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Annotated Games: Version 0.7, 4 playersThis game was played during game testing of version 0.7 of Iconoclasm. In this version, support was always added in external clashes. The moves up to the first external clash are identical with the version 0.3 test. The hexes have a color for the element (red=fire, blue=water, white=air, green=earth, black=spirit, gray=imbalance) and a number for the strength (or X for imbalances). If a hex has a temple, the number is underlined and preceded by the first letter of the element (F, W, A, E).
For test purpose, the players follow pre-defined strategies. Fire promotes earth temples, hoping to overtake them after iconoclasms. Water aims at building strong early temples with earth support. Air tries to lose earth tiles early while saving air tiles to last. Earth finally attempts to pair earth tiles and split other element tiles.
Fire starts playing for an earth temple with fire presence in the center while water connects her water tiles with earth. Air also adds earth, hoping that an early iconoclasm will damage her main opponent. Earth ignores the center and builds on a weak multi-colored temple in the lower left.
Fire connects fire and earth tiles with a supporting air tile while water goes all in to create a strong water temple. Air dumps an earth tile in desolated area and earth keeps building on her weak temple with a fire.
Fire is concerned about the strong water temple and connects it with the other prospective temple on the lower board so that they may weaken each other. Water plays her last water and gets help by air, who wants to see the others in early iconoclasms, to complete a water temple. Earth plays an air tile, hoping to see an air temple built and destroyed.
Fire plays earth and builds an air temple to weaken the water temple. The game's first iconoclasm takes place and water wins easily with 10 water + 4 earth vs 4 air without support. The temple is removed together with the air tiles at C2 and D2 and the spirit tiles at E2 and D3.
Water plays a spirit tile to start blocking connections to the water temple. Air has accomplished the opening objective to drop all earth tiles and now continue to drop fire tiles. Earth builds a fire temple with the long-term objective of building an earth temple with water support once the fire temple has been destroyed.
Fire is too weak to defeat the water temple and plays a protective spirit. Water plays spirit to make a potential new temple in the lower part weak. Air drops another fire tile and also attempts to connect the temples. Earth creates an earth pair in the lower part
Fire can play fire or air to build a fire temple but chooses to play water and build an earth temple. Why? Because a fire temple would lose the external clash to the water temple (with support from earth) while an earth temple denies water support and wins with 8 earth + 4 fire vs 8 water. In addition, the reduction of the earth tiles allows fire to win the latent clash and take over the temple with 4 fire tiles vs 2 earth tiles.
Water plays earth, aiming at an earth temple to destroy the fire temples. Air happily contributes by dropping her last fire tile. Naturally, earth wants to protect her earth cluster and plays an imbalance tile to prevent a too early earth temple.
Fire starts building on a 3rd fire temple. Water adds fire to it with the plan to destroy a fire temple. However, air ruins the plan by playing a spirit. The earth temple loses against the fire temple with 10 earth vs 10 fire + 2 air.
Earth ends the turn by grouping her earth tiles.
Fire adds a fire to the group in the right, making it difficult for the other elements to build another temple there. Instead, they start building a temple in the lower part.
Fire plays an air as a support for a future air temple in the upper part. Water plays a spirit in a small hope of taking over a future air temple but air crushes that hope by adding a 3rd air tile to the group. Earth plays a strategic spirit in the upper part to prepare for an earth temple after the fall of the fire temples.
Fire threatens to build a 3rd fire temple and win the game. Water and air respond by building an air temple in the lower temple. It easily wins the external clash against the fire temple with 6 air + 8 water vs 6 fire + 2 earth.
Earth completes the disastrous turn for fire by connecting the air temple to the 2nd fire temple. Again, the air temple wins the external clash against the fire temple with 5 air + 6 water vs 5 fire + 4 earth. Fire's attempt to protect the two fire temples has failed.
There is now only a weak air temple left so the game is still open.
A fire temple cannot withstand the air temple alone since air won't support against itself so fire builds an earth temple instead, hoping that it will be destroyed later. The earth temple wins the external clash against the air temple with 6 earth + 6 fire vs 5 air + 6 water.
Water and air tries to build a new temple but earth plays a fire in the area, not only making the temple weaker but also add support to the earth temple in a future external clash.
Fire plays spirit for a future fire temple at D6 if and when the earth temple is destroyed. Water, with neither water, nor supporting earth left, can't build any water temple but a fire at D4 gives her a chance to build and take over an air temple. The air temple wins the internal clash since fire and water oppose each other and then the external clash against the earth temple with 6 air + 8 water vs 3 earth + 10 fire. The reduced air temple can then be taken over by water.
Air and earth desperately tries to play their last tiles to the upper part to
build a final temple.
With a water temple at C4, fire can't build a fire temple as planned, only destroy the water temple. The earth temple wins the external clash with 6 earth + 4 fire vs 8 water.
Water can't build any water temple but must still play if it's possible to create a clash.
The only option is to build a fire temple.
No more clash can be created so neither air, nor earth can play. The fire temple is the only temple standing and fire wins the game. |
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Annotated games
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