tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post8847180467878941553..comments2024-03-26T09:04:14.555-04:00Comments on Daniel Solis: Coupling Money and Victory Points in Mansa MusaDaniel Solishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07683491911441126187noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-11928138944806029082013-03-03T13:23:18.157-05:002013-03-03T13:23:18.157-05:00For now the idea I have in mind is that moving one...For now the idea I have in mind is that moving one space is free, but you may pay to move more spaces. Perhaps you can only trade in your denominations by visiting a specially designated "bank" in a central location of the board.DanielSolisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-47510400060521326022013-03-02T05:42:05.958-05:002013-03-02T05:42:05.958-05:00I totally agree with your analysis Paul and, to me...I totally agree with your analysis Paul and, to me, it's a feature, not a bug ;)<br />The idea was to give the players a choice of locking their money into larger denominations for more VP.<br />The thing missing from the design is that this should carry an opportunity cost, so that buying higher denominations can't be done at will. Maybe it's linked to travelling, a specific board state, other transactions, or maybe you just pay an extra $1.<br />You could always spend your large bill if you needed to later on, but you'd have spent the opportunity cost, so it would no longer be a free action.Stéphane Burahttp://twitter.com/s_buranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-89038068175957112312013-03-02T00:07:56.212-05:002013-03-02T00:07:56.212-05:00Paul, any recommendations for a better point sprea...Paul, any recommendations for a better point spread?DanielSolisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-52941129076597788022013-03-01T21:43:17.539-05:002013-03-01T21:43:17.539-05:00Daniel, this is a very clever idea. I worry that ...Daniel, this is a very clever idea. I worry that Stephane's recommended values, though, might motivate players never to accept large bills until the very end of the game. Changing a $6 into a $3 and three $1 bills drops the expected victory points from 15 to 10.33. So making change for a $6 means losing 4.66 VP, which is the expected value of three $1 bills, and that's before you've spent money on anything. If I buy something that cost $1 and the only way I can pay for it is to break a $6, the expected VP cost of the $1 item is 6.11 VP - the equivalent of a $3 bill. If I buy something that cost $2 by breaking a $6, the expected VP cost is 7.56 VP.<br /><br /><br />But I like the idea in principle. If you can contrive the players' situation to make them agonize between consolidating money for VP and keeping small change to avoid having to break the larger denominations for purchases, then I think you'll have a nice little game-inside-the-game.Paul Owennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-81940086014431765002013-03-01T20:55:58.285-05:002013-03-01T20:55:58.285-05:00Yay! It's good to know mathematically inclined...Yay! It's good to know mathematically inclined people. Thanks, Stéphane, this is every useful.DanielSolisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818073417709561773.post-90367338397819760662013-03-01T17:53:21.478-05:002013-03-01T17:53:21.478-05:00Do spread the VP values a bit more if you use this...Do spread the VP values a bit more if you use this mechanism. With these values, it's statistically more interesting to make change.<br /><br />Expected VP value of a $3 bill: 5<br />Expected VP value of three $1 bills: 5.33<br /><br />Expected VP value of a $6 bill: 8.11<br />Expected VP value of two $3 bills: 10<br />Expected VP value of six $1 bills: 10.66<br /><br />Better VP values for these currencies could be:<br /><br />$1 : 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2<br />$3: 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7<br />$6: 12 12 12 15 15 15 18 18 18Stéphane Burahttp://twitter.com/s_buranoreply@blogger.com