<\/p>\n
(This article was originally published in “Games HOW SWEET IT IS!<\/span><\/p>\n A Recipe for Success If you ask a player what makes a How do you play against yourself? To understand how clever SCHOKO 1)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Looking at the 2)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Hiring and firing 3)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Bidding for and 4)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Producing 5)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Selling chocolate by 6)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Processing contracts 7)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Exposing the random 8)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Taking out or Each turn, there is a game leader Ideally, you would like to go Naturally, there are other \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 1 – Peeking at the To look or not to look, that is \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 2 – Hiring and Firing Your first chance to blunder Each salesman lets you attend four Of course, there’s a rub. If From the preceding, you’ll 1)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Often two contracts 2)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> There may be no 3)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> It puts a lot of Luckily, in this, like many of the On later turns, you’ll have \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 3 – Buying Cocoa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n While you have your first chance 1) How much cocoa should you The main considerations here are Looking at turn one again; the I’ve already mentioned the 2)<\/span><\/b> How much should you pay for cocoa?<\/span><\/p>\n Here is where the game gets a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Use New York as b)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> Go for it in New This is where the Game Leader has Is there a maximum you should pay? 3)<\/span><\/b> Should you buy more than you need?<\/span><\/p>\n It is always a good idea to have After you’ve met your goal, \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 4 – Producing This is one step where you get a \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP<\/span><\/b>5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The tension really hits a peak I like to think of this step as \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Three<\/span><\/p>\n Four<\/span><\/p>\n Five<\/span><\/p>\n Four<\/span><\/p>\n Five<\/span><\/p>\n Two<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n MAXIMUM PRICES<\/span><\/p>\n One bar<\/span><\/p>\n Two bars<\/span><\/p>\n Three bars<\/span><\/p>\n Four bars<\/span><\/p>\n Five bars<\/span><\/p>\n Six bars<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n 10 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n 20 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n 30 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n 40 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n 50 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n 60 ton cards,<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n = $\u00a0 40,000<\/span><\/p>\n = $\u00a0 70,000<\/span><\/p>\n = $\u00a0 90,000<\/span><\/p>\n = $120,000<\/span><\/p>\n = $130,000<\/span><\/p>\n = $140,000<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Earlier, I said you may be able to The bidding can get pretty wild, I’ve already said that In the last game I played, I This strategy is pretty much a Price isn’t the only thing to Of course, waiting for this \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 6 – Processing This is the second step you \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n STEP 7 – Exposing the Random This will be a tense moment if you BAD CARDS<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n 1) ‘Der Kakao sitzt fest’ 2)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> ‘Schoko 3)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b> ‘Schock im 4)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b>
\nInternational”, issue #1 (October 1988) and is reproduced here with the permission
\nof Brian Walker, the former editor of GI)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nin<\/span><\/i><\/b> SCHOKO & CO. by<\/span><\/i> Alan R. Moon<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsuccessful multi-player game, he’d probably say that player interaction is the key.
\nThis is certainly true as far as it goes. However, the best multi-player games force the
\nplayer to compete not only with his opponents, but also with the game system and
\nhimself.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWell, all players have a game playing style; conservative, aggressive, methodical,
\nharebrained etc. Sometimes this style mirrors their personality and sometimes just the
\nopposite. A game which allows for different styles of play gives every player, no matter
\nwhat his style, an equal chance to win. Of course, it also gives him an equal chance to
\nhang himself. Showcasing playing style by rewarding good play and exaggerating poor play
\nis one of the things SCHOKO & CO. does very well. So consider this article an attempt
\nto help you avoid humiliation.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n& CO. is, you must look first at how the sequence of play and the player balance are
\nintertwined. There are eight steps to the turn sequence:<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWirtschaftdienst card,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nemployees,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbuying cocoa,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nchocolate,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbidding for contracts at sales meetings,<\/span><\/p>\n
\ngained at sales meetings,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nevent card,<\/span><\/p>\n
\nrepaying loans and buying shares.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nand play proceeds clockwise from him. The order of play makes no difference in steps 4, 6
\nand 7; in effect these steps are performed simultaneously. The order is somewhat
\nimportant in steps 1, 2 and 8, depending on the game situation and how you’re doing.
\nThe heart of the game though is steps 3 and 5, and here the order is crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfirst during both steps 3 and 5, but this would simply be too much of an advantage for
\nthe Game Leader. So the game lets the Game Leader go first in step 3, but makes him go
\nlast in step 5. the Game Leader is still left with an advantage but not an unmanageable
\none. In fact, in some ways, the second player has just as much of an advantage, playing
\nsecond in step 3 and first in step 5.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfactors involved in balancing the game like the amount of cash on hand each player has,
\nthe results of the previous turn, etc. but perhaps the only other<\/span><\/b>factor that needs to be considered here is the length of the game.
\nBecause of the player order, the game length should be a multiple of four. An eight turn
\ngame is probably the best, though four turns is fine for those who want a shorter game.
\nFor longer games, 12 or 16 turns should be played. Don’t let the rulebook’s
\nestimate of 3 hours for an eight turn game scare you. I have found that eight turns
\nrarely takes more than 2 hours if the players keep the game moving. Step 5 will be the
\ndeciding factor. Move it along and you’ll cut the game time down quite a bit. Allow
\nplayers time to think at each bidding progression and you’ll be in for a long game. A
\ngame length in a multiple of four though, is absolutely necessary for play
\nbalance.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWirtschaftdienst Card<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nthe question. $15,000 is a big hunk of charge just to look at a card. On turn one, you
\nsimply can’t afford it. On later turns, you may have to bite the bullet. The
\n‘Kakaoschock’ card is especially deadly. Each turn it doesn’t appear just
\nmakes it that much worse. If ‘Kakaoschock’ hasn’t come up during the first
\ncouple of turns, spend the $15,000 each turn. If it’s already come up, don’t
\nwaste the $15,000 unless you won’t miss it.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nEmployees<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\noccurs with your very first decision of the game, where you must hire your initial
\nworkforce. Hiring two workers, two secretaries, and one bookkeeper is pretty standard,
\nyou’d hire more workers if you could, but you can’t increase your workforce by
\nmore than two including the first. The decision here involves whether you should hire one
\nor two salesmen.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsales meetings. Since one contract is available at each meeting, on the surface it would
\nseem like two salesmen would be better than one. This assumes more is always better
\nthough, and this is not the case here. Chances are at least one player will hire two
\nsalesmen and there will be eight meetings during the turn. This means if you hire only
\none salesman, you have to choose which four of the eight meetings to attend. No big deal.
\nYou probably won’t want to attend more than four of the meetings anyway. So why pay
\nthe extra $12,000? Let your opponents pay it. You can then use the $12,000 to buy more
\ncocoa during step 3.<\/span><\/p>\n
\neveryone feels this way and only hires one salesman, there are then only four meetings.
\nWith only four contracts to be had and four players each with an equal amount of money,
\nchances are it will be tough to get more than one. And if you only get one contract, you
\nonly need one secretary to process it, and you’ve wasted $8,000 on the second one. So
\nmaybe it’s better to spend the extra $12,000 to hire the second salesman so you
\ndon’t waste the $8,000 on the second secretary. Hmmm, there has to be something wrong
\nwith that kind of thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nnotice that hiring two secretaries may not be so automatic after all. As further proof of
\nthis, remember that because you only have two workers, you’ll only be able to produce
\nsix bars (or sixty tons) of chocolate. It’s possible you’ll have the chance to
\nget one contract for all six, again meaning you’ll only need one secretary. There are
\nat least three possible problems with hiring only one secretary though:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n(for three each, or two for two and four) will be worth more than one for six,<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncontract available for six bars,<\/span><\/p>\n
\npressure on you to get a big contract and another player may have the same thing in
\nmind.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nother decisions in the game, the player order will help dictate what you do. Basically,
\nif someone before you has hired two salesmen, hire one salesman, if you’re the Game
\nleader hire one salesman and two secretaries. If you’re the third player and neither
\nof the first two have hired two salesmen, you’re in the toughest spot. Do you hire
\ntwo salesmen? Do you hire only one secretary? It’s a tossup. Perhaps you could try
\nmaking a bargain with the fourth player. Perhaps you could just go by your knowledge of
\nthe fourth player’s style. If you’re the fourth player and no-one has hired two
\nsalesmen it’s also a tough call, though my inclination would be to hire just one
\nsalesman and one secretary and use the $8,000 you save to your advantage in
\nstep3.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe same kind of decisions. Plan well. In effect, every employee you hire but don’t
\nuse costs you double the amount you paid. Saving $8,000 or $12,000 may not seem like a
\nlot, but if used correctly during steps 3 and 8, it can make a lot more.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nto blunder in step 2, step 3 is the part of the game where you can really make a fool out
\nof yourself. There are three basic decisions in this step.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nplace on the market?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nhow much money you have, how much money you think your opponents have, how much cocoa you
\nreally want, and how much cocoa you think your opponents want. But the player order rears
\nits ugly head again too.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmost cocoa you’ll be able to make into chocolate is six bars. Don’t be too
\nconcerned by this. The price of cocoa usually goes up as the game goes along, as people
\ntend to have more money each turn. How much you make available on turn one will directly
\nreflect your playing style. If you’re conservative, put up sixteen. If you’re
\naggressive, put up none. If you’re somewhere in between, find your number between the
\ntwo.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n‘Kakaoschock’ card which means there will be no cocoa next month. If it comes up
\nand you didn’t know it was coming, it really will be a shock. Chance it on turn one.
\nAfter that play it safe and look at the card.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ninteresting; of course, you want to pay the least amount possible. So do your opponents.
\nTwo possible strategies are:<\/span><\/p>\n
\na gauge, and possibly Tokyo too. See what your opponents are willing to spend and then
\nuse this information to bid on the cocoa from Frankfurt, Paris and London.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYork. Bid $3 or $4 a bar. Chances are you’ll surprise everyone because they’ll be
\nusing strategy #1.<\/span><\/p>\n
\na tremendous advantage. In effect, he wins all ties. If you’re the third or fourth
\nplayer, don’t try to be too clever. Put up the bucks. You simply can’t afford to
\nbe shut out. You gotta spend to make it.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYes, approximately. Using turn one as the example again. If you buy the maximum of six
\ncocoa and manage to sell them all, chances are you’ll be able to sell them for about
\n$20,000 a bar in step 4, for a total income of $120,000. If you spend $50,000 on
\nemployees, that means that the maximum you can spend for six bars and still break even is
\n$70,000 or about $11-12,000 per bar. But forget breaking even. You want to make money.
\nYou want to hire more employees next turn, try $5,000 per bar as the maximum you really
\nwant to pay. This will go up as the game goes on, but you should know the break even
\nnumber at all times.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nin mind the minimum amount of cocoa you want to buy at the outset. Don’t be
\nwishy-washy. Make you mind up and then make sure you get the number you want.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthen you can forget it and start to think about being greedy. Unless you have got the
\nmaximum amount of sixteen cocoa bars, or don’t have any money left, you should never
\nsit back and let your opponents set their own price. If you had to pay $5,000 a bar, make
\nsure they have to also. If they’re not willing to pay the going price, you’ll be
\nglad to take more. The more you get, the less they get.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nChocolate<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nbreak. It’s almost impossible to mess up here. Simply produce the maximum
\npossible.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nduring this step. This is make or break time, where you either make a profit, or see your
\nsee your hopes go down the tubes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nchocolate poker. So to start, let’s put all the cards on the table. There are 23
\ncontract cards, made up as follows, bearing in mind that ten tons equals 1
\nbar:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \n
\nmake more money by getting two contracts for three bars each, rather than one contract
\nfor six bars. One look at the above table should be enough to show you why.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nand the tension tends to build as each contract is awarded and fewer remain. It can also
\nbe somewhat hypnotic, and you should avoid getting caught in the trance. Again, it is a
\ngood idea to have a number in our head right from the moment each contract card is
\nrevealed. Don’t second guess yourself. If you’re offered the contract for that
\namount, take it. If you’re not, let it go. Alter the number in your head as the
\nsituation changes, not during the bidding for any particular card.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n$20,000 per bar is about the minimum you should accept. Chances are that on contracts for
\n1,<\/span><\/b>2, or 3 bars you’ll get more, and on
\ncontracts for 6 you may get less. Despite this people will generally go after the bigger
\ncontracts. This is a trap.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nwound up with about six or seven smaller contracts after one turn, taking almost all of
\nthem for $20,000 + per bar. I could only process two of them two of them that turn
\nbecause I had only two secretaries and one bookkeeper. On the next turn however, I hired
\ntwo more secretaries, one bookkeeper, and did very little of anything else besides
\nprocess most of the backlogged contracts. My<\/span><\/b>opponents thought I was crazy when I kept taking the little contracts for 1-3 bars,
\nbut crazy or not I won the game (it was a
\nfluke-Ed.).<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
\ntradeoff. While four contracts for 3 bars each will earn you more money than two for 6
\neach, you will need either twice as many secretaries and bookkeepers, or else you will
\nhave to take an extra turn to collect all your money. But if you have lots of contracts,
\nyou don’t need to buy so much cocoa and you van take the pressure off for a
\nturn.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nconsider though. Keep a close watch on the number of bars your opponents have left for
\nsale. If you have 4-6 bars left and nobody else has more than three say, you’re in a
\ngood spot. If a contract for 4-6 bars comes up you get the best of both worlds; you get
\nrid of a lot of bars at once, and at maximum price because you are the only one with the
\ncapacity to accept the contract.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsituation to occur can lead to disaster. Don’t pass on a contract just because it
\nleaves one of your opponents with the most bars left. Sure if a big contract comes up, it
\nmakes him look like the smartest guy around for sticking it out. But, if a big contract
\ndoesn’t come up, you’re the one looking peachy instead.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nContracts<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\ncan’t mess up. Simply process everything you can. Get those bookkeepers and
\nsecretaries working!<\/span><\/p>\n
\nEvent Card<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\ndidn’t have a a peek at the card during step 1, or a big ho-hum if you did. I’ve
\nalready said that ‘Kakaoschock’ is the worst, buts let look at the others in
\norder of pain.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n(each worker produces only one bar of chocolate next month instead of three) – This is
\nthe second worst card. If it hasn’t come up yet then you may want to pay the $15,000
\nfor you can lessen the effects of this card by planning accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nProtest’ (everybody removes 5 chocolate bars). This costs you not only the money you
\nspent for the cocoa, but also the salaries you paid the workers to produce the chocolate.
\nYou’ll hate yourself if you have chocolate left and didn’t accept a smaller
\ncontract during the turn.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nSchokolager’ (everybody pays $5000 per bar of chocolate) – Effectively, this doubles
\nthe price of the cocoa for those bars. This decreases the profit made when you do sell
\nthese bars.<\/span><\/p>\n