Chapter 69: Jiangyou's Board Game Experience (Part 2)
During the free action stage, players can do whatever they want: explore random events on their own maps, hoard resources, wander around other people's lands to plunder and cause trouble, do business, form alliances, preach... all of these can be done.
When exploring unknown lands, random map events will appear. Some events must be handled by the player. If handled well, resources will be obtained, but if not handled well, penalties will be incurred, much like the special events encountered when moving the grid in Monopoly.
By using flower characters or your own character cards to open up other people's land, the fog of that part will dissipate. Of course, there will be situations where you will hit a wall while walking, so every step is exciting.
During the free action phase, players can also spend a certain amount of money to build specific buildings in specific grids in exchange for future benefits or to lay down fortifications. They can also place trap cards or a surprise troop in specific grids - just like in Andre's previous game, a well-placed ambush can change the entire situation.
If a player doesn't want to do anything during a turn, they can choose to skip it. This free action phase is retained as "Free" points, which can be used during the current player's next turn in the game. Each player can only accumulate Free Points three times per game, and the game has no specific restrictions on how to use Free Points. Players can choose to use them one by one or spend them all at once.
"Saving some free points can save you in crucial rounds," Henry said. "After all, we've all encountered that moment where we suddenly realize we're walking into an enemy trap, but all our active phases have been used up, leaving us with nothing but to watch ourselves slowly but surely die."
He sighed, and Takumi Yuu tasted a philosophical atmosphere while recalling his gaming experiences in his previous life.
She smacked her lips and took note of the magician's teaching instructions.
The third phase is for settlement and arrangement. Using the magic map, players can settle events from the free phase, earning bonus money, playing bonus cards for an extra round, or accepting penalties. If a player hasn't played any cards in the round, they can play additional cards in this phase.
After gradually becoming familiar with the rules of the game, Jiangyou stumbled through two rounds with the magicians, and then played a few more rounds with the servants who joined in.
She had drawn all four characters, but the feel of playing them was vastly different. Jiangyou found that the card she felt most comfortable using was the Merchant, followed by the Knight and the Magician... As for the Priest, she could roughly understand what she needed to do, but in practice she just couldn't get it right.
"This is probably a compatibility issue..." Having dominated the previous round as a merchant, this time as a priest, he was beaten all the way to his home base and even his home base. With a long sigh of frustration, Jiang You stretched and casually asked, "Everyone's so good at playing cards! Is this game so popular?"
The magicians came from the academy, the hunters apparently hunted in the nearby mountain towns, and the servants were said to have followed their masters from distant territories, but they all knew how to play leaf cards. This board game was probably more popular than mahjong or poker.
"That's about right," Eslan said. "The Moon Worship Cult has been promoting Leaf Cards heavily over the years, and our academy holds the Academy Cup every year. The capital also has competitions for commoners, with a large-scale tournament every quarter. The top ten finishers receive tens of thousands of gold coins in prize money, and once you gain a rank and reputation, you could potentially soar to fame and be hired by the king, the Moon Worship Cult, or even the nobles. This is the best opportunity for commoners to cross social classes."
"Oh wow!" She said that this board game has a low threshold for entry, but it requires a lot of brainpower to play well, and it is very suitable for screening talented people across classes!
Henry counted the days. "Speaking of which, in a few days, it'll be the Royal Capital Summer Card Tournament again. The early auditions should be completed by now, and next up will be the ranking tournament. If Master You is interested, you can definitely buy some tickets to watch the games! There's also a betting station outside the venue, and every year, someone gets rich overnight by betting on the right contestants."
"Just as many people have lost everything overnight!" said the red-haired Rani.
"I'm not interested in betting," Jiang You waved his hand. "But regarding these events...are snacks allowed to be sold at the venue? Can spectators eat snacks while watching the game?"
Magicians: “……?” Master You’s focus was indeed unusual!
However, the three magicians' knowledge in this area was extremely limited; they were more familiar with the Royal Magic Academy's College Cup. Furthermore, in the few times they had watched matches, they had focused their attention on the players' map projections, their minds buzzing with card counting, and they hadn't bothered to observe the surrounding spectators.
The servants did provide some useful information. Their daughter was also a big fan of card games and often attended matches. She would crave snacks whenever she was counting cards, so the servants would always prepare a variety of snacks in advance, bringing them in large and small bags, as they were rarely sold in the venue, and even if they were, the sophisticated nobles might not buy them.
Jiang You looked thoughtful. She felt there were many business opportunities worth exploring here... Well, the cost of living in the capital was much higher than in West Eston. Naturally, people were more demanding in entertainment, and entertainment and travel were closely linked to food. Even she, who didn't care much for football, knew that during major tournaments like the World Cup, beer and snacks were always the hottest sales at bars.
In her previous life, when she and her friends played board games, they liked to prepare a table full of snacks. So the people here came all the way to the capital to watch the board game competition. It is impossible for them to go through such brain-burning calculations and fully burn sugar without any replenishment.
Jiang You finished her last round of the game and stretched. Her joints were crackling from hours of sitting. "Well, that's enough playing cards for today. Time to get ready for dinner!"
The magicians and servants who were originally reluctant to leave lost interest in the leaf cards when they heard the word "dinner", especially the magicians who had eaten the special lunch prepared by Jiang You, their eyes were full of desire.
Takumi took a look at the sky outside, handed the task of collecting the cards to Jericho, and then went into the kitchen with familiarity. The pheasant and rabbit had already been plucked and placed on the cutting board on the counter.
The processing of the adult goat, which was estimated to weigh at least 120 kilograms, had reached the final stage: the thick fur on the goat's body had been peeled off, the four legs had been scraped clean of hair impurities and the stubble had been simply burned off with fire. Andre and the hunters were still cutting the goat's body into small pieces that were easier to cook.
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