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Pack Rattery

  • May. 1st, 2008 at 5:36 PM
ivygram
(If you're not a Pack Rat player, you need not waste valuable minutes of your day by reading on.)

Quite a few of you folks play Pack Rat, and it seems like you all have very distinctly different Pack Rat ethics. Some of you lock some things, but not others. Some of you lock nothing at all, and some of you (like me) lock everything you care about since (in case you weren't aware of this) the rats have recently been given the ability to steal from other players' packs. Given that the rats can steal now, I tend to lock everything I want to keep. I also tend to confine my packratting to one set (or perhaps two) at a time until they are completed.

FYI, my general attitude toward my pack is: If it's not locked, steal it.

In general, if I can see that someone is working on a specific set, I'll grab things it looks like they could use and drop them in their pack, if possible. If there's nothing I can steal (based on point value) I'll leave the item unlocked in my pack and hope they pick it up.

But it comes down to the fact that you all have different styles and ethics, and while I try to mimic everyone, it's nigh-unto-impossible to figure everyone out. Some players write little messages in their message spaces saying what is and is not okay to pilfer (which won't stop the rats), others just rely on locks. That's my approach, but I might start leaving little notes and see if they're useful...

Just my thoughts. I shouldn't be Pack Ratting anyway--just wasting my wrists, which I should be saving for finals week. *Next* week. Gah.

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Comments

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[info]firinel wrote:
May. 1st, 2008 10:51 pm (UTC)
I lock everything that I care about and couldn't replace easily. I don't always have enough space for the items and the locks if I'm in the higher stages of a set and trying to build shit. I try to determine what other people might need, too. I held onto a fuzz snack for awhile for Marn because I found it difficult to find it when I was working on completing the sugar rush set. I'm having trouble finding pagodas now that I'm working on that one.
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[info]baerana wrote:
May. 1st, 2008 11:02 pm (UTC)
what's your name on facebook? would you mind me friending you? (I'm Baerana Sabaco, btw)
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[info]firinel wrote:
May. 1st, 2008 11:04 pm (UTC)
Firinel Thurman; no, I wouldn't mind at all!
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[info]baerana wrote:
May. 1st, 2008 11:01 pm (UTC)
I absolutely love playing pack rat with you, since you play fair and your ethics seem close to mine. My ethics wrt the game are - if someone is obviously working on a set, don't steal from it. If not, go ahead. If you have something they need for their set, give it to them, take something it doesn't appear they need. I wouldn't break a friend's lock unless I was absolutely desperate and willing to give them something very expensive (that they also seem to need) in return. I don't tend to lock things or break locks - I can't get the locks to work in firefox thus I have to open IE, which I HATE, to lock or break a lock. But if something has taken me a long time to make - like, if it involves 93 corns, i'll lock it. :)

(and I don't really bother trying to make the locks hard, i figure if someone wants it enough to break a friend's lock, they probably need it)

I hadn't thought of notes, but that's a good idea :D

Edited at 2008-05-01 11:03 pm (UTC)
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[info]cappyhead wrote:
May. 2nd, 2008 01:45 am (UTC)
I am a PackRat asshole and if you have locked something I want, I will try to get it.

But Ivy, your stuff is safe because you are the master at word scramble and I suck at it.

:)
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[info]puzzld1 wrote:
May. 2nd, 2008 03:47 pm (UTC)
That you are, but it's totally fair :-). I was amused and horrified to wake up to my four Quest For Montezuma cards pilfered! Taught me a good lesson. All's fair in love and Pack-Rat.
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[info]logisticslad wrote:
May. 2nd, 2008 01:10 pm (UTC)
It's a very fun and addictive time sink, isn't it? I tend to approach the game more cooperatively than competitively. Thus, I don't tend to steal things from friends who are obviously working on a set. I also don't tend to break locks. But I also notice how others play and am likely to lift such self-imposed restrictions and change my tactics when someone breaks my locks and steals the thing that I've just spent a week trying to find or make.
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[info]mutster101 wrote:
May. 2nd, 2008 02:58 pm (UTC)
having only just started, i'm not sure how i play it yet.

employing ethics seems a little strange since the whole idea is to steal, but i guess once i get more established this opinion may change...
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[info]puzzld1 wrote:
May. 2nd, 2008 03:44 pm (UTC)
It should be called "Crack-Rat"!!! I generally don't try to pick locks, mostly because I suck at it. I generally believe all is fair in love and pack-rat, but I don't try to actively screw people over, and If I steal from a friend, I try to leave them something good.
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[info]sheltermom wrote:
May. 3rd, 2008 03:18 am (UTC)
I joined and have no friends...LOL. SOmeone friend me
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[info]ivymcallister wrote:
May. 3rd, 2008 03:47 am (UTC)
Done. :)

Here's a cheat-sheet of PackRat recipes and current/cancelled sets: http://packrat.bluwiki.com/

It really helps since I can hardly remember what makes what from day to day.
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