"Let's first settle who goes first. As challenger, I accept whatever position you assign me."
"I still have a couple of questions… How is it dealt with if the dice division rule results in decimal numbers? Also, is the shop always available or only on special spaces? And lastly, can I always use my items or only during my turn?"
"Ah… Beating my game up even though it is still just a child… You are horrible! But I suppose it is my fault for being lazy with the instructions… Numbers are always rounded, on .4 and below down, and .5 and above up. Except is 0.4 or below, as anything then will be rounded up, so you will always move at least by 1. You can buy items during your turn, and use them only then too. Example, you can use your murder weapon both on the space you stand before you move, and on the one you land after moving. Exception is space 0, where all players start."
"I see… I pick first then."
"I want second~!"
"I am fine with third."
"Very well, I will be number four then."
Yamato was naturally invested in this game, since he had never played anything like it. Though he usually did not try too hard on most games, he would give this one his full attention. Which of course resulted in game analysis of immense depth and accuracy.
"The most interesting thing is the two dice rule, which is the main factor limiting the pace of this game. The probability to get 1 is actually higher than all other numbers combined, with 24 out of 36 possible combinations resulting in 1. So every time there is a 66,67% chance. 2 is the next most likely number, having 6 possible combinations, and a 16,67% of occurring. Then comes 3, having 3 combinations and thus an 8,33% chance, and finally 4,5 and 6, which all have the same probability of 2,78% with only 1 possible combinations. Quite the deviation from the regular one in six probability of a dice. However, for the forst play, that is all irrelevant. The items hold much more value for now. Buying a knife early would be logical since there the players are generally the closest, meaning then is the highest chance to interact with one another. However, if you move first, you cannot land on a space with someone else on it, others can only land on your space, so you should always buy a protection point when starting. And the last player to move should always buy a knife in theory. But knowing that theory, buying a knife wouldn't make much sense since you know statistically everyone before you should have bought and used a protection. Or that would be the case… If not for the one point you have to spent moving. The first player is actually the safest for the first turn, since they alone get the bonus for landing on their space. And it is a fact, that you need a card point bonus on your first move to even use a knife. But only the first player on a space can get that bonus, meaning his space is completely safe for them, since anyone else landing on their space are never able to have enough points for movement, weapon purchase and weapon usage.
In short, as the starting player, you have the highest probability of killing someone in the second round and accumulating all of their points. However, it is not that simple because of the protection points, and attacking without actually killing someone basically bankrupts you immediately at the start, so the same problem remains. Therefore, the optimal move is to not buy anything in the first round, and simply hope for a positive point card. What numbers I roll are irrelevant as well."
After roughly finishing the calculation for his first move, he simultaneously did a similar procedure for everyone else as well. Moving to a table, there were multiple items placed on it. Besides a smaller version of the board displayed below them, there were a pair of dice, a miniature stone knife, a blue sphere with a button on it, and a deck of cards spread out on each space of the miniature board. With no other valid play, he picked up the dice. His first dice rolled a 4, and his second a 2. Resulting in a 2. A colored cylinder on the large board below began moving on their own by two spaces, stopping on the space titled 2. Yamato's seemed to be the red one, so an organge, blue and white one remained. As he drew the card on the second space, he did not react visually to the negative effect of -2 points,since it seemed the others were not necessarily aware of this fact, concluding his turn.
Next in line was Yuki. She came to the conclusion that rolling the same as Yamato was romantic and efficient, since she would never make minus that way. And technically, 30 points were more than enough to reach the goal with a bit of luck at the end. Rolling a 6, that dream seemed shattered at first, but was miraculously restored after the second dice rolled a 3, resulting in 2 overall as well.
"Yay, look, boo, we are at the same space~!"
"That's great, boo…"
"I haven't even decided if we play as a team or not… Would be more fun if not, and there can only be one winner anyway…"
Since the space was already explored by Yamato, there was no card effect for Yuki.
"I suppose it is my turn now… Hm… So if I understand it correctly, I want my first dice to roll a high number, and my second one to roll a low number… Well then, here it goes!"
Bronelli seemed to consider buying an item from the shop, but there was no indication of that having taken place. Though, there has also been no mention of any visual indication or any sound for someone buying an item. As Bronelli rolled his dices, he rolled 1 twice. Therefore moving to space one, and receiving a card for being the first to land on the space. Its effect was "Gain 4 Points", which was needless to say one of the more fortunate cards, but came at the cost of only having moved one space. Though he could have hidden this information like Yamato did, he chose not to, or did not even think of it. Either way, his approach seemed fundamentally different from Yamato's.
The woman was next, wasting no time in the shop whatsoever it seemed. So either she knew what she wanted right away, or chose nothing aside from the dice. By now, Yamato confirmed another rule about the game that was not directly stated in the rules. Points of other players, and thus presumably items as well, were not displayed publicly for the other players, or oneself. So you would have to keep track of it on your own. Additionally, you could probably buy and hide an item, if no one else noticed. How Yamato would use this was still uncertain, but he already saw multiple uses for it. But focusing on the present, he realized that the woman, if playing optimally, was just now forced to buy a protection. Since Bronelli had gained 4 additional points, minus his one movement cost, he now had a total of 33 points. Meaning he had enough points to buy and use a murder weapon the next round. Meaning if the woman were to land on his field now, which was statistically incredibly likely, then Bronelli would be able to kill her on his next turn before even having to throw a dice, immediately regaining 29 points immediately from the woman as well.
Assuming the woman had the ability to see this threat as well, Yamato could calculate her remaining points to be 24 before her dice had even rolled. However, as her dice rolled a 6 and 1, this calculation was a bit inaccurate since she gained a card for discovering a new space, which could have been additional points, or a penalty of points and his calculation assumed she would not draw a card. However, even so, it was still necessary for her to buy a protection, since she was still in reach of Bronelli in the next turn. Of course, this was same for Yuki and Yamato, who were even closer and thus far more likely to land on the same space as Bronelli.
Now that it was Yamato's turn again, he immediately bought a protection, the item refilling almost instantaneously after he picked it up from the table. He did so openly at that, however he proceeded to put the sphere in his pocket immediately after. Continuing with the dice, he rolled a 5, and 2, resulting in a 2.5, rounded to 3, landing him on space five. The card that space read the following, "Special Effect: The player who drew this card cannot lose points through card effects until space fifteen", which considering the slow nature of the game, was of course very useful. Yamato of course did not read out or show his effect once again, sharing no amount of information with anyone else.
Yuki's goal not having changed from the first round, she did not appear to buy a protection, but rather went straight for the dice.
"Boo, please give me luck so I may continue to stay tightly pressed against you on the small space that is space 5!"
"The space seems sufficient for at least five players on each space…"
"…Pressed tightly together on the small space that is space five!"
As Yuki rolled her dice, she was too lucky for her own good, rolling a 5 and a 1, resulting in 5 and thus landing her alone on space seven. As she stared depressed at the board, she grabbed the "dumbass card" waiting for her, its effect being her gaining 5 points. But her disappointment could not be greater, causing her expression to be outright misleading to some, while she did not show anyone the card directly and instead buried her head into Yamato's chest in defeat. The fact that the reality was far better then the game being reassuring enough for her to not break the board in half. As Yamato patted her head and presumably talked encouragingly into her ear, Bronelli's turn was once again. What could be a great threat, even the death of an unprotected player, was nothing of the sort since all he did was roll a 4 and 3, rounding to a solid 1 once again, moving him to where Yamato and Yuki had just been. With no card effect for space two left, the woman's turn began, it being as uneventful as Bronelli's as she rolled a 4 and 3, rounding to a 2 and moving her to space eight. Though, unlike Bronelli, she did get a card effect, she never showed what it was to anyone.