Mornington Crescent

[electoralfraud]

Begining with the London Tube and overland rail zones 1-6 ruleset.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/lon_con.pdf for map refences.

I shall open with Bank, allowing a seconding to Monument; thus restricting circle line reverses for two moves (Banker's Willing Gambit).

[Edit - modified bold type FTW]

[thedesk]

I went to a country in which I know what the hell you're talking about.

[Token]

Are the mainline stations wild, or do we play by the strict standard rules?

Regardless, I'll lay my stake to Zone 2 by playing Finsbury Park on the upturn, blocking movement along Picadilly to northbound journeys only and straddling Victoria.

[Ended]

I vote for standard rules, to make it less intimidating for newer players (of course it won't really affect anything until knip has been declared).

Hmm, it's been a while since I've played with a 6 zone ruleset, so I'll go for a safe Clapham Junction, shifting the play to odd laterals and re-straddling Central.

[TheTankengine]

What the hell is wrong with you crazy brits?

[evilbeanfiend]

What the hell is wrong with you crazy brits?

its a very famous game. the excelent "NF Stovold’s Mornington Crescent: Rules and Origins" explains all, but is sadly out of print so you will want to ask in your local secondhand bookshop for it.

[Ended]

"NF Stovold’s Mornington Crescent: Rules and Origins"

meh, I prefer "MC: The Standard Rules" by Greene. Stovold's prose style annoys me a bit, and his explanation of bilateral sweeps is very confusing.

[Token]

Hmm... it's unorthodox, but I'm going to jump the normal sequence and bounce two blue counters, making the aquatic squares vulnerable as long as control remains in the second quarter and allowing me to seize London Bridge.

For those of you who have no idea what's going on, take a look here. There's a great explanation, and I recommend looking through the annotated games to get a feel for the rules.

[evilbeanfiend]

mudchute as this is the first move on the DLR it prevents a farkle on the next move

[Jesse]

It's been a long time since I've played this so I'm looking at a lateral pass on the East side taking me to Aldgate East. This should block the direct diagonal and a Northern apporach on the next two turns.

I'm also of the belief that mainline stations should remain wild; it's alright saying you'll play by the standard rules, but when it takes the fun out of the game....

[davef]

I'm with Tankengine on this one. What in holy hell is going on here?

[Ended]

I'm with Tankengine on this one. What in holy hell is going on here?

Heh, don't worry, it's pretty easy to pick up the basics. Just observe for a few turns, and don't worry about making silly moves, we all do from time to time. For example, I think Jesster would have been better off playing a District Line station, thereby effectively 'severing' the board and claiming some nice territory.

As it is, he's left me wide open to play Wimbledon, scoring a double loop.

edit: Ok, ok, mainline stations wild. But don't say I didn't warn you...

[Jesse]

Mornington Crescent is a long established pastime on the level of Go as an incredibly complex and strategic game. The goal is to get to Mornington Crescent and stop your opponents from reaching there first. In this variation we're sticking closely to the standard rules and using zones 1-6 of the London Underground (Although to be properly played this game requires the 1951 Compact A-Z of London we are allowing the use of that pdf file for novices reference).

I explained my last move in some detail to help you along. EBF chose to move to mudchute; as this is the first move on the DLR it prevents a farkle (asynchronous reverse sweep) on the following move so I instead chose a lateral pass on the east side which takes me to Aldgate East. This move blocks both the direct diagonal and a Northern Approach to Mornington Crescent for the next two turn. It's one of the lesser known 'Barnaby Gambits' and can prove useful to determine the skill level of opposing players in how they react.

EDIT: Ack! I completely failed to see that Wimbledon maneuver. Well played Ended.

[Tractor]

For those of you who have no idea what's going on, take a look here. There's a great explanation, and I recommend looking through the annotated games to get a feel for the rules.

Wait, those were supposed to help?
Ima stay with a 'WTF?'

[Jesse]

Just track the moves, I'll explain all of mine as I go to give you a hand, but really; just give it a go and we'll let you know if you've done it right. Don't worry about making a mistake.

[Token]

Wait, those were supposed to help?
Ima stay with a 'WTF?'

Just stick with it - the rules really are quite simple. It's all quite clear in the link I gave you (even if it does require a bit of thought). Once you've got the hang of it, it's easy to jump right in and play. As Jesster said, I recommend everyone thoroughly explain their moves to help out people who don't know them.

For example, since Ended has a double loop with his last move, he has the opportunity to triangulate in through the Northern line and gain access to Mornington Crescent in a couple of turns. Our goal should now be to block him from doing that, while building our own positions up to make an assault ourselves.

Now, my plan is to move for a lateral shift that should break his vertical approach. Ordinarily, I might try to transfer inversely, but since we're playing by fairly vanilla rules, that's not permitted to make things simpler. Luckily for me, the simplest way to break his loop is to initiate a disruptive loop of my own, by playing Dollis Hill.

[crazyjimbo]

Urgh.... I was going to join in, but I don't think I have the skill to take part in a game involving Dollis Hill Loops. You guys seem to be good players, this should be a good game.

[bbctol]

I absolutely love this game. I diagonal northwards towards Baker Street, putting Bakerloo in spoon.

[Ended]

Nicely played guys, you pretty much shot my triangulation to pieces. I guess I could try a sweeping manoeuvre like Waterloo or Angel (i.e., one that maintains lateral equilibrium), but Token's last move means that I want to re-establish some forward ground. Unfortunately, I don't think I have the position to break loop yet; so it'll have to be Dollis Hill.

(Note that on my next turn I can re-double).

@crazyjimbo: Seriously, join in! Or feel free to comment/make suggestions. It's only a friendly game, after all.

[bbctol]

Jesus Christ, Ended! Dollis Hill, of course, with a little extra tilt. I could play Aldwych, naturally, but that's a chance I'm not going to take.

[crazyjimbo]

Hmmm.... I'm joining late, I don't think I have a choice other than to play Aldwych at this stage. It risky, but I need some territory.[/b]

[Token]

Wow - it's not often you see someone with the nerve to play Aldwych in a situation like this. Of course, Alan Tarvon was famous for his liking of the station, but then he was a grandmaster. Whether this one is recklessness or the signs of something great remains to be seen...

[Jesse]

Sorry guys, crazyjimbo's got me worried that someone's going to be hitting up the southern's. I just can't see it worth risking so we're back to the loop.

Dollis Hill

[mattmacf]

Geez, Jesster I can't believe you're trying to establish dominance so early. At the risk of putting myself in spoon, I'm going to have to try the Wembley Park gambit to open the triangle for a possible lateral shift.

[crazyjimbo]

To not play Dollis Hill would just be suicide at this stage. Hopefully it will set me up for a Northern Reverse later on in the game anyway.

[Ended]

Hah! Whitechapel. Ok, so it's hardly Northern Line material, but it allows me to break the Dollis Hill loop while still retaining a strong cross-board presence. In addition, it block matt's shift (at least for another turn or so). Actually, I think I remember seeing a game where Tarvon played something similar in a locked position, so it's not without precedent.

Wow - it's not often you see someone with the nerve to play Aldwych in a situation like this.

Yeah, I wondered at that as well, until I realised: Victoria! It's a classic mainline gambit, it only seems odd because the game's not in knip.

[mattmacf]

At the risk of sounding like a n00b (I'm not terribly familiar with the game, although I have been digging through some of the annotated games), I'm hesitant to get into an outward flank inversion. I think the safest move to play at the moment would be to resume the loop, hoping for a chance of diagonalization. I believe Aldwych can be played from here, but I'm not certain that I could handle a lateral cross-wise shift.

That being said, Dollis Hill.

[cmacis]

I've "played" this game before, and I'm still not convinced that there's any structure and rules as such.

To test this hypothesis, those with power will probably be upset by my saying this and will declare my move invalid.



Dollis Hill.

They will also have a poor explanation why it is a false move!

[JoshJ]

It doesn't have to be declared invalid. I'll simply continue the loop.
Dollis Hill.

[bbctol]

Dollis Hill, naturally, but sliding south.
And yes, there are actual rules, but not everyone follows them.

[cmacis]

I'll take the sliding penguin bluff and play the dorris hill gents' toilets.

[bbctol]

I'll take the sliding penguin bluff and play the dorris hill gents' toilets.

What?

[gmalivuk]

I'll take the sliding penguin bluff and play the dorris hill gents' toilets.

What?

Seriously. I know the rulesets vary, but I've never come across one where you could play the toilets in a station that's already been played.

Care to tell us what rules you're using, cmacis? I'm not saying you aren't allowed to make that move, but it'd be good for the rest of us to know what sort of play to expect from you.

[Token]

Well, it's either a casual set of variant rules where you can name a part of a station in place of the station itself for humorous purposes, or cmacis just isn't taking the game seriously. I suspect the latter, especially considering that any true player of the game knows how to correctly spell all the stations.

[hermaj]

If it's the latter, that's a mod warning there, too. If you're not interested in playing, you should not be making posts that interrupt gameplay. Forum games means that people actually want to be playing the games; there's really no place for you here if you just want to act like a tool.

If it's the former, then carry on, I guess, but explain yourself for the benefit of the others. (And me, who currently thinks this game is crazy. )

[evilbeanfiend]

in the interests of getting the game going again i think i will play swiss cottage, even though its not a great move for myself.

[Jesse]

Left yourself wide open there for a Shepherd's Bush.

You'd have been far better off moving downwards on the diagonal; but at least we're out of the loop. Also, I believe that's double points for me.

[Edna]

I see your Shepherds Bush and raise you Ladbroke Grove

[crazyjimbo]

Bold move Edna, bold move. I can't believe no one has seen this until now: Kingsbury. It leaves the westernly stations wide open and sets the game up for a lateral change over.

Btw, are tranverse moves allowed?

[davef]

I haven't looked at Tractor's link yet, and, having read the rest of the thread, I've decided I'm not going to. Reading this stuff is hilarious!

I'm convinced there are no rules, and you guys are just naming various stations in sentences constructed to look like there's a strategy at play, but which actually mean nothing. I might as well say Tara Street Station, obversely, and see what happens...