Any tips for speeding up your play?

[TomBullet 0]

So I am sort of new to Guild ball, been a little into it for the past year or so but almost never played. With my local games shop setting up leagues now I have managed to get a good few games in and really feel like knowledge of the rules is less and less of a problem.

The trouble is, I'm still an indecisive player. I find myself hesitating far too much and I worry it makes for frustrating games for my opponents. I'd really like to improve on this, so can anyone share some advice for speeding up my play?

Thanks!

[Silversmith 122]

I still have issues with this but one thing that helped was playing a few games of speedball.  2 minutes activations all game make you REALLY focus and decide quickly. Also be sure to wear extra deodorant because if you are anything like me you will break out into a flop sweat.  Also don't be afraid to play slowly for a while. See if you can play on an extended clock. Start with an hour person player or 1:15.  Gives you some pressure without feeling short.

When going second, try to stack your influence on the side so it is ready to go when it's your turn.

Last, don't worry about bad decisions because you had to rush. We all make bad plays sometimes. Best players (I'm not on, FYI) learn not to repeat many of them. 

[Ik-tornado 322]

If you're of legal age drink a few beers, then play on clock. Much like texting an ex, the beer will help stop you from deciding something is a bad idea. 

But really though just play on clock (when first starting maybe run a longer clock) and play frequently enough. Eventually you'll just know what you want to do in various scenarios. 

[AaronWilson. 444]

Learn your own cards, costs of your plays, your playbooks (the important thing) being able to roll your dice and pick the result without reffering to the card every time. 

Use the time your opponent is activating to try and be thinking of what your next activation is, etc.

I wrote a article on managing the clock, it might be of help  

http://forestrambo.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/managing-clock-101-lets-not-time-out.html?m=1

[Silversmith 122]

4 hours ago, ForestRambo said:

Learn your own cards, costs of your plays, your playbooks (the important thing) being able to roll your dice and pick the result without reffering to the card every time.

This.  I forget this tip because I am so bad about remembering my cards. Looking at playbooks sucks most of my clock easily.

[TomBullet 0]

Thanks a lot guys! I appreciate the advice. I reckon then I'll stick to only 1 team for now and get to know them like the back of my hand, I'll play to a clock and try embrace mistakes when they happen Maybe keep a flask of something potent on my person as well

[Rugi 11]

If you are an indecisive player because you're thinking about all the options all the time, then some beer or whatever makes you feel more relaxed helps, or at least it did help me. 

Funny enough, I've clocked the effect of a single beer on my ability to solve the hardest sudoku (those that I could solve without having to go for trial and error) and the average time it took me to solve it was 90% longer than when I did not drink anything. That is the effect of a single beer on my brains when they have to think hard... 

However, I noticed that the clock had a very negative effect on my learning curve. Since there was never time to ask my opponent why did he do this and that, I never really learned a lot from a game. So for the last few non-tournament games we've tried the option to stop the clock at any time and openly discuss your dilemma with your opponent and in many cases you actually do find out the better option and you will remember it the next time when you're in a similar situation, making you play a lot faster.

[irondesk 15]

3 hours ago, TomBullet said:

... I reckon then I'll stick to only 1 team for now and get to know them like the back of my hand...

This is my problem.  I have fun playing so many different teams.  I really need to narrow my focus of I'm going to get faster.

[Malritch 377]

I just play on 45min clock... all the time. If it is a very casual match then we may just ignore it when it clocks out and just keep going.... but I try and speed everything up if I am going over. Practice, practice, practice.

I find that the tougher opponents will make me think waaaaaaayyyyy to long about things.... so I force myself to stop second guessing and just play... even if that turns out to be a mistake filled mess of a game. (I get better learning from mistakes more than anything)

Influence allocaton is one that I have struggled with for sure.... but the more you play a particular team... the quicker you get at that for sure. 

[Priesmal 16]

1. Play more. Even if its an untimed game play with the clock just to help you track your time usage.

2. Play the same team for like 10 games in a row. By that I mean the exact same players, not just the same guild.

3. When you finally feel comfortable with your original six, sub one player out at a time.

4. On any given game decide that you are going to focus on a specific player. Challenge yourself to utilize each trait and Character Play. This can actually be harder than it sounds on some players, especially for defensive skills.

5. Make a plan and stick to it. Most the time I run out my clock it is because I am second guessing my plan. You make your plan when you allocate influence, not on your players' turns. The only reason to deviate is if you plan has already failed or a REALLY good opportunity comes up. Otherwise, stick to the plan.

6. Do things you can do on your opponents time. It's a little cheeky to put Influence on your characters during their maintenance turn, but you can sort them into stacks or even put them on the player cards while you think. Plan out your turn during your opponent's turns. By time he clocks over to me I USUALLY am settled on a course.

All that said, I break every rule. Except #1. I'm a GB junkie.

[The_Question_NL 51]

19 hours ago, Priesmal said:

1. Play more. Even if its an untimed game play with the clock just to help you track your time usage.

2. Play the same team for like 10 games in a row. By that I mean the exact same players, not just the same guild.

3. When you finally feel comfortable with your original six, sub one player out at a time.

4. On any given game decide that you are going to focus on a specific player. Challenge yourself to utilize each trait and Character Play. This can actually be harder than it sounds on some players, especially for defensive skills.

5. Make a plan and stick to it. Most the time I run out my clock it is because I am second guessing my plan. You make your plan when you allocate influence, not on your players' turns. The only reason to deviate is if you plan has already failed or a REALLY good opportunity comes up. Otherwise, stick to the plan.

6. Do things you can do on your opponents time. It's a little cheeky to put Influence on your characters during their maintenance turn, but you can sort them into stacks or even put them on the player cards while you think. Plan out your turn during your opponent's turns. By time he clocks over to me I USUALLY am settled on a course.

All that said, I break every rule. Except #1. I'm a GB junkie.

so do as I say not as I do are you a manager of some kind?
But besides that I believe Priesmal has put it down nicely  

[The Old Buzzard 295]

1 Put your used influence tokens in a specific place. I used a dice tray.

2 Have the tokens on or next to the player's card or in the same place you got them from.

3 Have a place you keep your widgets, be tidy.

These 3 and all the stuff already mentioned. 

I don't clock out as much as I used to do since I started doing these things. 

4 Use a straightforward team. i.e. Not Obulus Morts, Hunters or Blacksmiths. (The only one of these I have managed to avoid is Hunters)

Don't panic! It eats time and screws your brain.

Good luck. We all need it!

Bill

[Malritch 377]

5 hours ago, The Old Buzzard said:

Don't panic! It eats time and screws your brain.

I need to get MUCH better at this.  

[Toqtamish 113]

I've never played on the clock and am playing my brand new Ratcatchers next week at Canada East Nationals. I feel like I am nuts for even going but I'm the driver. I suspect the clock will win my opponents a few points. I'm indecisive by nature and am specifically not taking my Morticians as they make me think way too much. 

[The Old Buzzard 295]

28 minutes ago, Toqtamish said:

I've never played on the clock and am playing my brand new Ratcatchers next week at Canada East Nationals. I feel like I am nuts for even going but I'm the driver. I suspect the clock will win my opponents a few points. I'm indecisive by nature and am specifically not taking my Morticians as they make me think way too much. 

Good call! 

You will be better before you come back. 

[Malritch 377]

@Toqtamish ... you are going to have a GREAT time. It should be more about the friendships you will build and the thrill of the event itself. I wouldn't worry too much about the win/loss stuff. Like @The Old Buzzard says...you will be better for having attended. Plus you'll get to meet some of the great guys I get to hang with occasionally! Make sure you say Hello to Dave and Wallie from Lethbridge, and Colten from Calgary... they are all heading that way to compete as well.

Cheers man! Hopefully we'll get to meet for a match and a beer someday!

[Toqtamish 113]

Yeah I prefer to chat and stuff to be honest. With two kids, wife work etc my gaming time is also my "me time". There is six of us coming from Nova Scotia too. I'm trying to view it as just lots of practice. I always get nervous before a big event. Did the same thing in X-Wing when running 30+ player regionals. 

[Scapegoat_Stephen 84]

On 15/05/2018 at 12:49 AM, Silversmith said:

I still have issues with this but one thing that helped was playing a few games of speedball.  2 minutes activations all game make you REALLY focus and decide quickly.

I'm personally not too bad with a clock as I've played War machine but we have a local who is notorious for being indecisive. He knows but we found oddly he runs down his clock badly but if we give him 2 minute activations he speeds up! Definitely recommend this for learning to be quicker!