Some tips for players who are new to Bronze

[Alexander311]

The following gives some advice for new players. If you are struggling to win, you may find some useful information here.


Playing as the Sumerians

The Sumerians are masters of culture. They do not win with Armies and brute force. Instead, they are all about converting their enemies with Ziggurats. Not only are the Sumerians one of the few early civilizations that get a Ziggurat, but they get it for only a cheap 2 silver. Since Bronze is all about grabbing territory, the most powerful move you can make is to grab territory that belongs to your enemies. Essentially, with one stone, you are killing two birds! You acquire additional land while depriving your enemies of the lands they possess.

The Ziggurat works well in combination with Towns. Use Towns early on before you encounter your enemy. Then, follow them up with Ziggurats once you are close enough to convert the enemy lands. Don’t forget about deposits. You should always strive to build Villages next to deposits early in the game. If possible, it’s a good idea to cut off your enemy, so that he does not get a chance to build his own Villages next to deposits.

Since most of your enemies don’t have a Ziggurat, your Farms are safe from enemy conversion. You can take advantage of this fact and use Farms to block your enemies. This is especially effective against the Gutians, who have no way of overcoming your Farms. The Akkadians do have a Palace, but it will cost them dearly.


Playing as the Akkadians

The Akkadians don’t have a Ziggurat. Take a deep breath. This is a big deal, certainly. Your best Sumerian strategies are not going to work now. However, you do get to play with a Palace, so there is some hope yet. In fact, the Palace is an incredibly powerful building that can turn the tide in a single move. Still, you will need to plan accordingly. Save money. The magic number is 5 silver. When you have that, a new Palace is on its way.

The Akkadians get Armies for only 2 silver, so you should be using them more often. Just not against the Gutians! Be ware of the Sumerian Ziggurats. Don’t get into a conversion battle with them. They will win because their Ziggurats are cheaper than your Palace. Instead, cut them off from deposits and use non-Farm buildings against them.

Winning as the Akkadians will require a more strategic use of terrain. Place Armies to convert enemy Bridges to keep your parts of the map safe. Also, remember that Citadels, Hills, and Palaces all protect your buildings. Ultimately, victory will come down to making money from the deposits. You can’t afford to slowly build Farms to raise income. You need the Stone, Copper, and Tin to quickly raise the cash needed for Palaces.

Good luck!

[MarkL]

I thought I would post a few things that have helped me along so far. Even though all races play differently I play the Sumerians differently than what Alex recmomends. I use armies as much as I can to take over enemy tiles.

I play on "Easy" for the record. My favourite part of the game is the campaigns, followed by custom maps. Survival mode is too hard for me at this stage so I am avoiding it. In the future I would like to see larger campaigns with more maps per campaign with more emphasis on map play order rather than harder maps to win.

Anyway below are a few things to add that may or may not work for everyone.

Sumerians and Akkadians My Favorite Races
With the Sumerians the official line is try not to use armies too much, but for me I use then as often as I can to take over enemy tiles
Akkadians, my favorite race, but I find it a very hard balance, on 4 points, do I place a citadel to shore up my winnings or risk going for 5 coins to get a palace to grab more land. I am often loosing or winning by a few points and one wrong decision seems to either make or break it for me.

Desert Maps
I find these the hardest because you normally can not take multiple tiles with your buildings. The easiest way to take multiple tiles on a desert map in to take over buildings adjacent you tiles. But since most building on desert maps end up being citadels or similar that can not be taken these opportunities are rare, but worth watching for.

River Maps
With river maps often the river goes somewhere near the centre. If you can grab one or two tiles on the other side then block the AI from your side you have a good chance to win.
I place a bridge then a citadel or similar that can not be retaken. Then grab one more tile if possible then try to block the enemy from getting to my side, by getting farm land along the river and keeping enough coins to place an army next to the AI’s bridge to take it back from them. So on river maps always have enough for armies to block the AI from crossing.


Map Order to Play
Often I pick the maps to play in the wrong order. If possible I try to start with maps that have 4 different players.
I concentrate on trying to hold only half the map or less and beating one opponent and let the other duke it out. IE get half way across the map, hold and block while trying to beat the opponent I think I can beat the easiest.

When looking at the campaign map you have to select where to start. So pick an easy one at one end of a line of maps so as you beat the maps you get an extra starting point on the next map in the series. After awhile you can guess where maps will open up as the campaigns progress. This saves trying to win maps that are very hard without the extra starting positions that open up as you beat adjacent maps.


My normal play style is to expand then try to block a tight line to keep the opponent out. Works sometimes
But when playing the Gutians I need to keep my forward line more open to be able to use the free armies. If I play too tight I end up with no tiles in which to place the free armies.

Hopefully more people will tips that have helped them win.

Regards MarkL

[Bluevoss]

The Gutians's are a little tricky to play as and against. The issue with them is an inability to convert farms - at all! Playing against them, a city gives you a great buffer - stops them in their tracks. Be very careful about getting your buildings close to them - they'll snap them right up with free armies.

Playing as them, its pretty much the reverse stratagy - you need to get close fast and convert as many buildings as you can. Sometimes I'll advance with army tiles, in hopes whoever I'm fighting will try to take them from me, inviting me to retake both my and their camps.

For all races, I often find myself rushing forwards with farms to get close, then plopping a citidel when I'm right on them. This lets me build buildings within its coverage, meaning I'll not get converted. If we get into a squabble over this, so much the better to have to over towards their side of the map.

Still learning though.

[Alexander311]

As the Gutians, I sometimes build Armies for no apparent reason at all. In other words, I build an army even when no enemy buildings are near. Why is this a good idea? Well, this can sometimes entice your enemies into building their own Armies, which plays into your hands since you will ALWAYS win an Army v. Army war. They will run out of cash while you can build as many as it takes!

[tarot]

I can't agree with Mark. It is in general much more important to convert enemy Fields than enemy buildings, because you can build on the Fields while the buildings just sit there. That's why the Ziggurat has a higher 'default' cost than the Army; with the Sumerians, there is little reason not to exploit your inherent advantage. Armies can wait until the endgame (and can be good if your enemy places his buildings stupidly).

[tarot]

Originally Posted by Alexander311

As the Gutians, I sometimes build Armies for no apparent reason at all.

Seconded. If I place a Field and it gets converted, I have no means of converting it back, and it becomes a building spot for my enemy to invade my lands further. If I place an Army and it gets converted, I can fight back (to my financial advantage). Placing the Field gets me $1, but the Gutians have only very limited use for their money.