Decathlon Practice Arena

Looks like we need to connect on Game Center still @kennfusion - I’ll send you a DM

Pick me for Le Havre trial match

Throw me in a game if there is still room please. CoachSchlotz

Not sure if there is a space in between or not. Thanks.

Setting up GC connections @Baelnor and @HostileApostle

Sent invites for a 3P Le Havre to @JaneHatke and @kennfusion

Jane, I’m happy to continue our 2P or we can quit that and just play the 3P

Let’s just play the three player.

How do I accept it? Not coming up that I know of…

I sent you a message with my Apple ID so you can add me as a friend.

I definitely need Le Havre practice … happy to join another game.

Still waiting to connect with Baelnor on Game Center.
Started a 3P for @Codington, @HostileApostle, and @geigerm

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Ok @Baelnor and I got connected. Anyone else want to join a 3P Le Havre?

Yes, please

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I could use some relearning of it too if there’s a spot anywhere

In the queue! :slight_smile:

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Hey - just a few quick notes on Le Havre…

The app has a fairly extensive tutorial with multiple chapters, but if video is more your style, there’s always Rahdo to count on:

Rahdo Run Through: Le Havre

In terms of strategy, there are two main ways to win:

  • build/buy ships and ship goods for money, or
  • build/buy buildings for their value.

You can play a mixed strategy as well, but that tends not to score as well. Maximum points tend to come from a shipping strategy, particularly because ships also have value and allow you to feed your people. Building can rack up points too, but tends to require building a lot and getting either the Town Hall or the Bank for end of game bonus points.

One thing that players of Agricola tend to have a challenge with is the idea of taking loans - specifically, taking loans in Le Havre to pay Francs for end of round food requirements is nowhere near as punitive as not feeding your family in Agricola. In fact, the highest scores tend to come when players allow themselves to take loans (sometimes many) and then pay them off at the end of the game.

This is because you only need to pay 1 Franc per round if you have any loans (so taking additional loans is no worse than the first) and because of the math of loan repayment: paying off a loan during the game costs 5 Francs, but having a loan at the end of the game costs you 7 Francs of value. In other words, if you can turn the loan into 5 Francs and pay it off, you come out 2 Francs ahead in final scoring.

I’m happy to answer any other questions, and I’m sure there are a few other experienced players in the group too…

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It’s funny I was just thinking that I am going to be bad at this game in the same way that I am in Agricola. In both, I understand all of the mechanics, but for some reason trying to learn the game in the digital app just loses me. I think both I would need to play on the table with real people a bunch of times to really understand them.

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They have some similarities, for sure - particularly the competition for resources and the need to look ahead since most “valuable” turns require gathering resources for one or more turns in preparation.

Also the classic “I can’t do enough in one turn” and “is it time to feed again already?” feelings. :stuck_out_tongue:

One key difference with Le Havre is the number of possible actions (lots of buildings) and a greater ability to accomplish multiple goals in one turn (eg. build 2 buildings with Construction Firm, acquire Francs and use them to buy a building, etc.)

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Here is my experience with Le Havre:

Purchased when it launched.
Played the tutorial, didn’t get it.
Played the tutorial again, didn’t get it.
Tried a game, kind of got it.
Years later, tried it again, played tutorial didn’t get it.
And now, years later, I need to learn how to play.

This decathlon is going to go brilliantly!

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Ok, it’s a few games down the line, but I took the time to learn Gaia Project the past couple days.

First, what a piece of crap implementation of the game. I really dislike Digidiced. I am equally annoyed with LeHarve right now. Although unlike LeHarve, which I don’t like as a game, I do think I like Gaia Project.

The tutorial did not help at all, it’s as confusing as Castles of Burgandy’s tutorial, but in this case, I tried watching a 15 minute tutorial and that did not help either. I had to watch this 41 minute video from JonGetsGames to really understand the game, and this is an excellent way to learn if you have the time. The easy AI is still beating me, I just need to figure out some of the opening moves and scoring now, I get the basic gameplay loop and engine building.

So…anyone want to play a game?

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Managed to finish a 3P Gaia against 2 easy AI last night. About the only things that got me through it were tapping around to try to figure out the UI, and my (albeit not great) knowledge of Terra Mystica. I managed a win, so that helped me feel better too and at least they do some highlighting of the UI at the bottom and show you the possible actions you can take on the right.

Thanks for sharing that video link - I will also look for something a little more succinct to post closer to when Gaia is up in the Decathlon rotation.

In the meantime, I’ll play a game except it looks like Gaia doesn’t use my existing Digidiced account ( :roll_eyes: ) and while there is supposedly a link function in Gaia, there’s nothing similar in Castles of Burgundy (the other Digidiced game I’m playing at the moment.) Ugh.

I guess we need to re-connect to make this work. I’m “CodingtonGaia” in Gaia.

PS. Sorry to hear you don’t like my beloved Le Havre but if it’s about the game itself, I guess there’s not much I can do. :wink:

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