The KPL and LPL playoffs have been hotly contested recently. After the version change, many teams' BP ideas and early rhythm have changed significantly. While watching the game, I was thinking that in fact, the real core of competition is often not just about operations, but more about decision-making and on-the-spot judgment. It's like watching the jungler control the dragon or the assistant to start a team. Every step is a game, and the error tolerance rate is frighteningly low. This kind of mental confrontation is quite addictive to be honest.
Speaking of mental battles, I recently discovered an unexpected "training ground" - the classic version of Landlords. Don't laugh, it's really not a joke. I used to think that Landlords was just for leisure and relaxation, but after playing it, I discovered that the competitive depth of this thing is not inferior to that of MOBA. Think about it, remembering cards, counting cards, judging what is left in the opponent's hand, whether to split the cards or keep them for explosion, every hand is a multiple choice question. Especially the intelligent AI in the stand-alone mode has a strong sense of pressure. It will lie, bluff, and even deliberately let you go and then backhand you. It is like fighting a psychological war with a scheming opponent.
And the endgame mode in this version is really a good place to practice your thinking. Each level is like a small situation. You need to plan the order of playing cards and consider how to win with the least resources. This is similar to studying the timing of team battles and the connection of skills in the game. Sometimes I get stuck on a level, try and make mistakes several times, and suddenly I figure it out. The feeling of enlightenment is as satisfying as watching a player perform a perfect operation.
Of course, if you don't want to use your brain, you can also play the leprous mode or the no-shuffle mode. Bombs are flying all over the sky and the multipliers are rising. It's pure fun. Or you can invite a few friends to open a free friend game, chat and play at the same time, the atmosphere is quite relaxed. The all-real-person battles also have a season system. The tension when rushing for points is a bit like watching the final game of the playoffs.
In the final analysis, e-sports is about the ultimate performance of masters, and playing against landlords yourself is to experience the thrill of the game first-hand. Regardless of the operational rhythm in the KPL or the line management in the LPL, they are fundamentally the same as the card control and rhythm suppression of Doudizhu. So, if you are itching to watch recent games and don't want to play too tiring games, you might as well try this Classic version of Landlords. Maybe you will find that it turns out that a "stand-alone" game can also create an e-sports-like sense of oppression 😂