Are heavy bless strategies the best ones ?

[Evil Dave]

Gandalf Parker said:

If that were true then there would never be games where Arcos won by holding out and researching heavy magic, or Jotunheim by taking the expand slow and defend strongly strategy, or Pangaea/Caelum/Man checkerboard strategy. Much less any of the water nations. Its a good thing that the game supports maps up to 1500 provinces and victory conditions other than rush-kill.

I think I understand how to play the defensive and checkerboard strategies, but I've never had much luck with Arco. Could you say a little more about the research strategy for them?

[Gandalf Parker]

Evil Dave said:
I think I understand how to play the defensive and checkerboard strategies, but I've never had much luck with Arco. Could you say a little more about the research strategy for them?

Really? Usually the checkerboard strategy takes explanation (skipping across dangerous indepts to get to an enemy without leaving an easy route back to your capital).

Arcos is usually accepted as being the most magically capable and research powerful nation. It appears central to their build. And very astral. They are one of the easier nations to build around for a research push into powerful end-game magic. Of course that tends not to work too well on small maps and quick games. That CAN hold their own fairly well in such armor-to-armor games but they have to drop the focus on a reasearch push.

[FrankTrollman]

Deleted.

[Huzurdaddi]

Frank did this condition apply in your victory:

However, if the four nations in good position are in the good position because they are controlled by the players with most optimized strategies, Graeme's description is totally accurate.

[KissBlade]

I find in veteran heavy games, the ones who command the largest early lead wins the game. In games where there are a mix of newbie, average and veterans, it's obviously just a toss up between which vets get luckiest.

[FrankTrollman]

Deleted.

[KissBlade]

In most veteran filled games, the games have been consistently won by the best expander. There is the occasionally fluke here and there usually caused by the two most aggressive expanders butting heads.

[FrankTrollman]

Deleted.