Trek tribulations        Article by Fritz Meissner from the Sept 2002 Scrye

Don't Let these mistakes be you dilemma.

    Have you ever come out of a game you've lost feeling like you should have won? Chances are you have. It's all too easy to lose concentration and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. You will often see in Star Trek the winner is the person who makes the fewest mistakes.

    The best players in the world don't just win games -- they also don't lose games. A good player doesn't lose because of bad play on his part, he loses due to good play on his opponent's part. Since few people play without making mistakes, the good players don't lose all that often.

    This article isn't going  to stop you from making errors. You can only do that yourself, by looking at the way you play and fixing the areas  in which you make the most mistakes. Chances are if you make a conscious effort to identify your weaknesses, you'll find ways to strengthen your game.

    That said, these are some common mistakes that almost everyone makes on time or another.

 

Lack of Preparation

    How you prepare for a game is crucial. Is your deck ready to play? Have you tested it with a few draws? Are all of the important cards in there? A Q-Bypass deck is no good with out the Q's, and Operate Wormhole Relays is rarely worth playing with out  Q the Referee. Knowing your deck is also important -- you should know your seed deck well enough to be able to watch your opponent during the seed phase. If you playing in a tournament, getting two hours of sleep the night before is hardly helpful.

    A lot of this is common sense, really. Eat properly, sleep properly, think properly. More than just being detrimental to you game, failing to pay attention to this stuff is a discourtesy to your opponent. You own each opponent a decent game, and falling asleep at the table is not exactly a sign of respect.

 

Inattention on Opponent's Turn

    This is one of the most common mistakes in the game. Often, the reason it happens  because of overconfidence. When you're comfortable in the knowledge that you can finish the game on the next turn , you're less likely to consider the possibility that you opponent might just win this turn.

    The damage caused may vary. You might just miss the fact that your opponent  has switched his attention from his mission to your missions, and instead of encountering you carefully planned dilemma combinations, is about to score 30 points off that Badlands mission you just included so that you can relocate your ships in the Alpha Quadrant to the Caretaker's Array.

    Sometimes you'll find your load scout ship is about to be destroyed by an armada that you could have outrun if you'd noticed it earlier. You might not make these particular mistake, but lack of concentration during your opponent's turn will more than likely cost you the game.

 

Inefficient Use of Resources

    Of the crimes Star Trek players commit, this is particularly atrocious. It all comes down to laziness, often late in the game. A common example would be playing Assign Mission Specialists to download one particular mission specialist, then just picking the first other mission specialist you come across. In this case, the problem is unwillingness to think ahead and make the best use of the available material.

    Another example: If your playing with Deep Space Station K7, there is no reason not to use the Organian Peace Treaty. At the lease, it will be something to distract your opponent. This is an easy mistake to make, so watch out!

 

Thoughtless Mission Attempts

    So often players will take one look at a mission and either redshirt or attempt with everyone without thinking about why they are doing it. Sometimes a person will try redshirting once, get caught with Villagers with Torches, then try redshirting again on the next turn. I played a game the other day in which I was caught by Chula: The Game -- twice at the same mission!

    Conserve your personnel -- be cautious about committing all of them to a mission attempt in which they could be a breakfast for Denevan Neural Parasites, particularly if you only have one of a crucial skill in the crew or away team.

 

'Switching Off' in the Seed Phase

    Most games are won or lost in the seed phase. If you haven't been playing attention here, start doing so, because often you will catch your opponent napping, or at least figure something out about what he plans to do. At worst, you gain more thinking time, and in a game as complicated as Star Trek, that can't be a bad thing.

    Remember, the game is already underway in the seed phase. A well timed pass in the seed phase often makes a difference between winning and losing. I once won a game because my opponent mis-seeded a dilemma crucial to his strategy. If your missions don't have many dilemmas under them, your opponent might be planning to steal them. Conversely, you can attempt your missions earlier, because you will be more likely to succeed against fewer dilemmas.

 

    Each of these errors is in some way related to concentration. Bad preparation will cause you to have problems concentrating at the right moments. Don't let anyone distract you and you will be well on your way to eliminating these errors and improving your game.  

 

 

That is all for now.  

 

Till we meet in Stovo' Kor

 

Chancellor Froelich