Suujin Taisen [DS] "Sequence" strategy guide by Alan Kwan, 26 April 2008 Introduction ------------ This is a partial strategy guide covering an often-missed strategy key-point in Suujin Taisen. Some players (including myself) may have the initial impression that the only major way of scoring big points in the game is Loops. To such players, the game may even seem unbalanced, monotonous, or too luck-reliant. But the fact is that, it is often easier to score a good medium amount of points (300 or so) with Sequences than with Loops; and when it comes to huge points, Same connections, while more difficult (more luck of the draw needed), can score even more points faster than Loops. The problem is that, while one will quickly learn how to play big Loops, it is not immediately apparent how to play Sequences so that they score the most points. All it takes is the knowledge of the basic high-scoring Sequence forms. This will open up an entire new dimension in one's strategy, and add much more enjoyment to the game. Scoring Rules ------------- When you play a tile (the active tile), the game scores every connection which begins with that tile. For Sequences, the rule is: in one turn, you can score for every Sequence which starts at the active tile, except that you cannot score a Sequence which is merely a shorter version (sub-Sequence) of another Sequence you are scoring this turn. The above implies that, if you play a "4" at point "A" below: 1-2-3-A | 1 You will score two 4-long Sequences for 80 points total, since neither Sequence is entirely a sub-Sequence of another, even though they share most of the common tiles. This is the most important trick towards high-scoring Sequence formations. Application ----------- Suppose that you play 5 tiles "1-2-3-4-5" in sequence, and get 20 + 30 + 40 + 50 = 140 points total for them. That gives you average efficiency, not bad but not outstanding enough to put you ahead to win the game. 1-2-3-4-5 | A Suppose that you placed the 1-2-3-4-5 for 140 points, and now if you add another "1" at "A", you'll get 50 points more. That is better, but that is not the way to win the game with Sequences. If that's all the players do, the player who makes the bigger Loops will win the game. I call the above the "stem-branch" order for playing a Sequence formation, and it is not the best way. The key is to lay the "1-2-1" "root" part first: 1-2-A-B-C | | 1 D You get 40 points for the three tiles. Now what happens when you place a "3" at "A"? You will score two 3-long Sequences for a total of 60 points. And when you next play the "4" at "B", you'll score two 4-long Sequences for 80 points, and then 100 points for the "5" at "C" after that. Now look at this: with the same 6 tiles, you're getting a total of 280 points with this "root-stem" order, much more than the 190 you get by going "stem-branch". By laying the root *first*, you're scoring the whole Sequence twice, every step along the way. Now if you can add another "5" at D, you'll score 100 points. Or you may have extra legs at some of your tiles where you can add more tiles for more points. While ultimately the Sequence formation lacks the uber-scoring power of the huge Loop, it does have enough power - to be pulled off with relative ease - to win the game for you. It is often easier to play out two Sequence formations than to make a huge Loop (without interference from your opponent - espeically an intelligent human one). 280 points for 6 tiles is comparable with a 6-tile Loop, which is worth 140 points plus whatever points you get for other connection types. But the Sequence formation has its strengths: 1. It can make use of many tiles which are not quite useful for Loops: it can use rainbow or 1-legged terminal ("1" and "5") tiles, "I" shaped tiles, and some rainbow ("T" or "+") tiles. For example, if you play a rainbow "T-3", even though your opponent blocks one leg, you can go on with the other leg (and your opponent has to spend a turn to block). 2. Unlike Loop and Complete connections, for which most of the points tend to come in a few big chunks at the end, with Sequence (or Same) connections you score some points every step along the way. This means that it is less efficient for your opponent to try to block you: if he blocks early, you haven't committed many moves to the formation, while if he blocks late, you have already scored a good bunch of points. If the opposition is playing very defensively (especially in a game with 3 or 4 players), you may have more success with number-based formations than attempting big shape-based ones. 3. You generally have more freedom with tile positioning, so it's more difficult to block with some items (such as Bomb Statues). For example, if you use a Charm of Increase, you can avoid the Bomb and go on in another direction. 4. If you use a Number Pen (see below), you can gather the tiles you need for a Sequence formation quite easily. Note that while having a T-shaped "2" or "4" tile is handy, you can also work with a T-shaped 3: 2-3-4-5 | | 1-2 The above formation scores 280+40 points for 6 tiles. 1-2-3-4-5 | A-2 The above formation scores 230 points for 6 tiles. By adding a "1" at "A", you'll score 280 points for 7 tiles. A stronger formation with a +-shaped "3": 1-2 | | 2-3-4 | | 4-5 Play the 2-3-2 first, and then both "4"s, and finally the terminals. This formation scores 520+80 points for 7 tiles! (When you play each terminal, you're scoring for 4 Sequences.) Not any worse than Loops, isn't it? The Number Pen -------------- Many players, especially those who don't understand the correct play for Sequence and Same formations, underestimate the Number Pen (item). The Number Pen is a powerful tool, both offensively and defensively, towards number-based connections, although it is pretty powerless towards the shape-based ones (Loop and Complete). Changing a tile with an item doesn't make the tile active, and you won't score for any connection created with the Pen. But you can use the Pen *early* to make the root when you haven't drawn the tiles you need. For example, your hand is "55532". You can start playing the three "5"s first, with the "T" or "+" in the middle. If all you draw then are just a bunch of "1", "2" and "3"s, you can then use the Pen to change the middle tile to "4", and connect the Sequence from there. (You end up scoring 290-20 points for 6 tiles, for example.) But if you draw some more "5"s, you can instead change some other tile into a "5" and go for a juicy Same formation! Using a Pen to add a tile to the root of a Sequence formation can often earn you an extra 140-20 points (if you successfully play the formation out), so the Pen can be worth around 100 points. When used for a Same formation, the Pen can be worth 150 points or even more: 2-2-2 | | 2-A-B Playing a "2" at "A" earns 160+40 points, and after that another one at "B" earns 200 points again. Thus, minus the costs (the 20 for the Pen, the tempo and missed points for the stand-in tile), 150 is a reasonable estimate for the value of the Pen. On defense, the Pen can stop most number formations dead cold. (For example, against the 600-point Sequence formation above, by changing the "3" to a "4" after the "2"s are played.) It is often difficult to undo the damage without another Pen! (The Swap Mirror works but sometimes.) The Pen is one of my most favored items, second only to the Charm of Increase.