Painted Into a Corner >> The Game Moves You Hate to Make
Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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After looking over some other GeekLists, session reports and game comments, I started to form a nebulous idea that I thought would eventually make a good GeekList on its own. I started to look over my collection and started to think about the moves that hurt to make...
They may be sub-optimal moves to stall or buy time, they may be the absolute worst move possible to you, but you have to take it anyway, perhaps the kind of move that just turns your stomach into knots -- or it may just be an analysis of the game and coming to the realization that "if I do this, I'm totally screwed." or "oh no... not again!"
What do you think?
What game moves do you absolutely hate to have to make?
Is it because it's the worst move for you, or too good a move for another player?
Is it a symptom of the game design, or a positional element of the gameplay?
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1.
Board Game: Hansa
[Average Rating:6.98 Overall Rank:314]
Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Reloading Goods
I hate having my turn come around and seeing all the ports are bone dry -- because I hate having to spend one of my precious few actions restocking for everyone else to take advantage of. Unless I've got a ton of cash to burn, I just can't help but feel I'm doing far more for other people than I am for myself.
Grrr... 
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Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Taking the Craftsman
I hate having to take the Craftsman myself to get my strategy humming. Invariably (probably due to poor play) I always feel that everyone else is going to benefit more from my turn if I take the Craftsman - they'll be able to sell to the Trader or reap the whirlwind shipping with the Captain. But there are times I know if I don't take it and generate some goods for myself, no one else will either!
Grrr...
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3.
Board Game: Torres
[Average Rating:7.24 Overall Rank:184]
Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Placing the King in the Final Round
I hate having to place the king somewhere on the board in the final round - because it means I'm in last place, and invariably, I haven't left myself any good spots where I can score the bonus but my opponents can't! I'm terrible at Torres, and placing the king in the final round is a subtle way the game gets to rub it in!
Grrr...
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4.
Board Game: Masons
[Average Rating:6.63 Overall Rank:712]
Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Completing the First City
I hate completing the first city in Masons. Triggering scoring rounds for other people is tough enough, but I'm always fearful that my opponents have those huge scoring cards for Towers on the coast, or White Towers out in the fields, etc. Timing the completion of cities is always tough, based on the strength of the scoring cards, but that first city always gets me!
Grrr...
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Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Playing Near a Triple Word Score
I hate playing words anywhere near a Triple Word Score. I try to stay two spaces away from them at all costs, even if it means throwing down 6-10 point words instead of hitting the Double Word Score spaces. Invariably, as soon as I inch too close to one and leave something odd like a K or a Q nearby, my opponent plays "ZPKQR" -- or something that looks equally illegible but is indeed a legal word.
Grrr...
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Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Placing My Single Irrigation Line -- Ever!
I hate being in a position where I feel I need to use my one, lonely irrigation line to save a field that will otherwise wilt. Invariably I feel I need to use it at least six times a game - but I always feel that by the game position, other folks will be able to horn in and use the water and gain more benefit out of it than I will. I am very bad at planning out where and when to use that little blue line, and it shows with my scores!
Grrr...
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Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Exchanging Tiles
I hate getting screwed by the draw and having to spend one of my precious few actions to improve my tile selection. Oh, look, a hand of nothing but black tiles! How useful! Let me burn 4 of those and draw some mo-- oh, look... 4 more black tiles! Now I can get crushed even quicker in a game I'm already horrible at.
Grrr...
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Jason Little
United States
Eden Prairie
Minnesota
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Committing to a Fourth Color
I hate throwing down cards for a fourth - or (gulp) fifth - color in Lost Cities. I tend to play shorter games pretty conservatively, and would prefer if my starting hand simply gave me three handshakes and 2-6 in a single color thankyouverymuch. Whenever I commit to a fourth color, I swear I get a brief flash of x-ray vision and can almost see my opponent holding the 8-9-10 cards of that color!
Grrr...
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L. Stitz
Germany
Lüneburg
Tee-hee-hee-hee-hi-hihihi-hu-hua-huar-huarrrRRRrrrrrr.
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Sacrificing a player token to save another one.
I hate having to sacrifice my own tokens in order to save one of my other tokens in this game. This is made even worse by not knowing what follies my opponents my conceive of, so that I actually might end up with more than one fatality in a single turn -- of the second phase, naturally!
Grrr...
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10.
Board Game: Go
[Average Rating:7.77 Overall Rank:41]
L. Stitz
Germany
Lüneburg
Tee-hee-hee-hee-hi-hihihi-hu-hua-huar-huarrrRRRrrrrrr.
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Too much pressure early on in the game
I hate having to play several gote moves in a row while not even being in yose yet. (Note to self: Search for a weaker opponent next time.)
Grrr...
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L. Stitz
Germany
Lüneburg
Tee-hee-hee-hee-hi-hihihi-hu-hua-huar-huarrrRRRrrrrrr.
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Wasting A Bloody Re-Roll
I hate having to use a re-roll just because I botched some easy action at the beginning of my turn. I mean, come on: Blocking with assistance, so I roll two dice and get to choose which result to use -- what could possibly go wrong? Yeah, exactly!
Grrr...
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12.
Board Game: Caylus
[Average Rating:7.97 Overall Rank:11]
L. Stitz
Germany
Lüneburg
Tee-hee-hee-hee-hi-hihihi-hu-hua-huar-huarrrRRRrrrrrr.
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Building on the castle to avoid the VP penalty
I hate being forced to build on the castle or risk having VP deducted otherwise. I mean, why did he have to push the bayliff that far down the street last round? Or why did she build three parts of the keep (so that there is only one part left), when actually one part would have been enough for her to secure the favour? And how on earth do I get the resources for castle building now, anyway?
Grrr...
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L. Stitz
Germany
Lüneburg
Tee-hee-hee-hee-hi-hihihi-hu-hua-huar-huarrrRRRrrrrrr.
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Placing the Cathedral
I hate placing the cathedral in Carcassonne. Every time I draw it, I either have no city open where I could place it (so that I must donate it to smirking the opponent), or it is that late in the game that no sane mind would risk playing it on his own city anyway. That's when you are quite happy to place it in a city your opponent owns -- who from then on will draw only city tiles and thus be able to finish that damn city for good!
Grrr...
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14.
Board Game: Jambo
[Average Rating:7.15 Overall Rank:222]
Lori
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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I hate having to buy the first extra market stall. When I can get my opponent to do it, then I can get mine at half price, and life is sweet. But my usual opponent will never buy the damn thing! So if I have a sequence of trades lining up that requires more space, I have to spend my gold on the first stall, because he won't buy one. Or worse yet, he will buy one--after I have made it half price! Or even more annoyingly, he won't, but he will draw all the extra stall cards and taunt me by discarding them. Aaarrghhh.
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15.
Board Game: Blokus
[Average Rating:7.15 Overall Rank:200]
Teh Slipperboy
United States
Allen Park
Michigan
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Playing a small piece while I still have a larger one.
The worst example of this is being forced to play the one block because you don’t have any other moves for the pieces you have left. I hate this move because it usually means I’m already in trouble and destined for a loss. It usually means that the other players have done a very good job of blocking me out and now I’m in trouble. Even when I’m using it as a bridge to new areas, it still means they are now a few squares ahead of me. If they play a 3 and I can only play a 1 or 2, they’ve gained an advantage of 1 or 2 pieces. Against good players, this deficit can be hard to overcome.
This same move is my least favorite in Blokus Trigon and Gemblo too.
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16.
Board Game: YINSH
[Average Rating:7.68 Overall Rank:65]
Tiago Ali de Oliveira Bueno
Brazil
Campinas
São Paulo
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I hate having to destroy a good position for me to avoid the other player to get the five pieces together. Especially true if you destroy a very good position only to delay him a play or two, but you had to do it, otherwise, even you making the point first, he would win the game.
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17.
Board Game: Chess
[Average Rating:7.09 Overall Rank:245]
David Kahnt
United States
Upper Gwynedd
Pennsylvania
It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. And we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant.
You know, they say there was a man who jumped from the forty-FIFTH floor? But that's another story...
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I hate playing right after someone plays Pawn to A4 for their opening move.
Whenever I play chess with someone who has no idea how to play, they will start out with this move. I have a little brain aneurism and realize that my strategy is completely worthless. They say something like "but my rook can now come out quicker." 
It stinks if I am black, but stinks more if I am white and opened 'correctly'.
-DK
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Tiago Ali de Oliveira Bueno
Brazil
Campinas
São Paulo
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I hate having to stuf up my power plants with fuel only to prevent an adversary from buying resources. Especially true if the money would be necessary later to build more cities on the same round.
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David Kahnt
United States
Upper Gwynedd
Pennsylvania
It's fun, it's healthy, it's good exercise. The kids will just love it. And we put a little sand inside to make the experience more pleasant.
You know, they say there was a man who jumped from the forty-FIFTH floor? But that's another story...
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I hate having to play...ummm...any move?
I still think you should be able to jump off you highest hotel and commit meeplecide in order to get out of the game quicker.
-DK
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Kevin Wood
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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I hate when it comes to your turn and you aren't in a position to claim any items. Putting down that extra card or two is never an easy decision, cause then it's WAR!
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Kevin Wood
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Move: Opening a chest.
"Oh please please please don't let me get turned into a monkey!"
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22.
Board Game: Tsuro
[Average Rating:6.47 Overall Rank:818]
Tiago Ali de Oliveira Bueno
Brazil
Campinas
São Paulo
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I hate having to save another player because if I kill him I would die too.
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Mark Haberman
United States
Painesville
Ohio
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I hate having to clear the board. Same goes for Atlantic Star, but it's not as painful there.
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24.
Board Game: Goa
[Average Rating:7.75 Overall Rank:28]
Mark Haberman
United States
Painesville
Ohio
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I hate having to use a track where I'm on the first level. Especially if I need to use it to get the track to the next level. For instance, needing to use the boat track to get a boat, so that I can advance the boat track.
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
Newport
Isle of Wight
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Re-rolling a Push-back
Nobody likes rerolling a pushback.
Everyone knows the only possible outcome is a skull.
But sometime you just gotta do it. If it works it'll be a certain score.
Oh look, you rolled a skull.
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Goodbye money, hello Mr. Monkey!
