When I was first learning this game I searched for strategy guides online, and didn't find any good ones. I did find a few but they were fairly shallow. One thing they all seemed to have in common was that they stressed trying to be the first player to get the center spot. This is bad advice!
I never aim for the center spot as a goal. I have nothing against it - if it seems like the right place to plant a tree given the current board situation, then there's no reason not to. But there's also no reason to treat it as more important than anywhere else on the board.
So with that in mind, here's an example of what can happen to you if you think the center area overall is too important and let that distract you from playing where you should: https://boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=598980419
Now, in this game the other player didn't take their first shot at the very center spot, so they weren't quite following the bad advice of those strategy guides, but I think it's still a good illustration of what can happen to you if you think the middle is more important and neglect the sides. And they did play on the center spot, while I didn't, even though I could've done it first. I didn't because it wasn't ever the best move for me in this game, and there's nothing about the center that makes it inherently better.
I never aim for the center spot as a goal. I have nothing against it - if it seems like the right place to plant a tree given the current board situation, then there's no reason not to. But there's also no reason to treat it as more important than anywhere else on the board.
So with that in mind, here's an example of what can happen to you if you think the center area overall is too important and let that distract you from playing where you should: https://boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=598980419
Now, in this game the other player didn't take their first shot at the very center spot, so they weren't quite following the bad advice of those strategy guides, but I think it's still a good illustration of what can happen to you if you think the middle is more important and neglect the sides. And they did play on the center spot, while I didn't, even though I could've done it first. I didn't because it wasn't ever the best move for me in this game, and there's nothing about the center that makes it inherently better.