[SPOILERS] Scooticator and Pindooter give a sporting try

[scooter]

When in doubt MAKE THINGS UP.

Also, there is a scoreboard, so you have POINTS to babble incoherently about.

[NobleHelium]

Remember to move onto the marble before popping the hut.

[scooter]

Turn played, and this is interesting or something:



Welp, there be Lewwyn. It's a regular PB8 reunion, which isn't exactly what I wanted. So you're telling me our south neighbors are the two teams that swore revenge on us? All we need now is Commodore as another nearby neighbor to complete the PB8 trifecta of grudge teams, and we might as well ragequit. You can bet your life if we ever attack Rome that they'll be supplied with some sort of resource . Anyway, that lion is a problem too, but I really don't want to lose that hut to team BigNeverConcedeWyn, AND I really want to finally pop something great from a hut, so I decided to go for it:



Hah, that 5xp is going to be sad if we die. So what kind of odds are we going to get here? I figured it was roughly coin flip odds if the lion decided to attack, which sounded worth it to me to guarantee getting the hut. If it attacks and we win, we'll be able to take Woodsman 2, and we'll be in great shape suddenly scout-wise. If it dies, well that was the risk. Here is our beautiful capital:



I decided to swap to the plains cow just to be safe so we don't forget next turn. It makes no real difference now if we work that or the spice, since the yield is the same.

[pindicator]

I'm trying to decide if popping that hut was or not, and if I'm going to embrace this pundit role seriously then I gotta say it like I mean it. Ahem:

I just don't understand this decision by scooter to pop the hut. He's got the defensive terrain and a scout that will heal up to 89hp if he fortifies it in place. Let the lion come at him where you've got +200% defense bonus. I don't have a combat calculator in front of me but I'm guessing we're looking at a power around 2.5 to 2.7 if you stay on defense. That's the thing: the unit with the higher power is going to win the battle more often than not. It's just math, folks. And Lewwyn was in no position to pop the hut - he had already played his part of the turn and would have needed to double move us in order to grab the hut. In all my experience of watching Civ pitboss games, I think he just panicked. You can't dismiss the psychological part of the game. Lewwyn's been posting how they're coming to get him for the last one. They want to pop him good. And now scooter's got that in the back of his mind so when he sees Lewwyn's scout he's having second thoughts. He's starting to wonder if that scout has a way to take over his capital. He knows it can't, but there's this little voice in him that says maybe Lewwyn figured out a way. That's what the psychological game does folks. If you can get into your opponent's head and put him off balance then it becomes a game within a game. And so when scooter saw that scout of Lewwyn's he just panicked. And now the lion is going to kill his scout and he won't be able to scout anywhere in the south, and he's going to lose the entire pitboss. All because he panicked and popped that hut. Game over for team pindicooter. You heard it here first.

I think I'm ready to write those power rankings now

[pindicator]

This just in from our Sports Statistics Desk: Scooter has played 1/3 of the turns and yet popped 80% of the huts

Clearly if they want to find more huts then they need scooter to be playing more of the turns.

[Merovech]

You make a great pundit, pindicator.

[scooter]

I'm trying to decide if popping that hut was or not, and if I'm going to embrace this pundit role seriously then I gotta say it like I mean it. Ahem:

I just don't understand this decision by scooter to pop the hut. He's got the defensive terrain and a scout that will heal up to 89hp if he fortifies it in place. Let the lion come at him where you've got +200% defense bonus. I don't have a combat calculator in front of me but I'm guessing we're looking at a power around 2.5 to 2.7 if you stay on defense. That's the thing: the unit with the higher power is going to win the battle more often than not. It's just math, folks. And Lewwyn was in no position to pop the hut - he had already played his part of the turn and would have needed to double move us in order to grab the hut. In all my experience of watching Civ pitboss games, I think he just panicked. You can't dismiss the psychological part of the game. Lewwyn's been posting how they're coming to get him for the last one. They want to pop him good. And now scooter's got that in the back of his mind so when he sees Lewwyn's scout he's having second thoughts. He's starting to wonder if that scout has a way to take over his capital. He knows it can't, but there's this little voice in him that says maybe Lewwyn figured out a way. That's what the psychological game does folks. If you can get into your opponent's head and put him off balance then it becomes a game within a game. And so when scooter saw that scout of Lewwyn's he just panicked. And now the lion is going to kill his scout and he won't be able to scout anywhere in the south, and he's going to lose the entire pitboss. All because he panicked and popped that hut. Game over for team pindicooter. You heard it here first.

I think I'm ready to write those power rankings now

No nonsense sports punditry would be complete without a… NONSENSE COUNTERPOINT.


I don't know Coach Pindicator, I like BOLDNESS in my decision making. He clearly was not about to let the barbarians and opposing scouts dictate when and where to move, no way. By confidently popping the hut in the face of a marauding lion, he sent a message to the opposition. You don't win without taking risks, and I like winning. Sure, fine, you basement-dwelling math nerds can give me data on how "the odds" say he should stay in place for a turn, but numbers and calculators don't win games, folks. Anyone like me who has actually PLAYED THE GAME would tell you that in order to win, you need to be bold. Coach Sirian, one of the great pioneers of Civilization, used to say "fortune favors the bold," and that's good enough for me to accept without question. Besides, it is possible that BigWyn scout could have a promotion available next turn. It already has Woodsman1, and Woodsman2 would let it snipe the hut with just 1 move. Now now, before you get your calculators out and tell me the odds of that are extremely small, why don't you calculate me the odds of the first two discovered enemies being the two teams that swore revenge on Team Scoopin? You can have your numbers, I'll take good old-fashioned bold risk-taking any day.

[scooter]

Translation: yes, my decision was probably 85% indefensible.

[Cyneheard]

Translation: yes, my decision was probably 85% indefensible.

Heh. When your nonsense counterpoint has to start with "statistics are complete and utter bullshit", you know you've lost the fight.

But a Woody II scout will be awesome in the approximately 60% chances that we survive - there's a 10% chance the animal doesn't attack, and we are in coinflip range. I think this will work out in our favor.

[pindicator]

I think i need to work on my punditry if i'm going to compete with scooter this game