Board Game Arena - User contributions [en]

Gamehelpghostsgalore

2026-02-14T12:27:04Z

Barberserk: /* The Deck */

In Ghosts Galore, each player builds a ghost train by placing 9 tiles in a 3x3 grid. Tiles show track (straights, curves, double curves, and bridges) and up to 3 monsters of 9 different types, each of which scores in a particular way. Your goal is to score the most points by the end of the game from monsters, track, and printed points on the tiles.

== The Interface ==

When you open the game, you see your game board first and the other players' game boards next to or below it, depending on your screen size. Notice the little '''HELP''' button to the right of your board: By clicking it, a point overview sheet will slide open and tell you how each element of the game scores. If live scoring is enabled, you will see a scoring sheet at the bottom of the display at all times, which will tally your scores as you place tiles. Live scoring will '''NOT''' consider your hidden tile (see the "How to Play" section below on what that is) except when the game is over.

== The Deck ==

The deck consists of 78 tiles that contain:

33 Diamonds
26 Wisps
22 Skeletons
22 Werewolves
20 Ghosts
17 Golems
17 Bats
12 Satyrs
12 Slimes
8 Dragons

Tile types:

31 Corner tiles
31 Straight line tiles
8 Crossroads tiles
8 Double corner tiles

== How To Play ==

Over the course of 8 rounds, players will be drafting 1 tile each from a pool of tiles and place them in their grid any way they like. On the 9th and final round of the game, you will be placing your so-called "hidden tile", which you can see at the top right of the screen in an own area called "Your Hidden Tile".

Each round, a different player will begin and they will be prompted a single option in the status bar: to pick a tile from the deck. Either click that button or the draw pile to draw a tile from the deck, which will appear face up next to the pile. Then choose:
# Either you like the tile and place it in your grid, by clicking on the tile first, then on a space in your grid (or a different one if you misclick). You can rotate the tile via arrows that will appear to the left and right of the tile once it is selected. Confirm your placement by clicking the "Confirm" button in the status bar.
# Or click "Pass" in the status bar to wait and see what other tiles will appear that round. This does not skip your turn, it merely postpones it. All players will be placing 1 tile per round, at some point during that round.

Tiles that are passed on will appear in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section in the center of the screen. Once there are tiles there, the prompt at the start of a turn will let you choose whether you want to either pick a tile from the deck or an available one from the table.
# To pick a tile from the deck, again, click the "Pick" button or the draw pile. Once you do that, you cannot change your mind. You must either place the newly revealed tile or "Pass" and wait until it is your turn again to choose a different tile.
# To pick a tile from the face-up ones on the table, simply click that tile and place it, as described above.

Note: Once all but one player have chosen a tile, the remaining player will see '''ALL''' remaining tiles in the deck in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section and they can choose any one of those 5 tiles. (It's always 5 tiles for the remaining player.)

At any point during the game, you can pre-place your hidden tile by clicking it and placing it in your grid the same way you place tiles from the deck or table. Your hidden tile will be shown slightly transparent in your grid so you know that this is it. You can remove the tile (to place it somewhere else) by clicking the button in "The Hidden Tile" section at the top. On the 9th round at the latest, you will be prompted to place your hidden tile on the remaining spot in the 3x3 grid. If you did before, you can simply click "Confirm" in the status bar (if you're happy with your placement) or adjust the placement by rotating the tile.

Once all players have done so, the game will be over and the winner will be declared.
== Scoring ==

'''Dragons:''' Count how many dragons you have and check the following table for how many points you get; you lose 5 points if you have none.
{| class="wikitable"
|Dragons:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|-
|Points:
| -5
|1
|4
|9
|16
|25
|36
|49
|64
|}
'''Ghosts:''' On paths with at least 3 ghosts, each ghost scores 6 points. All other ghosts score only 3 points each.

'''Golems:''' Count how many golems you have that are not orthogonally adjacent to another golem and check the following table for how many points you get.
{| class="wikitable"
|Golems:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|-
|Points:
|0
|4
|10
|18
|28
|40
|}
'''Satyrs:''' Each satyr scores a number of points equal to the number of different types of monsters on the same path as that satyr, including itself.

'''Skeletons:''' Each skeleton scores a number of points equal to the number of diamond symbols you have on your tiles, disregarding their printed value.

'''Slimes:''' Each slime scores a number of points equal to the number of curves on your tiles, counting double curves as two curves.

'''Bats:''' Each bat scores 5 points if its tile is orthogonally adjacent to at least one tile with another bat; isolated bats are worth no points.

'''Werewolves:''' Each werewolf scores 4 points. If you have the most werewolves, you score an additional 10 points total (even if tied for most). Exception: In a 2-player game, you only score an additional 5 points (not 10) if you have the most wolves.

'''Wisps:''' Count how many wisps you have in total and check the following table for how many points you get per wisp.
<div class="noresize">
{| class="wikitable"
|Number of Wisps:
|0-3
|4-6
|7 or More
|-
|Points per Wisp:
|3
|4
|5
|}
</div>
'''Diamonds:''' Total the printed values of all diamonds on your tiles.

'''Bone doors:''' Check if there is an uninterrupted path from one bone door to the other. If there is, score 2 points per track section on that path.

'''Tooth doors:''' The same applies to the tooth doors.

'''Other paths:''' For all other paths from one door to another, you get 1 point per track section on that path. Paths connecting only one door or no door at all score no points.

Total the points from all 13 categories. The player with the most total points wins.

In case of a tie, the tied player who has fewer dead ends (i.e., track running into an empty tile edge) wins. If still tied, enjoy your shared victory!

Gamehelpghostsgalore

2026-02-14T12:25:41Z

Barberserk: /* The Deck */

In Ghosts Galore, each player builds a ghost train by placing 9 tiles in a 3x3 grid. Tiles show track (straights, curves, double curves, and bridges) and up to 3 monsters of 9 different types, each of which scores in a particular way. Your goal is to score the most points by the end of the game from monsters, track, and printed points on the tiles.

== The Interface ==

When you open the game, you see your game board first and the other players' game boards next to or below it, depending on your screen size. Notice the little '''HELP''' button to the right of your board: By clicking it, a point overview sheet will slide open and tell you how each element of the game scores. If live scoring is enabled, you will see a scoring sheet at the bottom of the display at all times, which will tally your scores as you place tiles. Live scoring will '''NOT''' consider your hidden tile (see the "How to Play" section below on what that is) except when the game is over.

== The Deck ==

The deck consists of 78 tiles:

33 Diamonds
26 Wisps
22 Skeletons
22 Werewolves
20 Ghosts
17 Golems
17 Bats
12 Satyrs
12 Slimes
8 Dragons

31 Corner tiles
31 Straight line tiles
8 Crossroads tiles
8 Double corner tiles

== How To Play ==

Over the course of 8 rounds, players will be drafting 1 tile each from a pool of tiles and place them in their grid any way they like. On the 9th and final round of the game, you will be placing your so-called "hidden tile", which you can see at the top right of the screen in an own area called "Your Hidden Tile".

Each round, a different player will begin and they will be prompted a single option in the status bar: to pick a tile from the deck. Either click that button or the draw pile to draw a tile from the deck, which will appear face up next to the pile. Then choose:
# Either you like the tile and place it in your grid, by clicking on the tile first, then on a space in your grid (or a different one if you misclick). You can rotate the tile via arrows that will appear to the left and right of the tile once it is selected. Confirm your placement by clicking the "Confirm" button in the status bar.
# Or click "Pass" in the status bar to wait and see what other tiles will appear that round. This does not skip your turn, it merely postpones it. All players will be placing 1 tile per round, at some point during that round.

Tiles that are passed on will appear in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section in the center of the screen. Once there are tiles there, the prompt at the start of a turn will let you choose whether you want to either pick a tile from the deck or an available one from the table.
# To pick a tile from the deck, again, click the "Pick" button or the draw pile. Once you do that, you cannot change your mind. You must either place the newly revealed tile or "Pass" and wait until it is your turn again to choose a different tile.
# To pick a tile from the face-up ones on the table, simply click that tile and place it, as described above.

Note: Once all but one player have chosen a tile, the remaining player will see '''ALL''' remaining tiles in the deck in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section and they can choose any one of those 5 tiles. (It's always 5 tiles for the remaining player.)

At any point during the game, you can pre-place your hidden tile by clicking it and placing it in your grid the same way you place tiles from the deck or table. Your hidden tile will be shown slightly transparent in your grid so you know that this is it. You can remove the tile (to place it somewhere else) by clicking the button in "The Hidden Tile" section at the top. On the 9th round at the latest, you will be prompted to place your hidden tile on the remaining spot in the 3x3 grid. If you did before, you can simply click "Confirm" in the status bar (if you're happy with your placement) or adjust the placement by rotating the tile.

Once all players have done so, the game will be over and the winner will be declared.
== Scoring ==

'''Dragons:''' Count how many dragons you have and check the following table for how many points you get; you lose 5 points if you have none.
{| class="wikitable"
|Dragons:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|-
|Points:
| -5
|1
|4
|9
|16
|25
|36
|49
|64
|}
'''Ghosts:''' On paths with at least 3 ghosts, each ghost scores 6 points. All other ghosts score only 3 points each.

'''Golems:''' Count how many golems you have that are not orthogonally adjacent to another golem and check the following table for how many points you get.
{| class="wikitable"
|Golems:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|-
|Points:
|0
|4
|10
|18
|28
|40
|}
'''Satyrs:''' Each satyr scores a number of points equal to the number of different types of monsters on the same path as that satyr, including itself.

'''Skeletons:''' Each skeleton scores a number of points equal to the number of diamond symbols you have on your tiles, disregarding their printed value.

'''Slimes:''' Each slime scores a number of points equal to the number of curves on your tiles, counting double curves as two curves.

'''Bats:''' Each bat scores 5 points if its tile is orthogonally adjacent to at least one tile with another bat; isolated bats are worth no points.

'''Werewolves:''' Each werewolf scores 4 points. If you have the most werewolves, you score an additional 10 points total (even if tied for most). Exception: In a 2-player game, you only score an additional 5 points (not 10) if you have the most wolves.

'''Wisps:''' Count how many wisps you have in total and check the following table for how many points you get per wisp.
<div class="noresize">
{| class="wikitable"
|Number of Wisps:
|0-3
|4-6
|7 or More
|-
|Points per Wisp:
|3
|4
|5
|}
</div>
'''Diamonds:''' Total the printed values of all diamonds on your tiles.

'''Bone doors:''' Check if there is an uninterrupted path from one bone door to the other. If there is, score 2 points per track section on that path.

'''Tooth doors:''' The same applies to the tooth doors.

'''Other paths:''' For all other paths from one door to another, you get 1 point per track section on that path. Paths connecting only one door or no door at all score no points.

Total the points from all 13 categories. The player with the most total points wins.

In case of a tie, the tied player who has fewer dead ends (i.e., track running into an empty tile edge) wins. If still tied, enjoy your shared victory!

Gamehelpghostsgalore

2026-02-14T10:26:28Z

Barberserk:

In Ghosts Galore, each player builds a ghost train by placing 9 tiles in a 3x3 grid. Tiles show track (straights, curves, double curves, and bridges) and up to 3 monsters of 9 different types, each of which scores in a particular way. Your goal is to score the most points by the end of the game from monsters, track, and printed points on the tiles.

== The Interface ==

When you open the game, you see your game board first and the other players' game boards next to or below it, depending on your screen size. Notice the little '''HELP''' button to the right of your board: By clicking it, a point overview sheet will slide open and tell you how each element of the game scores. If live scoring is enabled, you will see a scoring sheet at the bottom of the display at all times, which will tally your scores as you place tiles. Live scoring will '''NOT''' consider your hidden tile (see the "How to Play" section below on what that is) except when the game is over.

== The Deck ==

The deck consists of 78 tiles:

'''33 Diamonds'''
'''26 Wisps'''
'''22 Skeletons'''
'''22 Werewolves'''
'''20 Ghosts'''
'''17 Golems'''
'''17 Bats'''
'''12 Satyrs'''
'''12 Slimes'''
'''8 Dragons'''

'''31 Corner tiles'''
'''31 Straight line tiles'''
'''8 Crossroads tiles'''
'''8 Double corner tiles'''

== How To Play ==

Over the course of 8 rounds, players will be drafting 1 tile each from a pool of tiles and place them in their grid any way they like. On the 9th and final round of the game, you will be placing your so-called "hidden tile", which you can see at the top right of the screen in an own area called "Your Hidden Tile".

Each round, a different player will begin and they will be prompted a single option in the status bar: to pick a tile from the deck. Either click that button or the draw pile to draw a tile from the deck, which will appear face up next to the pile. Then choose:
# Either you like the tile and place it in your grid, by clicking on the tile first, then on a space in your grid (or a different one if you misclick). You can rotate the tile via arrows that will appear to the left and right of the tile once it is selected. Confirm your placement by clicking the "Confirm" button in the status bar.
# Or click "Pass" in the status bar to wait and see what other tiles will appear that round. This does not skip your turn, it merely postpones it. All players will be placing 1 tile per round, at some point during that round.

Tiles that are passed on will appear in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section in the center of the screen. Once there are tiles there, the prompt at the start of a turn will let you choose whether you want to either pick a tile from the deck or an available one from the table.
# To pick a tile from the deck, again, click the "Pick" button or the draw pile. Once you do that, you cannot change your mind. You must either place the newly revealed tile or "Pass" and wait until it is your turn again to choose a different tile.
# To pick a tile from the face-up ones on the table, simply click that tile and place it, as described above.

Note: Once all but one player have chosen a tile, the remaining player will see '''ALL''' remaining tiles in the deck in the "Tiles Available on the Table" section and they can choose any one of those 5 tiles. (It's always 5 tiles for the remaining player.)

At any point during the game, you can pre-place your hidden tile by clicking it and placing it in your grid the same way you place tiles from the deck or table. Your hidden tile will be shown slightly transparent in your grid so you know that this is it. You can remove the tile (to place it somewhere else) by clicking the button in "The Hidden Tile" section at the top. On the 9th round at the latest, you will be prompted to place your hidden tile on the remaining spot in the 3x3 grid. If you did before, you can simply click "Confirm" in the status bar (if you're happy with your placement) or adjust the placement by rotating the tile.

Once all players have done so, the game will be over and the winner will be declared.
== Scoring ==

'''Dragons:''' Count how many dragons you have and check the following table for how many points you get; you lose 5 points if you have none.
{| class="wikitable"
|Dragons:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|-
|Points:
| -5
|1
|4
|9
|16
|25
|36
|49
|64
|}
'''Ghosts:''' On paths with at least 3 ghosts, each ghost scores 6 points. All other ghosts score only 3 points each.

'''Golems:''' Count how many golems you have that are not orthogonally adjacent to another golem and check the following table for how many points you get.
{| class="wikitable"
|Golems:
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|-
|Points:
|0
|4
|10
|18
|28
|40
|}
'''Satyrs:''' Each satyr scores a number of points equal to the number of different types of monsters on the same path as that satyr, including itself.

'''Skeletons:''' Each skeleton scores a number of points equal to the number of diamond symbols you have on your tiles, disregarding their printed value.

'''Slimes:''' Each slime scores a number of points equal to the number of curves on your tiles, counting double curves as two curves.

'''Bats:''' Each bat scores 5 points if its tile is orthogonally adjacent to at least one tile with another bat; isolated bats are worth no points.

'''Werewolves:''' Each werewolf scores 4 points. If you have the most werewolves, you score an additional 10 points total (even if tied for most). Exception: In a 2-player game, you only score an additional 5 points (not 10) if you have the most wolves.

'''Wisps:''' Count how many wisps you have in total and check the following table for how many points you get per wisp.
<div class="noresize">
{| class="wikitable"
|Number of Wisps:
|0-3
|4-6
|7 or More
|-
|Points per Wisp:
|3
|4
|5
|}
</div>
'''Diamonds:''' Total the printed values of all diamonds on your tiles.

'''Bone doors:''' Check if there is an uninterrupted path from one bone door to the other. If there is, score 2 points per track section on that path.

'''Tooth doors:''' The same applies to the tooth doors.

'''Other paths:''' For all other paths from one door to another, you get 1 point per track section on that path. Paths connecting only one door or no door at all score no points.

Total the points from all 13 categories. The player with the most total points wins.

In case of a tie, the tied player who has fewer dead ends (i.e., track running into an empty tile edge) wins. If still tied, enjoy your shared victory!

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T10:21:54Z

Barberserk:

The number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and diamonds appear in the deck:

'''33 Diamonds'''
'''26 Wisps'''
'''22 Skeletons'''
'''22 Werewolves'''
'''20 Ghosts'''
'''17 Golems'''
'''17 Bats'''
'''12 Satyrs'''
'''12 Slimes'''
'''8 Dragons'''

'''31 Corner tiles'''
'''31 Straight line tiles'''
'''8 Crossroads tiles'''
'''8 Double corner tiles'''

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:46:24Z

Barberserk:

Here is the number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and diamonds appear in the deck:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

And in text, by order of frequency:
'''33 Diamonds'''
'''26 Wisps'''
'''22 Skeletons'''
'''22 Werewolves'''
'''20 Ghosts'''
'''17 Golems'''
'''17 Bats'''
'''12 Satyrs'''
'''12 Slimes'''
'''8 Dragons'''

'''31 Corner tiles'''
'''31 Straight line tiles'''
'''8 Crossroads tiles'''
'''8 Double corner tiles'''

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:45:24Z

Barberserk:

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:43:00Z

Barberserk:

Here is the number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and diamonds appear in the deck:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

And in text, by order of frequency:

'''33 Diamonds'''
'''26 Wisps'''
'''22 Skeletons'''
'''22 Werewolves'''
'''20 Ghosts'''
'''17 Golems'''
'''17 Bats'''
'''12 Satyrs'''
'''12 Slimes'''
'''8 Dragons'''

'''31 Corner tiles'''
'''31 Straight line tiles'''
'''8 Crossroads tiles'''
'''8 Double corner tiles'''

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:42:25Z

Barberserk:

Here is the number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and diamonds appear in the deck:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

And in text, by order of frequency:

* '''33 Diamonds'''
* '''26 Wisps'''
* '''22 Skeletons'''
* '''22 Werewolves'''
* '''20 Ghosts'''
* '''17 Golems'''
* '''17 Bats'''
* '''12 Satyrs'''
* '''12 Slimes'''
* '''8 Dragons'''
*
* '''31 Corner tiles'''
* '''31 Straight line tiles'''
* '''8 Crossroads tiles'''
* '''8 Double corner tiles'''

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:40:07Z

Barberserk:

Here is the number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and diamonds appear in the deck:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

And in text, by order of frequency:

33 Diamonds
26 Wisps
22 Skeletons
22 Werewolves
20 Ghosts
17 Golems
17 Bats
12 Satyrs
12 Slimes
8 Dragons

31 Corner tiles
31 Straight line tiles
8 Crossroads tiles
8 Double corner tiles

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:28:09Z

Barberserk:

Here is the number of times each type of creature, each type of tile and the gems appear in the deck:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

Tips ghostsgalore

2026-02-14T09:24:57Z

Barberserk: Created page with "List of tiles: Caption"

List of tiles:

[[File:GhostsGalore_Deck.png|500px|thumb|left|Caption]]

File:GhostsGalore Deck.png

2026-02-14T09:23:39Z

Barberserk: GhostsGalore Deck

== Summary ==
GhostsGalore Deck

Tips cities

2025-12-05T17:37:18Z

Barberserk: /* Feature Tiles */

== Feature Tiles ==

==== Park Tiles ====
<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>Tree x 6</li>
<li>Fountain x 5</li>
<li>Carousel x 4</li>
<li>Kiosk x 3</li>
</ul>

==== Water Tiles ====
<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
<li>Sailboat x 6</li>
<li>Ship x 5</li>
<li>Dolphins x 4</li>
<li>Lighthouse x 3</li>
</ul>For each area of orthogonally connected water/park spaces in their neighborhood, score 1/3/6/10 points for 1/2/3/4 different feature tiles in that area. Each area may score only 1 set.

Tips elongo

2025-11-25T12:07:09Z

Barberserk:

'''Completing land enclosures:'''

When claiming a parcel of land, try to place your warrior or boy on the central portion of the shield rather than either of the two sides. That is because the sides of the shields often end up in bomas, and then you will be forced to take your warrior or boy back

Only one boy or warrior can be on one land parcel. Stealing the other player’s parcels of land is not that hard, just claim a parcel of the same colour that can be joined to the other player’s parcel with one further shield to make a large parcel. Both men (yours and your opponents) will be taken off and that now gives you the chance to claim the larger parcel.

If your opponent has claimed a large land parcel then it is sometimes possible to block it from ever being completed by laying one or more shields that mean the opponent cannot lay a shield to enclose it. It takes practice to spot these opportunities, but they are easier to see when there is an area of play where the shields can be laid in an area that looks concave.

Count the number of shields that you have to lay to enclose a land parcel that you control. Try to make sure that the total is no more than three or preferably less.

If you lay a shield but decide that was not quite what you want to achieve, it is easy to press on any shield of the same shape (i.e. wide or narrow) in your stock to see if that produces a better result rather than immediately remove the shield and start again. If none of the combinations produce what you want, then you can remove it and try something else.

Try to make sure green and yellow land enclosures completed early in the game have at least 4 animals in them. You have only 7 boys and 28 animals to place. Do the math!

Bear in mind that there are fewer red patches than green or yellow and only 4 warriors to claim them, and that the warriors can also build bomas. Hence a warrior guarding an enclosure of 3 or fewer zebu created early in the game is not likely to be efficient.

Having said that, it is probably worthwhile trying to construct a red land enclosure with space for at least 5 zebu as relying on warriors to build only bomas is unlikely to allow you to place all 14 of your zebu given that most games are complete in two rounds. If you completed eight 3-animal bomas in those two rounds, that is only 24 animals placed out of 42.

Be very careful when building larger land parcels, as they can become quite hard to complete, and they can easily be stolen or blocked. A large land parcel is one that already has space for 6 animals.

Sometimes it helps to place one of your own shields to extend your opponent’s land parcel, if it means that the opponent needs to place more shields to enclose it than they did before you laid the shield.

'''Bomas:'''

It is very easy to complete bomas, normally with two shields, but sometimes with one. Good play suggests that you should aim to complete at least three bomas per round.

For obvious reasons, it is invariably better to complete a boma that will shelter 5 animals that one that shelters 4, and better one that shelters 4 than one that shelters 3.

Keep an eye on the animals that you still need to place when completing bomas, as they are very handy if you have say, just one or two left to place, as you can normally make sure the colour of the land patches in the boma correspond exactly to the correct number of animals you still need to place

If you have no warriors left in a round, you can still complete the boma shape to stop your opponent completing it on their next turn.

Keep an eye out for super-bomas. These are bomas that surround other bomas. Completing one usually gives you a chance to lay up to 10 animals or more.

You can easily frustrate an opponent’s chances to complete them by laying a shield that makes such shapes harder to achieve (need more shields to complete).

If you spot a super-boma opportunity take it! Invariably, it is a game-winning move.

It is possible to create mega-bomas that surround super-bomas and although these are rare it is worth keeping an eye out for the opportunities.

If you can see it takes three shields to create the super-boma, then make sure you do not lay a shield or two shields as this will allow the opponent to complete it on their next turn. Better to wait to see if the opponent lays a shield in the area as then you can pounce on the opportunity.

Tips elongo

2025-11-25T11:54:43Z

Barberserk:

Here are some hints and tips to help players with the 42-animal short game:

'''Completing land enclosures:'''

When claiming a parcel of land, try to place your warrior or boy on the central portion of the shield rather than either of the two sides. That is because the sides of the shields often end up in bomas, and then you will be forced to take your warrior or boy back

Only one boy or warrior can be on one land parcel. Stealing the other player’s parcels of land is not that hard, just claim a parcel of the same colour that can be joined to the other player’s parcel with one further shield to make a large parcel. Both men (yours and your opponents) will be taken off and that now gives you the chance to claim the larger parcel.

If your opponent has claimed a large land parcel then it is sometimes possible to block it from ever being completed by laying one or more shields that mean the opponent cannot lay a shield to enclose it. It takes practice to spot these opportunities, but they are easier to see when there is an area of play where the shields can be laid in an area that looks concave.

Count the number of shields that you have to lay to enclose a land parcel that you control. Try to make sure that the total is no more than three or preferably less.

If you lay a shield but decide that was not quite what you want to achieve, it is easy to press on any shield of the same shape (i.e. wide or narrow) in your stock to see if that produces a better result rather than immediately remove the shield and start again. If none of the combinations produce what you want, then you can remove it and try something else.

Try to make sure green and yellow land enclosures completed early in the game have at least 4 animals in them. You have only 7 boys and 28 animals to place. Do the math!

Bear in mind that there are fewer red patches than green or yellow and only 4 warriors to claim them, and that the warriors can also build bomas. Hence a warrior guarding an enclosure of 3 or fewer zebu created early in the game is not likely to be efficient.

Having said that, it is probably worthwhile trying to construct a red land enclosure with space for at least 5 zebu as relying on warriors to build only bomas is unlikely to allow you to place all 14 of your zebu given that most games are complete in two rounds. If you completed eight 3-animal bomas in those two rounds, that is only 24 animals placed out of 42.

Be very careful when building larger land parcels, as they can become quite hard to complete, and they can easily be stolen or blocked. A large land parcel is one that already has space for 6 animals.

Sometimes it helps to place one of your own shields to extend your opponent’s land parcel, if it means that the opponent needs to place more shields to enclose it than they did before you laid the shield.

'''Bomas:'''

It is very easy to complete bomas, normally with two shields, but sometimes with one. Good play suggests that you should aim to complete at least three bomas per round.

For obvious reasons, it is invariably better to complete a boma that will shelter 5 animals that one that shelters 4, and better one that shelters 4 than one that shelters 3.

Keep an eye on the animals that you still need to place when completing bomas, as they are very handy if you have say, just one or two left to place, as you can normally make sure the colour of the land patches in the boma correspond exactly to the correct number of animals you still need to place

If you have no warriors left in a round, you can still complete the boma shape to stop your opponent completing it on their next turn.

Keep an eye out for super-bomas. These are bomas that surround other bomas. Completing one usually gives you a chance to lay up to 10 animals or more.

You can easily frustrate an opponent’s chances to complete them by laying a shield that makes such shapes harder to achieve (need more shields to complete).

If you spot a super-boma opportunity take it! Invariably, it is a game-winning move.

It is possible to create mega-bomas that surround super-bomas and although these are rare it is worth keeping an eye out for the opportunities.

If you can see it takes three shields to create the super-boma, then make sure you do not lay a shield or two shields as this will allow the opponent to complete it on their next turn. Better to wait to see if the opponent lays a shield in the area as then you can pounce on the opportunity.

Tips elongo

2025-11-25T11:40:55Z

Barberserk:

Here are some hints and tips to help players with the 42-animal short game:

Completing land enclosures

When claiming a parcel of land, try to place your warrior or boy on the central portion of the shield rather than either of the two sides. That is because the sides of the shields often end up in bomas, and then you will be forced to take your warrior or boy back

Only one boy or warrior can be on one land parcel. Stealing the other player’s parcels of land is not that hard, just claim a parcel of the same colour that can be joined to the other player’s parcel with one further shield to make a large parcel. Both men (yours and your opponents) will be taken off and that now gives you the chance to claim the larger parcel.

If your opponent has claimed a large land parcel then it is sometimes possible to block it from ever being completed by laying one or more shields that mean the opponent cannot lay a shield to enclose it. It takes practice to spot these opportunities, but they are easier to see when there is an area of play where the shields can be laid in an area that looks concave.

Count the number of shields that you have to lay to enclose a land parcel that you control. Try to make sure that the total is no more than three or preferably less.

If you lay a shield but decide that was not quite what you want to achieve, it is easy to press on any shield of the same shape (i.e. wide or narrow) in your stock to see if that produces a better result rather than immediately remove the shield and start again. If none of the combinations produce what you want, then you can remove it and try something else.

Try to make sure green and yellow land enclosures completed early in the game have at least 4 animals in them. You have only 7 boys and 28 animals to place. Do the math!

Bear in mind that there are fewer red patches than green or yellow and only 4 warriors to claim them, and that the warriors can also build bomas. Hence a warrior guarding an enclosure of 3 or fewer zebu created early in the game is not likely to be efficient.

Having said that, it is probably worthwhile trying to construct a red land enclosure with space for at least 5 zebu as relying on warriors to build only bomas is unlikely to allow you to place all 14 of your zebu given that most games are complete in two rounds. If you completed eight 3-animal bomas in those two rounds, that is only 24 animals placed out of 42.

Be very careful when building larger land parcels, as they can become quite hard to complete, and they can easily be stolen or blocked. A large land parcel is one that already has space for 6 animals.

Sometimes it helps to place one of your own shields to extend your opponent’s land parcel, if it means that the opponent needs to place more shields to enclose it than they did before you laid the shield.

Bomas

It is very easy to complete bomas, normally with two shields, but sometimes with one. Good play suggests that you should aim to complete at least three bomas per round.

For obvious reasons, it is invariably better to complete a boma that will shelter 5 animals that one that shelters 4, and better one that shelters 4 than one that shelters 3.

Keep an eye on the animals that you still need to place when completing bomas, as they are very handy if you have say, just one or two left to place, as you can normally make sure the colour of the land patches in the boma correspond exactly to the correct number of animals you still need to place

If you have no warriors left in a round, you can still complete the boma shape to stop your opponent completing it on their next turn.

Keep an eye out for super-bomas. These are bomas that surround other bomas. Completing one usually gives you a chance to lay up to 10 animals or more.

You can easily frustrate an opponent’s chances to complete them by laying a shield that makes such shapes harder to achieve (need more shields to complete).

If you spot a super-boma opportunity take it! Invariably, it is a game-winning move.

It is possible to create mega-bomas that surround super-bomas and although these are rare it is worth keeping an eye out for the opportunities.

If you can see it takes three shields to create the super-boma, then make sure you do not lay a shield or two shields as this will allow the opponent to complete it on their next turn. Better to wait to see if the opponent lays a shield in the area as then you can pounce on the opportunity.

Tips faraway

2024-12-08T18:36:56Z

Barberserk:

'''Your Starting 3 cards:'''

When you play the advanced variant you get five cards and you get to keep three. I would argue this is one of the most important parts of the game. The cards you choose will dictate the direction you head to, for the remainder of the game. Now, I have found that people often win when they take two high fame cards into their starting 3. Now that could be a card that just gives you something like 17 straight fame, a card that gives you a lot of fame for certain wonders (symbols) such as 4 fame per clue symbol, or (my personal favorite) the cards that give you 10 points per each set of 4 different regions you have. Now, you may get one card that gives you 15 fame but requires two chimera and a thistle, and another card that gives 12 fame but requires a thistle and two stones. At first you might think that you should only keep one of them since that is a lot of symbols and might be hard to get them all, but that's most likely not true. There are two ways you can get the symbols you need, sanctuaries and cards that give you symbols. I will talk about sanctuaries later but if your high fame cards are placed early on then you could potentially have 5-7 other cards in front of it that will most likely have some or all of the requirements that card needs. Keep in mind though that stone is the most common and thistle is the least which may influence which cards you go for. Your third card should be lower than your other two in terms of duration and should have a clue symbol. You will learn why later. Now that you have your starting three cards you now have to decide which one to play first. You may want to put down the card that requires the most symbols first but that is not always the best choice. You also need to consider if the high fame card has a symbol that could be used for one of your other cards but more importantly is the exploration duration number at the top left. Now obviously you'll gain more fame the longer your exploration takes so all the higher exploration duration cards provide the most points. So chances are at least one of your three cards has a high duration. Playing your cards in order of shortest to longest gives you sanctuaries which are crucial for obtaining victory. All this being said there are still ways to winning that don't require high fame cards in your starting three. Another approach you can take is to try and get two or even all three cards to go after the same symbol. So for example you may get one cards that gives 4 fame per stone, another that gives 2 per stone, and another that gives 3 per stone. Going with those three cards means you'd get 9 fame per stone played after those cards. But again, here you have to look at their duration value as well as what symbols they provide to determine their order.

'''Sanctuaries:'''

Sanctuaries are crucial for success. As I said above many cards require symbols in order to score and the last thing you want is to get to your 8th card and realize that your 15 fame card isn't going to score because you didn't manage to get that thistle you needed which costed you the game. That is where sanctuaries come in. Most of the symbols you will need to fulfill each cards requirements should come from sanctuaries. The main reason for this is because symbols on sanctuaries apply to every card which can be especially helpful for cards that are played 7th and 8th. I have seen some games where a card worth a lot of fame was played last but it managed to score, because the sanctuaries provided the required symbols. Now there is one big thing to consider that I didn't notice until about 40 games in and that is the importance of sanctuary color. There are both sanctuaries and cards which score a significant amount of points for having one of each of the four regions. When looking at which sanctuary to choose and you have a few good options if the one that is colored vs being grey isn't quite as good as your other choice I would go with that one. Having all four regions in your sanctuaries means that even if the last card you play is a card that scores for a full set of regions, you get 10 points. Sanctuaries can also help you pick up additional high scoring cards later in the game while providing you with the confidence that you have or will most likely fulfil its requirements. When I first started playing I often focused too much on playing cards that would give me the symbol I needed to fulfil past requirements and I would forgo grabbing the high scoring cards when in fact by the end of the game my sanctuaries already gave me the symbols I needed and if I had picked up the high scoring card I would have succeeded in fulfilling that card's requirement too. So with sanctuaries being so important that means you should really be trying to get between 6-7 per game. That means that you can only afford to play a card lower in duration than the previous card once or twice. Now of course you can win with few sanctuaries and you should if it's the difference between playing a perfect card or not; this game is very situational. But as a general rule, you want a lot of sanctuaries. That means that you need to play your cards carefully. Looking back on your starting three cards I often play them in order from shortest to longest duration unless one card will greatly benefit from being played earlier, take a card that scores based on all four regions being played for example. If that is the case, then I will often play that card first and then the other two lower cards I may play a few cards later depending on their duration value. It may be a risk that I won't get all the necessary required symbols if I play them too late, but hopefully sanctuaries and future cards will be enough.

'''Clues:'''

With how important sanctuaries are you are going to want to have a lot of options to choose from when you get the chance. If you don't have any clues played out then each time you will be relying on top decking, and trust me, you don't want to rely on top decking. Having just one clue early on is going to be a massive help. Being able to have two sanctuaries to choose from is far better than getting one randomly. This is why I said that you idealy want one of your three cards to have a clue and have a low duration so you can play it first. For the longest time I undervalued the importance of clues. I have been in games where I basically didn't get any clues the entire game and I lost pretty bad. When looking at your first three cards, or your first card to grab after that, getting a card with a clue is pretty important. Clues help you find the right sanctuary, which helps you fulfil requirements. Once you have a clue or two that can sometimes be enough to help you get all the sanctuaries you need but obviously the more clues you get the better. Many times I have been on my 8th card that granted me a sanctuary and I was able to grab the perfect one I needed to get a ton of points because I had 6 to choose from. Typically after you have one or two I wouldn't worry too much about getting more. Chances are you will naturally get a few more from either cards or sanctuaries but not focusing on them after the beginning of the game enables you to get more higher fame cards. I will say though that if you don't get a card with a clue in your first three and in your choice from the next three then you are going to really prioritize getting one as soon as possible. Unless you have all of the required symbols you need for your high fame cards early in the game, don't worry too much about it, but again, sanctuaries can still help you score quite a bit on your last played cards. So you are still going to benefit a lot from having 5-6 sanctuaries to choose from. I should add that there are also sanctuaries and cards that score for having clues so it doesn't hurt having a few clues for that reason as well.

Tips faraway

2024-12-08T18:26:59Z

Barberserk: A lot of grammar mistakes, sometimes I don't get what the person is trying to say, definitely not a native english speaker... I'll do my best editing this.

'''Your Starting 3 cards:'''

When you play the advanced variant you get five cards and you get to keep three. I would argue this is one of the most important parts of the game. The cards you choose will dictate the direction you head to, for the remainder of the game. Now, I have found that people often win when they take two high fame cards into their starting 3. Now that could be a card that just gives you something like 17 straight fame, a card that gives you a lot of fame for certain wonders (symbols) such as 4 fame per clue symbol, or (my personal favorite) the cards that give you 10 points per each set of 4 different regions you have. Now, you may get one card that gives you 15 fame but requires two chimera and a thistle, and another card that gives 12 fame but requires a thistle and two stones. At first you might think that you should only keep one of them since that is a lot of symbols and might be hard to get them all, but that's most likely not true. There are two ways you can get the symbols you need, sanctuaries and cards that give you symbols. I will talk about sanctuaries later but if your high fame cards are placed early on then you could potentially have 5-7 other cards in front of it that will most likely have some or all of the requirements that card needs. Keep in mind though that stone is the most common and thistle is the least which may influence which cards you go for. Your third card should be lower than your other two in terms of duration and should have a clue symbol. You will learn why later. Now that you have your starting three cards you now have to decide which one to play first. You may want to put down the card that requires the most symbols first but that is not always the best choice. You also need to consider if the high fame card has a symbol that could be used for one of your other cards but more importantly is the exploration duration number at the top left. Now obviously you'll gain more fame the longer your exploration takes so all the higher exploration duration cards provide the most points. So chances are at least one of your three cards has a high duration. Playing your cards in order of shortest to longest gives you sanctuaries which are crucial for obtaining victory. All this being said there are still ways to winning that don't require high fame cards in your starting three. Another approach you can take is to try and get two or even all three cards to go after the same symbol. So for example you may get one cards that gives 4 fame per stone, another that gives 2 per stone, and another that gives 3 per stone. Going with those three cards means you'd get 9 fame per stone played after those cards. But again, here you have to look at their duration value as well as what symbols they provide to determine their order.

'''Sanctuaries:'''

Sanctuaries are crucial for success. As I said above many cards require symbols in order to score and the last thing you want is to get to your 8th card and realize that your 15 fame card isn't going to score because you didn't manage to get that thistle you needed which costed you the game. That is where sanctuaries come in. Most of the symbols you will need to fulfill each cards requirements should come from sanctuaries. The main reason for this is because symbols on sanctuaries apply to every card which can be especially helpful for cards that are played 7th and 8th. I have seen some games where a card worth a lot of fame was played last but score because the sanctuaries provided the required symbols. Now there is one big thing to consider that I didn't notice until about 40 games in and that is the importance of sanctuary color. There are both sanctuaries and cards who score a significant amount of points for having one of each of the four regions. When looking at which sanctuary to choose and you have a few good options if the one that is colored vs being grey isn't quite as good as your other choice I would go with that one. Having all four regions in your sanctuaries means that even if the last card you play is a card that scores for regions, you get 10 points. Sanctuaries can also help you pick up additional high scoring cards later in the game while providing you with the confidence that you have or will most likely fulfil it's requirements. When I first started playing I often focused too much on playing cards that would give me the symbol I needed to fulfil past requirements and I would forgo grabbing the high scoring cards when in fact by the end of the game my sanctuaries already gave me the symbols I needed and if I had picked up the high scoring card i would have succeeded in fulfilling that card's requirement too. So with sanctuaries being so important that means you should really be trying to get between 6-7 per game. That means that you can only afford to play a card lower in duration than the previous card once or twice. Now of course you can win with few sanctuaries and you should if it's the difference between playing a perfect card or not; this game is very situational. But as a general rule, you want a lot of sanctuaries. That means that you need to play your cards carefully. Looking back on your starting three cards I often play them in order from shortest to longest duration unless one card will greatly benefit from being played earlier, take a card that score based on all four regions being played for example. If that is the case, then I will often play that card first and then the other two lower cards I may play a few cards later depending on their duration value. It may be a risk that I won't get all the necessary required symbols if I play them too late, but hopefully sanctuaries and future cards will be enough.

'''Clues:'''

With how important sanctuaries are you are going to want to have a lot of options to choose from when you get the chance. If you don't have any clues played out then each time you will be relying on top decking, and trust me, you don't want to rely on top decking. Having just one clue early on is going to be a massive help. Being able to have two sanctuaries to choose from is far better than getting one randomly. This is why I said that you idealy want one of your three cards to have a clue and have a low duration so you can play it first. For the longest time I undervalued the importance of clues. I have been in games where I basically didn't get any clues the entire game and I lost pretty bad. When looking at your first three cards, or your first card to grab after that, getting a card with a clue is pretty important. Clues help you find the right sanctuary, which helps you fulfil requirements. Once you have a clue or two that can sometimes be enough to help you get all the sanctuaries you need but obviously the more clues you get the better. Many times I have been on my 8th card that granted me a sanctuary and I was able to grab the perfect one I needed to get a ton of points because I had 6 to choose from. Typically after you have one or two I wouldn't worry too much about getting more. Chances are you will naturally get a few more from either cards or sanctuaries but not focusing on them after the beginning of the game enables you to get more higher fame cards. I will say though that if you don't get a card with a clue in your first three and in your choice from the next three then you are going to really prioritize getting one as soon as possible. Unless you have all of the required symbols you need for your high fame cards early in the game, don't worry too much about it, but again, sanctuaries can still help you score quite a bit on your last played cards. So you are still going to benefit a lot from having 5-6 sanctuaries to choose from. I should add that there are also sanctuaries and cards that score for having clues so it doesn't hurt having a few clues for that reason as well.

Tips faraway

2024-12-08T18:22:04Z

Barberserk:

'''Your Starting 3 cards:'''

When you play the advanced variant you get five cards and you get to keep three. I would argue this is one of the most important parts of the game. The cards you choose will dictate the direction you head for the remainder of the game. Now, I have found that people often win when they take two high fame cards into there starting 3. Now that could be a card that just gives you something like 17 straight fame, a card that give you a lot of fame for certain wonders (symbols) such as 4 fame per clue symbol, or (my personal favorite) the cards that give you 10 points per each set of 4 different regions you have. Now, you may get one card that gives you 15 fame but requires two chimera and a thistle, and another card that gives 12 fame but requires a thistle and two stones. At first you might think that you should only keep one of them since that is a lot of symbols and might be hard to get them all, but that's most likely not true. There are two ways you can get the symbols you need, sanctuaries and cards that give you symbols. I will talk about sanctuaries later but if your high fame cards are placed early on then you could potentially have 5-7 other cards in front of it that will most likely have some or all of the requirements that card needs. Keep in mind though that stone is the most common and thistle is the least which may influence which cards you go for. Your third card should be lower than your other two in terms of duration and should have a clue symbol. You will learn why later. Now that you have your starting three cards you now have to decide which one to play first. Now you may want to put down the card that requires the most symbol first but that is not always the best choice. You also need to consider if the high fame card has a symbol that could be used for one of your other cards but more importantly is the exploration duration number at the top left. Now obviously you'll gain more fame the longer your exploration takes so all the higher exploration duration cards provide the most points. So chances are at least one of your three cards has a high duration. Playing your cards in order of shortest to longest gives you sanctuaries which are crucial for obtaining victory. All this being said there are still ways to winning that don't require high fame cards in your starting three. Another approach you can take is to try and get two or even all three cards to go after the same symbol. So for example you may get one cards that gives 4 fame per stone, another that gives 2 per stone, and another that gives 3 per stone. Going with those three cards means you'd get 9 fame per stone played after those cards. But again, here you have to look at their duration value as well as what symbols they provide to determine their order.

'''Sanctuaries:'''

Sanctuaries are crucial for success. As I said above many cards require symbols in order to score and the last thing you want is to get to your 8th card and realize that your 15 fame card isn't going to score because you didn't manage to get that thistle you needed which costed you the game. That is where sanctuaries come in. Most of the symbols you will need to fulfill each cards requirements should come from sanctuaries. The main reason for this is because symbols on sanctuaries apply to every card which can be especially helpful for cards that are played 7th and 8th. I have seen some games where a card worth a lot of fame was played last but score because the sanctuaries provided the required symbols. Now there is one big thing to consider that I didn't notice until about 40 games in and that is the importance of sanctuary color. There are both sanctuaries and cards who score a significant amount of points for having one of each of the four regions. When looking at which sanctuary to choose and you have a few good options if the one that is colored vs being grey isn't quite as good as your other choice I would go with that one. Having all four regions in your sanctuaries means that even if the last card you play is a card that scores for regions, you get 10 points. Sanctuaries can also help you pick up additional high scoring cards later in the game while providing you with the confidence that you have or will most likely fulfil it's requirements. When I first started playing I often focused too much on playing cards that would give me the symbol I needed to fulfil past requirements and I would forgo grabbing the high scoring cards when in fact by the end of the game my sanctuaries already gave me the symbols I needed and if I had picked up the high scoring card i would have succeeded in fulfilling that card's requirement too. So with sanctuaries being so important that means you should really be trying to get between 6-7 per game. That means that you can only afford to play a card lower in duration than the previous card once or twice. Now of course you can win with few sanctuaries and you should if it's the difference between playing a perfect card or not; this game is very situational. But as a general rule, you want a lot of sanctuaries. That means that you need to play your cards carefully. Looking back on your starting three cards I often play them in order from shortest to longest duration unless one card will greatly benefit from being played earlier, take a card that score based on all four regions being played for example. If that is the case, then I will often play that card first and then the other two lower cards I may play a few cards later depending on their duration value. It may be a risk that I won't get all the necessary required symbols if I play them too late, but hopefully sanctuaries and future cards will be enough.

'''Clues:'''

With how important sanctuaries are you are going to want to have a lot of options to choose from when you get the chance. If you don't have any clues played out then each time you will be relying on top decking, and trust me, you don't want to rely on top decking. Having just one clue early on is going to be a massive help. Being able to have two sanctuaries to choose from is far better than getting one randomly. This is why I said that you idealy want one of your three cards to have a clue and have a low duration so you can play it first. For the longest time I undervalued the importance of clues. I have been in games where I basically didn't get any clues the entire game and I lost pretty bad. When looking at your first three cards, or your first card to grab after that, getting a card with a clue is pretty important. Clues help you find the right sanctuary, which helps you fulfil requirements. Once you have a clue or two that can sometimes be enough to help you get all the sanctuaries you need but obviously the more clues you get the better. Many times I have been on my 8th card that granted me a sanctuary and I was able to grab the perfect one I needed to get a ton of points because I had 6 to choose from. Typically after you have one or two I wouldn't worry too much about getting more. Chances are you will naturally get a few more from either cards or sanctuaries but not focusing on them after the beginning of the game enables you to get more higher fame cards. I will say though that if you don't get a card with a clue in your first three and in your choice from the next three then you are going to really prioritize getting one as soon as possible. Unless you have all of the required symbols you need for your high fame cards early in the game, don't worry too much about it, but again, sanctuaries can still help you score quite a bit on your last played cards. So you are still going to benefit a lot from having 5-6 sanctuaries to choose from. I should add that there are also sanctuaries and cards that score for having clues so it doesn't hurt having a few clues for that reason as well.