by Zark
I usually play with 4 and don't find it a problem timewise.I will sometime go down the route of amassing loans sometime not, it depends on how the game plays out. Another good option can be to generate some early cash (build the sawmill and sell it and sell some wood at the lumberyard) and buy a wooden ship. If done in the first couple of turns it will have generated a ton of food by the end of the game.
There is usually a lot of manoeuvring to try and get to a wharf first as well as building/using building like the coal mine and cokery and steel mill which is what makes the game interesting
We do have a house rule that if you have more loans than the number of players you pay an additional franc in interest