/in for decision-theory reasons (I want people to test my games)
Can you put up a sample turn? I think that would make it a lot easier to understand.
Yeah, that is a good idea.
So, this will be one round taken from like the middle of the game (so I can illustrate all of the different things that can happen).
Player (VP): Cubes
Albert (31): 1 Red, 2 Yellow
Bob (25): 2 Brown
Charles (29): (none)
Dave (29): (none)
Available Card Pairs: Bidding tokens (in player colors)
1 White, Clear a city:
22 Green, 1 Gray:
4,
31 Black, 1 Blue:
2,
3,
12 Red, 1 Yellow:
3Current map state (x'd out slots are slots which already have cubes on them; small circles are player pawns):
Albert first checks to see if he has won any available card pairs. He sees that he has won the 2 Green, 1 Gray pair. The cards are discarded and he takes 2 green cubes and 1 gray cube from the supply. He then reveals two cards from the top of the deck: 1 Black and 1 Gray.
Albert now considers how he will spend his 8 action points. He does the following:
Move from Sarai to Urgench (3 action points)
Sell in Urgench (3 action points)
Bid 2 tokens on the 1 Black, 1 Blue pair (2 action points)
When he sells in Urgench,
Albert puts one of his green cubes on the first available slot in Urgench, and scores 6 VP (the number on that slot).
Next it is
Bob's turn. The current game state is:
Player (VP): Cubes
Albert (37): 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Gray
Bob (25): 2 Brown
Charles (29): (none)
Dave (29): (none)
Available Card Pairs: Bidding tokens (in player colors)
1 White, Clear a city:
21 Black, 1 Gray:
1 Black, 1 Blue:
4,
3,
12 Red, 1 Yellow:
3Current map state:
Bob checks to see if he has won any card pairs. He has won the 1 White, Clear a city pair. He discards the cards, takes a white cube, and immediately chooses a city to clear. He chooses Gyeongju, and removes all cubes from that city's slots. He then reveals two cards from the top of the deck: 2 Brown and 1 Red.
Bob now considers how he will spend his 8 action points. He does the following:
Move from Xining to Loyang (3 action points)
Move from Loyang to Hangzhou (2 action points)
Move from Hangzhou to Gyeongju (2 action points)
Bid 1 token on the 1 Black, 1 Gray pair (1 action point)
[Bob is now in position on his next turn to sell his two brown and score 20 VP!]
Next it is
Charles's turn. The current game state is:
Player (VP): Cubes
Albert (37): 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Gray
Bob (25): 2 Brown, 1 White
Charles (29): (none)
Dave (29): (none)
Available Card Pairs: Bidding tokens (in player colors)
2 Brown, 1 Red:
1 Black, 1 Gray:
11 Black, 1 Blue:
4,
3,
12 Red, 1 Yellow:
3Current map state:
Charles checks to see if he has won any card pairs. He has not.
Charles then considers how he will use his 8 action points. He does the following:
Bid 2 tokens on the 1 Black, 1 Gray pair (2 action points)
Bid 6 tokens on the 2 Brown, 1 Red pair (6 action points)
Next it is
Dave's turn. The current game state is:
Player (VP): Cubes
Albert (37): 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Gray
Bob (25): 2 Brown, 1 White
Charles (29): (none)
Dave (29): (none)
Available Card Pairs: Bidding tokens (in player colors)
2 Brown, 1 Red:
61 Black, 1 Gray:
1,
21 Black, 1 Blue:
4,
3,
12 Red, 1 Yellow:
3(The map state is the same as in the previous turn since Charles neither moved nor sold.)
Dave checks to see if he has won any card pairs. He has won the 2 Red, 1 Yellow pair. He discards the cards and takes 2 red cubes and 1 yellow cube from the supply. He then reveals two cards from the deck: 2 Wild and 2 Green.
Dave now considers how he will spend his 8 action points. He does the following:
Move from Mathura to Puri (3 action points)
Sell in Puri (3 action points)
Bid two tokens on the 2 Wild, 2 Green pair (2 action points)
Dave scores 7 victory points from selling in Puri.
Gameplay would continue with
Albert's turn next. He would win the 1 Black, 1 Blue pair (you can see that his bidding during that example turn paid off).