by Padish
(Topic edited to build->buy)
Hi,
Many buildings are worth just a few points (and therefore cheap to buy) compared to the resources it takes to build them. However, the building prices in the first half of the game are around 10 francs, and wooden ships cost 14, so I'm wondering how to get this amount of money. I'm thinking about a 3/4-player game.
The first problem is that unless taking fish or some else early food (which is often considered a sub-optimal play unless the amount of food is quite large), much of the stored money gets always burned in the feeding phase. So should I time the money-producing actions so that I can use the money before the end of round?
Then, how to actually get money? I know building stuff and selling them for half the price is one way, but it just seems such a waste. The combined effect of lost points (half the building price) and losing a building that might have generated some income or spared yourself from paying entry fees does seem unfortunate, especially if selling more than one building. I can see it being worthwhile when buying a ship, but is it really worth it to sell two buildings to finance buying one slightly better building?
I guess the Joinery is something that has to be kept in mind, but it alone is seldom enough to finance a building. Smokehouse can be used to generate some early money, but it only gives 3 francs. How about the franc offer? In the first 5-7 rounds, say, how many francs are generally an auto-grab in a 3/4-player game? It's pointless to pick even 7 francs if all you're doing with it is feeding your people, so I'm guessing you better buy something with the francs you pick before the end of round.
Shipping line and Cokery are late-game buildings, so how do people really finance stuff like Iron Ships (buying, not building)? Is it mostly with the help of the special buildings that often generate francs?
