3 Players left. How to win this?

[pieterb]

Hi all and thanks for reading,

I have a question about winning a game. On the standard map (classic shapes, classic art), most of the time 3 players, including myself, survive. Everybody seems to be equal and stable. For example, 1 has Europe, 1 has Australia and 1 has Africa or South-America. We're so equal, nobody forces anything or plays agressive, and when they do, the 2 other players restore balance. That's how it's going, all game long, untill somebody makes a terrible mistake or decision letting 1 player get too strong.

My question is: "How do I win this kind of games?" Does someone have some tips, or pointers?

Thanks in advance.
Bye,
Pieterb

[JoshyBoy]

That's a scenario I quite often find myself in.

In this situation it's really a matter of watching VERY CLOSELY to what the other players are doing and making sure YOU dont make any mistakes.

Some calculated risks may be involved. For example, in one game I had border of 145 against a border of 142. I cashed in a 10 set and got my usual 6 troops. Now its 161 v 142. After a long string of assaults I got "advance 33". Luck played a part I guess but from there I was in a stronger position and the guy I had just broken was severely weakened. The game went on for about another 5 or 6 rounds and I eventually won from ym stronger position.

Hope that helps, JB

[flexmaster33]

I prefer head-to-head games or big multi-player games...because this often happens in three-way games where it is extremely difficult to gain an edge without a double-team knocking you back down (especially with good players)...it makes for some long battles.

See the advice above...look for any slight weakness, protect yourself well and hope the dice treat you well when you do make a move

[dhallmeyer]

Depends on the settings.

[franklenraymond]

Yeah, the difference between a stalemate with 2 or 3 players is huge. With 2 players one will eventually get the upperhand through luck of the dice and time to cash in cards. With 3 players it just keeps going in a round robin, and any one player is afraid to make a move because it will weaken them to the 3rd player in the rotation. I often just give in and make a move because I get so bored with the situation after 30 or 40 rounds. This is where there should be an option for a peace treaty, so that someone doesn't have to suffer a loss like this!

[mibi]

look small, dpread your armies amongst your territories, even in the backfield. never have a stack more than 6,and complain that some other player is winning.

[BaldAdonis]

Now its 161 v 142. After a long string of assaults I got "advance 33". Luck played a part I guess

Luck went against you on those rolls. Attacking a large stack (bigger than 20), you should expect to lose 8.5 armies for every 10 you kill. So, in killing 142, you should've only lost 121 (on average), instead of the 128 you actually lost.

If the players in your game believe "equal numbers = equal strength", then maybe you can take advantage by making attacks. More likely though, the person who isn't attacking or attacked will benefit the most when you stage an assault.

[Georgerx7di]

This doesn't usually happen in escalating games. Might I suggest not playing flat rate or no spoils if there are more than two teams in the game, there is little bennefit to taking someone out. I honestly don't know how these games ever end.

[andy_is_awesome]

Here's an example of one.
any advice???

Game 5046373

I have the smallest bonus, so building won't benefit me. I need to act. But how to you do that against two players???

[pmchugh]

Here's an example of one.
any advice???

Game 5046373

I have the smallest bonus, so building won't benefit me. I need to act. But how to you do that against two players???

I have a poor record in 3 player games so perhaps I am not the best person to listen to, here is what I woud try but warning there are many better players to listen to.

Basically talk your way into a good position and pounce. So in your case I would be saying to red he has to watch because the other player has cards and is about to take the big bonus and convince him to move up to the border. Make sure you stay stronger than red and then attempt to eliminate the weaker one of the two players once the truce ends and you are the srongest player by a decent margain.

This may seem underhand but as long as you play it right and don't break agreements then no-one will mind even if they get angry in game chat. I have never once recieved bad ratings or feedbacks for using these tactics.

[dhallmeyer]

I hate playing flat rate. Too much luck involved in the card values. That said, here's what I would try.

You don't look too bad acutally. Red is drawing 6 plus his cards. Blue is drawing 9, but Red will probably reduce that a notch or two. You're drawing 8, assuming you don't get hit too hard. You're in first place in army count, always a plus.

I would try to pick up, slowly, another man with the territory bonus. That's not as valuable as a region, but it's harder to break. Build a wall of protection from west to east-- at least two countries deep with 3 or more men. Depth will slow down a big drop should someone come after you. I would drop one on each spot along the line of campo grande-oeste paulista-sao paulo: this will be wall number 1. For wall number 2, use the line baixo pantanal-triangulo-juiz de fora-rio de janiero. place one in curitiba to protect the monemaker at all costs. then put the remainder on tocantins. this will be your fighting force.

Repeat this each turn, and start building a new line after you feel these 2 are strong enough.

Since the cards you cash will not replenish your army very fast, don't get over-excited when you have a mixed set and see 19 troops to deploy. Stay conservative and nibble on both players. Let them keep their bonuses until you are strong enough to break them and weather the storm that follows.

In short, build defenses in depth; don't go crazy on offense. That's my suggestion.

[aphilso1]

Even though you have the edge in total number of armies, you're in a predicament in that you share borders with both blue and red, while they both only share borders with you. This sets you up to be double-teamed, and you're not strong enough to survive that. I would disagree with the post above me, as I believe you should be extremely aggressive while you still have the lead. Next turn, I would take your largest army and place it right on the most important border with either red or blue (up to you which one), and pound the tar out of whichever one you choose. The benefit of attacking blue is that red is a low-ranked player, making him more likely to make mistakes when the game is down to 2 players. The benefit of attacking red is that blue has 5 cards, and placing a giant army on blue's border might cause him to mount a large attack on you before you would have a chance to do the same thing to him.
The following turn, hit your chosen opponent with everything you've got. Wipe him off the map, or at the very least cripple him enough that he'll only be dropping 3 each turn for owning just a couple territories. Meanwhile, you'll be raking in plenty more troops from all those extra territories you conquered.
And if you're wondering who I'd attack, my choice would be blue. He's currently the weakest player left in the game and likewise the easiest to take out. And once he's eliminated, you should have no problem defeating red.

[jonka]

look small, dpread your armies amongst your territories, even in the backfield. never have a stack more than 6,and complain that some other player is winning.

Especially in Fog games, its the way to go.

[andy_is_awesome]

I hate playing flat rate. Too much luck involved in the card values. That said, here's what I would try.

You don't look too bad acutally. Red is drawing 6 plus his cards. Blue is drawing 9, but Red will probably reduce that a notch or two. You're drawing 8, assuming you don't get hit too hard. You're in first place in army count, always a plus.

I would try to pick up, slowly, another man with the territory bonus. That's not as valuable as a region, but it's harder to break. Build a wall of protection from west to east-- at least two countries deep with 3 or more men. Depth will slow down a big drop should someone come after you. I would drop one on each spot along the line of campo grande-oeste paulista-sao paulo: this will be wall number 1. For wall number 2, use the line baixo pantanal-triangulo-juiz de fora-rio de janiero. place one in curitiba to protect the monemaker at all costs. then put the remainder on tocantins. this will be your fighting force.

Repeat this each turn, and start building a new line after you feel these 2 are strong enough.

Since the cards you cash will not replenish your army very fast, don't get over-excited when you have a mixed set and see 19 troops to deploy. Stay conservative and nibble on both players. Let them keep their bonuses until you are strong enough to break them and weather the storm that follows.

In short, build defenses in depth; don't go crazy on offense. That's my suggestion.

This worked beautifully. I won a 3 way stand off.

[dhallmeyer]

congrats.