Post by Joaquin on Jul 21, 2015 23:42:49 GMT
Hey everyone! I of course would like to start things off by thanking the host for the game and for running it as well as he does as well as everyone else involved including the PWs and other contestants. I’m going to keep this fairly short because opening statements are always better if they’re brief and to the point. They’re also good if they’re realistic and for obvious reasons, I’m not liking my chances here but to give anything less than my all to this FTC would just be an insult to the host and the other players so I plan to give this my best.
This game to me comes down to two components, the strategic and the social. I’ve served as a juror and I’ve been to two FTCs before and in my experience challenge wins and the “physical” aspect usually doesn’t define good gameplay. In fact, when you have to rely on challenge wins just to get to FTC (like I did in one game and lost because of it), it usually means you’ve failed at the two most important aspects so I usually see them as neutral or negative if you relied too much on them. Therefore, I’ll be focusing on strategy and social gameplay.
Usually in games I rely a lot on my strategic mind and have even been called a gamebot or a stratbot because of it. This game due in part to a lot of things but mainly due to my lack of time I relied a lot more heavily on just making relationships whenever I could be on AIM. Socially, I formed a tight bond with Ian and Crystal right off the bat early on. This helped me to navigate through our first vote despite my inactivity. As veteran ORG players know, inactivity is typically the kiss of death especially at the first tribal but I managed to survive because of the relationships I formed. We swapped soon after and I ended up in a good spot with my two closest allies but I branched out and began to get close to Varner and Steph. I formed tight bonds with both of them and they ultimately saved me when my ally Ian became a bit too shady because I was initially targeted to avoid an idol play but Varner and Steph felt close to me and didn’t want to vote for me. We wouldn’t go on to lose again but I don’t think I would’ve been targeted had we lost again due to my social gameplay.
Then the second swap saw me with Steph and Crystal who I was close to. I also formed my closest relationship of the game with Sierra because we connected immediately and I knew I had to branch out to try to stay safe on all ends. Once John was gone (a voteoff that ultimately allowed me to get closer to Sierra), I was tight with everyone on my tribe, including Ozzy who soon joined us. I was not a target and actually helped to convince Steph and Ozzy to vote with Sierra and I against Cirie who was the person I trusted least on this tribe. Throughout the merge, I kept my tight bonds with Sierra and Steph and formed one with Matty and we became a close group. I also nurtured my relationship with Varner, tried to reconcile with Crystal, and tried to form one with Shane in order to stay safe on the other side. Ultimately my relationship with Varner was the main one I believe that helped me to avoid becoming a target. Anyway, I stayed tight with my group as we systematically picked off threats to us. So my social game helped get me (a borderline inactive) to the merge and then helped me to stay safe during the merge.
As far as strategy, I admit that I implemented little because of real life restrictions in this game but I always took out the person I could trust least as shown by my decision to take out Cirie at the tribal before merge even though Sierra was the easy road. I listened to what was brought to me and ultimately went along with what as best. The Ozzy vote didn’t work out but after that with all due respect to the other players my alliance of myself, Sierra, Matty, and Steph did exactly what we had to every round and took out our targets. We voted for Shane because he was a huge wild card, Crystal because she barely talked to any of us, and Tom who was a threat at the endgame and someone who I feared was close with many people. All that was left was for us to take out Steph who attempted to turn on us and who was a huge threat to win and Varner who strategically did extremely well this game and who is extremely persuasive. Meanwhile our social relationships (mine with Varner, Sierra’s with Chelsea and Tom, Matty’s with Tom, and Steph’s with Varner) kept us all safe and convinced players like Varner and Chelsea to turn on people who were probably allies rather than vote with us. Now of course I haven’t made strategic decisions that put me in the best spot here because I’m sitting next to two people who will probably beat me but, realistically, who in the F9 could I have really beaten? Life took a toll on me in this game but what I did do is use the time I had to form relationships and make strategic decisions that got myself, Sierra, and Matty to the end because I knew I couldn’t win and I wanted two very good friends to. This is what I used my gameplay for and I think it was showcased fairly well.
I’m not saying I played a great game and in fact would say that this is probably the worst game I’ve played in one of these but I made a lot of social bonds, contributed to and even made a few strategic decisions, and ultimately did what would advance myself, Sierra, and Matty further in the game. That’s all I have to say. I look forward to hearing from you all again and explaining my game further through answering your jury questions. All I ask is that you can respect me and what I’ve done in this game for what it is and take a true, honest, unbiased look at the three finalists before you make your decision. Look at who played the best game and who truly deserves to be the sole survivor of The Survivor Games: Luanda. Thank you all.
This game to me comes down to two components, the strategic and the social. I’ve served as a juror and I’ve been to two FTCs before and in my experience challenge wins and the “physical” aspect usually doesn’t define good gameplay. In fact, when you have to rely on challenge wins just to get to FTC (like I did in one game and lost because of it), it usually means you’ve failed at the two most important aspects so I usually see them as neutral or negative if you relied too much on them. Therefore, I’ll be focusing on strategy and social gameplay.
Usually in games I rely a lot on my strategic mind and have even been called a gamebot or a stratbot because of it. This game due in part to a lot of things but mainly due to my lack of time I relied a lot more heavily on just making relationships whenever I could be on AIM. Socially, I formed a tight bond with Ian and Crystal right off the bat early on. This helped me to navigate through our first vote despite my inactivity. As veteran ORG players know, inactivity is typically the kiss of death especially at the first tribal but I managed to survive because of the relationships I formed. We swapped soon after and I ended up in a good spot with my two closest allies but I branched out and began to get close to Varner and Steph. I formed tight bonds with both of them and they ultimately saved me when my ally Ian became a bit too shady because I was initially targeted to avoid an idol play but Varner and Steph felt close to me and didn’t want to vote for me. We wouldn’t go on to lose again but I don’t think I would’ve been targeted had we lost again due to my social gameplay.
Then the second swap saw me with Steph and Crystal who I was close to. I also formed my closest relationship of the game with Sierra because we connected immediately and I knew I had to branch out to try to stay safe on all ends. Once John was gone (a voteoff that ultimately allowed me to get closer to Sierra), I was tight with everyone on my tribe, including Ozzy who soon joined us. I was not a target and actually helped to convince Steph and Ozzy to vote with Sierra and I against Cirie who was the person I trusted least on this tribe. Throughout the merge, I kept my tight bonds with Sierra and Steph and formed one with Matty and we became a close group. I also nurtured my relationship with Varner, tried to reconcile with Crystal, and tried to form one with Shane in order to stay safe on the other side. Ultimately my relationship with Varner was the main one I believe that helped me to avoid becoming a target. Anyway, I stayed tight with my group as we systematically picked off threats to us. So my social game helped get me (a borderline inactive) to the merge and then helped me to stay safe during the merge.
As far as strategy, I admit that I implemented little because of real life restrictions in this game but I always took out the person I could trust least as shown by my decision to take out Cirie at the tribal before merge even though Sierra was the easy road. I listened to what was brought to me and ultimately went along with what as best. The Ozzy vote didn’t work out but after that with all due respect to the other players my alliance of myself, Sierra, Matty, and Steph did exactly what we had to every round and took out our targets. We voted for Shane because he was a huge wild card, Crystal because she barely talked to any of us, and Tom who was a threat at the endgame and someone who I feared was close with many people. All that was left was for us to take out Steph who attempted to turn on us and who was a huge threat to win and Varner who strategically did extremely well this game and who is extremely persuasive. Meanwhile our social relationships (mine with Varner, Sierra’s with Chelsea and Tom, Matty’s with Tom, and Steph’s with Varner) kept us all safe and convinced players like Varner and Chelsea to turn on people who were probably allies rather than vote with us. Now of course I haven’t made strategic decisions that put me in the best spot here because I’m sitting next to two people who will probably beat me but, realistically, who in the F9 could I have really beaten? Life took a toll on me in this game but what I did do is use the time I had to form relationships and make strategic decisions that got myself, Sierra, and Matty to the end because I knew I couldn’t win and I wanted two very good friends to. This is what I used my gameplay for and I think it was showcased fairly well.
I’m not saying I played a great game and in fact would say that this is probably the worst game I’ve played in one of these but I made a lot of social bonds, contributed to and even made a few strategic decisions, and ultimately did what would advance myself, Sierra, and Matty further in the game. That’s all I have to say. I look forward to hearing from you all again and explaining my game further through answering your jury questions. All I ask is that you can respect me and what I’ve done in this game for what it is and take a true, honest, unbiased look at the three finalists before you make your decision. Look at who played the best game and who truly deserves to be the sole survivor of The Survivor Games: Luanda. Thank you all.
