Board Game Arena

I’m finding it hard to get better at this game. Yes, I can watch tutorials and guides. And I know I can analyze higher rated games. But specifically I’m asking how to evaluate my own games. What method is there that I can use my own flawed analysis to improve said flawed analysis? If I review my own games, how can I learn to spot mistakes?

Apologize if this question is too broad. Maybe a better question: for those who are highly rated, how did you learn? Instead of just endlessly playing games and plateauing, how did you actually improve?

Camster wrote: ↑31 May 2026, 18:20 I’m finding it hard to get better at this game. Yes, I can watch tutorials and guides. And I know I can analyze higher rated games. But specifically I’m asking how to evaluate my own games. What method is there that I can use my own flawed analysis to improve said flawed analysis? If I review my own games, how can I learn to spot mistakes?

Apologize if this question is too broad. Maybe a better question: for those who are highly rated, how did you learn? Instead of just endlessly playing games and plateauing, how did you actually improve?

I learned by playing thousands of games, and hundreds against the (then) world rank 1 and 2 players. It uh… wasn’t the most efficient of methods. There’s no real secret though, just like anything else you want to learn as a skill find those who are already highly skilled and train with them. It’s a process, it usually isn’t super fast, but persistence and desire to improve count for a lot. The best place to learn to play TfM at a high level for the last half a decade or so has been the Hodgepodge discord where all of the world’s best players hang out. Come join us!

Watching game reviews on YouTube has been a huge factor for my improvement. Each game you will learn new ways to think about dozens of cards and about the game in general. You should check ThreadPacifist and StrandedKnight on YouTube.

I’ll check out the discord and YouTube channels you both mentioned, thank you!

Review top players’ games move-by-move. Think of what you would do first. Pay attention to moves that look bad — they’re not.

Camster wrote: ↑31 May 2026, 18:20 Maybe a better question: for those who are highly rated, how did you learn? Instead of just endlessly playing games and plateauing, how did you actually improve?

I think I’m in the minority, but I endlessly played games (no yt or discord). At some point I started watching top players’ games, but I already hit 700elo by then. It still helped a lot though.

Some quick tips that really helped me:
1. Familiarise with all the cards in your preferred format, focusing especially on 'power' cards and combo pieces. This will give you a sense of which cards are strong in general and can potentially be game-losing, which in turn could improve your starting hand selection, drafting picks, and knowing your outs.
2. Learn how to play on the various maps (or your preferred map). Familiarise yourself with the milestones and awards, learn the optimal tile placements, and understand what kind of strategies work best on each map (eg Hellas-engine, Elysium/
-terraforming, etc.)

When I analyse my own games, I try to identify why/how I lost, and also whether there were particular instances/decision points that led to it. Was I severely out produced? Was I wasting money on cards/plays that didn't end up being impactful? Did I make a wrong pick in the draft? Did I make a misplay in my sequencing? From there, I try to see what I could've done differently and how the game might've turned out. I think trying to develop this game awareness will help me a lot in assessing game state and developing a winning strategy.

As with what others have mentioned, watching ThreadPacifist, StrandedKnight, and also Anthracite's YouTube channels will definitely help with improving as well. Listening to them explain their decisions and game analyses gives alot of insight into the dynamics that go into this game - every single decision can make a difference in any given game, and its a huge part of why I enjoy it so much.

AbsoluteZeph wrote: ↑31 May 2026, 19:45 Some quick tips that really helped me:
1. Familiarise with all the cards in your preferred format, focusing especially on 'power' cards and combo pieces. This will give you a sense of which cards are strong in general and can potentially be game-losing, which in turn could improve your starting hand selection, drafting picks, and knowing your outs.
2. Learn how to play on the various maps (or your preferred map). Familiarise yourself with the milestones and awards, learn the optimal tile placements, and understand what kind of strategies work best on each map (eg Hellas-engine, Elysium/
-terraforming, etc.)

When I analyse my own games, I try to identify why/how I lost, and also whether there were particular instances/decision points that led to it. Was I severely out produced? Was I wasting money on cards/plays that didn't end up being impactful? Did I make a wrong pick in the draft? Did I make a misplay in my sequencing? From there, I try to see what I could've done differently and how the game might've turned out. I think trying to develop this game awareness will help me a lot in assessing game state and developing a winning strategy.

As with what others have mentioned, watching ThreadPacifist, StrandedKnight, and also Anthracite's YouTube channels will definitely help with improving as well. Listening to them explain their decisions and game analyses gives alot of insight into the dynamics that go into this game - every single decision can make a difference in any given game, and its a huge part of why I enjoy it so much.

This is good advice, thank you!

The R.O.Y.A.L.R.O.O.K. System:

1) Read the Milestone and Awards: they matters a lot on how to evaluate a card.

2) Only Buy good card, buy card bad, passing doing nothing not so bad. Till you get gud, keep less than 5 cards, buy only 1 card each gen.

3) Yes to earth cat, AI Central and Anti gravity technology: em good.

4) AI is gooooooood

5) Local Heat Trapping win you games, you probably want to keep it.

6) Restricted Area is considered by some even better than AI: it's gooood.

7) Oceans are actually really cheap to SP because of the rebates: especially when it help you to convert a greenery, save cash for moments like that.

8) Ocean walking: "walk" your greenery along the ocean, especially as ecoline, points are bad, ocean rebate gooooood.

9) Kill your opponent's outs: does this card gave your opponent an easy milestone? Then it costs you a 10 points swing by passing it.

But most importantly: Just Play More Games, doesn't even try to win, just play more, it's the only way, you have to play till the point that you don't care about winning or losing.

After playing a bunch of games, then go to a good player's profile and study their games especially between two good players. You are so spoiled here on BGA where all the games are open for all to study. Back my day when I tried to get better? I download logs upon logs of player's game data and study them over, and yeah all the positions are just numbers I have to visualize them or have a map next to the log. You won't get better by just being info fed by reading or watching, things can just go over your head. You have to study them on your own.

Ignore the reply above is a good start

Abtsein wrote: ↑01 June 2026, 10:03 Ignore the reply above is a good start

Yeah, they are not really helpful.