Beginner tries to improve - Any help welcome

[Madbranch]

Thanks guys.
So to sum up the most basic error was putting birds in the forest which could have gotten me food in the grasslands? And not enough attention paid to what good birds are in the tray?
If possible play forest birds before getting food (really should've done that even if I'm a complete newbie).
And mid game focus on how to get points (if no good alternative with bonuses etc focus on grasslands)?

Did I get the basics?

I really do appreciate the deep dive, Ceaseless. And also the focus on early game, Kostinen. Even if I don't internalize everything at once.

So basically if i get this all right it should be something like:
0. Play without powerful birds.
0.1. Check the tray. Repeat every time it's refreshed.
1. Focus on food with first 1-2 cards. If food focused bird is viable on grassland, play it there.
2. One bird into wetlands.
3. Lay eggs, draw birds.
4. Based on what birds you get by turn 8 one should have a strategy on points gathering. (Grasslands or high points birds or ... and round goals)
5. Play bonus card birds towards the end game so you can actually pick well scoring ones.

That sums the basics up?

(Sorry for pretty much saying all twice, but repetition is mother of learning and all that)

[Andrei3009]

Thanks guys.
So to sum up the most basic error was putting birds in the forest which could have gotten me food in the grasslands? And not enough attention paid to what good birds are in the tray?
If possible play forest birds before getting food (really should've done that even if I'm a complete newbie).
And mid game focus on how to get points (if no good alternative with bonuses etc focus on grasslands)?

Did I get the basics?

I really do appreciate the deep dive, Ceaseless. And also the focus on early game, Kostinen. Even if I don't internalize everything at once.

So basically if i get this all right it should be something like:
0. Play without powerful birds.
0.1. Check the tray. Repeat every time it's refreshed.
1. Focus on food with first 1-2 cards. If food focused bird is viable on grassland, play it there.
2. One bird into wetlands.
3. Lay eggs, draw birds.
4. Based on what birds you get by turn 8 one should have a strategy on points gathering. (Grasslands or high points birds or ... and round goals)
5. Play bonus card birds towards the end game so you can actually pick well scoring ones.

That sums the basics up?

(Sorry for pretty much saying all twice, but repetition is mother of learning and all that)

I would say that you need to be careful with the rule two, for a self-sustaining engine in the field you need to produce two food per turn, otherwise the places for eggs will run out faster than you can play new birds. I'm not saying that you need to play birds producing food in a grassland in a grassland only if you have two of them. Just don't mindlessly ignore the forest if you only have one

[Madbranch]

Thanks guys.
So to sum up the most basic error was putting birds in the forest which could have gotten me food in the grasslands? And not enough attention paid to what good birds are in the tray?
If possible play forest birds before getting food (really should've done that even if I'm a complete newbie).
And mid game focus on how to get points (if no good alternative with bonuses etc focus on grasslands)?

Did I get the basics?

I really do appreciate the deep dive, Ceaseless. And also the focus on early game, Kostinen. Even if I don't internalize everything at once.

So basically if i get this all right it should be something like:
0. Play without powerful birds.
0.1. Check the tray. Repeat every time it's refreshed.
1. Focus on food with first 1-2 cards. If food focused bird is viable on grassland, play it there.
2. One bird into wetlands.
3. Lay eggs, draw birds.
4. Based on what birds you get by turn 8 one should have a strategy on points gathering. (Grasslands or high points birds or ... and round goals)
5. Play bonus card birds towards the end game so you can actually pick well scoring ones.

That sums the basics up?

(Sorry for pretty much saying all twice, but repetition is mother of learning and all that)

I would say that you need to be careful with the rule two, for a self-sustaining engine in the field you need to produce two food per turn, otherwise the places for eggs will run out faster than you can play new birds. I'm not saying that you need to play birds producing food in a grassland in a grassland only if you have two of them. Just don't mindlessly ignore the forest if you only have one

Fair enough. Thanks!

[Ceaseless]

Thanks guys.
So to sum up the most basic error was putting birds in the forest which could have gotten me food in the grasslands? And not enough attention paid to what good birds are in the tray?
If possible play forest birds before getting food (really should've done that even if I'm a complete newbie).
And mid game focus on how to get points (if no good alternative with bonuses etc focus on grasslands)?

Did I get the basics?

I really do appreciate the deep dive, Ceaseless. And also the focus on early game, Kostinen. Even if I don't internalize everything at once.

So basically if i get this all right it should be something like:
0. Play without powerful birds.
0.1. Check the tray. Repeat every time it's refreshed.
1. Focus on food with first 1-2 cards. If food focused bird is viable on grassland, play it there.
2. One bird into wetlands.
3. Lay eggs, draw birds.
4. Based on what birds you get by turn 8 one should have a strategy on points gathering. (Grasslands or high points birds or ... and round goals)
5. Play bonus card birds towards the end game so you can actually pick well scoring ones.

That sums the basics up?

(Sorry for pretty much saying all twice, but repetition is mother of learning and all that)

Yes, the purpose of playing 2 birds in the Forest is because that is how you normally get more food, you didn't actually want the 2 Forest birds, you wanted the food they would let you get. In this case, however, the Grassland gave a stronger alternative, so since you get your food from there, the Forest bird set-up is no longer a requirement.

You need to always know what's entered the tray. Key cards can pop in and reshape the nature of the game. And playing a bird in an area before using that area applies to the Forest, Grassland, and Wetland. More specifically if playing the bird increases what you get, such as the bird's slot or brown power. If you literally can't play it first that's one thing, but sequencing is important.

Your early game will be focused on development. The second Forest bird is how you get your extra food. In the Wetlands, you can usually just pay the egg from the first Wetland bird, so one Wetland bird is all you absolutely require, though a second one makes life easier if you can get it without sacrificing your key developmental objectives.

After you've developed, that's when you need to know how to score. Obviously you can have your eye on your scoring plan right from the beginning, but you won't be trying to actively score points in particular until after development is complete. Even things like eggs aren't points in the development phase, they're fuel for drawing cards and playing birds.

And yeah, bonus birds tend to be played mid to late game. You can play the bird for its space role, as per the point noted earlier, but the bonus effect tends to pay off the more information you have about your position so you can determine which bonus you're more likely to be able to fulfill.

I would say that you need to be careful with the rule two, for a self-sustaining engine in the field you need to produce two food per turn, otherwise the places for eggs will run out faster than you can play new birds. I'm not saying that you need to play birds producing food in a grassland in a grassland only if you have two of them. Just don't mindlessly ignore the forest if you only have one

You're definitely walking a tightrope on 1 food per move, though it's genuinely absurd how effective even that ends up being if you can properly develop your Grassland.

[Madbranch]

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped me here.

Honestly didn't fully internalize everything yet, but my elo went from going 100-120-100 to being near 200 most of the time just with a few tips I did internalize. So yeah. Thank you!

[illy831]

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped me here.

Honestly didn't fully internalize everything yet, but my elo went from going 100-120-100 to being near 200 most of the time just with a few tips I did internalize. So yeah. Thank you!

Wonderful!

[Andrei3009]

I would also like to thank everyone who participated in the discussions. Your feedback and discussions, especially in contrast to mine, allowed me to think about games myself, which helped me learn faster.