Tips chicagoexpress

General Strategy Tips

It is hard to say concrete tips about the game because the game is very dynamic and good moves are relative to what other players do. Generally, you should look to take the auction action in a way that benefits you the most, more than any other player. Consider what share is auctioned and how much value it is for each player if they win the share. Consider how the game dynamic changes if a player wins a share. Be flexible and do not have a set train company in mind to fixate on before the game begins; join any company if it's a good value for you. Alliances in the game are fleeting and often change quickly, don't expect them to last the entire game and don't take it personally. Always consider game length when bidding high or low for a share. If the game will end in the current round, a share's value at bidding will likely only be its minimum value.

Games with three or four players give players more control over the game.

Games with five or six players have share scarcity and players have less control over auction actions, therefore mistakes are more punishing. After the initial red share is auctioned, the player to the right of that player will be the last player in the first round and they are in danger of not getting any shares. The fifth and six players from the start player then need to grab shares more urgently than the first four players.

Auction

- strongest action that defines player behavior

- adds capital to a company by having the auction winner adds funds to the company so it can build and grow income

- can create alliances when two players have an equal amount of shares in the same company

- can break alliances when two players no longer have an equal amount of shares in the same company

- can decrease game length by increasing the rate in which shares are auctioned (3 companies without shares triggers the end game)

- can increase game length by decreasing the rate in which shares are auctioned by doing a null-auction (using the auction action, but without auctioning anything)

Develop

- weakest action

- can change player turn order which allows players to play earlier in the next round

- increases the value of a company that a player is committed to

- good to develop a space that benefits multiple companies you are invested into if they are in the same space

Build

- second strongest action

- advances a company westward to increase its income

- can block companies if building on forests or mountains

- increases company value much faster than develop

- each company has a different amount of trains and running out means it can't reach Chicago

- mountains have good development bonuses

- forests are ill-advised to build into unless you want to block or sabotage

- build should generally not be done if it benefits another player(s) more than yourself

In-Depth Auction Strategy

- if you are the only person with a share in a company, it is generally unwise to pay a lot for a second share in the company as it won't increase your income

- use this to your advantage and you can decrease a player's funds if they make this mistake

- if a company with two people with the same amount of shares gets going and you aren't in it, consider auctioning another of that share to break the partnership

- in a 2/1 share split of a company, the player with the single share should not work with the person with 2 shares as they only get 33% of the profits, if the split is 1/1/1, the company dies because any build action helps too many people

- players in bad share situations should auction to have a better portfolio, an example is a player having only one share and it's one share of a company that another has two shares in

- if you want a share badly and you assume another wants it just as bad, you can just bid the exact number of your opponent to save a dollar

- if you can get a share for a low price, always consider it

- shares auctioned on the final round will only pay out once which is often the minimum bid

- if you have one share of the red company and another player has two shares of it, never allow that player to reach Chicago

- to do this place 3 trains elsewhere, preferably in $4 forests

- null auction to lengthen game length and to prevent a player from ending a game which would make them win

- players with more cash and less shares want to end the game faster

- players with less cash and more shares want to end the game later, to make their shares pay off