1st player wins

[Tobilerone29]

Have I got the strategy all wrong? If I complete a square on the same turn as the other player in a 2 player game, they'll get the higher bonus since they go before me. Is there a way to take 1st player from them?

[cosmosis]

It sounds like you're playing games where both people are just going for completing squares one at a time?

Maybe try the strategy of expanding to a lot of squares quickly and then filling them in. You might lose out a little on statues, but you'll get more points from being able to reach trucks and bulldozers first.

I find the game is a little straightforward if you play without goals too. I'd add those if you haven't already.

A lot of games players who aren't first at the beginning will finish the map first since they managed a more efficient path throughout the game.

[Terryfic]

I found a great tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whLywB_JTQk

[cjr]

I think the first player has a decent advantage in 2p, probably about 4-5 points on average with or without objectives. There are some cases when starting with a smaller piece forces the hand on the first turn (e.g. if there is a panda objective, it is often not beneficial to take an N piece as first player as it can severely limit the options on consecutive turns. Bidding for first player is probably the most fair solution which is not "hacky", but I know it has never been proposed as part of the official rules.

Objectives can make the benefit for the first player larger, e.g. if there is an objective for a single bear type, the first player has a decent chance of locking out the 2nd player from that objective altogether.

[cctsai]

I think the first player has a decent advantage in 2p, probably about 4-5 points on average with or without objectives. There are some cases when starting with a smaller piece forces the hand on the first turn (e.g. if there is a panda objective, it is often not beneficial to take an N piece as first player as it can severely limit the options on consecutive turns. Bidding for first player is probably the most fair solution which is not "hacky", but I know it has never been proposed as part of the official rules.

Objectives can make the benefit for the first player larger, e.g. if there is an objective for a single bear type, the first player has a decent chance of locking out the 2nd player from that objective altogether.

Hope the bidding thing will be executed one day! And thanks a lot for sharing your expert opinion

Do you still hold the same opinion, and do you know if it is a "common sense" among experts? It's a bit sad that such a beautiful game has this discrepancy

[Nikoz2021]

Yeah in board games the 1st player always wins.