Mornington Crescent

[Nemo]

I'm used to just calling the ruleset the Cadency-Second, but it's technically the New International Unabridged version of that. It's a gigantic five-inch thick tome that should probably come with a set of wheels. Very good for intimidating people with, excellent for winning arguments with obscure rules, less good for finding answers in anything like a timely fashion.

I never liked the turn advantage. One way to compensate is for the first round to be counterchanged. As far as I know that only appears in print in the otherwise-unremarkable Whitmore version, but it works very well if you're not opposed to bringing in house rules. There's still a first-mover advantage, but fully exploiting it would come with long-term strategic disadvantages.

[jalapeno_dude]

Nemo Consequentiæ, you should be aware that even though only one edition of the NIUCS was published, important changes were made without fanfare in some of the later printings of that edition. Check the numbers on the copyright page: if you have one of the first three printings you're missing out on some vital supplementary information on the Piccadilly line and advanced transfer pricing. And, bizarrely, the critically important Latimer Road Exception appears only in the sixth printing, not previous or subsequent ones.

As for turn advantage: I'd prefer to keep Zone 3 Twiddling since in my experience it allows for a more improvisational style of play--and it doesn't hurt that it played a critical role in some of the Great Matches of the past, like the Six-Day Semifinal of '78!--but I understand your concerns. One possibility, which admittedly I haven't yet playtested but seems like it could help, is to double the Baggage Handling Fee at Royal Victoria.

[Alicorn]

Oh, if we double the Baggage Handling Fee at Royal Victoria my concern is basically obviated entirely. Can we also include Hampstead, and all stops with "Green" in the name?

[jalapeno_dude]

Hampstead seems fine to me. How about we compromise and only include stops with the word "Green" in the name?

[Alicorn]

Eh, fine, but I'm taking the Greenford exploit if it comes up.

[AndaisQ]

Pff. Feel free, if you call that an exploit.

[Alicorn]

Okay, the magnitude of the loophole does depend on what ruleset we settle on, but if you husband your resources carefully it can meaningfully help!

[AndaisQ]

Yes, yes. If you need me, I'll be in Blackfriars. Fishtailing.

[mnemosynoid]

Can I join? I was looking at the list of suggested rulesets, and while I can't claim to be super familiar with all the ones mentioned, I am very partial to Cadency-Second or higher. The only thing I am violently opposed to is Stovold 3rd. Please please please can we not allow that? I have literally not played a single game with Stovold 3rd which did not end in someone taking the West Hampstead Reversal and feinting a seven. And the worst part is that they always think they're being so clever! See one of the things I love about Cadency is that it doesn't encourage strategies so boring that you half want to invent teleportation just to get it all over with.

[jalapeno_dude]

You're of course welcome to join, mnemosynoid. I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with the other rulesets (you can acquire them through the method above; I've now added the sixth printing of the NIUCS as well in case that's not the edition you have). As for your issues with Stovold 3rd, this may just be an issue with the people you've been playing with; I agree with you that the Reversal isn't as clever as its proponents seem to believe, but there are a number of counters to the strategy well known in the broader 'Crescent community. In any case the Christchurch Kludge should obviate the problem for this particular game.