Massachusetts; More trading; Brawl physics

[sniffnoy]

So my family has gone up to Massachusetts for the weekend, to drop Elana off for school. Anyway my mom insists on me "getting out", so instead of just playing N64 with Gabe and Ethan, I met up with Kate Harney and Wai Lee. And somehow I got them to play Bohnanza (a.k.a. Bean Game). I've probably written this elsewhere, but I'm too lazy to find it right now - Wai Lee had played once before, but wasn't really paying attention; as it's a trading game, of course, that's a good way to lose horribly. He didn't like it and thereafter always refused to play. But this time I got him to play.

Early on Kate made a deal with Wai Lee - she'd give him something or other now, and he'd give her some other bean next turn. Of course, it's pointed out, there's no way to enforce this. And, apparently, just to prove the point that there's no way to enforce this, Wai Lee decides not to carry through on his end of the deal.

Well, there's only one way this can end. Kate, of course, has to get back at him, and deliberately refuses a good deal with him; Wai Lee decides to take revenge of his own, and does the same; and so it continues. However, the last and easily most noticeable example came about when Kate had flipped up a blue bean and wanted to get rid of it. I didn't want it, but Wai Lee had several blue beans planted, and could easily use another. Kate offered to give it to him for free.

And, of course, he refused. Just flat out would not take the blue bean. "Please," Kate says. "Take the blue bean." No. It helps him, sure, but he won't do it; he just wants to screw her over. "Why won't you take the blue bean!" He's not gonna take it. "Just take the blue bean!"

It eventually ended up with Kate curled up on the floor, squealing in that high-pitched voice she sometimes does, "Please take the blue bean! Please take the blue bean!" But he wouldn't take it and eventually she gave up and took it herself.

Afterwards, she said she didn't like the game because it involved too much whining at other people. I pointed out that she could just offer them better deals, though admittedly that probably doesn't really apply to that particular case... (Wai Lee, on the other hand, rather liked it this time around.)

Speaking of trading and boardgames... that old copy of Formula De I've never played? I'm trading it for Duel of Ages set 2. So, uh, I want to end this with something cool like "be ready" but am certain it will come off sounding completely ridiculous.

Moving on... interesting article on Super Smash Blog pointing out that screens so far indicate that Brawl will most likely have much more realistic physics than Melee - including, it seems, actually paying attention to which direction things should go when hit, i.e., no more Power Rangers.

Also, Wai Lee is very careless with ping-pong balls.

-Harry

Comments

[lord-belmont.livejournal.com]

Bohnanza is a game that encourages niceness, I've found. I play with really cut-throat people, who are always reluctant to make deals with anyone, and I was the first in my group to figure out that it's not that kind of game. Everyone kept saying "oh, play with Bruce, he'll make all kinds of crazy trades, like giving you one really rare bean for one really common bean", and then I kept beating them because it's all about how many points a certain bean gives you, not how rare it is.

[sniffnoy.livejournal.com]

Strange. Just basic avoidance of getting screwed over encourages you to be nice, unless you like constantly losing your crops. Actually recently playing I wondered if we were all being a bit too nice, constantly giving away things to those who can use them, and I decided I would try in the future to actually demand things in exchange if I could afford to do so (i.e. if I could afford to harvest a field should I be turned down), rather than thinking of giving things away as the ordinary thing to do.

But it's a trading game; how can you be reluctant to make deals with everyone? It's not even the sort of game that naturally leads itself to embargo-the-leader, like Settlers, as it's not a race game, and there's a good chance you can't afford to embargo the leader.

[basman.livejournal.com]

The so-called Power Rangers physics is a myth anyway. Just because you attack to the left doesn't mean your enemy is to the left of your hitbox. Sure, it meant that sometimes a Kirby BAir would send you flying in front of his face, but I think that's better than the alternative, which would be the character going through Kirby on his way behind him.

[sniffnoy.livejournal.com]

Hm, you have a point - what's shown is just things flying away from hitboxes at more appropriate angles, not anything indicating that the direction of the attack will be taken into account. So in fact this is completely consistent with Power Rangers.

[sake-na-na-na.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I was greatly disillusioned to find out that the original Japanese yellow ranger was a dude. Trini was my favorite. ;_;

How shitcar is that?

[sniffnoy.livejournal.com]

But he was still Asian.

[(Anonymous)]

but you forgot the most important part which is that i beat wai lee anyways even though he was mean to me.

[sniffnoy.livejournal.com]

But I beat both of you, so it doesn't really matter.

Also, please sign your posts.