SpielByWeb

[Courthan]

ive got a few games on the go, and ive noticed that alot of people are paying $6 for these sites on round one. Ive been playing Amun Re for a while now with friends and found that such a strategy doesnt work, is there something im missing?>

[Kanga]

$6 for one of the three caravan provinces is generally the starting price, depending on what other provinces show up. Getting one for $3 would be a great start in almost any game.

Of course, if the sacrifice level reaches 3 in even one of the first 3 rounds, then the $6 will prove to be poor value. But if the caravan scores all 3 rounds then you'll get your money back. Most games, the caravan will score every round.

[Courthan]

getting alot of free stuff often pays out more in goods and also makes it cheaper to get more. whereas going caravan your forced to -3 during sacrafic to ensure your not beaten out of a payout.

[Mabi]

Well, no problem, if you don't trust Kanga you will learn it the hard way .
Online play is a great way to explore a game in depth.

[Kanga]

True, but if the sacrifice remains low for the first couple of rounds, no amount of free stuff will stop the pain of no income if you have a farming province.

Money is king in the first half of the game. Twice in my 150odd games I've found myself 15 points behind at halfway. I won both of those games, simply because I had way more money.

It's possible to win games without having money at the halfway point, just much harder. I'd say 80% of games are won by the person with the most or second most money at the halfway mark. And the best provinces for making money are the caravans.

[HappyProle]

It seems we're forgetting some key variables in this discussion: number of players and number of other caravan provinces that come up.

[Kanga]

What I've said above holds for 5 player games. I'd nearly always be willing to pay 6 for a caravan province in Round 1. The times I might not would be:

1. If the other 4 provinces are very heavily farmer orientated - eg Mendes, Buto, Thebes and Armarna.

2. If the worst province available is reasonable.

Generally speaking, in Round 1, I will pay $6 to avoid Mendes, Buto, Damanhur, Amarna and Abydos. If none of these 5 show up the value of a caravan is less.



In a reasonable portion of games I've played here, the sacrifice over the first 3 rounds will be 5 or less in total. If turns out to be 4 or even 3, you will be in a fantastic position if you've started with a caravan, barring a fantastic run of powercard pickups by a farming player.

[MiltonRose]

I don't think this is the best solution in this situation, there are alternatives
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