Guide to Better Highscore Strategy
Introduction
First of all, the following points are just general rules. And sometimes rules have to be broken. But following these rules, you will be fine most of the time. There is no “perfect round” in this game since you rely on RNG, respectively, to get the suitable tiles at the right moment. So don’t be afraid to use your mind and follow a different strategy.
The Start
Your decisions in the early game will significantly impact the overall score and the geometry of your map. So don’t be afraid to restart the game if the first few tiles don’t match well. Especially trains and rivers can be very annoying in the early game.
I aim for empty borders since the starting tile is always empty on all edges. I try to build wood in one direction, crop fields in the other, and the first city in another direction as well. This will give you plenty of choices for matching perfect tiles.
Perfect Tiles
It would help if you always aimed for perfect tiles, especially at the beginning of the game. Placing Tiles grants huge bonuses for extra tiles on your stack and points for high scores.
In the early game, I used to delay quest fulfillments just not to break the perfect chain. Trust me, and it will reward you later on.
Over time you will have a few open tiles surrounded by six other tiles. So there is just one fitting. Sometimes they won’t appear. In this case, you can go for 4-5 matching borders to complete a quest or get some extra cards. As I said, rules have to be broken sometimes.
Addition: Try the “Tower V” achievement. You have to place matching tiles without a single non-perfect continuously. Adds much more fun to the game.
Cities and Cropfields
Depending on the Quests you get, I recommend building several cities and crop fields (2-4) during your game. I usually make one big city/crop field and a few smaller ones nearby to connect them later if necessary. I recommend not closing groups before you gather at least 2-3 flags. But this depends on the size of the group. It’s hard to find a general rule for this.
Addition: Have in mind not to let too many borders open. So you can close them, if needed, without wasting many tiles.
Trees
Just build one single wood. Very Important! Woods are different from other tiles. They always have “X ”-Quests and never an exact amount of trees to plant. So build a single, big wood. Of course, flags appear over time, but it’s not worth it until the late game to close your wood.
Addition: Have in mind not to let too many borders open. So you can close them, if needed, without wasting many tiles.
Trains & Rivers
I used to build trains and rivers as far apart from the rest of the tiles as possible. This helps to avoid difficult situations. Over time I build up 2-3 rivers/trains, depending on the Quests i get. Of course, don’t place them too far apart to connect later for big-number-Quests.
Late Game
With the strategy above, you will usually score 15-20k without any problems. But if you are running out of tiles, focus on the following:
Close up open borders as perfectly as possible. Cities and Cropfields first. Every group should have 2-3 flags; the rewards will help you survive a little longer. Don’t accept Quests you will not be able to complete anymore. For example, 100 cities if you already closed your big ones. Wait for better Quests.
Also: Close as many perfect tiles as possible. You don’t have to be that precise anymore. The outer Regions of your Map most likely won’t get much more significant. So it’s okay to get just a few good borders as a reward. The external tiles can be non-perfect; it’s a worthy sacrifice.
Finishing
If you have <10 tiles and no other options for more: close your wood. It will have 4-6 flags and grant you a big bonus stack. Use these tiles to (again) close the remaining perfect tiles and do maybe a few last missions. Usually, you will still have train and river Quests open. The wood will be closed in most of your cities, crops, and course, so go for those Quests if possible.
