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Smart Phone OP?

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Tue, 12/28/2010 - 23:27
matthewlennhardt
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Joined: 08/24/2010
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Not sure if I'm in the right forum, but here goes:

 

Anyone else think the smart phone is overpowered?  Or is it just too cheap?

 

Given that everyone gets $360 plus their income during the Outfitting Phase, most players are going to have enough money to but the smart phone right away.  In all the games I've played, every player has made this their first purchase.  Doing so basically takes the mailbox square out of play (along with any other game effects, Fate cards, etc. that are dependant on the use of the mailbox).


Having the smart phone also means that you will not try to stick to the side of the board with the mailbox.  Thus, you'll be moving around a lot more and collecting more money which will lead to easier purchases from anywhere on the board.

 

Thoughts or ideas?

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Wed, 12/29/2010 - 16:28
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invtbl
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Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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The Smart Phone: Text and some analysis

What it says:

Here's the text of the Smart Phone's entry on page 4 of The Catalog:

10 | Smart Phone

WHAT IT DOES: Allows you to order Catalog items from anywhere.

WHAT IT COSTS: $400

HOW IT WORKS: Passing the Movement phase of your turn allows you to run an App on the Smart Phone. The ACME App (included) allows you to order one item from the Catalog regardless of where you are on the board. More Apps will be available in game expansions.

SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY!: Usable only on your turn. You must pass your Movement phase to use. Passing your Movement phase requires you to forfeit your Income.

My Analysis:
I'd like to preface this by saying that even though I'm one of the co-designers, that doesn't make my position bulletproof.  I'm taking a position specifically to provoke discussion.  That said...
 
The ACME App on the Smart Phone lets you order one item from The Catalog without going to The Mailbox.  To do this, you must pass your movement phase.  This means that the "cost" of using the Smart Phone is:
  • You do not move,
  • You do not land on a space and take its effects,
  • You do not collect your Income. The average Income is 120.
The Smart Phone is certainly useful – for replacing a set of Rocket Rollers Skates that just exploded, or purchasing an emergency Lucky Rabbit's Foot or Revolving Door – but I don't think it's a total game-breaker.
  • You can only purchase one item per turn with the Smart Phone.  If you're at The Mailbox, you can purchase up to three items per turn.  The Mailbox is a much more efficient way to purchase items.
  • You're paying a significant premium to use the Smart Phone.  Ignoring the loss of moving and landing on a space, you're paying an average of $120.  On a $500 item (Clone Replacement, Rent-A-Bureaucracy), that's a 24% markup.  On a $300 item (Rocket Roller Skates, Chainsaw), that's a 40% markup.  You really want to use the Smart Phone on high-ticket items, thereby reducing the cost of using it relative to the value of the item you're purchasing.  Consider that on a typical Mailbox purchase, you rolled to move, collected your Income, and landed on The Mailbox.  You're not forfeiting your Income to use The Mailbox.
  • I disagree that Smart Phones lead to collecting more money.  I've found that using the Smart Phone typically has an Income-reducing effect.   You're forfeiting a turn of Income to purchase one item at a premium.  Take two players with identical Incomes.  Player A spends every turn collecting Income, rolling, and moving, with occasional stops at The Mailbox.  Player B spends every fourth turn using the Smart Phone.  Barring other external factors (FATE cards, Convert to Communism, etc.), Player A will collect more Income than Player B.  A Smart Phone is okay if you use it once or twice, and put what you've purchased to really good effect. Otherwise, it's a very clever [REDACTED] that [REDACTED] has laid to slowly syphon your time and money, cleverly disguised as a "convenience."
Countering Smart Phones:
Not moving seems like a minor effect and may even seem like a benefit at times, but it's a significant disadvantage.  The Smart Phone is most beneficial to high-Income groups.  With few exceptions, these groups do not start with high Power and Power Maximum.  This means that they're fairly easy to beat up – or, more specifically, mug.  Every time you use the Smart Phone, you're not moving, which makes it easier for an assailant to catch you.
 
If I was in a group of players who've built up a Smart Phone dependency, and I had a decent combat group (Power 500+), I'd start with Rocket Roller Skates and two cans of SPAM Potted Meat Product, and head for County Hospital.  Odds are good that by time, HappyTime has ended.  As soon as I can, I'll mug a player and take their Smart Phone.  Remember that mugging for the Smart Phone will give your victim a +40 combat bonus, so you really need to have a significant combat edge on them.  You may want to start off with one or two regular combats to soften up your target, then come in with the mugging.  If you do this, your victim might use the Smart Phone to purchase something to help defend themselves from you, but then they're not fleeing from you, so it's all good; the best they can do is probably a Nest of Hornets, which isn't much of a game-changer if they're seriously outclassed.
 
(An alternate, nastier, and not as subtle strategy: Start the game with as many Nests of Hornets as you can purchase.  When you land on a player to mug him or her, use the Hornets to soften 'em up.  I don't think it's as good a strategy as boosting your Power Max and Power, but it's a lot more demoralizing for your victim.)
 
If I don't have a decent combat group, then I probably have a decent Income.  This presents a few options:  (1) Beef up your Power and Power Maximum and start mugging other players for Smart Phones.  (2) Buy at least four Boxes of Dead Raccoons and engage in extortion: "Give me your Smart Phone or I'll drive you insane."  (A variant on this: Black Cats.  Your target can counter this with Lucky Rabbits Feet, but they'll be passing turns to buy them, so you're still coming out ahead.)
 
...Okay.  I've said more than enough on this for now.  Thanks for posting, Matthew.  I look forward to reading more of your thoughts on the Smart Phone.

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