Which is the Angel?

Angel/Devil in one ear: take his 10-sided die! you need to capture all his dice anyway, and if you don't roll above a 6, you're dead.

Angel/Devil in the other ear: no, take his 6-sided die with value 5! You get to reroll both your dice, you get rid of one die that is clearly showing a large value, and maybe you can get the 4-sided die above 3.

Which is the angel, and which is the devil?

Gad, I'm starting to sound like Paul Halmos would sound if he wrote about buttonmen and made lots of mathematical errors.



Button Men Game #678019
Tournament Legal challenge, copying communication from game 677944

Skills in this game: Twin, Shadow, X Swing
Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Your Button Man: Ginzu (8 8 s(12,12) 20 X) Score: 46 (-11.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 2 / 0 / 1 (Out of 3 wins)
Your Captured Dice: Shadow X Swing 20-sided die, 20-sided die

8-sided die	X Swing (with 4 sides)		8-sided die
4	1		4 Captured last turn
6-sided die	6-sided die	10-sided die
6	5	3

Opponent: alaric *Sci-Fied* *Silver Medal in Men's Boxing* *Silver Medal in Men's Marathon* *Silver Medal in Men's Synchronized Swimming* *Gold Medal in Men's Wrestling*
Button Man: Dunkirk (6 6 10 20 sX) Score: 63 (11.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 0 / 2 / 1
Captured Dice: Shadow Twin Die (both with 12 sides), 20-sided die, 8-sided die

Select an attack: Power Attack Skill Attack

a common type of decision

I must reroll the 24-sided die -- but is it better to capture his 10 sided die, with value 6 -- which is both his highest die, and reduce significantly the number of valid skill attacks he can make -- or should I take his 20-sided die, to minimize the chances that it rerolls higher than I can capture?

(Wait -- must I reroll the 24-sided die? I could take his 10-sided die with other dice. That looks bad, but at least my 24-sided die would be 100% safe for the next turn.)

Button Men Game #677987
Tournament Legal challenge, copying communication from game 677915

Skills in this game: Option
Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Your Button Man: Apples (8 8 2/12 8/16 20/24) Score: 21 (-12 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 2 / 1 / 0 (Out of 3 wins)
Your Captured Dice: None

8-sided die	8-sided die	Option 2/12 (with 2 sides)	Option 20/24 (with 24 sides)		Option 8/16 (with 16 sides)
6	4	2	6		16 Captured last turn
Option 4/20 (with 4 sides)	6-sided die	Option 6/8 (with 6 sides)	Option 10/12 (with 10 sides)	20-sided die
2	5	5	6	5

Opponent: alaric *Sci-Fied* *Silver Medal in Men's Boxing* *Silver Medal in Men's Marathon* *Silver Medal in Men's Synchronized Swimming* *Gold Medal in Men's Wrestling*
Button Man: Riff (4/20 6 6/8 10/12 20) Score: 39 (12 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 1 / 2 / 0
Captured Dice: Option 8/16 16-sided die

OK, there's no doubt about WHICH die to capture

But should I use the 6-sided die or the 5-sided die? Normally, this would be a no-brainer -- why not reroll the larger die, especially since it currently shows the lower value? -- but note that the 5-sided die has a 40% chance of rolling a number that can't be captured, whereas the 6-sided die only has a 33.3% chance. Also, if it DOES roll a 6, glassonion gets to reroll two dice (wait, is that a good thing or a bad thing?)


Button Men Game #677436

Tournament #13122: My favorite tournament! Again! Current Round: Round 4. (organized by SkyTwo)

I coulda been a contender.

Skills in this game: X Swing
Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Your Button Man: Carson(p) (4 5 6 7 X) Score: 25.5 (0.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 1 / 0 / 0 (Out of 3 wins)
Your Captured Dice: X Swing 14-sided die, 4-sided die

4-sided die	5-sided die	6-sided die		7-sided die
1	5	4		1 Captured last turn
5-sided die	6-sided die	7-sided die
3	3	3

Opponent: glassonion *Delicate Vegetable* *Bronze Medal in Women's Bars* *Gold Medal in Women's Boxing* *Silver Medal in Women's Cycling* *Silver Medal in Women's Fencing* *Gold Medal in Women's High Jump* *Gold Medal in Women's Synchronized Swimming* *Silver Medal in Women's Table Tennis*
Button Man: Carson(p) (4 5 6 7 X) Score: 25 (-0.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 0 / 1 / 0
Captured Dice: X Swing 9-sided die, 7-sided die

I love playing Max!

But not, in general, against Sailor Moon style buttons -- getting that first win can be very tough, since they're only going to capture 4 dice at best (and maybe only 3 if they don't get the initiative, which is a distinct possibility.) [And, of course, even if you GET that first win, some people are clever enough to avoid taking any reserve dice.]

I think I picked the right swing die to maximize my chances of winning a round -- and here, on the second try, I think I have a pretty good shot at it. What should I do to maximize the chances of winning this round -- and what are those chances, approximately?


Button Men Game #677915
Tournament Legal challenge, copying communication from game 677673

Skills in this game: Poison, Reserve, X Swing
Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Your Button Man: Max (p12 p12 p20 p20 p30 p30 pX pX) Score: -104 (-67.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 0 / 1 / 0 (Out of 3 wins)
Your Captured Dice: 20-sided die

Poison 12-sided die	Poison 20-sided die	Poison 30-sided die	Poison 30-sided die	Poison X Swing (with 16 sides)	Poison X Swing (with 16 sides)		Poison 20-sided die
7	13	26	5	14	12		3 Captured last turn
8-sided die	8-sided die	10-sided die
1	5	10

Opponent: alaric *Sci-Fied* *Silver Medal in Men's Boxing* *Silver Medal in Men's Marathon* *Silver Medal in Men's Synchronized Swimming* *Gold Medal in Men's Wrestling*
Button Man: Sailor Moon (8 8 10 20 r6 r10 r20 r20) Score: -3 (67.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 1 / 0 / 0
Captured Dice: Poison 12-sided die, Poison 20-sided die

Beginner's puzzle

What's tabby's best move?

Viewing Game #675464
This game is 'for fun' and does not count for player rankings.
All BM challenge, copying communication from game 541012
This game was last modified on Mon Aug 3, 2009 01:55:32

* Next Turn * Player: tabby * Next Turn *
Button Man: Kith Score: 22 (-11.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 1 / 2 / 0 (out of 3 round(s))
Captured Dice: 6-sided die, 6-sided die

Dice	8-sided die	12-sided die
Value	7	7
Dice	6-sided die	6-sided die	6-sided die
Value	3	4	5

Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Button Man: Rold Score: 39 (11.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 2 / 1 / 0
Captured Dice: 12-sided die, X Swing 12-sided die, 6-sided die

uses of the trip die

one thing that's striking about the trip die skill is how infrequently one uses it -- about the only time you see trip attacks made is when there's no other possible attack available. There are, however, rare occasions when a trip attack might be better than other possible attacks.

Is this such an exception? If i. doesn't force my 10-sided die with value 10 to reroll, he's *almost* certain to lose.

Viewing Game #669808 

Tournament #13753: Chastity! Current Round: Round 2. (organized by alaric)

This game was last modified on Mon Jun 1, 2009 06:28:34

* Next Turn * Player: irilyth *Poisonous Turtle* *Silver Medal in Men's 100 Meter Dash* * Next Turn *
Button Man: Chastity    Score: 24 (-15.3 sides)   Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 2 / 2 / 0 (out of 3 round(s))
Captured Dice: 10-sided die, 6-sided die

Dice	Trip 6-sided die	10-sided die
Value	4	8
Dice	Trip 6-sided die	10-sided die	X Swing (with 10 sides)
Value	5	10	5

Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic* 
Button Man: Chastity    Score: 47 (15.3 sides)   Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 2 / 2 / 0
Captured Dice: X Swing 18-sided die, 10-sided die, 6-sided die

Has it really been a month?

What do you think? Should I take the poison, and keep my 12-sided button safe for another turn; or should I take the Plasma{Chance} and reroll my 12-sided die? you can even make a case for taking the Place{Focus} with a six-sided die. What about the morphing die -- is there a case for taking that?



Button Men Game #671344

Tournament #13739: revenge on the stats tournament for lephantman13 Current Round: Round 2. (organized by glassonion)

Lephantman13's ten worst buttons using which he has played at least 4 games. If you are lephantman13, join this tournament immediately and choose your button as you like. Other players: please hold off on joining until Monday night (U.S. Eastern) so the named player has a chance to join. When you do join, you *must* choose your button randomly.

Skills in this game: Twin, Option, Mood Swing, Chance, Stealth, Focus, Stinger, Morphing, Null, Plasma, Poison, Trip, X Swing, Speed
Player: ElihuRoot *Dead Dude* *Fanatic*
Your Button Man: Farrell (10 12 6/20 6/20 8/12) Score: 24 (-1.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 0 / 1 / 0 (Out of 3 wins)
Your Captured Dice: Plasma {Trip} 12-sided die

12-sided die	Option 6/20 (with 6 sides)	Option 6/20 (with 6 sides)		10-sided die
10	6	6		7 Captured last turn
Plasma {Chance} 12-sided die	Plasma {Focus} 12-sided die	Plasma {Poison} 12-sided die	Plasma {Morphing} X Swing (with 4 and 4 sides)
7	5	3	4

Opponent: Dribbleflop *Kernel Panic'd*
Button Man: inundator (P{c,d}12 P{f,z}12 P{t,g}12 P{p,n}12 P{m,?}X) Score: 26 (1.3 sides) Rounds Won/Lost/Tied: 1 / 0 / 0
Captured Dice: Option 8/12 12-sided die, 10-sided die

Select an attack: Power Attack Skill Attack