Tips gaiaproject

If you don't know how to play the game then clicking on the highlighted gaming pieces may not result in the best outcome. After you have reviewed the rules, here are some tips to get started.

• Focus on your engine. If you don't have a good engine set up in the early game, you'll be slowed down in the late game
• Build your engine so that you get to use your faction ability more often.
• Timing of your actions are important. Try to align actions with the round bonus. Often the round bonus conflicts with the engine you're building. You need find a balance. Some strategies you can try:
  • Focus on engine building the first few rounds and scoring the last few
  • Focus on round bonus only for 5 bonus tiles
  • Identify 3+ round bonus tiles that aligns with your engine building and focus on scoring those, e.g: bonus for placing mines in the early game or bonus for federation tiles in the late game
• Focus your research on tracks that has synergy with your engine and faction ability.

Beginner Tips:

- Pick a good faction. In general, Ivits, Itars, and Taklons are the strongest factions. (Of these, Ivits is best in low player count, Taklons is best in higher player counts.)

- Get a good opening. The knowledge Academy is a efficient opener for most factions, and be willing to contest the 2o power action on round 1 for this! Some factions (Nevlas, Terrans, Geodens, Firaks, Lantids) have a strong Planetary Institute you want to get out early, which may be round 1. Some factions (Ambas, Taklons, Gleens) may find it advantageous to get Navigation 2 and build as many mines as possible.

- Pick engine boosters for r1/2/3, VP boosters for r4/5/6.

- Economy 2 on round 1 is generally more engine power than what you could build with other tech.

- Trading Stations are pretty inefficient from an economy-building perspective.

- Since the first two tech levels do not score VP, at the end of the game, it's best to have your techs at level 0 and level 4/5.

Advanced Tips:

- Power in round 1 is important! When picking your faction, imagine where the opening mines will be. Will there be a cluster of mines in range 2 where players will upgrade and charge each other? Will any color not be in that cluster, and get starved out?

- If the Taklons are allowed to cycle their Brainstone many times on round 1, they will likely win. Try to coordinate with the other players to charge the Taklons at the same time. (If the other players are not cooperating with you, play for second! Block the other players and feed the Taklons! Losing to them by 100 points is the same as losing by 10 for the purposes of your BGA Elo.)

- Since the Ivits build locations are so restricted, a good Taklons player will generally be able to use them to farm their brainstone and win. If you're the Taklons, make sure this happens by starting near where you expect the Ivits to start. If you're the Ivits, don't go too far out of the way to avoid this. Coordinating charges with the other players is a good idea, but better to charge the Taklons and get 2nd than to build suboptimally and get 4th.

- Mind when you give other players power. Charging a gaiaforming player while they have tokens in bowl 1 is often a good idea.

- Plan which advanced techs and tech tiles you'll compete for. If you see 3 VP / federation when passing on top of the terraforming track, that tile is likely going to score 30 or more points! If a player is allowed to get both the tile and the level 5 bonus, that player will likely win the game!

- If there is a particularly important planet, you might need to pay a QIC to steal it from a player who has reached navigation 2 before you. This is particularly mean against the Gleens. (Though most players will not pick Gleens because they are vulnerable in this way.)

- Practice with your faction. You'll learn the key strategies of your faction that way! (For example, Terrans NEED to get either their PI or the 4 power tile on round 1. Figure out the rest yourself!)