Attacker's Advantage Help

[Aurens]

I understand that there's a point, 12 vs. 12 or so, where the attacker has a slight advantage even though the stacks are even. However, I have no clue how to apply this to situations where the attacker has less armies than the defender, or, more specifically, when it is advantageous to attack a stack greater than your own in hopes that you will reduce your opponents chance of defeating your now defending territory.

That's the situation I was left with in a recent escalating game of mine. It was down to only two of us and whoever had the next set definitely wins, so I just ignored that possibility. I had 4 cards at the start of my turn, so I only needed to survive one more round to win. Obviously, I'd like to reduce my chances of being eliminated without my opponent cashing, but I wasn't sure how to best do it. Do I leave my already outnumbered stacks or do I just attack endlessly into my opponent's stacks? I've included an illustration. I'm pink, and I'll have five cards while cyan has four and a pending deployment of six troops.

[Woodruff]

I understand that there's a point, 12 vs. 12 or so, where the attacker has a slight advantage even though the stacks are even.

Actually, the attacker has a slight (very slight...painfully slight) advantage even though the stacks are even at 4 vs. 4.

As to your specific situation, I don't play escalating very often at all, so I'll keep my ignorant opinion on that to myself. <smile>

[Aurens]

As to your specific situation, I don't play escalating very often at all, so I'll keep my ignorant opinion on that to myself. <smile>

Well the fact that it's escalating is mostly irrelevant because the next set cashed in wins no matter what.

[redhawk92]

i would attack him in both spots

[Timminz]

The odds are that you will kill more of your opponent's armies by rolling the attack dice, than you will by rolling defender's dice.

I can't really make out the layout of the image you posted, so any advice here is for the "overall", rather than this specific instance. Sometimes it makes sense not to attack, or at least, not to attack as much as possible. For example, if the opponent has a stack that cannot directly access your forces, you don't want to conquer a terit that will then connect you to said stack. You want to make sure that they have as little attacking force as possible. So, if they have a few stacks surrounding one of yours, you're better off attacking each one down to a small stack, rather than trying to completely eliminate it. Also, keep in mind what they might be getting for a deployment. If they hold a bonus that you can break, you probably want to do that. If they have a multiple of 3 (12, 15, 18, etc.) terits, you should look for a way to bring them down one.

I'm not sure how much of that you consider useful. I'm guessing the first sentence is the most applicable one. Good Luck.

[oVo]

My inclination is to test the "dicey" waters and get a feel for how my Luck is running. I wouldn't run my numbers down entirely with attacks, but I would definitely burn a few armies attempting to lessen cyan's numbers if possible. If cyan does cash in for 65 next turn there's a very slim chance he won't eliminate you... and then of course your 70 will certainly finish it. Guess you better keep your fingers crossed that cyan is holding two pairs.

It's much simpler to just link the game if you want people to take a peek.

[Aurens]

I can't really make out the layout of the image you posted, so any advice here is for the "overall", rather than this specific instance.

It's a thumbnail. You click it, and it magically gets bigger, like magic.

It's much simpler to just link the game if you want people to take a peek.

I could, except the game is now over and the situation I was asking for help with no longer presents itself. But I still want to hear the advice for next time. That image is forever. I want general advice, not just on how to win that specific game.

For the record, he had a set and eliminated me with a 13 and a 28 to spare.

[Timminz]

I can't really make out the layout of the image you posted, so any advice here is for the "overall", rather than this specific instance.

It's a thumbnail. You click it, and it magically gets bigger, like magic.

Magic eh? I am very impressed with your interneting abilities. Thank you for making it more complicated than it needed to be. I understand that a screen shot is very pedestrian in nature, and I apologize for expecting you to post one like a normal person.

What did you decide to do? Or should I just go looking through your games, and figure out which game it was? It's only a few extra clicks.

[Aurens]

Magic eh? I am very impressed with your interneting abilities. Thank you for making it more complicated than it needed to be. I understand that a screen shot is very pedestrian in nature, and I apologize for expecting you to post one like a normal person.

I've never been on a forum with this new-fangled 'BigImg' BBCode functionality before and I had no idea it was even a technically feasible possibility (not that I'm entirely convinced it is yet, I haven't ruled out magic) until I went to make this post and had a look around the BBCode buttons. Taking that into account, I've also never been on a forum that didn't discourage the posting of large images without warning. It seems we've both learned a thing or two about the magical world of Internet.

What did you decide to do? Or should I just go looking through your games, and figure out which game it was? It's only a few extra clicks.

I did not attack. I just reinforced 6 from Tarn to Eure and ended my turn. You're free to rifle through my game history anyway, though.