WarGrunt

While convenient and cool looking the new landscape tile dispenser that comes with The Tower Expansion can give a player, looking for an advantage, the opportunity they are seeking. Without trying it is easy for a player to observe whether the front side of the landscape tile has either a road, city, or pasture. The player can then decided to draw from either the left or right stack of the tower. This drastically improves his odds of getting the tile he needs. Best alternative is to use a cloth bag, like the one included in the Traders and Builders Expansion, or have everyone in the gaming group start by drawing all the tiles from a predetermined side of the tower first.

Paying attention to the Railroad Operation Cards in determining witch area of the map to start building your links, whether to go first, or other options like upgrading your engine, can give you a big advantage in the early part of the game. Don’t be afraid to take out bonds early on to secure victory points this way. For example, a player can often issue two or three bonds to earn four victory points. This gives him not only a positive of one or two victory points, but also an extra bit of money at the end of each turn, something that really helps to out distance your opponents in the beginning.