Do people tend to go down the same line every time they play, or does it depend on what other players are doing?

Do you head for the last building in a row before starting the next, or do you take a more spread out approach?

I always go for a spread of buildings but I have to say may favorite row has to be Guard Tower - Wizard's Guild. Me likey the fighty! :)

Furelli

I have found that in a game of more than 2 players, not completing the embassy row is unviable.

Hi ,

Every time i play with two row's

the row with the cathedral, and the row with the barracks this is a perfect combination if you are in the possibility to play both roads to the end

greetz

railsplitter

always go fortress and embassy row. fighting and victory points, not a bad combo.

Cathedral and barracks row is truly a fine combo!

But sometimes you have to built with what you have at hand ...

I like to build up to the farms then go wizards row. Hitting the queen as much as possible.

I tend to make sure first that I can count on just enough soldier strength each Year to counter the average threat of that Year while assuming the probability that someone will roll a "3" or higher for the king's assistance in the winter. After all, if you follow this formula and you don't win the winter battle, chances are that your opponents won't either.

As I do that, I look for opportunities to purchase buildings that will give me as many VP's as possible based on how I am rolling the dice. I find that when I don't have to waste dice on influencing advisors who would give me soldiers each season, I can instead gain resources that will help me gain a lot of VP's from buildings as well as count on these soldiers each Year instead of having to get more soldiers every Year.

One of my friends always focuses on getting Farms as soon as possible, but I always end up beating him in the end, no matter which track(s) I end up completing. He wastes time and resources focusing on one track first instead of slowly building up multiple rows.

I don't focus on one particular track as much as I use the buildings that give me +1 strength (based on the aforementioned formula) to give me plenty of options for expansion based on my dice rolls.

If I do decide to focus on getting Farms, I have found that completing that row and then going for the Cathedral row is a good supplement as you will gain a lot of gold from completing the second row which can help in purchasing buildings in the top row, which in turn are good for a lot of VP's which you have sacrificed by focusing on Farms in the first place. But keep in mind that you will have to get a lot of soldiers each Year and then pray that no one rolls a low number for the king's assistance during the winter. It's tough, but possible. I've won this way, too, on more than one occasion.

The best strategy I have found so far, though, is to go for flexibility. Make sure that you get plenty of Level-1 and -2 buildings for expansion flexibility based on dice rolls and advisor availability. Get the Envoy whenever possible so that you have the choice of double-influencing or else building a Level-1 or -2 building in the same season. (Don't be afraid to opt out of building in the fall or summer if it will give you the white die or the Envoy in the next season, respectively.) Trust me; if you do these things, you'll win almost every time (assuming you opponents haven't read this as well).

Like Agent Kennedy, I tend to focus on slowly building up multiple rows.  My strategy is usually to start building those buildings that give me +1 in battle early on.  That way, I can focus more on getting resources and building other stuff than getting soldiers.  And I don't normally focus on building a particular track.  I just build whatever I can based on what I'm rolling.  I build whatever will give me the most VPs that I have the resources to build at that time.  But the combo I really like is the Embassy and Fortress or the Wizard's Guild and the Merchant's Guild.  However, I don't build all of one track up and then the other.  I tend to spread out.  I take pretty much the same approach to Kingsburg that Agent Kennedy described.  Great minds think alike I guess!! :-)

I build up multiple rows at a time. I tend to aim for certain buildings, pip shifters or dice adding and bonus defenses. But my game definitely does not tend to vary...I always go for the same builds.

Almost same as elektra. And kennedy.

What about with the add on . . . . any of the alternate build paths you try to snag or go for? I'm a big fan of the University path (as long as a Good Year event doesn't show up last turn of the game . . . ugh).

Love the sawmill, and the watchtower, but dislikes armory and all its row. Likes traveling market too.

Hem said:

Traveling market is definately one of my favorites.

For a while, I was sticking to "Farm as early as possible" but didn't get any luck with this tactics.

So, I've tried "Embassy as early as possible + build war buildings" and it rocks!

yeh embassy is a must as early as possible. i almost think that it shud not be quite as powerful, maybe it only get u the automatic v.p. after summer and spring, not autumn? so that it becomes 2/3rds as powerful overall