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GAMES ROOM - Darigan has won the war, and the floating Citadel has been added
permanently to the Neopian map. Is this a good thing? Yes! It has brought us
Cellblock, an exciting new game that gives us all a chance to add to our trophy
collection! But getting that shiny new trophy isn't necessarily easy, so I've
put together some tips that I hope will help more Neopians earn it for themselves.
Basics
For such a tricky game, the rules of Cellblock are remarkably simple. The
goal is to get 5 pieces in a row before your opponent does. You play against
a series of 8 opponents, who range from the amateur Clop to the very difficult
Master Vex. To progress to a higher level opponent, you must win the majority
of a series of games against your current foe. This allows you a certain number
of losses or draws (which count as losses for you) against any particular opponent,
which is fortunate because your opponent won't always make mistakes! It's up
to you to trap him with your brilliant strategy to get the wins you need.
Strategy
The most important advice I can give is to play aggressively! Keep your opponent
trying to block you. That way, you get to choose where you put your pieces,
and he is forced to follow your lead in placing his. You need to be alert for
times when you must block him, but if you have the choice of two blocking squares
make sure you choose the one that is most helpful to you.
Three in a Row
A basic way to trap you opponent (or at least force him to play defence) is
to try for Three in a Row, unblocked at either end.
For example, in this scenario your opponent has only two choices; he must
block you at one end! If he fails to do that, you are guaranteed a win. The
3 in a row strategy is most successful against the easier opponents, because
it's easy to notice and block. Your opponents will use this strategy too, so
be aware of it and make sure you block it!
Distraction
In Cellblock, you rely on your opponent's mistakes to help you win the game.
But if your strategy is obvious, your chances are slim that he won't notice
what you're doing and block you. The remedy to this is distraction. Let him
start chasing a win, or give him places to block you. But be sure that you don't
let him win! Don't pursue the same strategy turn after turn; jump around on
the board and he may get confused. He'll be trying to figure out what you are
doing, so sometimes you can fool him by putting 3 or 4 in a row somewhere unnecessary
to your main strategy.
If he has two or three in a row somewhere, he may get so eager to add to that
row that he'll miss what you are doing. For example, you have two options in
this scenario: you can block immediately or you can pursue your own strategy.
I recommend waiting until your opponent gets four in a row before blocking,
because he might get too caught up in his own strategy to notice yours. This
strategy goes hand in hand with playing aggresively, and it works best on the
easier players. The guards are far less easily distracted.
The V Maneuver
I've given you techniques that work on Clop and the other prisoners, but what
can you do about the opponents who rarely make mistakes? One of my favorite
techniques is the V maneuver. To use it, begin to arrange your pieces in a V,
with two pieces on each side and a missing point. Assuming that your opponent
doesn't catch your strategy and block you, you can then add the point to guarantee
your win! Be prepared to use distraction techniques while you are getting this
set up, because one wrong move from the other player and this strategy crumbles.
This is an example from a recent game of mine of the succesful use of the
V maneuver. I've highlighted the V (it's turned on its side in this case), and
you can see that once I place my piece at the point of the V I have the game
won. This is because I've set up two Three in a Row's simultaneously! He can
only block one, and I can use the other to win the game.
If you look closely at this example, you can see that I've used distraction
to help me get my V set up. Notice my last move (marked in red). I forced Haskol
(whom I happened to be playing at the time) to block a vertical Four in a Row
that I was setting up! (Notice his last move, marked in blue, is his block.)
This way, I kept him busy blocking me in other areas while I set up the V.
Salvaging Difficult Situations
Try not to let your opponent use these strategies successfully on you! If
you spend much time playing, though, you'll run into times when you miss something
and he gets a big advantage. But you may still be able to salvage the game!
Remember, you're playing against a computer, and sometimes it misses things
that look obvious. Even if your opponent is only one move away from a win, you
may be able to get him to try to block you by making Three or Four in a Row.
Keep playing hard until the very end, and you may be surprised at the stupidity
of your opponent!
I hope this guide helps you earn that Cellblock trophy (and hopefully some
np along the way)! These techniques may be hard to apply at first, but the best
way to improve at Cellblock is to play. I've told you my best strategies, but
as you play I'm sure you'll develop your own style and techniques that'll vex
Master Vex himself! So get moving to the Citadel dungeons and play Cellblock!
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