Scythe does a wonderful job balancing the various factions and incentives. Whether each faction is balanced in terms of its overall strength, especially when factoring in the player board combinations, is a different topic. What I’m focusing on here is the design behind the factions.
Some of these elements are obvious. Crimea runs off of combat cards, thus the faction starts with no such cards. This hindrance goes further for the two immediate neighbors from the base set of factions lack a strong path toward enlisting, thus making it difficult for Crimea to receive a steady supply of wildcard resources. Fortunately for Crimea, Rusviet will sometimes want to create an engine to obtain combat cards due to the mech that allows a worker to use a combat card, thus helping to ensure that the faction will have many cards available to provide this often-essential benefit; however, not every game will see Rusviet behave this way.
In terms of balancing ability with need, Rusviet can drop a Mech to then warp their leader to the Factory, but Rusviet arguably least needs a factory card given that the faction can already move during successive turns and moving two, or three pieces with an upgrade, is often superior to moving one piece two or three hexes. Whereas Polania desires the extra move action to facilitate grabbing encounters, especially in games with fewer player counts given that more encounters will remain available yet lacks initial access to mechs and must rush the factory card to maximize its use, which in turns means not grabbing encounters right away. Nordic feel the most suited to adapt to the particular makeup of a game, being able to produce on nearly any resource without much effort; however, their mechs are so-so, outside of the wonderful ability to hide on lakes as well regroup after defeat to return to glory, and often seem to stall when going for the last star. Saxony can take a little effort and discipline to unleash, and seems to struggle at building power, which can be a useful star to grab before going wild with warfare, yet maintain the best mech power of the base factions, being able to warp into battle easily via their homeland’s mountain hex.
This interplay of factions while trying to maximize moves by linking top and bottom actions to the fullest extent all while recognizing that to get six stars means you’ll want to ignore certain development paths beyond the lightest dabbling. My games have found building to be one of the least viable paths to victory, same with upgrading all six cubes; however, I suspect there are ways to make such outcomes successful perhaps by ensuring you reach the highest tier of popularity. Trying to maximize moves is the Excel-like aspect of the game, where I’m seeking to find the sweet point that achieves the highest proportion of progress to efficiency. As an example, it seems unwise in most situations to move your leader from the starting faction circle until you’ve deployed the plus one movement mech, unless you’ve upgraded your movement to allow three moves and have no need for the third. Generally, movement without a clear gain is wasted (e.g., putting a worker on a desirable hex, obtaining an encounter or a factory card, shoring up your resources or conducting a quick easily-won battle, etc.), and unless you need the associated bottom action then there’s likely a better move available to you.
Similarly, that production costs power once you’ve rolled out some workers and then continues to get more expensive from there, the magic is determining the calculus to minimize these hits, whether through an early enlistment to have neighbors supplement this loss via their upgrades or hitting enough early upgrades before committing to a production economy. Basically, once all workers have come out, in most situations you do not want to produce more than one or two times from that point onward. Losing a point, some power, and popularity (which can cause massive swings in final points) is simply too much a hit when compared with the benefit received.
I love the ever tension of the possibility of war that Scythe brings, for people can break your game by striking a turn or two before you’re ready to contemplate such conflict. Though, and this aspect of randomness can be a primary driver of pace, that combat cards can simply never align for you is brutal. Most games, its essential to have a five, or even two fives, thus it seems a touch flawed that bad luck can break you by forcing you down an inefficient path of bringing multiple mechs to a battle, though, to be fair, being able to play multiple combat cards is often crucial to ensure that you don’t become a punching bag for stars.
Another thing I love about the game is how dangerous factory cards are, for to bring your character to the factory means that someone could end the game by taking thus hex from you. Many games are won by attacking the center hex, and grabbing the last star alongside a claim of three or four hexes (should you have deposited a worker along the way), and if the opponent with the highest score is the victim then you’re staring down a massive swing of points.
When it comes to battles, the one main problem scythe has is that a wildcard player can throw off the balance of the dance. To be the person who moves after a player who makes questionable moves means that you’re in the prime position to profit from these mistakes. There are many ways to king make, whether by distributing your pieces at the wrong time, conducting reckless battles, leaving resources ripe for plunder, or giving a person resources via unnecessary bottom actions, you can essentially hand the game to a person.
To counter this detriment, I’m always willing to discuss strategy and options with people while playing, to some degree. The line between table talk and apprising people of info to prevent poor moves from upsetting the game can be fine, I recognize. Yet to allow poor moves to upset the course of the game unravels the game. It’s like in chess where a player left a queen easily taken. I’d rather have that move undone and maintain the integrity of the game then to churn through the mid or end game all while knowing the end is likely quite clear, and all due to an error – at that point, why even bother playing?
Sad news. The cardinal had seemed to have moved on with his life, for he had vanished throughout the weekend. I kept telling myself, surely,he must require rest. Those vocal cords must require replenishment, otherwise he’d go hoarse and what was once melodic would become raspy before degrading to something more akin to static until it gradually might reach the avian-equivalent of laryngitis (which might be called “syringitis”?). Please, I pleaded to the universe, simply let him take the weekends off. Return him to the community come Monday. The hours swept by. No singing. Given his absence, I have found myself turning to a blue jay for comfort. He appeared today. Perhaps the greenspace can only support a particular level of bird pulchritude? I know not. Fortunately,he is remarkable, even if he’s not the cardinal that has surely delighted every denizen of this apartment building through last week. He’s not as loud. He’s not as talented a singer. I had hoped to photograph him to share with you, but he has refused to perch on an exposed branch, thus depriving me of a clean shot. But,again, don’t feel too saddened by his playing coy, for he has nothing on that cardinal. Nothing at all. However, !!, just now, I walked to the kitchen, passing some windows in my place, and I heard that unmistakable call. Given that it’s a little chillier today, the resplendent song did not pull me onto the balcony for long, but even a second of his talent is enough to set my a-soaring. 😀 And, don’t worry, come tomorrow I’ll move on from this bird…
When I first started climbing, I hadn’t expected there would be this much ass-to-face. They don’t tell you these things.” — Something I once overheard.
The quest for love continues. Our dashing cardinal returned with his glamorous attempts to woo. Still unclear whom he’s targeting, though if his goal is to recruit me to the balcony then this fellow should do a TED Talk, for he’s a master at transforming intent into outcome. A maestro, he switches up his vocalizations and cadences. His song produces serenity and invokes bliss in me. Mesmerized I stand staring, agape. Unfortunately for this cardinal, I presume, a female of his species who lurks in the bushes below the tree whose branches from which he bellows his magnificence seems utterly unimpressed by his existence. Shocking. I agree. Whether she plays hard to please or simply dismisses him as a boorish bore, I know not. Given the prominence of her mohawk; I suspect that she’s merely playing it punk-style cool. We shall see. Don’t worry, I am not jealous or envious of her. Nor do I feel angry that she fails to realize what greatness could be realized were she to show interest in this fine, avian specimen; this Adonis of the bird world. To see these photogenic and gorgeous critters find romance and migrate to better worlds than the concrete of Crystal City, well, that would spark joy in my heart.
There’s an active bird scene outside of my window. Specifically, a rather frisky and vocal cardinal likes to hang out on an adjacent tree. By hang out, I mean that he seems to delight mostly in harassing the lady cardinals. Since Monday, he’s been there, strutting about — looking all cardinal-like and spry. It’s sort of surprising that the authorities haven’t yet been called on him. For he’s persistent and appears to be a bit of a ruffian, from what I can tell, given that the other male cardinals seem to have surrendered the area to him in response to his self-proclaimed glory. Boy does he love to chirp as he gads about. Though, full confession, I’ll admit that when it comes to judging the character of avian folk that I’m not 100% reliable, for they tend to flock to different, well, flocks than I do. Anyhow, while I cannot attest to the positive or negative traits of a given bird, I am a fan of certain species. Label me a sucker for most owls, hummingbirds (saw plenty, including a hummingbird nest while I was in Seattle), and woodpeckers, among others. So, the cardinal was doing his thing; calling out for the lady birds (I presume, perhaps incorrectly), which apparently also entices me (let’s call him Cardinal Romeo or Siren of Cardinal or something along those lines…), for when he alights on a nearby branch, I sometimes find myself at the window remarking on his splendor. Which was exactly what was happening when, to my astonishment, I spied a yellow-bellied sapsucker in an adjacent tree. As any reasonable person would do, given the circumstances, I grabbed my camera, and, well, here you are, a capture of this critter’s glory.