Board Game Arena - User contributions [en]

Tips memoir

2026-01-26T03:35:10Z

Hedgehog4:

BGA Tip: You can click the cog just above your name to auto-pass close assault reactions.

Actual tips:

1. Generally speaking Infantry can [Move 1 hex AND Battle] OR [Move 2 Hexes]. This isn't clear on the interface, and will cost you attack actions.

2. More attack actions are better.

3. More dice on those attack actions are better.

4. The goal of the game is to fully kill the requisite amount of enemy units. If an infantry unit is down to 1 guy, it's wise to retreat them into safety to deny your opponent the point.

5. Be careful of stacking your team up in one column. If you have no cards for that column, you waste turns until you draw some.

6. If an Armor unit can fully kill or retreat a unit in close combat, they can advance and attack again.

7. Keep in mind that if a unit has both retreat hexes occupied, any flags count as hits. This is important both when attacking and when positioning units.

Tips smallworld

2025-09-01T19:16:14Z

Hedgehog4: Add offense vs defense section

The goal of the game isn’t to hold the most territory or even stay on the board the longest, it’s to make the most points. The usefulness of a pick depends on the state of the map and the stage of the game: a combination like pillaging and orcs isn’t going to be as effective in the final turns when your opponents have scored the majority of their points. '''Will your pick help you for the rest of the game?'''

It takes one unit to hold a territory but usually two or three to seize a new one. It’s better to try and retain what you have, especially above two players. Nevertheless, you might want to remove yourself from the board so you can start again somewhere else, especially if you’re playing aggressively and want to attack opponents from multiple angles.

When picking a race, consider sleeping on one you know others won’t pick, so you can collect the VP for picking it later.

==Ghouls==

When playing as the ghouls, consider declining on the turn after getting them. They can still conquest after declining so you could effectively have two races at once after gaining your next one. This is especially effective when combined with the "spirit" special power, since they will then remain on the board for the entire game unless another player takes the time to wipe them out.

== Offense vs. Defense ==
Some races and special powers are exceptionally strong for attacking but weak for defending, and vice versa, and should be used accordingly. For example, heroic halflings can have 4-5 territories be immune to attack, but they will struggle to ever conquer more than 6 or so territories and they don't get any bonus coins. On the other hand, pillaging/berserk/commando orcs get bonus coins for conquering territories and can often do so at a discount, but an opponent can just as easily counterattack.

Tips smallworld

2025-08-05T16:59:12Z

Hedgehog4: Add more detail to ghouls strategy

Tips sevenwonders

2023-08-16T04:04:07Z

Hedgehog4: Just added a little more detail on use of commercial cards

If you are a beginner, focus on acquiring a variety of Resource cards (brown and silver cards). This strategy will not require you to analyze your opponents' boards or strategies as much. Playing 3-4 Resource cards should be enough to allow you to play a variety of cards, and some yellow Commercial cards may supplement this by generating resources or allowing you to purchase resources from your neighbours at a discounted rate. You will normally only need access to one of each of the silver manufactured Resource cards, unless you have a Wonder that requires more.

If you go the economic route by focusing on yellow Commercial cards, pay attention to the people next to you. Some wonders (Alexandria, Olympia B) can do very well with very few resources, so trading posts to those wonders will be almost useless. Some wonders (Giza, Rhodes) do especially well with many Resource cards, so trading posts to them will typically be very useful. Also, yellow cards on their own don't tend to score a ton of points; you will probably need to build lots of blue and/or purple cards in addition to the Commercial ones. The lighthouse can be an exception to this if you already have four or more yellow cards, but in four-player there is only one so there is no guarantee that you will get to play it.

Watch out for people who build many green Science cards. Green cards are high risk, high reward. They have to complete sets of three different symbols. Look at their boards to see which symbol they need to complete their next set, then take those cards yourself, before they can acquire them. If building the green card won't help you, then use it to build your wonder or get three coins instead.

Don't build too many red Military cards. Whether you beat your opponents 10 to 1 or 2 to 1, your point rewards are the same. The turns you spend beefing up your already-powerful army may be better spent on other cards.

Side A of your Wonder is usually better for beginners as the resources and rewards are more straight forward to master. Side B of Wonder can be better than side A in the hands of an experienced player, though it is normally harder to build. If you plan to build all stages of your Wonder, aim to secure the resources for the more difficult last stage of your Wonder as soon as possible. You can win without building any stages of your Wonder.

Try to never be short on money. When you are short on money it leads to not being able to get the cards that you want and therefore it leads to losing. It also makes trading post useless because you don't even have one coin to use.

Since this is a card drafting game, a lot of the skill is in maximising your Victory Point scoring opportunities while limiting the opportunities for your neighbours.