I was overjoyed last week to see that a fifth duplicate tournament was being held over at BoardGameGeek. As a reminder, duplicate tournaments are ways for the community to play through the same quest using player and encounter decks that are dealt out in the exact same order. Each playthrough is often very different from others, with the differences being 100% due to player choices.
If you are playing this game as a solo player, you should be doing these tournaments when they come up. These are unprecedented ways to improve your game and be sharpened by other players, a luxury often not available to the solo player. For me, these activities help remind me how important each little decision I make is and the impact those decisions can have further down the line. While I recognized some of my miss-steps during the playthrough itself, I gain a lot looking at the top scores and seeing how they took on the quest that handily. It is also good to look at the examples of failed attempts (which includes some of my posts from previous tournaments) and see how a strong deck and favorable (enough) encounter deal are no match for poor tactical decisions.
So how did I fare? You can read the full write up here at the tournament's thread (my report is roughly halfway down the third page). I lived and I did not get the highest score, but there were plenty of players with better scores than mine. So I'm a player with a medium level of skill? No surprise there!
And the best part? It's still going on! You have tonight (Sunday, the 13th) and tomorrow (Monday, the 14th) to submit your report. Missed the tournament? No problem! These five tournaments are great activities for the beginning (or experienced) solo player. You know, for a fact, that this combination of player deck and encounter order can win. Not winning? Try to figure out why and see if there is a flaw in your playstyle that can be improved. Then take that knowledge, fire up a new quest, and show the dark lord who's boss.
