In this game a scenario came up which I've never seen before...
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20141128/log.516d51bfe4b082c74d7b9d81.1417205761333.txtKingdom: Chapel, Pearl Diver, Apothecary, Alchemist, Bureaucrat, Quarry, Remake, Taxman, Baker, Journeyman
Pretty weak board with no +action or +buy. I think we both misplayed this slightly (I definitely could have done more with remake stuff (turns out you can remake apothecary into alchemist!) and my second apothecary should have been an alchemist, and his quarry was bad). But that's not what was important.
I'm first player, and buy the first province on turn 12. He follows suit. On turn 15 the score is tied at 18 apiece with 2 provinces left. I'm first player so if I get the province it's a tie. I have a coin token lead so I go for duchies, thinking that he will stall first. Well, it turns out we maybe overbuilt and now we are generating 5 coins a turn easily while buying duchies. So after four more turns all the duchies are gone and it's still tied. He has 15 coin tokens and I have 21 coin tokens. Our decks are pretty bad now but those coin tokens will last a long time. It only takes 16 coins to buy four estates and a province. I buy an estate, he buys an estate. Now I could get more estates and force us to pile the estates, but after that there would be no more VP left and I would be forced to get a province, than he the province, and we tie. Instead I just get the province now and we tie.
This is the first time I've been in a position where the outcome of the game is obviously going to be a tie no matter how the luck swings, as long as each player makes the obvious moves. In fact, with some thinking, one could probably forsee the tie as soon as I bought the first province, back on turn 12! Both of our decks were clearly good enough to play a few bakers each turn and also draw enough treasures to make the necessary buy, so unless there was some truly horrendous luck, the game was going to be a tie.
Now, there were certainly mistakes we each made earlier in the game, and I think with optimal play you should be able to start greening on turn 11.
