OK, I've had a chance to rewatch and calm down a bit after all this. I have some takeaways.
The crazy Wharf/Highway board, the key to that board is adaptability. I go into that game with a set strategy and I don't deviate, and then I wonder why I lose when it doesn't go exactly my way. Of course none of my strategies involve trashing, which IMO is the thing that increases your adaptability the most (just ahead of draw). This is what I've learned from this exercise and I've identified that as another weakness in my game. I'm hoping to focus on this and improve it, and I believe that playing a lot with Guilds cards will help me because they emphasize tactics. But I want to play with Guilds cards a lot before I start reading about Guilds cards. So there's that. I'll have to discover more about myself before I can come back here.
Those other kingdoms, the Village+Draw engine ones. So are those the same thing? Is this all the same weakness in my game? If so (or even if not), how do I tell if this is one of those kingdoms? "one of those kingdoms" means one where you all describe it as "dynamic" "fluid" "interactive", things that reward smart tactical decisions and strategic flexibility. OK you can say all of them do, and I try not to formulate my whole plan at the beginning so I can do this, but when do I stop saying "the important things to do on this board are A, B, and C so these are the cards I open with and this is the direction I go" and when do I start saying "I don't know right now what the important things are, because it could be one of several things, so I need to prioritize flexibility, so that means I get these cards." ? These are abstract questions, yes, but any insight is appreciated.
Thanks again for all your help so far, I really do appreciate it.
The other thing: WW/Stef's 5-card challenge game. That was so much fun to watch and I was watching the BM+Smithy side. It would be really interesting to see the hand and commentary of the person playing the engine. I wonder if that's possible...
