Hi Brakus.
The game clicked for me when I realized that income is king in the early game.
Next, prioritize the fort! Don't be afraid to use soldiers here, especially on the first turn. Maxing out the fort brings in a lot of citizens and unlocks the hotel, workshop, and road. It also gives you room to spend your stone. Stone is usually the most limiting resource (after, maybe, soldiers) and you don't want to be left with extra at the end of a turn.
After income and fort, you need to keep on top of your cohorts; losing a battle not only gets you disdain, but it also costs you valor at the same time and valour is the best way to get more soldiers.
Here are some milestones that I've been using:
TURN 1:
Cohorts: none, just take the disdain
Income: 2-3 - you definitely should have the small hotel and 1 stone from mining, then you should also strive for either another stone from the small precinct or a builder from the small workshop if you can make it work.
TURN 2:
Cohorts: 1 in each (left, center, and right)
Income: an additional 2; get the small workshop (if you don’t already have it) and try to get another 1 or 2 stone depending on your situation.
When choosing your player cards on the first 2 turns, focus on the income they bring. The scoring objectives are important, but it’s usually worth it to put a worse card in the scoring track if the remaining card gives you that extra builder or servant you need to meet the above milestones.
The game starts to open up after turn 2, but try to keep your cohorts, at least, at 50% of the incoming pict attacks for turns 3-5 (on normal; 2 each in turn 3, 3 each in turn 4, 4 each in turn 5). If you're able to figure out how to meet these milestones, then you should have a strong base for the rest of the game.
Here are some other things that I've found handy:
Scouting: Essential; so much beautiful stone!!! But it's not usually a big priority until turn 3 onwards.
Small and Large Gardens: Essential but these are typically built much later (like turns 4 or 5).
Theatre: Amazing, but don't bother with it on turn 1. I don't usually build it until turn 3 (unless I really need it to better build my cohorts or income on turn 2). It's more important to focus on income and the fort in the first 2 turns.
Small road: Great, but not essential. It's nice to be able to put the points where you need them to pick off another worker on one of the victory tracks. However, I only bother with it if I can get it by turn 3 or 4 at the latest.
Gladiators: Dumping 2 citizens/servants in here and killing off your poor untrained gladiators in a fight they can’t possibly win is a great way to score 5 points in the last turn.
Market: This has great potential, but it's a gamble. It’s probably worth it if you can buy a guaranteed 5 and 6 good off another player, but these are located on the Ranger and Fighter cards which most people want in their scoring track, so you'll usually be fishing the fate deck and it’s a pretty remote chance that you'll get them both. I find that the resources are, usually, better spent on the wall. I'd ignore this completely until you've got a good handle on the game.
Baths and Diplomats: F tier. I never build these, but I'm open to being proven wrong.
Hope that helps, and good luck. Hope to see you on the ladder soon!
....got 25 points at half-time of the game, the others already 60 points. i dont get how they can fill out all the bars so fast....i really try to check for all opportunities and "chain-reactions".....*sigh*