Mornington Crescent

[Padma]

The obvious play at this point, from my position, would be to swiftly slide into Victoria, but the Duke is devious. Thus, the obvious may often NOT be the BEST play.

Therefore, I will trust my instincts and make the more daring strile to Queensway. This will not only improve my LV (thanks for the assist, BTW, Crazy Eddie ), but should also put me in a better position to defend.

A couple of points, Duke. First, I was unaware we were using tokens in this game. The understanding I had gleaned while poring over the rules was that they were not normally used in an introductory level game, as they do add to the complexity. However, we did not specify any such rule at the beginning of the game. Also, while I am clearly the only TRUE beginner actively playing in this game, I have been devouring the ongoing matches being played on the maderia MC site, and believe I can hold my own on their use. So do not stop using them on MY account!

Second, I have absolutely no objection to Stormerne joining the game (with suitable penalties). One of the best ways to learn is to jump in with quality players (as long as they don't take too much advantage of your ignorance ). So I say welcome to Stomerne, full-well knowing my probable end:

 

[GenghisK]

Mmm, maybe Green park then... I am not really sure though.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

You're right to be cautious about your move Genghis - my earlier altruism has suddenly evaporated as I leap for Dollis Hill
Let the mayhem commence...

 

[stormerne]

I am very pleased to see that you've joined in Khanh. That and the kind invitations of the others have inspired me out of my sulk.

And thank you Eddie. If we are playing tokenless then token penalties are meaningless and I thought I was going to have to wait some time for a suitable late entry point. But with your last move you allow me to enter with an immediate penalty but one which is not too onerous for an experienced player. For I can answer your Dollis Hill with an immediate Dollis Hill myself, putting the whole game straight into a Dollis Hill Loop.

 

[duke o' york]

Confound it! We should have made Stormerne wait until someone else had played anything, anything other than Dollis Hill!!!!!
Oh well, since it is 8.50 or so on this wet Friday morning (in Leeds at least ), I shall just have to play Dollis Hill. But if anyone else can time their move exactly then please get us out of this and quickly. Since we are playing in a detokened state then I can't just save us all from Dollis doom and must therefore play the waiting game.
:enlighten - In fact, since we are a multinational group then I urge all our overseas players to exploit the fact and use your local off-peak time - it may not be the same as the Underground's, but it will enable you to get out of the Dollis Hill loop. But should you choose to have us all remain in this rotten loop then do not forget that I have some pretty fiendish knerdles up my sleeve, and that a devilish shunt into a backwater would not be out of the question. :nya2:

 

[Padma]

Hmm... Interesting development.

Fortunately, even with the beck's so low, I should still be able to perform a Thorndyke's Maneuver and move to ...

Noooooo! Dollis Hill.

Strategoz: PLEEEASE try an Ongar's Denial! Or something!

 

[GenghisK]

I'll keep clear from that so I'll wait a bit before striking back At least trying to since Stormerne is always a tough foe

 

[Richelieu]

I wouldn't dream of interrupting the game but i thought you might enjoy a new player.
I am a beginner as my first moves undoubtedly will show, but i would certainly appreciate the opportunity to learn in the company of such accomplished players - while at the same time providing you with the inevitable comic relief that one needs to diffuse the tension inherent to such a stressfull activity.
So, where are we....
Hmmm...
Well yes, evidently, Dollis Hill ... Hmmm... althought i know i should see it, i fail to grasp the importance of that move...

Ah well, forgive me if i go for a Huff : Chiswick Park

 

[duke o' york]

Well done Richelieu on having successfully navigated your way out of the Dollis Hill loop, and particularly impressively due to your adaptation of the Ongar denial to the circumstances.
At this point I shall look to introduce something new into the game, for the benefit of those using it as a tutorial. Although the grand entrance of Richelieu has shown that already the pupils are about to become masters too, there may be a few players who are as yet uncertain of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of ghost stations. I shall therefore move from Chiswick Park to Blake Hall to recover some of the LV lost in the several loops of Dollis Hill that were made, and to allow me to lay the groundwork for a little something I'm sure that the experienced onlookers will appreciate, but my opponents will decidedly not!

 

[Richelieu]

Have i inadvertently put us all in a Strick ? I assure you that was not my intention... Oh well, no Spoon or Knip for the next two turns i guess.
Wish i could blame this on the impetuosity of youth

I can't wait to see the response you get to your Blake Hall move...

 

[Padma]

Glad to see another player. And don't worry about being a beginner. Not only am I a beginner, but I am an American so I REALLY have to study the map and rulesets in order to figure out a move.

Speaking of a move.... Blake Hall, hmmm. I wish I knew what the Duke had up his sleeve. I have seen ghost stations used to great effect in some games, but I am on uncertain ground as to their utility at this juncture. Still, I think I will continue the ghost sequence, with a strile to the old abandoned eastbound platform at King's Cross St. Pancras.

 

[GenghisK]

Well I would say Tothenham Court road since I've been there soooo many times The high tech street as my friends call it.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Ahh, fond memories of trying to beat down the price of some computer kit from shady looking dealers I still have my (expired) Computer Exchange membership card somewhere...

I think a short strile to Baker Street will suffice, although I suspect Stormerne may show me to be in error here.

 

[duke o' york]

It would be rude to take a go before Stormerne had the chance and so I shall be patient, but I am delighted that we have so many people taking part now. Perhaps it is the absence of tokens that makes the game so accessible to you all, but well done and thank you.
I shall be going to London over Easter weekend to stay with my girlfriend's brother so I shall have to practise a few manoeuvres while I am there. The nearest tube station to his house is Archway so I shall have quite a hold on any future moves to/from the Northern Line on my return. It pays to do a little research wherever possible.

 

[stormerne]

I'm glad to see such a flurry of activity.

But I have to say Khanh's and Richelieu's moves present me with a slight quandry. Whereas I am somewhat reluctant to spadger the pair of you (as it would seem both rude and abrupt for me to give you such an immediate disadvantage), I have to play true to my rather aggressive style.

On the one hand, you must one day learn to defend yourself when playing with the "big boys". On the other hand, it might be counter-productive for me to play in championship style if it demoralised you. It does seem a shame, though, to let the previous sequence of moves go unpunished.

I think I'll simply shut up and leave it to you to interpret what strategy I'm playing. We old-men-of-the-game do have a tendency to be too verbose when playing like this. So I move Pinner - make of that what you will.

 

[duke o' york]

Pinner, eh?

I am wondering whether I will attempt to enforce the "tourist trap" after I return from my Cockney walkabout as it may prove unfair for this introductory level game. To briefly explain, the "tourist trap" allows free movement between all stations whereat the visitor to London has either boarded or alighted the tube for a week following his/her visit (24 hours if MC is played live - as it ought to be). Obviously, this does not apply to those who actually live or work in London, and Mornington Crescent can never become part of this trap for erm, equally obvious reasons. This would in fact make things remarkably easy for myself and therefore I should really allow this prime opportunity to go, but given that I will take a maximum of two turns next week I may just avail myself of this loophole.

Back to the game in hand then. Pinner poses some interesting questions of us all, but I hope that I may be able to meet the challenge. And how... :nya2:
If I were to be a little cruel to the next player would this give me a wrestling-style bad guy reputation? And if I were to play up to this reputation with the liberal inclusion of and smilies in my posts? I'd probably end up as Simon Darkshade, so it wouldn't be that good an idea, but I may play in character for this game at least. Righto: a move to Earl's Court allows me to implement a three-way pin (guess what this move was inspired by) and knerdle everyone! :nya2: (Including myself - oops!)

 

[Padma]

Earl's Court? And knerdled to boot?!

Duke, I'm definitely starting to think you're in league with Simon!

I'm going to have to try something a bit risky here. I will slip INSIDE the Circle ( ) to Oxford Circus, straddling the Bakerloo!

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Let's build up some LV - Bank
Cautious players may wish to leave the Central line at this point...

 

[stormerne]

Eddie - you were bluffing and you know it! We have no tokens in this game to put in the Bank, so that was a sly ruse of yours to confuse the beginners (which it did - I let it ride for a few days to savour the confusion).

I fear that will be a costly bluff on your part. I will immediately quinfurcate the game into five separate threads with instant cascade:
Notting Hill Gate
Lancaster Gate
Aldgate East
Highgate
Southgate
I realise that two of these threads can be immediately closed down, but you have to know which two and in which order. If you get it wrong you'll be in reverse knip. And whatever the next player does, Aldgate becomes permanently closed, and the Northern Line is out of bounds for five moves!

 

[duke o' york]

I am not unduly worried by this quinfurcation, and indeed will reduce it to four by pointing out that using a move to Highgate and then announcing the Northern Line closed has no benefit other than the obvious superficiality. I shall therefore move quickly to nip this in the bud and close that particular thread.
With the others, I have contrived to build a spider's web for the unwary, and woe betide those looking to dominate the western side of the map.
North Acton
East Acton
West Acton
Acton Town
The Acton action above ought to give pause for thought for all but the most foolhardy of players as you will find yourselves all drawn inexorably toward Farringdon over the next few turns.