# Isn't it time for Mornington Crescent? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 20, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786 "2008-10-20T20:08:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![EristicKallistic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@EristicKallistic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EristicKallistic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/81 "2008-10-23T14:01:31Z")
Sorry to be picking nits, but doesn’t that break Nelson’s Rule? The London Concordance notwithstanding, we’re on the knip here, which seems to imply that you’re illegally crossing lanes and should get a penalty. Assuming the move is allowed to stand, I’ll play conservative (as **Bricker** muxed up all my plans), collect 3 squires and hunker down in **King’s Cross** ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/82 "2008-10-23T14:42:52Z")
The most marvellous move presented itself to me over Dinner this evening and I hastened to the computer upon my return in order that I might dazzle everyone with the surrealist brilliance of it: **The Crunch**. But most people know nothing of The Crunch, having never been there. Oh, some people say they’ve been to The Crunch- yes, a little day trip around The Crunch; we can all go as tourists!- but it is, for the most part, an underappreciated and seldom played manoeuvre, one which I believe has yet to included in any of the Mornington Crescent _Commentaries_ from which we all glean so much information. Of course, after consulting my London Underground Map I realised that there isn’t a tube station called The Crunch, and will thus have to settle for the more pedestrian but as yet unplayed **Swiss Cottage** instead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/83 "2008-10-23T15:29:05Z")
**Wapping** to jack the corners. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/84 "2008-10-23T15:36:30Z")
**Tottenham Hale** It’s a defensive play, as you can all see, but with corners jacked, and in the knip, the necessity to reset **Marble Arch** vis **Blackfriars** should be obvious to all. I’ll lay 2 red tokens on **Edgware Road** , to tempt the next player, but I think the level of play here is too high to fall for such a novice lure. But, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/85 "2008-10-23T15:55:59Z")
This is a pickle. I could play Shadwell. Advantages: I can overblue the red tokens in play at Edgware Road and add red tokens at either Marylebone or Paddington. Disadvantages: corners can be unjacked somehow (similar to Fensworth at the '53 Glouster semifinals, maybe??) and then Central line is closed and cahoots possible. It would be well and truly disappointing to have the game end like that (especially since I wouldn’t the one ending it at MC! 🙂 ) So I’ll readily acknowledge being faint of heart, endure the snickers this will inevitably produce… and leave the red tokens untouched. **Chancery Lane,** no oughts or double oughts used. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/86 "2008-10-23T16:19:25Z")
With the corners jacked, and Chancery Lane called on no oughts or double oughts, it looks like I’ll have to jump to the Circle Line. (Please refer to the Westbury addendum, sec: 1.002.c.b, you’ll see it’s quite legal.) **Notting Hill Gate** ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/87 "2008-10-23T16:51:49Z")
I see that a pickle has been declared. As I was leafing through Kim & Pescharev’s "Sauce for the Gander: Advanced Condiment Play Above The Line"only last night\*, I feel confident in _cutting the mustard_ and playing **Burnt Oak**. \*Highly readable, if marred by a thoroughly wrong-headed take on the 1975 Ippingham controversey. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/88 "2008-10-23T17:18:16Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > With the corners jacked, and Chancery Lane called on no oughts or double oughts, it looks like I’ll have to jump to the Circle Line. (Please refer to the Westbury addendum, sec: 1.002.c.b, you’ll see it’s quite legal.) > > **Notting Hill Gate** Yes, it’s legal. But it’s really quite a dirty trick. Obviously it puts me, **pravnik** , and **Martini Enfield** is a very difficult, if not well-nigh impossible, situation as regards the Bakerloo and District Lines. Either we’re playing a friendly game, or we’re playing a cutthroat game. I can only hope that someone else plays something useful off Burnt Oak. Any play I make would be a complete waste of time at this point, so I will simply wait it out. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/89 "2008-10-23T17:23:56Z")
Well, in the spirit of _FRIENDLY_ competition, and since no one bothered to pick up the **Edgware Road** tokens, I will pick them back up, and since I have now completed Fucelli’s Gambit, exchange the 3 red for 7 blue tokens. Of course, that obligates me to close the knip, and play the sub-optimal **Hyde Park Corner** , but as I am now in a excellent position for the 4th Bidding Phase, I feel I can afford the Piccadilly Digression. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/90 "2008-10-23T17:25:31Z")
I see an easy way out of that, **Dollis Hill**. You’re probably just overthinking it but if you just remember the 1933 match of the southern conference you’ll see what I mean. ETA - Ah, Wargamer got in before me. I’ll need to change strategy here. Hmm, I’ll have to sacrifice the Essex bonus but **Holland Park** it is. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/91 "2008-10-23T17:31:51Z")
**Dollis Hill** , since I can see **Antinor01** , that you’re hoping to repeat NV Volkhov’s classic Jubilee Fork manuver. Even though it puts me a tempo behind, I can’t stand to see such a clever play go unrewarded. You may thank me later. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/92 "2008-10-23T17:33:43Z")
Damn, **Wargamer** beat me to the tokens on Edgware Road! That would have allowed me to declare MC in 3, after the forced Colindale and a timely Leicester Square. **Bricker** is now officially underscored for the next 12 posts unless someone plays a station with disabled access to street level, so bearing this in mind, I can only conclude that remaining on the Gantry is the best option. Therefore, **Dollis Hill**. ---
**Author:** ![EristicKallistic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@EristicKallistic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EristicKallistic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/93 "2008-10-23T17:49:24Z")
I’m going to play my third expired bus pass, exchange 3 red and 2 blue for a purple token, and cross the knip. Following that, if I read the Over-Under Declaration of the Argentinian judge in 1983 correctly, I can move all the street-level tokens anti-clockwise, forgo the Fourth Bidding and advance myself to the **Mornington Crescent Car-Park**. I’m out of tokens now, but as I’m still under His Nibs, and the Quadrangle is adjacent, I should be safe… ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/94 "2008-10-23T19:30:33Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Damn, **Wargamer** beat me to the tokens on Edgware Road! That would have allowed me to declare MC in 3, after the forced Colindale and a timely Leicester Square. **Bricker** is now officially underscored for the next 12 posts unless someone plays a station with disabled access to street level, so bearing this in mind, I can only conclude that remaining on the Gantry is the best option. Therefore, **Dollis Hill**. I’ve never seen any commentary on it, but Cecil Hidges-Smythe faced a situation in Lisbon in 1989 that was an almost exact mirror image of the present one (Canonbury vs. Dollis Hill). And we had not one, but three players pick up on it. Really amazing. Still no play from me, obviously. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/95 "2008-10-23T19:35:35Z")
**Holborn**. The reasons should be obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/96 "2008-10-23T19:45:13Z")
**Kensal Rise**. Should finally get **Bricker** out of the rick, and certainly continues in the spirit of **Mangetout’s** move. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/97 "2008-10-23T21:32:35Z")
Crikey! I leave town for 24 hours and we’re already in late-early end game! Well, throwing caution to the wind, I’ll play **Tooting Broadway** and hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/98 "2008-10-23T23:14:15Z")
**West Brompton** for vicar’s gambit. This frees up **Bricker** , of course, but I believe it’s worth the risk. ---
**Author:** ![lynne-42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lynne-42/32/3138_2.png) [@lynne-42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynne-42)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/99 "2008-10-23T23:43:45Z")
I have been to London and ridden the tube since we last played. Given that’s across the world, I collected two Free MC Play Alternative tokens! And had the bliss of talking MC on the train with Armitage Freidenberg himself!!! He’d just won the 2008 European and only missed the Worlds by the gap between the train and platform. After asking for his autograph he was happy to offer some tips on MC. How lucky am I? So I can use a token and take you back to **Holborn**. The reasons should be obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786/100 "2008-10-24T02:00:16Z")
I’m sure that Freidenberg was only TOO happy to sign for you, as he is a pompous git, who has an over-inflated self-image. He likes to go on and on about how he was robbed of a spot in the Worlds, but if he hadn’t been so self-absorbed in the quarters of the Lesser Ikeanyionky Cup in Mali, where, you will remember, he dropped the game to a hung-over, washed-up Lovitt-Durham, he would have been comfurtably in. But since, I have Sextuple Hyphenated, I’m going to play **Ruislip Manor** , on an Anti-Clockwise Progression, put **Martini Enfield** on the undercard, and declare Tudor Court Rules in force for the next three stations. Freidenberg? I’ll take the great Hungarian champion, Brenes anyday. Now there was a bloke who knew his **Marble Arch** from his **Swiss Cottage.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-time-for-mornington-crescent/468786.md?page=6)