# Mornington Crescent question **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 23, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794 "2010-09-23T17:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/241 "2010-10-06T20:46:22Z")
**Tower Hill** And may the Saints Preserve Us! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/242 "2010-10-06T22:35:47Z")
Hee. That’s put the cat among the pigeons. Not my turn though, not until… \… well, no sense screaming it out. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/243 "2010-10-06T23:02:51Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > Oh, that was just COLD, **Bricker**. It took me two hours to run a sim of our current game state (using West London Unabridged ruleset, spring 2010) and so far there is NO sequence of moves under 4,000 that leads to a win. Off with your head! I admit to a bit of ire over my abortive win attempt being crushed. And like Malacandra, I will now defer until…something happens. Something involving zone 3 stations. Heh heh heh… ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/244 "2010-10-06T23:40:23Z")
If you really want to see something happen, wait until someone puts the river boat service into play. Something will happen, mark my words. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/245 "2010-10-07T02:57:32Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Well, not necessarily. By the Anticongruency Principle, which was ratified at the Henley-on-Thames Interzonal back in March 2008, it’s definitively established that one mandatory loop is voided by the commission of another. So off to **Dollis Hill** we go, and as if by a miracle… we’ve also dealt with **Scuba Ben** ’s little problem. > > (Did you miss the minutes, Scubey? They were in the _West Crunge Clarion & Dubious Advertiser_ - not exactly a mainstream publication, but their circulation figures do actually qualify; you have to watch those committee members though, if it hadn’t been for a late night fish supper I’d have missed that one myself and I shouldn’t be surprised if there was some jiggery-pokery going on there, slipping it into a provincial free-sheet on the quiet!) I’ll factor that into my sims tomorrow. And if that doesn’t help, I’ll update my sims with Welsh. ---
**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 7, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/246 "2010-10-07T07:25:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > > [@lynne-42](#): > > > > Can so! I opened with **Paddington** and then full-handed it. See Parmington vs Parmington Jnr, Wiltshire Masters, 1947, as recorded in _Mornington Crescent Openings_ (2nd Ed.) p. 231. > > Yes, but in that sequence, Ravenscourt Park was played as a follow-on, a station that has unused platforms. (District Line station w/ Piccadilly Line platforms unused in normal service). Here, while **ianzin** mentions that same station, he does so as an aside, not as a play. So your comparison to the famous Parmington family dispute is simply not applicable. > > Tokens are not null. > > Yet. Oooops! [She sneaks into a corner hoping no-one will notice] ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/247 "2010-10-07T11:46:18Z")
> [@lynne-42](#): > > Oooops! > > [She sneaks into a corner hoping no-one will notice] Perfectly understandable. This has been an odd game, because of the plethora of asides, non-plays, etc. You obviously SAW Ravenscourt Park used… just not as a play. Lord knows my own embarassing fog moment snatched … er.. continuation from the jaws of victory. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/248 "2010-10-07T13:09:49Z")
I must admit, the topology of this particular game is as wild as I’ve ever seen. I feel we’re at the cusp of falling into some higher-order dimensional matrixing here - which hasn’t been seen since the Prague Winternationals back in 2002, when Pei actually _vanished_ between moves. Now I know most folks claim that the security video caught him sneaking off for a smoke during Bullfinch’s turns, but _I_ know he really was sucked through a Moebius Inversion when he conjoined the Metropolitan, Central, and Hammersmith and City Lines with a \*\*Mile End - Liverpool Street \*\*Combination in Moves 267a and 267c. I mean, obviously, the Security Video was a future echo - if you’d notice, his beard has more gray in it than can normally be explained by the usual MC stress. ---
**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 7, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/249 "2010-10-07T13:19:17Z")
I’m very suspicious of the fact that no-one has played since post 241, but despite a thorough Meta-Analysis using a neat little program I wrote (and don’t try to tell me that’s not allowed, it’s perfectly acceptable except when playing at the weekend under Jewish Rules), I can’t work out why no-one has gone for **Morden**. But I suspect I’m about to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/250 "2010-10-07T13:21:55Z")
That went much better this morning. I updated my sims with the Anticongruency Principle as per the Bosnia & Herzegovina - Republika Sprska quarterly scrum guidelines, and found that MC is reachable in no less than 15 moves from our current position. At least as per the Fall 2009 scrum, where the BiH team thought they’d wear out the RS team, but the RS team had used this principle with the aforementioned Priory Rule to con BiH into the Dollis Hill Loop three times, finally exiting at MC. Scrum final score: Republicans 5, Federals 2. So to start a potential game-ending sequence (but hardly definite, because I don’t understand enough Serbian to be certain of my simulations): **Walthamstow Queen’s Road** , refilling my Oyster card at the line transfer, and shuffling the discards back into the deck. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/251 "2010-10-07T13:24:11Z")
NETA: **Dead Cat** , the Straczynski Attack would have been devastating here, if you hadn’t posted under my write-up. With the near simulpost, it’s a strong (though not commanding) sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/252 "2010-10-07T14:12:25Z")
I will decline Purple Flags and move to a Zone 1 location. **Waterloo** , positioning myself by depositing gold tokens at **Bank**. I hope to capitalize in the Early Endgame by this move. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/253 "2010-10-07T14:49:32Z")
Ah, my plan is coming together. And by coming together, I mean meandering off towards central London in a completely unplanned direction. So, salvaging at least position: **Sloane Square**. ---
**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 7, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/254 "2010-10-07T16:13:39Z")
**Victoria** Nubs in. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/255 "2010-10-07T16:22:36Z")
**Farringdon**. And Zone 1 travel re-established. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/256 "2010-10-07T16:54:32Z")
I am just a passing observer, but it appears no one played Shadwell after Bank, which leads to a very suspect call on the nubs in. I know this is a casual game, but Lord Blitherhithe was pretty specific on that point. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/257 "2010-10-07T16:55:58Z")
Whoops, no one actually played Bank, my bad, round of muffins for all, my shout. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/258 "2010-10-07T17:00:56Z")
**Cliffy** did, in post 214. Pints and muffins both. **Paddington** with connections to NR and both ends of the Circle Line. ---
**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 7, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/259 "2010-10-07T17:07:08Z")
Well, all I can say is thank goodness **Scuba Ben** posted so soon after I did, probably without seeing move - I re-ran my Meta-Analysis program and it seems that after my Morden, **Bricker** had MC in one! I must be more careful next time - I forgot that Tudor Court Rules had appeared earlier in the game, which threw all the calculations off. A lucky escape. Anyway, I continue to apply pressure to terminuses with **Ealing Broadway**. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794/260 "2010-10-07T18:01:46Z")
The Earl of Middlesex would have been proud of that move. Now two yellows dropped on the oyster card and day return to MudChute would have been more elegant, but obviously early Tudor Court methodologies had only scratched the surface of forward options and token defaults. Some scholars have suggested that early Elizabeathan era futures trading was delveloped from the Tudor Court rules and ultimatly led to todays advanced financial derivative instruments. Frankly if a certain someone had spent less time throwing the keys to the royal carriage into the maze at hampton court during wife swapping parties and more time refining the Aldywytch - Blackfriars variations we would not have the banking crisis we have today, and more importantly, Fotheram would not have made such a fool of himself at the 1829 Peking Regional Invitational. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mornington-crescent-question/554794.md?page=14)