For me:
Strategy: This is your plan for that drive.
Tactics: These are the actions you do to make that strategy work.
Posted by Tesifonte on 2015-12-27 11:22:33
Not the words I'd write about it, but that's a deep analysis.
Posted by ImpactedAnimal on 2015-12-27 12:00:28
I have a slightly different interpretation to harvestmouse (possibly for being immersed in a tepid corporate world for too long!)
Strategic management: this is your plan for the team and its overall development including any fluff (potentially also how you will approach a particular season in a league)
Tactical management: this is your individual match and drive plan as to how you will win the match
Operational management: this is concerned with the indidivual moves made by players in order to achieve your tactical objectives. Operational plans can be either single-use or ongoing plans - single use when responding off the hoof to an in-game situation and ongoing when a drilled move fitting into your overall tactics...
Strategic management: this is your plan for the team and its overall development including any fluff (potentially also how you will approach a particular season in a league)
Tactical management: this is your individual match and drive plan as to how you will win the match
Operational management: this is concerned with the indidivual moves made by players in order to achieve your tactical objectives. Operational plans can be either single-use or ongoing plans - single use when responding off the hoof to an in-game situation and ongoing when a drilled move fitting into your overall tactics...
Posted by pythrr on 2015-12-27 19:26:06
Strategy: This is your plan for that drive.
Tactics: These are the actions you do to make that strategy work.
^^^ this. or...
Strategy: is what you want to acheive (e.g. press high, steal the ball with my strippers, while keeping a safty plan B)
Tactics: is how you accomplish this on a turn to turn level.
Tactics: These are the actions you do to make that strategy work.
^^^ this. or...
Strategy: is what you want to acheive (e.g. press high, steal the ball with my strippers, while keeping a safty plan B)
Tactics: is how you accomplish this on a turn to turn level.
Posted by koadah on 2015-12-27 19:26:12
Sure, but as we are talking about a game and not a corporation I'll take Harvestmouse's definitions.
Posted by thoralf on 2015-12-27 19:29:29
Another interpretation -
Strategy: what you decide to do as a coach.
Tactics: what Nuffle decides for you.
Strategy: what you decide to do as a coach.
Tactics: what Nuffle decides for you.
Posted by SalTheChin on 2015-12-27 20:58:35
I am confused by your statement haverstmouse about out of game actions. Your definitions generally agree with those that we started with in part 1:
Strategy is a plan intended to achieve an overall aim.
Tactics are the actions to achieve a specific goal.
So where is the disagreement?
Strategy is a plan intended to achieve an overall aim.
Tactics are the actions to achieve a specific goal.
So where is the disagreement?
Posted by harvestmouse on 2015-12-28 03:05:11
As I understood it, you are saying that the Strategy is how you build your team. I believe this is totally separate and not the strategy related to the tactics used on the field. I guess........if you knew your next opponent and built to that, that's a strategy, related to the tactics you would use....maybe.
Posted by thoralf on 2015-12-28 05:45:04
Perhaps the most beneficial next step to clarify what you mean, Sal, would be to distinguish the various notions of planning you have in mind.
Posted by ImpactedAnimal on 2015-12-31 13:53:33
Point taken Koadah! :) merry ny all as well!!