General Advice?

[Xtremenuke]

Heya.
I'm a newb to CC- Or strictly speaking, have just returned after a long hiatus, but was still a newb when I left.
I've gotten into a few games, to get back into the feel of game play. For some advice, I came to the strategy boards to look for some general, overall strategies I could apply to my game play overall.

However, all I have been able to find, are guides relating to specific maps, or specific in-game situations.
I believe that it would not only help me, but any other new guys visiting the forums, if some overall advice could please be offered?

I'm sure any pieces of knowledge, no matter how small or large, would be of great assistance to any new players looking for some overall advice concerning their game play.

Thanks in advance.

[natty dread]

Well, it depends very much on the types of games you play. There's no really any general strategy, other than: "take over the territories of your opponents and eliminate them".

[nippersean]

Join the society for cooks, would be my advice

[ManBungalow]

Basics would include not attacking 3 vs anything more than 1, not taking more than 1s off of your team-mate, not attacking neutral and not trying to take bonuses you won't keep.

[rockfist]

Try not to play fog games on maps you are unfamiliar with.

[Nola_Lifer]

Here is some strategy - find which map(s) you like and learn how to play it different ways and then transfer that to other maps, or play doubles, triples, or quads with people who have played.

[shadistic]

I just started playing a couple weeks ago, but I've learned several basic strategies. Some of them I never would have discovered just from playing Risk, as I had before.

Minimize the number of border points you have. Let's say you're playing on a map with lots of neutrals. If you only have 2 territories that can be directly attacked, you're better off than if you had 3 or 4. If you have 12 troops coming every turn, with 2 border points you can put 6 on each (per turn), but with 3 border points you can only put 4 on each.

Don't get too aggressive. Sometimes it's better just to deploy your troops and do nothing with them, because they may be more useful on defense than on attack. Flat Rate is the only kind of game in which you are at a loss for not taking a territory in the beginning (Escalating is debatable, unless I'm much mistaken).

Don't go for a bonus until you're sure you can hold it. 95% of the time, it is more worthwhile to break someone else's bonus than to secure your own. It is much easier to take a couple 1s on round 2 than to try to secure a bonus on round 1 (and thereby stretching your forces).

Look out for who's in the lead. If your attack options have the same risk (and especially if the player in the lead has a number of territories that's a multiple of 3), take a territory from #1.

When you're looking for a place to build up early on, it usually helps to have something that's at the periphery of the map. In other words, keep your distance- start as far as you can from everyone else. More fighting going on around you means less chance you'll get a foothold.

[natty dread]

Flat Rate is the only kind of game in which you are at a loss for not taking a territory in the beginning (Escalating is debatable, unless I'm much mistaken).

Even in flat rate, if I go first I never attack. The odds are too bad, 3:s everywhere... I'll deploy and wait for the next turn. This way it's the same as if I was starting last (in terms of cards) but I'll have more troops on me.

In escalating, sometimes it pays to attack, but again, not if I'm going first.

[safariguy5]

Learn the escalating juggernaut strategy if you are going to play large games. In escalating games, bonuses don't mean much in 6+ player games. The best idea is to group your troops on 2-4 territories with large stacks strategically placed around the map. Then, trade conquering 1 army territories with your neighbors for getting cards. Once the cash gets to 20-25, if you have the right positioning, you can cash from 5 cards, eliminate somebody with 3+ cards, cash again, eliminate somebody else, etc. In one turn, you can either eliminate everyone or put yourself in a position to win in the next couple of rounds.