Oust - Topazg vs Mark Steere

MarkSteere · Post by **MarkSteere** » Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:00 am

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm51 Oust - Mark Steere vs Topazg $$ ----------------------- $$ | O 2 . . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . X X X . . O . O . | $$ | . 1 X . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . . . X . . O O . O | $$ | . O . . . X . . . O . | $$ | O . O . . . X . . O . | $$ | O . O . O . . X . . O | $$ | . . . . . O . . X . . | $$ | . X 1 X 3 . O . X X 1 | $$ | X . . . X . . . X . X | $$ | . . O . . X . X X . . | $$ -----------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm51 Oust - Mark Steere vs Topazg $$ ----------------------- $$ | O 2 . . . . O . . O . | $$ | 3 . X X X . . O . O . | $$ | . 1 X . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . . . X . . O O . O | $$ | . O . . . X . . . O . | $$ | O . O . . . X . . O . | $$ | O . O . O . . X . . O | $$ | . . . . . O . . X . . | $$ | . X 1 X 3 . O . X X 1 | $$ | X . . . X . . . X . X | $$ | . . O . . X . X X . . | $$ -----------------------[/go]

topazg · Post by **topazg** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 2:21 am

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm51 Oust - Mark Steere vs Topazg $$ ----------------------- $$ | O 2 . . . . O . . O . | $$ | 3 . X X X . . O . O . | $$ | . 1 X . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . . . X . . O O . O | $$ | . O . . . X . . . O . | $$ | O . O . . . X . . O . | $$ | O . O . O . . X . . O | $$ | . . . . . O . . X . . | $$ | . X 1 X 3 . O . X X 1 | $$ | X . . . X . . . X . X | $$ | 4 . O . . X . X X . . | $$ -----------------------[/go]

This is getting to be a little sad

MarkSteere · Post by **MarkSteere** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:19 am

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm51 Oust - Mark Steere vs Topazg $$ ----------------------- $$ | O 2 . . . . O . . O . | $$ | 3 . X X X . . O . O . | $$ | . 1 X . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . . . X . . O O . O | $$ | . O . . . X . . . O . | $$ | O . O . . . X . . O . | $$ | O . O . O . . X . . O | $$ | . . . . . O . . X . . | $$ | 5 X 1 X 3 . O . X X 1 | $$ | X . . . X . . . X . X | $$ | . . O . . X . X X . . | $$ -----------------------[/go]

Click Here To Show Diagram Code: [go]$$Bcm51 Oust - Mark Steere vs Topazg $$ ----------------------- $$ | O 2 . . . . O . . O . | $$ | 3 . X X X . . O . O . | $$ | . 1 X . . . O . . O . | $$ | . . . . X . . O O . O | $$ | . O . . . X . . . O . | $$ | O . O . . . X . . O . | $$ | O . O . O . . X . . O | $$ | . . . . . O . . X . . | $$ | 5 X 1 X 3 . O . X X 1 | $$ | X . . . X . . . X . X | $$ | . . O 5 . X . X X . . | $$ -----------------------[/go]

topazg wrote:This is getting to be a little sad

Yes and no

It's been a steady massacre for the past several moves, and Black seems to have the advantage, but a more skilled player than I could possibly turn this around for White.

Your beginner folly was killing everything within reach. Classic "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is." Don't do it. Oust is counter-intuitive. Though it's a game of annihilation, you're better off not killing anything until you really have to, rule of thumb. Corey Clark, the current top player, has no qualms about killing on turn 4 (but will then refrain from killing for a while).

Rod Jackson, who lives with his mom in Australia, led the charge in Oust strategy before he joined a government labor program and left us to our own devices. I wouldn't want Rod taking over for you right now

[Rod would typically force you to kill one of his singletons early on. If you didn't do it, he'd get a 3-group while you still only have singletons, a big advantage. So you'd kill it, get overpopulated, and lose anyway.]

Oust is a very brutal game. You have to not only take hostages, but torture them as well (see current move). As Rod would often say, "It takes nerves of steel." I really don't have nerves of steel. I've often declined games of Oust because I simply wasn't up to it. Playing Rod, you'd get punched against the ropes until you died standing up, ruining the whole rest of your day, no matter how early in the morning it happened.

topazg · Post by **topazg** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:33 am

Yeah, I can imagine - I think I'm going to resign here.

So far, I'm very impressed with Oust - it looks like it could be a really interesting and deep game to get into!

MarkSteere · Post by **MarkSteere** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:43 am

topazg wrote:Yeah, I can imagine - I think I'm going to resign here.

Perfectly reasonable. Thanks for playing.

topazg wrote:So far, I'm very impressed with Oust - it looks like it could be a really interesting and deep game to get into!

Thanks

I've been jonesing for a game of hex Oust with Corey, but he's another one who's chosen the path of employment over Oust play.

topazg · Post by **topazg** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:51 am

Thanks very much for the game

hyperpape · Post by **hyperpape** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:50 am

I'm really tempted to start playing Oust, but I'm spreading myself thin these days: 25 postal go games, 6 postal Havannah games, 12 postal Arimaa games and 1 postal Slither game. Quality of play is beginning to suffer, and I spent four days stalling on the first move of a Havannah game.

MarkSteere · Post by **MarkSteere** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:42 am

hyperpape wrote:I'm really tempted to start playing Oust, but I'm spreading myself thin these days: 25 postal go games, 6 postal Havannah games, 12 postal Arimaa games and 1 postal Slither game. Quality of play is beginning to suffer, and I spent four days stalling on the first move of a Havannah game.

Highly regarded games, one and all. GamesByEmail is a good correspondence site for square Oust. I make moves in Cephalopod there as infrequently as once a week.

MarkSteere · Post by **MarkSteere** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:47 am

topazg wrote:Thanks very much for the game

Thank you, Graham, and thanks for the compliments

Two gems in twenty years is not a bad rate. Gems are hard to come by. I suppose there's still time to invent one more, but now I'm growing senile like... somebody. I forget who.

christian freeling · Post by **christian freeling** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:13 am

hyperpape wrote:I'm really tempted to start playing Oust, but I'm spreading myself thin these days: 25 postal go games, 6 postal Havannah games, 12 postal Arimaa games and 1 postal Slither game. Quality of play is beginning to suffer, and I spent four days stalling on the first move of a Havannah game.

Mindsports is also very forgiving regarding the frequency of moves. As a bonus you can play HexOust, which according to some of the best players is the better game. I'm not that good, but prefer the square game as a matter of taste.

christian freeling · Post by **christian freeling** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:31 am

MarkSteere wrote:I'm growing senile like... somebody. I forget who.

Yeah dude, smokin' marihuana does two things, it improves one's memory and eh ... :scratch:

Life In 19x19

Oust - Topazg vs Mark Steere

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