Adel Verpflichtet, By Hook or By Crook, Hoity Toity
2011 PBEM Championship Match
Series Replay
By John R. Pack, GM

In 2003 I wrote an article examining the value of the different moves and outcomes in Adel Verpflichtet which was published in The Boardgamer.  I've posted an updated version of that article and the series replay that went with it here.  I wrote up the PBEM final in 2008 using the modified outcomes shown on the charts that follow:

Auctionhouse Results

Castle Results

A score of 10 represents a perfect turn while a score of 0 (or less) is a wasted turn (or worse).  Scores below zero (and below the range shown) are possible; scores above the range shown for the outcome are not (unless a player without a thief is getting one out of jail).

You can see the 2008 write-up with an explanation of the changes here.  I continue to find these values are an accurate assessment, so I'll also use them throughout this article.

This series replay analyzes the final, championship game played for the 2011 Play-by-Email Championship which ended in April 2012.  The caliber of the players was very high.  Not only did each player have to perform well in the seven rounds of games that led up to the championship match, but among the group are two former champions and three top-20 BPA laurelists.  The game was enjoyable and hard-fought, and I think the ending was closer than it looked like it might be.  Many thanks to Ken for providing his starting set after the game -- one less thing I had to deduce for the write-up!

To facilitate commentary on each turn, I'll report each player's move, the result, and the score (using the scoring system which was just presented).  After the moves, any player banter is included to help readers enjoy the flavor of the game.  Then I'll summarize the situation for all of the players by showing the advancement, cumulative score, and assets of each player at the end of the turn.  Then I'll include notes I wrote during the game (if any).  Finally, I’ll offer a few comments explaining interesting aspects of the turn and applications of the strategies contained in the article.  I won’t use my perfect information about the game at this point or hindsight to second-guess moves – after all, except for the player whose move worked perfectly, every player could always have made a better move.  I'll try to examine individual moves using only information that would have been available to that player before s/he selected his or her move.

At the end of the game, I’ll summarize some additional information and offer some additional commentary.  The other finalists have also been invited to comment, and you'll find their comments at the end of the article.

The colors in the game are the SpielByWeb Hoity Toity colors -- which means that Green and Yellow are the opposite of what you'd expect if you've mostly played the Alea or Avalon Hill Adel Verpflichtet or By Hook or By Crook versions.

Legend

The cards shown in bold in each set in the status box indicate what has been made public information either through purchase, theft, or exhibit.  Note that I don't show which thief was played at the Auctionhouse -- since it doesn't matter.

Starting Positions

In Game Chatter --
Ken: Good Luck to everyone
John: Good luck! Congratulations for making it to the final.
Jürgen: Good luck and have fun ;-)
Richard: good luck

Comments (Post-Game): With no possible exhibit, Richard begins at an important disadvantage.  He need to win an auction or steal an item quickly.  Ken starts with a bulletproof set that's right in the middle for maximum flexiblity.  That makes Ken an early favorite.  John and Jürgen have nice, central sets with hands that can be connected completed with the right card.  John's advantage is that he has the second oldest card -- and that it's part of his opening exhibit.  Jürgen's edge is the oldest card in the game, but he'll need to add a B to take advantage of it.  Sharee starts with a set concentrated on the high end.  The benefit is that D through F add easily and take advantage of bulletproofing.  However, the disconnected A is a long way from being useful.

Turn 1

In Game Chatter --
John: Good job, Richard!

Notes (written during play): Sharee likely has a set; she'd have played a thief or gone to the Auctionhouse otherwise.  I should have gone with my gut -- and played the $12,000. Thieves at the start are really common in tournament play these days.  Bouncing thieves are often worth 1 point -- but only when it keeps a high check out of an opponent's hands.  Everyone but Ken benefits from having his thief thrown in prison.

Comments: While Sharee's move is solid, Richard is the clear winner of the first turn -- connecting an exhibit for his lowest check.  That connection, and the possibilities it opens up, suggest Richard should have been willing to part with his $17,000 check.  That would have been a much more certain success.

Turn 2

In Game Chatter --
Sharee: Ken, I am eyeing your set with envy and covetous thoughts.

Notes: Everyone heads to the same location for a second turn in a row. I try the same strategy, trusting Jürgen to move to a middling check which is higher than 13. At the same time, I also expect Richard to pull out his 17.  Instead, the Auctionhouse is a repeat of last turn. In the castle, both players charge ahead. Two wasted turns in a row for both Jürgen and I are a disaster.

Comments: Ken takes advantage of his opening set to win the exhibit.  However, Sharee benefits from the "any advancement is a win" philosophy that I share.  Richard now has two separate exhibits and has burned Jürgen and me twice.  We are hoist by our own petards.

Turn 3

In Game Chatter --
Sharee: Have a great President Day Weekend. John and I will be at GenghisCon.

Notes: I catch a huge break.  I guess everyone thought the C meant a crowd.  So I get a very nice card to bullet-proof the low end of my set, gain flexibility, and all in exchange for my lousy $1,000 check.  The Detectives Convention had a guest speaker, unfortunately -- and Sharee sprints to a huge lead -- just like she does at home where she routinely kicks my butt in this game.  Jürgen gets a third wasted turn in a row.  Ouch!

Comments: Three turns with purchases at the Auctionhouse using a player's smallest check.  Notice how the points at this juncture indicate the earned potential in the position.  Whose set is best (mine, in this case) matters less than how it's used.  At this point, I erroneously thought Richard had the largest and best set.  Sharee takes advantage of the Detective-reflex (which strikes the first time four or five players are at the Castle).

Turn 4

Notes: Jürgen finally gets something for his effort and burns Richard with the lowest check in the game at the same time.  Sharee, on the other hand, hits the first corner.  Fortunately, she loses a key card in the process.  Even so, the rest of us are dangerously behind.  Ken's loss of his second thief with four thieves to catch before one gets out on parole is a massive loss of options.

Comments: The loss of a second thief with 3 cells between a thief and parole wipes out the value of the card gained and more.  However, Ken's set is a very nice one.  However, for many turns to come every player at the Castle will know Ken cannot play a thief.  That should benefit everyone else -- particularly early exhibitors.  Sharee's near perfect turn is wiped out by the loss of her only exhibit and the options that go with it.  Four turns and four tiny checks.  We are one big group of cheapskates!  Not only that, but we'll turn to crime for the smallest incentive possible -- in this case, a tiny $2,000 check.  Of course, that beats what earlier thieves got -- zip.  If we don't watch out, they'll terminate our memberships in "White Collar Criminals Anonymous."

Ken's situation going into this turn points out the precariousness of being the first and sole thief to go to jail in the game.  It's always nice to have other player's thieves in jail first.

Turn 5

Comments: Ken roars back with the top exhibit and catches Jürgen and me thinking he'd go with a detective too.  Richard uses half of his set to finally get off the starting block.  Sharee undoes the damage from last turn by purchasing an exhibit (again using her lowest check).  Sharee makes her first visit to the Auctionhouse a good one.

Turn 6

Notes: Ken overtakes Sharee.  Obviously, the item Sharee holds, that I don't know, doesn't connect with her other cards.

Comments: Ken scores a second perfect turn in a row.  In face-to-face play, I'd never show more than three in this type of situation -- no sense in reminding the other players of your hand.  But, by email, one has to assume that the other players are tracking such things.  Using her lowest check, Sharee adds the third oldest card in the game to her hand (not knowing the two older cards are already held).  Richard joins Jürgen and me guarding Ken's exhibit.  Jürgen and I have wasted five and four turns -- out of six -- so far respectively.  As a result, Ken and Sharee are threatening to make this a two-way game.  Ken's only problem is that his two thieves appear to have life sentences.

Turn 7

Notes: One nice thing about holding the biggest check at the start is that one is guaranteed to be able to use the Auctionhouse successfully once at the time of one's choosing.  That it comes against all of the other players gives me a big boost.  Now all of my cards connect.  I'm surprised Sharee isn't back at the Castle exhibiting...

Comments: The nicest thing about this turn, for me, is that no one else got anything out of it.  Considering how many turns I've wasted to this point (4), it's nice to add a wasted turn to everyone else's total.  This is Sharee's first wasted turn -- and the points and spaces show it.  Jürgen, on the other hand, is running 6 out of 7 turns.  Ouch!  As the first to use a high check, the Auctionhoouse is now much less useful to me -- as I'd likely come home empty-handed from such trips.

Turn 8

In Game Chatter --
Sharee: I think it goes without saying that John is sleeping on the couch tonight!

Notes: I thought for certain I'd be in jail, but I thought I'd also pick up an item from a daring exhibitor. As it turns out, I really score big.

Comments: Who says crime doesn't pay?  The extreme bulletproofing of my set probably should have been rewarded with a perfect turn's score, but it's a minor enough defect that it doesn't justify complicating the system.  Each of the exhibitors still retains a set, but Sharee and Richard are down to the minimum.  Ken uses his bulletproofing to win the top exhibit while losing just an edge card.  His score for the turn is really high as well for a good reason.  Jürgen finally gets a second positive turn and bulletproofs one end of his set, but he's in danger of being irrevocably behind (I consider one "edge" behind to be serious and two "edges" to be insurmountable).

Turn 9

Comments: Everyone benefits this turn.  Jürgen roars out of the starting gates and half-way down the first edge as Ken rounds the second corner and begins the sprint to the finish line.  However, with a bare minimum set left, Ken is now moving on fumes.  The third thief finally gets caught.  Will the jails ever be full?  If I were Ken, I'd have displayed BCD.  While the loss of the B or D would make connections harder, retention of both C's might allow him to keep exhibiting options open longer.  Losing the middle of his set now will mean only a C will restore the exhibit -- whereas loss of the D would let a C loss recover with an A, B, C, or D.  On the other hand, keeping the D out of Sharee's hands means her best exhibit remains 3 cards.  Sharee gets almost nothing out of the theft this way.

Turn 10

Comments: Sharee loses the ability to exhibit once again.  I was in the dog house for that one.  The Auctionhouse draws its second high-check -- we are really a tight-fisted bunch.  In this case, Richard would have been better going with the $17,000 check -- since there are no $18,000 and $19,000 checks in the game.  In other words, any time he'd have won with the $20,000, he'd have also won with the $17,000.  However, the main thing is that Richard has finally connected the two ends of his set, giving him a formidable exhibit.

My strategy right now is to stop the sprinters by taking away their vulnerable exhibits.  Sharee has been temporary halted.  Ken, however, retains the remnants of his original, spectacular set and holds a dangerous lead.  I'd have exhibited myself, but I can't afford to have Ken and Sharee picking up second place every turn -- they're too far ahead.

Turn 11

In Game Chatter --
All:   Zzzzzzzzz

Comments: I bet none of us remember this turn.  In fact, two minutes from now, I probably won't remember it either.  As far as we're concerned, this turn did not occur during our championship match.

Now, what was I talking about?  You don't remember either?

Turn 12

In Game Chatter --
John: Ouch! Well, Ken, I did my best to protect your exhibit, but my lone detective was overwhelmed by the crime wave...
Jürgen: ...on the other side, Ken gets all his thieves back ;-)

Notes: At this point, if I were Ken I might try detective to move forward one space -- into the 2/1 zone to slow the other players while he rebuilds.

Comments: Everyone profits from Ken's spectacular demise.  Sharee gets an exhibitable set back; however, this gain is significantly offset by replacing Ken as the player with both thieves in jail.  On the other hand, Ken's point score isn't as bad as one might think because he recovers both of his thieves at long last.  It's a pretty rare game that takes 12 turns and sees a player four spaces from the finish before the jail cells fill.  That's the sign that it's time for me to go into non-stop sprint-to-the-finish mode.  You'll see me exhibit a lot from here on.  With the likelihood of thieves high, this might have been a turn for Richard to use his high thief.  Instead he gets last pick.  The C he picks up is nice, but he might have preferred additional bulletproofing on the B's.  For this point in the game, there's a lot of hidden information still out there.

Turn 13

In Game Chatter --
John: Apparently, Ken's got a new thing for law and order.... So his parole officers were very lenient. :-)

Notes: I get coy trying not to show too much -- and end up with 2 instead of 4 spaces. D'oh! Only the A-1468 could have done me in, who knew?

Comments: Jürgen benefits a lot from having kept the A-1468 secret until now, scoring his second perfect turn.  The full jail and, more importantly, having both red thieves out-of-action makes exhibiting a much safer option.  The odds that Sharee will play a detective to try to spring that ready-to-get-out thief also discourages the playing of thieves.  As a result, Jürgen and I pay no penalty for exhibiting.  Alone at the auctionhouse, Ken begins the long, slow process of rebuilding.  There are only two checks lower than the average value ($12,500) left in the game.  That really motivates me to stay away from the Auctionhouse.

Turn 14

In Game Chatter --
John: Well, that stinks -- I displayed precisely the portion of my set I thought I had de-selected.... Ooops. 

Notes: I predict that I will lose the card that I most did not want to display.  I do lose the D-1616. Sigh. So much for careful planning and holding back information!

Comments: I show all of my information instead of holding back the three unknown cards; a lot of other hidden information comes to light as well.  I lose my age tie-breaker over everyone except Jürgen as well as some key bulletproofing.  Sharee loses her ability to exhibit for a third time.  Jürgen and I are moving up on the leaders fast -- just one edge behind now.  However, Richard seems content to collect cards and stays two long edges behind.  Richard gains two cards and the largest set, but he's now got his thieves in the first two jail cells.  There's an excellent chance he's lost that option for good -- which nearly wipes out his score for the turn.  While Sharee is still three spaces ahead of me, my point score overtakes hers because the potential of my position is now better.

Turn 15

In Game Chatter --
John: It takes two to tango. Care to dance? (Since Sharee and I are on the same space...)

Notes: The auctionhouse no longer has a card that Ken wants. But Sharee would like either…

Comments: Richard surges forward with the thief, but it's too little, too late.  My score and position potential surge to the fore.  I'm still four spaces behind Ken, but the wasted turns on the thieves' part now mean there's too little time remaining for Ken to rebuild and take advantage of his lead.  The score is not a guarantee, of course -- I could waste a few turns and lose my opportunity.  Normally, I'd exhibit on a turn like this one -- but there were too many players who required an item that they could only get by theft (Sharee and Ken) to pass up the detective.  Richard benefits handsomely as all those jail cells between his thieves and freedom have disappeared.  He may get a thief out after all.

Turn 16

Notes: Ken can't exhibit; if he plays another thief, he risks being thief-less for several turns, so my guess is he'll be a detective.  Richard is playing detectives to catch up after building a huge set; he'll likely continue.  So I choose exhibit since I'm very likely to lose nothing, but a one-card loss is probably the worst-case.

My plan works better than I'd hoped -- as neither of the two with exhibits chooses to show. This turn is a victory for me and Sharee.

Comments: As the reasoning I wrote during the game shows, being thief-less or massively behind limit players' options and make it easy on the other players.  This turns out to be my first perfect turn.  I pull up even with Ken in the lead.  Sharee does as well as she possibly could -- restoring her ability to exhibit.  One of my principle strategies is the sparing use of thieves, particularly when I'm in the lead or sprinting -- it not only keeps the jail cells reserved for my opponents, but it limits the advancement other players can achieve through detectives.  Players who build humongous sets and then try to catch up with detectives rarely win games I play.

Turn 17

Notes: Ken gets what he needs at the Auction House, so my guess is that he'll head there. My plan is to push through and end the game
before Richard can push forward sufficiently. I definitely won't be playing any thieves, since I don't want to gift-wrap spaces for
the detectives (Richard chief among them).

Jürgen makes a surprise visit to the auction house and keeps Ken from completing a set.

Comments: The high checks finally come out as players realize they'll never have another chance to spend them.  I think Sharee was hoping to be part of a pack of thieves all robbing me blind because the individual card gained will benefit her very little.  Worse, she loses her second thief again to negate any gain.  Richard scores a perfect turn -- moving rapidly forward and reclaiming a thief.  He rounds the first corner as I move to the final space.  Jürgen moves into the second-best set position and wipes out any chance Ken might still have had.

Turn 18

Notes: If I advance at all, I win. Ken should play a thief in the hopes that Jürgen and Richard exhibit and stop me from crossing via exhibit.
That leads me to choose detective.

As it turns out, exhibit would have won by even more.

Comments: Richard's detective strategy reaches the second corner at the end of the game.  A couple more turns and he might have closed the gap.  I do not include the points for gaining or losing thieves on the final move, since such gains/losses have no impact on the game.

Final Exhibit

In Game Chatter --
John: Whew -- good thing for me the game didn't go another turn! Richard and Jürgen sure made up the distance fast!
Jürgen: Good game and congrats to the champion!
Richard: Nice game. I missed it by that much!

Comments: The oldest card makes a difference for the second time in the game.  Only one card separates me from the leader, so even a thief on the final turn would also have won by a bigger margin than either detective or exhibit.

* Explanation of chart: Space is the number of spaces advanced from the start space.  In parenthesis, the finish relative to the finish line is also shown.  Perfect turns are those with a score of 10+.  Near perfect turns (a score of 9) are shown in parenthesis.  The same is true for wasted turns (a score of 0 or less) and nearly-wasted turns (a score of 1).

Comments: The point system I presented is intended to give the relative value of turn outcomes -- and not be a perfect predictor of who will eventually win.  That's principally because the scores also reflect the "potential" of an outcome.  Nonetheless, it's interesting to see that, the points are close to a perfect indicator of the places.  If anything, it shows that Ken's position offered some unexploited potential while Jürgen realized his potential at the end.

Wasted Moves: Usually the number of wasted turns will clearly line up inversely with the final standings.  In this case, my wasted turns were all at the beginning while Ken's and Sharee's were at the end.  Jürgen, on the other hand, may have been able to win with his strategy if the first seven turns had turned out a bit better.

Typically, the wasted moves are directly proportional to the number of Auctionhouse visits.  There's some correlation here, but it should be noted that Sharee successfully acquired an item on all three of her visits -- a perfect record.  Nonetheless, she probably went once too often.

Perfect Turns: These were uniformly distributed except with Sharee.  In my case, there were three turns that were the lynchpin of my victory -- the turn when I stole three items without going to jail, the turn I caught three thieves, and the turn everyone lost at the auctionhouse except me.  The scoring didn't count one of those as perfect, but we all know better.

Richard's strategy of piling up a huge exhibit, never showing it, and relying on the detective to close the gap might have worked if he'd had another 2-3 turns.  Of course, I've also seen such players finish on the first half of the first edge -- if no one is playing thieves at the end of the game.

Why didn't the early exhibitors win the game?  I believe the reasons are: 1) It took 13 turns to fill the jail cells -- lots of available thieves makes exhibits far more risky.  2) The initial sprinters lost their few items too quickly (although Ken almost made it to the end).

However, once the cells filled, that opened the opportunity for a mid-game sprinter (me) to step up and finish the race before those with huge sets could close the gap.  It didn't hurt that I had the largest set at the point I started my sprint.

Link to Game Log on SpielByWeb