Well, I was going to go ‘right around the end’ and play Stratford… but with Bakerloo line stations closed for ‘essential maintenance’, I believe that takes the Jubilee line platforms at Baker Street out of play. Hence, I have no recourse but to go to Moorgate.
And that opens Leytonstone, thankyouverymuch, and lets me block the center platform (westbound) at the cost of a purple token, which I don’t have but will happily go in hock for.
So. Leytonstone, westbound blocked, one purple token under.
With nubs in and a french breakfast pastry declared?
I know this is a friendly but surely I need not remind people of Galvestone and Mayfields 1923 ruling, and lets not be bringing up the essential mainteance On the bakerloo line canard.
Leytonstone leaves me unable to make a move. Damn.
Woke up just now with a solution. Many people may be familiar with Uffington’s Conjecture regarding the topology of laterally-connected bidirectional shunting networks. In a monograph in Colonial MC Quarterly (vol XXIII, no 7, 1913), Uffington and Cartier demonstrated the Conjecture to the pre-war tramway networks of Montreal, Lisbon, and London. This had always been considered merely a theoretical toy, but since the transfer of the East London line to the Overground, the Conjecture can be applied in modified form to today’s LU network.
This it was that had twigged my interest earlier, but it wasn’t clear. Now it is so simple. I declare a reverse Salaberry-de-Valleyfield with red tokens derogated, and land squarely south of the river at Brixton.
Clever, Sunspace. Very clever. I am impressed! I’ll enthusiastically await a chance to get back into play.
Very astute, Sunspace, although I believe the monograph to which you refer appeared in vol XXII (vol XXIII merely contained the amendments, footnotes and clarifications, all of which I believe ran to a couple of pages more than the actual monograph itself).
I’m wary of Bricker’s carefully cultivated tactical strength west of the HSK / Bayswater line. I’m hoping his sacrifice of material for strategic advantage will eventually prove his undoing, although there’s precious little sign of this at the moment.
So, we’ve arrived at Brixton. I note that technically the fog declared on page one is still a ‘relevant factor affecting the game in progress’ as defined in the rules, and therefore I’m entitled to suggest that limited visibility could occur. This being the case, I play:
Colliers Wood.
Bloody hell, I was heading for Edgware Road until Sunspace jumped in and stole it - that was a thoroughly dirty play, well done that man! The nearest alternative must therefore be:
Paddington.
Great Portland Street, and I’ll pick up one purple token, and pay off my hock.
That, Dead Cat, was a good reply to ianzin – but it opened up a move to Kensal Green. And I’ll take my free pastry thanks to Precambrianmollusc.
I know we are in the late Early Mid-game here, but I think a premature win is possible. (Not certain, though, as I tried running my sims this morning and my computer shot itself.)
ETA: Took too long, as Bricker got in under me. There goes my pastry. 
And with the pastry claimed, tokens cleared, and a green flag, I’m back to Baker Street.
Dollis Hill!
I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you!
Sunspace, the pastry wasn’t claimed. You get hit for a penalty round.
Plus I think the Bakerloo line is still blocked. Or is it the Jubilee line? (Skims…) Yes, it’s Bakerloo, post 301.
I think there’s only one good reply to Wargamer sending us into the Dollis Hill loop yet again: Dollis Hill repeated, with a mandatory double.
I did, actually - a very similar sequence of moves occurred in the National Cornwall Championships of 2001, where I was watching undercover pretending to be a fisherman from Polzeath (you weren’t allowed in the venue unless you could prove Cornish descent, but my grandfather was a county councillor at the time and was able to forge my papers). Of course, being Cornish, they were playing to a largely discredited set of rules first published by McGinty, where shunting is not only permitted but compulsory, in triplicate on the Circle Line, and only stations with more than 10 trains per hour in both directions on Sunday evenings can be played after the first 50 moves. However, the line there transposes nicely into the current position because all the contradictions cancel each other out.
Dollis Hill.
Dollis Hill!
I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you!
You two fell right into my trap! The Dollis Hill quadruple, combined with my big pile of tokens (which I was unable to place for such a long time), and flags lifted, and respecting the Bosnian standard interpretation of Uffington’s Conjecture allows me to play
Mornington Cre–
Dang. I forgot we’re still under Tudor rules. And I would have had it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their Great Dane too.
Richmond, blocking the Dollis Hill loop (as seen at the Scotland Highland v. Lowland scrum, 2008).
No! It was— uh, waitaminnit.
:: pause ::
:: checks gameplay as shown in previous posts ::
Bother. Looks like I’ll be saying hello to Mr. Penalty Box.
(Hello, Mr Penalty Box.)
And there isn’t any decent tea here either. How could they do that?
I was considering Dollis Hill earlier too. Should have gone with it.
Let this be a lesson to the spectators. Don’t overthink your game!
Ahem… a penalty round doesn’t involve meeting Mr. Penalty Box, but rather Mr. Bartender.
Camden Town,
and make mine a double, pursuant to the Guiness Addendums to the '57 Crescent Quarterly Reports.
Hmm. Gives a new meaning to “I’ll take the fifth,” eh?
OK, Canada Water. And … no other actions taken.