Very interesting to read everyone’s reactions to the new leagues; thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions and experiences.
At first, I didn’t really pay any attention to the Leagues, because I’m an average player at best. But now that the leagues have been there a while, at least at the lower levels, things seem to have settled down a bit. It seems like you end up in the league group where you “belong” – with other players who are at roughly your skill level, and therefore fun to compete against.
Somehow – apparently miracles ARE possible – I managed to win first place in the Wood league last week! Yes I know…very low on the totem pole, but I was still quite proud of my achievement…not to mention stunned!
I’m still in the Wood level – there was some display about how many more “points” I needed to move up to the Stone league, along with a nice little progress bar. Except I had no idea what the heck it all meant. Well, probably because I haven’t bothered to read up about it. :)
Like some other members mentioned, I like having an expanded group to play against every week; it’s like a bonus challenge.
I do use power-ups sparingly. Once the ABN leader board for ABF allowed scores with PUs, my regular weekly tournament friends and I decided that PUs were “legal” in this situation, and we might as well play with our hoards after months and months of sending each other gifts, and accumulating points. I always play w/o PUs first, but there are some levels where I can’t get anywhere near a decent score without using them. Or even 3-star the level, sometimes.
Also as a few people mentioned, I went through my giant stock of PUs and points with alarming speed – but I think that had more to do with the difficulty level in some weeks recently. I won’t actually purchase PUs, so last week’s wins — in my own little group of friends, and in the league level — was a very welcome addition of points.
I don’t know about “cheaters” – there may indeed be some in the higher leagues, but at the level I play…if I can win the league level, then there is definitely no cheating going on. :)
Bottom line: I certainly understand why people have concerns, and the Leagues are probably going to be problematic for high-scorers and non-PU users. Me personally, I find it a surprisingly nice addition, and a way to maybe get some extra points. I suspect it’s most enjoyable for those of us who are only average players, as it gives us a shot at fame and glory – at least within whatever League we happen to play in.
Of course, the tournament scores of one’s own friends are kept separate, so anyone can just ignore the leagues if you don’t like them.
Regardless, I still rely on the ABN Walkthroughs and the generosity of ABN members who share strategies to get me through the levels every week! That will always be true; Leagues or not, it just wouldn’t be any fun playing every week without ABN. :)
