Africa Help

[Corporal Wulf]

Hey, im pretty new to CC and this is my first Africa game. Map deployment was auto, and i think i kinda got shafted on starting positions. Im playing as pink in this game, and i have absolutely no idea where to go. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Game number is 5683195

[dhallmeyer]

Africa is not a map we teach on. and I suck at flat rate cards. Send a PM to wacicha and he'll add you to the school.

[wacicha]

On troop count you are in 3rd position out of 4. On Territs owned you are also 3rd out of 4, These are never good signs in a Flat rate game. You need to beef up your men and be ready Usually the one taking everybody out will weaken himself but yellow is being very methodical. If you can get your troop count up by getting some mixed sets you may have a chance in the end game. Remember in Flat rate you must get a card evertime and do not cash unless you have a mixed set or have to because you have 5 cards.

[e_i_pi]

Basic Africa Strategy

As with a lot of standard maps, Africa's smaller bonuses are the one's to aim for, as they are easy to hold and generate a quick return if you drop 2+ territories in them. Let's have a look at the continent bonuses a little:

South-East Coast
4 territories
2 defence borders
2 troops
A quick continent to take if you drop 2-3 territories there. Also, not how there is only 1 territory on either border - this is crucial for defensive purposes, as it means you can expand quickly without having to defend more borders. Additional to this, it means if you drop 1 inside SE Coast, and either Kenya or Zimbabwe, it is pretty much equivalent to dropping 2 territories inside SE Coast. This is the best continent to go for early on, but if there are multiple people that have dropped well there, you'll likely spend a lot of troops taking it, which could be bad in the long run.

Horn of Africa
6 territories
3 defence borders
3 troops
Another good continent, and in some scenarios much better than SE Coast. The extra troop might not be much, but if you drop three territories here, it is unlikely that anyone else will challenge you. Go for a moderate build here, not too fast, no need to attack every round. When people around you have spent themselves, or established themselves elsewhere, then you can strike safely. The West Sudan Uganda area is the hardest to nail down, as you have two territories bordering two territories - ie, you cannot reduce your defensive borders by capturing them. If you are aiming for this continent, watch out for anyone going for SE Coast.

South Africa
7 territories
3 defensive borders
3 troops
The seven territories makes this hard to capture, and coupled with the fact that it is only +3 means it is not as good as Horn. I would shy away from this continent, unless you drop 4+ territories here.

West Coast
9 territories
3 defensive borders
5 troops
The unsong hero of the Africa map when others are wasting themselves squabbling over SE Coast. There are a lot of territories here, but a slow march of progress can secure this continent unchallenged. The +5 bonus across 3 borders means you can deploy 2 on each border each round, and have 2 armies left over. Also, given that Nigeria is the only southern border, you can expand there without having to defend with extra troops.

Maghreb
8 territories
5 defensive borders
5 troops
Nice if you can get it, but you'll never hold it. It's am expansion point for Horn of Africa, and has far too many defensive borders. If you take Senegal and everything north, you can bring it down to 4 defensive borders, but if you've gotten that far you've won anyway. Don't bother trying for it in multiplayer games, you'll get yourself spent.

Central Africa
11 territories
6 defensive borders
7 troops
Not worth it at all. You'll never get it, and if you do, it's probably because you've already gotten Horn of Africa or South Africa. Also, it is the centre of the map, meaning it's like a freeway, with everyone gunning to go through there to get at each other. In an Escalating game, having territories here is good, as you can reach around the map well, but the continent bonus is a pipe dream.


Of course, you'll have to take into account specific gameplay options (fog, teams, assassin, escalating cards etc), but this is a basic breakdown of the continents.

[e_i_pi]

In that specific game, I'd tap South Africa for a card, and leave the 14 where it is. If yellow feels unthreatened he probably won't build. If you take out his 12, you've spent yourself while blue builds an unstoppable force. Let your 14 and yellows 12 survive, as you'll need them when blue comes through