Reply: SeaFall:: Strategy:: Re: Seafall Tactica. **No Spoilers**

by tag8833

AnArmyOfBunnies wrote:

How does winter give you points?

Trying to keep it spoiler free. Suffice to say later into the game there is an upgrade / building or adviser with that sort of ability that works better for a Trader than other strategies.

AnArmyOfBunnies wrote:

You also make a huge leap in points on turn 7.

Once again, no spoilers. But I have 2 ways I can make such a leap. One is to simply buy a treasure. The other would be a spoiler. Typically I would hold off making that leap until the end game is in sight, but I was illustrating how I could maximize points as efficiently as possible.

AnArmyOfBunnies wrote:

You seem to be assuming that a raiding player would not target your ships / your province / those things you activated at the beginning of the game in order to take resources from you / destroy buildings / take the activatable things from you. For most of your points you rely heavily on things that can be taken from you or that can be destroyed.

Definitely. Every single game they talk about raiding me. I'm the primary raider in our group, and between raiding them, and being the prince for 9 games straight I have trouble raiding them. They could raid me, but I've never been raided once. I hope they do catch on, because honestly that is their only hope to catch up. Winning the game doesn't help them close the gap unless I lose by a sizable margin.

AnArmyOfBunnies wrote:

At no point do you mention doing anything to get money back

Yeah, I hardly ever sell goods. The exchange rate to convert them directly to points is too good to run them through cash. I am so far ahead of everyone else right now that gold is definitely tight in the 1st few turns. There are 2 ways I mitigate that. #1) raiding mines for gold. #2) I have some bonuses to Tax, and make use of them. I typically don't buy advisers for gold. Sometimes, but rarely. I use reputation when possible.

Our group dynamic might account somewhat for the viability of a Trading strategy. I honestly think that any of the 4 strategies can win you glory and games, but the key is playing towards the open path and avoiding competition.

In our group of 4 we've settled into roles:
Player 4: He is an Unlocker. He always goes for long complicated strategies that, when they pay off net him a bunch of glory all at once. But, in most games, the game ends before his strategies pay off. He has won games, but in every game he didn't win, he's been in last place. He is currently about 50 points behind the leader
Player 3: He was a trader in the early games, and actually did most of the trade / build oriented unlocks. He has now transitioned into an explorer. The only time he ever raided was to get an adviser to complete a milestone. He and Player 2 have changed places a couple times. He is about 22 points behind the leader.
Player 2: Has been a dedicated Explorer the whole way. It wasn't working terribly for him until he fell sufficiently behind the leader to get big starting bonuses. Also, he has enormous research bonuses at this point. He is about 18 points behind the leader.
Player 1 (Me): I am much more of a raider than the other players. I ran into some enmity problems for a while and transitioned into a Trader. I take a more trade / raid focused path based on how the other players start out, and what advisers / milestones pop up. The one thing I rarely do is explore. There is far too much competition on that path. For instance, by the time I take my 1st turn all of the starting explore advisers are gone, and the 3 best ship upgrades to help you explore.

My biggest objection to Seafall is that there isn't enough of a catch-up mechanic. I mean, it has become quite difficult for me to Win a game, but I'm always right there in 2nd, and typically the winner just beats me by 2 or 3 points, and then in the next game I regain my margin. Player 2 and 3 have been trading off wins.