By Jove, it seems that I have made a breakthrough with my "white whale" (see previous vexation post Here) Le Havre - a win, a decent score (I think?), with no "hints" from the app either, and perhaps an insight into how to handle this beast of a game.
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Now I know that as in most Rosenberg (et al) games the actual strategy will depend on what cards are out and what any opponents are (not) doing, but I've stopped making basic errors and started seeing efficiencies and the way to build a feeding engine.
In my first games I was also too focussed on trying to build lots of buildings for end game points, but now I see properly, how preparing for a couple of big end game shipping actions can reap serious rewards. I also purchased a building (or two), not something I typically do, where it fitted in with a plan (such as there was, haha!)
I also worried less about having enough food on hand for the end of round "harvest", provided that the action I was taking provided some traction towards another goal. This meant that I took a few loans, which I also paid off prior to the end game (got stung by that before too!) but it enabled me to make some big, efficient food generating turns, or to build a ship a bit earlier. This fleet then enabled me to do all that shipping in the last few rounds.
The mix of the special buildings can obviously have a big impact on the game, and for once I was able to see some practical and advantageous ways to use them: The Wind Farm meant that I had a handy source of power for several actions (ship-building etc) making me more efficient, the Haulage Firm allows grabbing adjacent piles of resources, which meant I could take grain & cattle, which "fed" beautifully into using the Baguette Shop (bread & meat) for 6 francs a pop - handy indeed when I didn't have anything else to do (I'd kept a supply of grain & cattle throughout, ensuring that they increased at harvest time).
The 6 ships, including a Luxury Liner (think that's the first time I've built one) generated plenty of points, and I finished with 72 Francs on hand from my shipping and baguette making for a total of 230, which I was very pleased with.
I feel like I've gotten "over the hump" with this one, in a similar manner to how I felt the first time I made a reasonable farm in Agricola - these earlier Uwe games are much more demanding than the recent more open designs and can feel like hard work.
I feel like it's beginning to pay off now and am actively seeking a cardboard copy for the shelves....!
Now I know that as in most Rosenberg (et al) games the actual strategy will depend on what cards are out and what any opponents are (not) doing, but I've stopped making basic errors and started seeing efficiencies and the way to build a feeding engine.
In my first games I was also too focussed on trying to build lots of buildings for end game points, but now I see properly, how preparing for a couple of big end game shipping actions can reap serious rewards. I also purchased a building (or two), not something I typically do, where it fitted in with a plan (such as there was, haha!)
I also worried less about having enough food on hand for the end of round "harvest", provided that the action I was taking provided some traction towards another goal. This meant that I took a few loans, which I also paid off prior to the end game (got stung by that before too!) but it enabled me to make some big, efficient food generating turns, or to build a ship a bit earlier. This fleet then enabled me to do all that shipping in the last few rounds.
The mix of the special buildings can obviously have a big impact on the game, and for once I was able to see some practical and advantageous ways to use them: The Wind Farm meant that I had a handy source of power for several actions (ship-building etc) making me more efficient, the Haulage Firm allows grabbing adjacent piles of resources, which meant I could take grain & cattle, which "fed" beautifully into using the Baguette Shop (bread & meat) for 6 francs a pop - handy indeed when I didn't have anything else to do (I'd kept a supply of grain & cattle throughout, ensuring that they increased at harvest time).
The 6 ships, including a Luxury Liner (think that's the first time I've built one) generated plenty of points, and I finished with 72 Francs on hand from my shipping and baguette making for a total of 230, which I was very pleased with.
I feel like I've gotten "over the hump" with this one, in a similar manner to how I felt the first time I made a reasonable farm in Agricola - these earlier Uwe games are much more demanding than the recent more open designs and can feel like hard work.
I feel like it's beginning to pay off now and am actively seeking a cardboard copy for the shelves....!