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Annotated Games: Version 0.8, 4 playersThis game was played during game testing of version 0.8 of Iconoclasm. In this version, secondary support was added as a further tie-breaker (rather than opposition) and only used in case of ties. The moves up to turn 12 are identical with the first 0.7 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 vs 4 air. 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 to build a fire temple but chooses to play air and build an earth temple. (Fire and earth both have 4 strength but fire supports earth with 4 strength and air supports fire with only 2 strength.) Why? Because a fire temple would lose the external clash to the water temple (after adding support from earth to water) while an earth temple would win with 8 earth vs 6 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.
Fire builds a temple with the idea to be the secondary supporter. With 2 fire supporting 2 earth which support 2 water, water will get the temple but lose it to earth after the first external clash. With 8 water vs 5 air, the air temple is no more.
Water, air and earth all hurry to build fairly isolated temples. Which element will manage to
both build and keep a temple?
Fire plays earth to air's prospective temple, preventing her from building an air temple their since it would only draw against the earth temple with 8 air + 4 water vs 8 earth + 4 fire. Water plays an air to her prospective temple but air hi-jacks it with an air, hoping to build an air temple there instead. Meanwhile, earth continues to build on her earth temple. The last turn will be decisive.
Fire plays spirit to form a strong fire group just below the earth temple. If the earth temple is destroyed, a fire temple can be built instead. Water has no hope of winning and blocks one of the potential temple spots with fire. With that move earth and air both have 4 strength and 2 support (from fire and water) so that no temple is built. Air uses a spirit to build an air temple since using a water would give water equal strength in the temple and allow her to take over it if the air tiles would be reduced.
Air wins the external clash against earth with 8 air vs 4 earth but the removed earth temple gives space for the fire temple and a new external clash takes place. Weakened from the first external clash, the air temple cannot resist the fire temple and loses with 5 air vs 8 air.
Weakened from the first external clash, the air temple cannot resist the fire temple and loses with 5 air vs 8 air. But earth has a move left and uses a fire to build an earth temple.
With 6 earth vs 5 fire, the earth temple wins the external clash and remains the last temple in the game!
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