MrBilbs wrote: ↑05 April 2023, 15:37
My biggest struggle is honestly the first age, drafting resources, when to grab a gold, when to grab a science, when to grab a resource, when to use my extra turn in Age I and when to grab something like the Tavern that has no resource benefit but a large monetary swing. Should I go for the Tavern whenever it's available or avoid it due to it lacking resources? Should I ignore resources to try and gain a massive lead in science?
Any advice on when to take what or general game advice?
Getting age 1 right is so important. I've got a 30% loss rate so this is not foolproof and I'm sure there is probably a better strategy guide out there but you are asking all the right questions and I love talking about age 1 so here goes my advice.
General rules for Age 1
0) Grab the right wonders
as a general rule the wonders are pretty straightforward:
Best to worst:
Temple of Artemis
Piraeus
Hanging Gardens
Appian Way
Sphinx
Maosoleum * with Law*
Great Library
Maosoleum * without Law*
Circus Maximus
Statue of Zeus
Collosus
Great Lighthouse (I've tried to make it work, but it is still pretty bad)
Pyramids
1) It'd be good to keep your extra turns for later rounds
exception: the first player can use an extra turn in the very last turn if they are tied in military so they can gain the extra first player bonus turn
2) grab yellow early so you can discard those blue and red cards for 3 coins each instead of 2 coins. honestly if I am only getting 2 coins maybe 10% of the time I might as well take a blue card to save money in a later age if I see points as a viable win option.
Exception to grabbing a yellow early: almost never... just grab as many yellow cards as you can and don't reveal a card that might be a yellow card if you can help it. Have 3 gold ready to buy the yellow reserves. They will pay themselves off later. Maybe 50% of the time I won't grab a yellow reserve if I have 2 of that brown resource but then I will still discard it and hope to secure a monopoly in age 2 so my opponent will pay dearly.
3) Green cards (science). So useful to scare your opponent. get 3-4 in age 1 and 4 in age 2. Never let your opponent get 3 science in age 1 or 4 different science in age 2. I'm 60% more likely to risk it all and go for a science win if I see Law out there. Also don't just grab science for the science win. You should also grab age 1 science cards if the available progress tokens are looking juicy. If you need a juiciness level for each progress token I'll give you a table
Theology = total number of non extra turn wonders in play minus one (normally a juicy level of 3 to 4) avg 4.666 non-extra turns each game.
Strategy = 3
Law = 2
Economy = 2 unless your opponent has Great lighthouse or Piraeus, or a way to get every resource atleast once for 1 or less coins. then it is a 0 juicy level
Urbanism = 1
all the rest (Math, Philosophy, Agriculture, Masonry, Architecture) are juiciness level 0
add up the total juicy level of all tokens and if they reach 6 or more you need to grab science cards before any other cards except for yellow cards.
Those progress tokens can win you the game. For that reason the 2 with linking symbols that cost 2 coin in age 1 are better. one links into saving you brick and stone the other saves you other stuff. I like the one that saves brick and stone cause then I can just not get brick and go for a science strategy that doesn't normally need brick anyways. Dispensary? Pharmacy? forgot the name.
Exception: maybe grab the gray card for a science that will come up later but this is still pretty rare. Better to just pay 3 coins than allow an opponent to get a science for free. Of course with a low juiciness level of 1 or 2 I'd not go for science at all. 3 to 5 is a maybe but I'd still probably pick science if I'm dealing with a weaker ELO opponent. 6 juiciness is definitely science.
4) Brown cards are next in priority. Gray cards are great if you are trying to make your opponent pay more for wonders and science but chances are if they are a good player they will either have grabbed Piraeus as a wonder, or plan to build their wonders later when in age 2 they have 4 options for gray resources. (you will have be embarrassed if you get 3 or more gray cards and your opponent grabs Customs House in age 2). Brown cards on the other hand will be crucial to stop any mid/high tier monopoly strategy which feels horrible to lose against! If you have a way to get 1 of each Brown resource for 1 coin or less coming out of age 1 then you probably are good however... be aware of Statue of Zeus's potential to destroy Brown cards though. Defend against this with carivanisary in age 2 or a bunch of reserve cards and 2 Brown cards of the resource they might kill. Ultimately, build Brown cards and don't discard them.
Exception: if you already have the reserve (yellow card) for the Brown resource, discarding for 3 or more coins is better than building to try and monopoly your opponent. However if you really want to monopoly your opponent cause you are a sneaky devil
then stone is a good one to monopoly especially when you feel the game will come down to points. Wood is also good if they have at least 2 of these unbuilt wonders: Great Library, Piraeus, Hanging Gardens. I used to love brick because it helps with military and I used to always go military but I guess I'll have to concede that it is probably slightly less important than the other 2 Brown resources.
5) Gray cards. They can help your wonders be cheaper for later and make your opponent's wonders more expensive. Papyrus is better early game. Glass is better late game. grab Gray cards over red and blue cards. Circus Maximus is always a pain but if your opponent has Circus Maximus then just don't grab any Gray and hope for Customs House or that other one. Maybe grab 1 Gray really early so you can use it and maybe bait your opponent into building Circus Maximus to allow you to go first in the next age.
Exception: none really. maybe grab a gray card ahead of another card if your opponent has 2 coins and you want to make that science card in age 1, 3 coins for them and free for you... idk.
I used to grab papyrus really early if my opponent had the Great lighthouse but I'm really just making my opponent pay 2 more coins to build something that isn't even that Great. It is not like they need the lighthouse to build anything useful in age 1. let them take Papyrus while you grab an additional yellow or green if they overvalued papyrus. There are some great point cards in age 3 that use glass so glass is a bit better in my opinion. I'd rather have glass and stone in age 3 if I had to pick 2 resources and I knew it was coming down to points. Also glass is used for Sphinx (late game point Wonder) and Maosoleum (best built in age 3) so glass is screaming "late game!" and really is important to eventually get but it can definitely wait till age 2.
6) Blue/red cards: low priority. discard for coins after everything else
Exception: if I am only getting 2 gold from a discard I might just take a free blue card but never a Red card. The only way I'm taking a red card is if My opponent has moved the conflict pawn 2 spaces. ideally each age it is 1 space towards my capital and I can go first in age 2 and 3.
Should I go for the Tavern whenever it's available or avoid it due to it lacking resources?
Grab it! Yellow cards are great! If you want to play that 3 shield 8 coin cost of Pretorium in age 3 you will want to have a ton of yellow cards by then. If you want to go science and sacrifice your resource game you will need a ton of yellow cards to gain those coins. Only a solid point strategy really needs the raw resources more than coins. I haven't figured out a solid point strategy cause I like to supplement straight points with a monopoly in stone or using science or military threats to stop my opponent from getting too far ahead in points.
Should I ignore resources to try and gain a massive lead in science?
Sure! check the juiciness level first (see above)
Any advice on when to take what or general game advice?
Don't reveal cards unless you have to or you can make a win/win situations (they can take tavern but it will reveal 2 cards to you and you know both can't be useless.) (or they take a yellow card but you get the Brown card underneath it of the same resource.
A lose/win would be you poorly set it up so the opponent takes the yellow card and you discard the worthless card underneath. Then they grab the last card in a grouping but now you are forced to reveal 2 cards Dont be tempted to use extra turns in age 1. Infact, as a good rule, people win more often with 3 wonders built instead of 4 and the top players on average build only 2 wonders. Keep your options open. Don't build all your wonders until age 3. (or quickly finish all 4 in age 2 if you know the game will for sure end in points)
then stone is a good one to monopoly especially when you feel the game will come down to points. Wood is also good if they have at least 2 of these unbuilt wonders: Great Library, Piraeus, Hanging Gardens. I used to love brick because it helps with military and I used to always go military but I guess I'll have to concede that it is probably slightly less important than the other 2 Brown resources.
Grab it! Yellow cards are great! If you want to play that 3 shield 8 coin cost of Pretorium in age 3 you will want to have a ton of yellow cards by then. If you want to go science and sacrifice your resource game you will need a ton of yellow cards to gain those coins. Only a solid point strategy really needs the raw resources more than coins. I haven't figured out a solid point strategy cause I like to supplement straight points with a monopoly in stone or using science or military threats to stop my opponent from getting too far ahead in points.
Sure! check the juiciness level first (see above)