[Boron]

I think i can say that i am one of the biggest hoarders .

My experience so far is that a hoarder is easily beaten until turn 70 , has still problems until turn 90 and only after that he is nearly invincible .

Especially from turn 40-70 a hoarder is EXTREMELY vulnerable though .

This is only a rough turn estimation cause it depends on the site frequency , world richness and research difficulty especially .

Hoarding is really no problem .
If you can't win with rushing until turn 90-100 then the hoarder deserves the win .

With 50% site frequency and normal world richness 1 Province is worth about 3 clams and 2 fever fetishes averagely if you only look at the resources .
But more territory provides other boni :
1st and most important you get more flexibility by special sites + indies like blood bonus sites , crystal mages etc. .
2nd and almost as important you gain time because you can afford to temporarily lose a few provinces just like russia did in the 19th and 20th century .

If you hoard hardcore you will be rather small in territory normally . By turn 80 you can have 200-300 pearls and 100 fetishes with most nations .
But an opponent might have on turn 80 100 provinces and thus getting 200-300 natural gem income . And he gets far more gold then you with your 25-40 provinces you will likely have .
And he can hoard a little also .
50 clams are easy to do for any nation .

And then there are the numerous counters to clamhoarders . Flames from the sky , Wrath of God , Armaggedon , Burden of Time etc. etc. .

Clamhoarding is really not an issue . It does not guarantee you the win instead you are likely to lose . Still i like clamhoarding but it is damn dangerous cause you are extremely vulnerable for 30-50 turns .