Frankcus

There is a difference between the plots you buy. As a preference I found sticking to the larger plots will give you a more sizable playing area and you get more out of the coins that you invest (providing the prices are still low).

Here is a comparison –

Beach plot – For the cost you get 2 usable spaces and 2 unusable spaces (1 in Ireland). There are around 5 usable buildings for these spaces, meaning you would have to have 2-3 beaches worthwhile for all the buildings with a total of 6 unused spaces. You can always get the fishing village if you are bent on it, however just keep in mind to get the most out of it you would need to buy 2 of the beach plots.

Mountain plot – Similar to the beaches, the mountain isn’t very effective either. The only use I see for it is when you REALLY need stone and no one else has bothered to build it yet. This area offers 2 hillside, and one mountain space and a total 1 unusable space. Only 2 different buildings can be built in the mountain and there are only another 3 or 4 that need the hillside.

Large plot resource hilly side – The hilly side can be great if you want to set up a hilltop village right next to your palace and you could stagger the plot so you could get the bonus from a castle as well. Other than that, the hilly side offers 3 other spaces which are obstructed by forests and moor. These can take valuable actions to clear. And I find moor really isn’t that necessary outside of the two that you start with. I typically stay away from this side unless I can nail down some of the more valuable hill buildings.

This brings us to the last plot. This offers 3 free slots and 1 hill slot and one forest. Not a bad pick up. If you were first and managed to pick up 2 of these plots you get a total of 8 free plots, with 2 being hillside and 2 for room to expand for a nice 5 coin. This can be achievable if you build the Cloister as your first action (using prior). You get yourself 6 coins and you now have 2 new plots to set next few rounds with.

You may not start strong with the first few buildings but you are really setting yourself up for some serious mid-game acceleration.

When buying plots try to buy the larger plots early and as much as you can, maybe the first two large plots for 5 coins. This will hopefully drive up the cost of plots for your opponents while giving you lots of free space to erect your buildings.

My wife and I have played this game several times and she doesn’t like how the game simply ends after getting the cure. Just because the cure is there, doesn’t mean everyone is immune.

We extend the game through one more deck of cards, shuffling the whole deck with epidemics. The outbreak counter is reduced by 1 and we attempt to eradicate all the diseases. This is obviously very easy with the medic and dispatcher in tow, however it can be more of a challenge with other roles and will create issues if two epidemics are drawn back to back (insta-outbreak!) This does draw it out a bit, but the point is to have fun at it and contain it all. Usually you would fail by overload of outbreaks.

This gives a more satisfying ending knowing that the world is cured…. for now….

In the Legen*dairy forest expansion there is the “reverant” occupation which, if drawn when taking wood, allows the player to permanently take 2 actions after everyone else has played all their family members, AND the person doesn’t take space in the home anymore! A friend of mine got this on the first turn and there was no way to catch up to them as they had one additional action for the next 13 rounds. By the time the extend your family came around he easily got another 3 family members. When he had the rest of their family members he had a total of 6 actions. This just gives a runaway lead on that person, and you can’t expect any resources to build up.

This is the only card which really needs to be nerfed in some way, but taking it out is easiest. I suppose you could always double food cost and put a -3 to VP to try to balance but it is just a crazy card.

The strategy I usually employ in a game is usually the following:

Turn 1: Get occupation for free and take starting player token and play a free minor improvement (second action may change based on other player)

Turn 2: Get 6 wood and another action (plow?)

Turn 3: Occupation and day laborer

Turn 4: Reed and fish

Turn 5: build a room, You may be able to extend your family, if not focus on a farming project

Turn 6: Extend family or gather more wood, engage in farming project

Turn 7: Extend family and find food quickly.

I always try to extend family since having more family members allows for more actions which ultimately means more points in the end of the game. If you do this right you should be able to end the game with at least 45+ points.

Your cards you are dealt in the beginning of the game should be able to guide you in a specific direction what your focus should be. Try to take 2-3 minor improvements and 2-3 occupations that work particularly well together to get your main strategy underway.

With that said, you should always try to bring out an improvement or occupation which is going to save you actions (e.g. market woman allows you to take 2 grain with every vegetable taken) and minimize your usage of the extraneous action (grain in this case).