Double team

I am in another season of Through The Ages on MeepleLeague.  It doesn't seem like it is going so well.  In one game I really boxed myself into a corner by relying on Stonehenge for early science.  It gives a big burst of science at the start, and I didn't manage to get a good way to get science production, relying on the fixed amount Stonehenge gave me.  Then I got pinned into a spot where I had enough science to play an Age 2 science tech, but I was falling behind in military too.  If I catch up in military my science will take even longer to get online, but if I build science I might get beat up.

My situation was precarious.  I had seven cards in hand, and 11 Strength.  Two opponents had 18 Strength each.  I had a couple of 4 Strength cards, so I figured I was safe for a single turn and I could go for science.  After all, the first opponent that aggressions me has no chance, and they should know that.  Are they really going to toss away resources just to set up the second opponent to wreck me and take all the profits?

Yes.  Yes they are.

I ended up going the science gambling route and it was a catastrophe.  I stopped the first aggression, but the second one blew up the science I had just built and also all my happiness.  The first opponent, the one who I thought wouldn't hit me because why give the other leader a huge bonus, set me up for continual tragedy.

In retrospect I don't know if my gamble was right or not.  It sure worked out badly, but that doesn't mean it was wrong to try.  If I just plug away at Strength I am still behind, and I don't know how I am ever going to get my infrastructure caught up.  If I am aiming for first place I think the gamble is right - assume that player 1 is greedy and won't toss resources for no purpose.  But if I am aiming for 'not last' then my play was terrible. 

I suppose this is the sort of spot where you have to know your opponents.  Some people will be happy to have my stuff get wrecked because that eliminates one competitor, even if it doesn't help them directly.  Some people don't want the other player to grab all my stuff and run away with the game. 

In any case I scooped up Ghandi so it will be extremely costly for people to continue to beat me up and take all my stuff.  I won't win, that much is sure, but maybe I can manage to squeeze out 'not last', and that is about all I can hope for when every single urban building I had was burned down in a single turn.

Lesson learned:  You still have to get science production going, even if you happen to have a bunch of science sitting around.

Also, don't fall behind in strength.  Culture is for suckers.