Date: June 2 2002
Subject: Re: Question on the value of a recon [from Santa]
Message:
"...to me, it is no shame to loose a 2 for a recon but it also depend on what the opponent know of your force already."
I say, don't be too cavalier about losing ANY of your pieces to a recon, ESPECIALLY a 2.
Why ?
Sooner or later you'll run into an exceptional player who'll take you down to your last few pieces. In those games, I'd wished I hadn't been so hasty giving away a "mere" 1 or 2. It's those minor pieces that often allow you to hold onto your stronger pieces in the endgame. Not having a 1 or a 2 may FORCE you to move a piece you would rather hold in reserve or use for another purpose.
I also practice the theory of holding on to recons as long as possible. I endeavour to reveal a minimum of 4 pieces per recon.
Can't use 'em if I lose 'em.
From: Tony Wilder
Date: June 2 2002
Subject: Yes SABOTEUR but:
Message:
I like to see a couple of things and then waste a recon to see more. This puts me on the offense of knowing. The trouble with that is a really good player knows this and I end up losing that recon for spotting just a couple 1s and maybe a 2.
It all depends on what calibre a player you are facing. Thats why we have so many long games with good players. They wont let you see much. To know whats up ahead against a good player you need to go down to the 3rd recon and after that you cant risk anymore. This puts you on the defense for the rest of the game. But still its tempting to know whats up ahead of you. I like to follow the recon with something. The best trick is to attack the recon at the point where you think your opponents recon is. Say they have three in a row in front of you. Then aim for the one you think is the recon. That way if you're gonna lose a recon then so are they.
From: irishoutlaw
Date: June 2 2002
Subject: recons
Message:
i've found that, a good portion of the time, everyone send out their recons (at least 1 or 2) first. something i found effective is sending some 1's out in front of my recons, this way all your opponent reveal's are those smaller pieces and then you can capture those couple of recons without giving away major pieces. this of course is only at the very beginning of the game.
i also feel holding onto your recons as long as possible is of major importance.
From: Dmitri King
Date: June 3 2002
Subject: recon vs. 2
Message:
Giving up a 2 for a recon is pure idiocy. This is why I win most of the games that I win. A good player can do just fine with 4 recons vs. 5, but most good players will never give back that lost 2. If neither player is good enough to take a 3 of higher piece from one another, that lost 2 will make the difference in the long run.
From: Nothingness
Date: June 4 2002
Subject: 2 vs Recon
Message:
I agree !! Giving up a 2 is suicide. I'm in a game now with Alien AKA ________ and he always makes this trade and I find it a bad move ! BUT there is a time when I think this is a good trade if you are able to keep your higher ranking generals hidden and if you are down to only 2 recons left and you can get them both while giving up two 2s for the last two recons then yes, I'd do it. Otherwise, never !!! In the game that I'm in he is very good at keeping his other pieces hidden but people think that you must expose 6-7 pieces w/each recon but this is not so. You only need to expose 4-5 w/each recon. You never really need to know the identity of 5 pieces, the flag and the bombs b/c the game is over by then so you really only need to know the identity of 25 pieces, and if you keep good notes and study habits you can get away with only seeing 20 pieces ! For example if there are 10 pieces remaining that you cannot see ! and you have no recons left, how can you figure out what piece is what ? Easy, you first look at the 5 that never move ! They're the ones that are no threat. There usually is one bluff piece and thats either a 1 or a 2. So now you only need four pieces to ID. This is where you can use up a 1 for a suicide attack b/c more than likely its a sab that had been hidden. This is usually the case since this is the piece that is mostly kept hidden. Like I stated before, with good notes it can be reasonably figured out ! This don't mean to give them recons up at will after exposing the 5th piece ! Keep em as long as possible.
Bill G.
From: Willis
Date: June 8 2002
Subject: Just a few thoughts on several message board threads...
Message:
The ancient trade debate... 2 for a recon:
-- In Rush a recon's value is simply less than a 2 all other things being equal. There are game situations, however, that cause exceptions to this rule. Each individual has their own ideas as to what these situations are. In Open, imho, the value of a 2 is less than it is in Rush - so I'd trade off a 2 for a recon more often than not.
-- The use of a 4 or 5 as a base decoy, to be blunt, is rather foolish. If your opponent goes for it early then great, otherwise it's time to move the piece into battle.
Base placement... the twin corners set-up
-- It, obviously, is the most popular set-up. Certainly guys out there, such as Andy and Dmitri swear by clogging up the area around their base with bombs - it seems to work for them. Personally, 9 games out of 10 my base is either partially or completely naked. It seems to work for me =)
I prefer to be unpredictable with everything I do in this game, but that's not for everybody.
At the start of the game, I prefer the Recon to the 2. In other words, I will happily give-up my 2 to capture a Recon. As play progresses, the following factors have a notable influence on my willingness to make that trade:
1. The number of my pieces (including captures) that my opponent has identified. The more he has identified the less valuable his Recons are and the less likely I am to trade for them, the fewer he has identified the more valuable they are and the more likely I am to trade for them.Generally speaking, if my trading a 2 for a Recon leaves him with less than 5 pieces identified for every Recon he has lost then I will make the trade. If this count becomes very imbalanced I will even trade a 3 for a Recon.
2. The number of Recons my opponent has remaining. Essentially a corollary to #1.
3. Value of pieces remaining. The more 1s my opponent has lost the less valuable my 2 is . . . and the more likely I am to trade it for a Recon. Likewise, the more 3+ pieces my opponent has lost the more valuable my 2 is and the less likely I will trade it for a Recon.
