Think Ahead+ is a fun and exciting strategy game for one or two players. You can play against a friend or the Macintosh. The game is played on a 8 by 8 board with each tile having a point value either positive, negative, or zero. There are also several game options available at all levels: Mystery Box, Scramble, and Rotation.
窶｢ Mystery Boxes provide an element of 窶廰uck窶 into the game. These special tiles are placed randomly on the game board and are worth anywhere between -15 and +25 points
窶｢ Scramble lets you ruin the opponents game plan by mixing up all the remaining tiles on the board. Can work in you favor too.
窶｢ Rotation lets you select a tile from the opposite movement direction or just lets you look at the board from a different perspective.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to score as many points as possible while keeping your opponent from doing the same (sounds easy doesn't it?). Each player moves in only one direction, either vertically or horizontally. The players alternate turns selecting tiles from the board and receiving the corresponding point value for the turn. Once a tile is selected it can no longer be chosen again. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The game is very easy to learn and play yet difficult to master. Games can be quick or they can take awhile, depending on how much brain power you want to apply. It can be quite addictive and if you happen not to have a human opponent available, the Macintosh is always ready to play. With five levels of difficulty you will always have a competent opponent and you'll have to exercise that old noodle quite a bit to beat the Mac at the higher levels.
Strategy
A lot of strategy can be applied to this game and it takes some analyzing of the game board to do well. As you can probably guess, the game is called 窶弋hink Ahead+窶 because sometimes you may have to think several moves ahead in order to see the best possible move.
The best strategy is to select tiles that will force your opponent to select tiles that are a lesser point value than yours and provide the highest net gain. This is more difficult at the beginning of the game, but towards the end of the game you will have chances to gain control of the board. This allows you to select tiles that leave your opponent with only one possible move, therefore allowing you to maximize your score for forcing negative tiles on the other player.
Don't select the larger number tiles unless you can get a good net gain considering the opponents next move. Wait for a better opportunity to maximize your points.
If you are playing with any of the Options try these ideas. Consider the Mystery Box worth about 5 points and only choose it if you really need the points or don't mind if it's a loser. Use Scramble if you are in a position forced to select a large negative tile or if the other player will get a large positive tile after your move. Use Rotation if you see a better move in the opposite movement direction, or if you just want to see the board from another angle.
