As stated up thread numerous times: beginner's strategies will only move you part way up the ladder. Timing, lane control, and blocking strategies are learned best from experience, IMO; but we'll get you started anyway with the basic concepts and definitions.
TimingTiming is all about when to go for the kill. There are two main categories to consider. The single shot kill and the series kill. A single shot is where you will eliminate another player without getting another cash. The series shot is where you will get subsequent cashes, hopefully resulting in a Full Board Sweep (which is what dedicated escalating players
live for).
The single shot kill is simpler to calculate than the series kill, but takes care in that eliminations always change blocking and lane control dynamics on the map. If you are not careful, you can make a kill shot that leaves you looking strong but actually leaves the game wide open for another player. This is the error that really pisses off a lot of advanced players.
The series shot takes more careful planning, and can be hard to predict as it involves a long series of dice rolls that often end in "hangings" (a failed elimination try that leaves opponent with only a couple armies on the board). Hangings generally do
not irritate advanced players, as they are part of the game. If you aren't leaving the occasional hanging, you aren't winning your share of games. The key here is to not go overboard. If you start trying 10% odds shots because "that's my only chance of winning", then you are still a beginner. Go back.
Lane ControlLane control is the practice of taking strong positions that keep your attacking options plentiful and in many directions.
BlockingBlocking is the practice of taking strong positions that prevent other players from either eliminating a specific opponent or that prevent other players from accessing regions of the map.
Examples from the {edit: classic
} map.
Lane control territories:
Ontario
Afghanistan
Southern Europe
East Africa
[any territory on any given day that is open to attacking multiple directions]
Blocking territories:
Siam
Indonesia
[any territory on any given day that prevents another player's pending kill-shot]
Blocking and lane control:
North Africa
Kamchatka/Alaska
Iceland/Greenland
Central America/Venezuela
Next up: How the above parameters vary in importance with game settings