Classic map, Terminator

[iamkoolerthanu]

I have been playing a bunch of 6-8 player, Classic map, esc terminator games.
I am pretty decent at them, but I am wondering, what are other peoples strategies while playing with this format?

[natty dread]

Forget bonuses alltogether. Do not attack first turn. Build your troops, move them little by little into strategic positions, only attack 1:s and 2:s if possible, keep attacking at minimum to grow stacks. When cashes are high enough, eliminate a player with lots of cards, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, win.

[dhallmeyer]

Forget bonuses alltogether. Do not attack first turn. Build your troops, move them little by little into strategic positions, only attack 1:s and 2:s if possible, keep attacking at minimum to grow stacks. When cashes are high enough, eliminate a player with lots of cards, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, win.

Yup. What he said. Join the Society of the Cooks and we'll teach you step by step. It worked for me!

[iamkoolerthanu]

Forget bonuses alltogether. Do not attack first turn. Build your troops, move them little by little into strategic positions, only attack 1:s and 2:s if possible, keep attacking at minimum to grow stacks. When cashes are high enough, eliminate a player with lots of cards, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, cash & eliminate, win.

Yup. What he said. Join the Society of the Cooks and we'll teach you step by step. It worked for me!

That's basically what I've been doing, I'm just trying to learn the best strategic locations... Anyone else have other strategies? Or is that what everyone tries to do?

[dhallmeyer]

Dubai/Delhi is numero uno. Chicago a close second. After that, look for places with lots of borders so you have options for taking cards and so you can strike easily when the time is right.

[iamkoolerthanu]

Dubai/Delhi is numero uno. Chicago a close second. After that, look for places with lots of borders so you have options for taking cards and so you can strike easily when the time is right.

I could see how those places would be helpful... I will start implementing that in my current games, hopefully you'll notice my improvement by a change in rank
Thanks for the advice guys

[Trephining]

I think it can be useful to pay attention to exactly what options other players have if they act right after you. Since most people understand the idea of conserving armies and getting cards as cheap as possible, consider where the next player to go after you can attack to get cards. If right now he doesn't have the option of attacking any territories with 1 army on them, then make sure not to create that situation for him. It can get complicated, but you can look ahead several players in some situations.

It is also really useful to figure out as early as possible if another player is going to work on getting a bonus. If they are, then sometimes you can dissuade them by stacking somewhere, but if they are dead set on attaining that bonus, then you just cut off one of your own feet, along with theirs.

Also, if someone wants Australia, then I like to eliminate their non-Australia territories and steer clear of Bangkok.

[shadistic]

Dubai/Delhi is numero uno. Chicago a close second. After that, look for places with lots of borders so you have options for taking cards and so you can strike easily when the time is right.

This can work isn't a perfect strategy. While Dubai and Chicago together are a great combo, they're less effective if you have, say, Havana and Mumbai. Also, if it's a 6-8 player game, 3 different people might take/fortify your 3 recommended territories before you even get a chance.

Escalating strategy (assuming no fog) is basically the same on any map. You're looking to maximize your coverage, so you'll have to spread your stacks out.

You need to have as many borders as possible. Chicago, Dubai, and Delhi are 3 of the top-tier territories; others in this category are Nairobi, Dakar, Istanbul, Moscow, and Hong Kong (all have 6 borders). Territs with 5 (Berlin, Novosibirsk) are good to hold, and ones with 4 are okay. Try to avoid stacking on something with 3, because you'll be short on attack options and won't have as much coverage. Coverage, in this case, means how close you are to all of a weaker enemy's territories for the purpose of wiping them out when you get a cash.

6s aren't always the best, though. If you already have Hong Kong, it would be better to get Istanbul than Dubai. Count up the total number of territories you border (with your stacks), and the higher it is, the better.
Dubai = 6. Delhi = 5. Dubai + Delhi = 7.
Hong Kong, Nairobi, Moscow, and Los Angeles is a fine position (19). Sometimes you have to settle for less than the best if you don't want to get into a fight, but you can adjust across the board so that you still have a superior position.

Before round 6-8, only take a card if there's an easy 1 (or maybe 2). At this point, losing more than 2 troops over a card isn't worth it. By round 8-9, though, cards are of the essence.

If you have 3-4 cards with a set early on, take a look at the board. If you can take out someone with 4-5 cards easily (or even 3, but only if that's even easier) then cash so you can do it. If you're not in position to make a kill, but someone else with 4-5 cards is, cash and build (or even block them). Otherwise, save your cards.

Keep in mind that other players should be looking for the exact same thing you are. If you see someone who's strong on the board but only has a stack of 3 or less near your stack of 9+ with no other easy access, knock out that stack. That's one less player you'll have to worry about.

Sometimes, by holding 1-2 key territories like Bangkok or Bogota+Dakar, you can quarantine people much like you would in a fog game. As long as no cash interrupts that, you basically have a monopoly over them.

If someone is trying to take a continent, just get out of their way if you can, and wait for a good cash so you can laugh at them.