Thursday, June 17, 2010

Session Report, in which we try Mu for the first time

The latest Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club session report is up. Games played: It's Alive, Tribune, Mu, Vegas Showdown.

We play Mu for the first time, and discover new things in each of the other games.

1 comment:

Dug said...

If you have an iPad (or perhaps an iPhone, I haven't looked that deeply into that side of things), there is a great app that will help you learn the game and I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn the game and teach it.

The most important thing in learning the game is how to bid, of course, and why you do it. Unlike most bidding games, in Mu the point is to either become the Chief, the Vice, or else let the Chief know that you'd make a good partner. If you get that, the rest is pretty easy. Even so, it takes several hands to get the paradigm into your head (it does for me) and you need to be careful not to be "on the hook". At least in the iPad version, which does not simulate a friendly game.

The other thing to remember about Mu is that your best choice for partner may not be your best choice for partner if that person has a lot more points than others at the table. Only one person wins this game, unlike most games involving partnership (appropriately, the other good example is Frank's Zoo, by the same designer).

Mu and Tichu are my favorite "heavy" non-bridge card games by far.