Round 14 Discussion

Playing this game today, there were moments where my mind had just turned to total mush. I was able to sustain the intensity for one round, but even though this round is a little simpler, I am struggling to hold it together. I don't know if I'm making great plays any more. The emotional toll of voting someone out is getting hard, especially when I think everyone deserves to be here!

I'm writing out a confessional to clear my head. I think I'll start with the longer term structure of how I want the game to go, and then narrow into this particular vote.

First, a player-by-player take on where I think everyone is, who they're closest to, and who I could pitch to them:



But!!! I think my mind has gone to mush and I'm just seeing what I want to see. I am seeing in everyone the outcome I want to be true. Or, I am seeing the likely outcome, and by force of will seeing it as being good for me?

I feel way less on top of this vote than the last one. But, onward I go.

I am taking a similar strategy to this vote as I took in the last one; wait until there's two names out there that I would be happy either way with, then work to lock in those two names as the "narrative" of the round. With an "apparent" binary choice, it's no longer me pushing a name, it's me sharing the "prevailing" story and being a damsel in distress who needs to speak to *you* about what on Earth I should do.

Maybe that's a hopelessly transparent play that has been done famously before and everyone knows about it; it'll probably be named after the player who perfected it and is now a trope and I'm totally being seen through. But yep, I tried it on Steve and got good results, I'm trying it on Dog too. Fishing for a 'splaining, perhaps.

Anyway, the two names I am choosing to see are Carlos and Katherine.

Carlos is the safe choice. They're the lone minority voter from last TC, and it should be a simple mercy vote. BUT! The game is not that simple. A free agent is precious, and there's a lot of people in this game that are playing solo and don't have a secure long-running alliance. Jess, Billie, Steve could all be in that boat.

Katherine is the long-running target of Katherine. Voting Katherine may alienate Dog, weaken the Matt/Dog/Katherine trio, the only trio in the game that I'm not part of (afaik) and cements Elza with me, Angela, and anyone else who joins in. Not voting this direction may push away Elza. As much as I like Katherine socially, I just see them being a useful vote for someone to use to get me out the TC or two after this one.

A variation of the above is to vote out Matt. That may have less of a chance of success, but I think it is a better vote, to get out a better player and the person most able to draw in Katherine.

Another reason to take out Katherine is that the vote would be entirely perceived as Elza's move. I really need that, after this message was shared in the 9* Person Coalition Group chat (everyone except Elza, Jess, Carlos, Ramon, Joe) after we successfully pulled off the last vote:




Oh hell no you don't

So yeah, Sorry Katherine, but if you get taken out then I keep Elza close, pull in Jess and Carlos, shake Dog off my tail and throw the "threat" attention onto Elza. It's a really clear choice here.