Short Game (Tiny or Small) Tips

Range very well can *be* an issue, by the way. I had one game in which a single yellow star in one corner was simply out of range of all my colonies (range seemed weirdly short, so it may have been a fluke). I had to build a starbase in the same sector to get a colony ship there. This is more an exception than a rule, though.

I would add as general advice: Don't worry about falling behind in the early game. If you play well, you *can* catch up before the midgame. Also, do *not* hesitate to take out civs with only one or two planets, if you have the range and military power. A corvette rush now can save you a lot of pain later.

~SDC~

Capture the minors before he enemies do. Do not let another major take over a minor as on tiny and small galaxies (especially on rare planets) this gives a huge advantage.

On hard AI levels, purchase your initial constructors and colony ships. The extra few turns will allow you to gain those crucial extra planets and resources.

Go for quick short surprise wars where possible. On tiny or small galaxies it's fairly easy to attack all weaker enemy planets simultaneously. Take out the enemy in 1 turn!

Paul.

~SDC~

What party/racial picks are you using in tiny/small games? Since the games tend to be shorter, some of the bonuses, such as creativity and sensors seem less useful than in the larger games.

Yea, crank out those colony ships and research asap...totally ignore all social improvement.
If you are lucky, the computer AI will only have 1 or 2 systems where as you will have 4 - 5.

Also, keep an eye out on the minor's...when they are being attacked by another AI, keep at least 2/3 combat transport near by, so when the enemy AI destroys all protection on minor, move in and grab the planets

I find that the resorces are VERY important on the Tiny games. Also tiny is no four squares, it's a 4x4 grid. You can't get to the entire world either. you have to work for it. And your right, every system counts!

I max out my building and buying on colony ships and constructors. You have to move fast... Sometimes you can miss something by only one movement point...

TFM

~SDC~

The suprise attack thing is probably the biggest difference in a small vs. large game. You really can crush a smaller enemy before he has any chance at all to respond. Use this to your advantage.

I usually eat two AI races in the early game in a tiny galaxy.

I could get more, but I want to have someone around to play with later on.

~SDC~

On Tiny, speed is a tremendous attribute. Take +1 and research the Propulsion path to increase it even further (and gain +10% range).

Conquest is the key to a tiny map. Avoid diplomacy (unless you are specifically going for aan Alliance win as a challenge) and concentrate on Military techs & production.

BattleHammers and Battleships reign supreme.

If caught by an enemy offensive, build a SB and bulk it up with defensive modules that add to your ship values.

It is very easy to start with, or find, a multi-planet/multi-system sector. Building a SB here with economic & influence modules can frequently determine the game.

~SDC~

I actually found the Diplo skill to very useful in my last Tiny game. There isn't much income from trade or taxes if you've only got a handful of systems, so I found tribute to be my highest source of income. A high Diplo skill meant I was rolling in the dough. I found Diplo to be more useful on a tiny map (where you quickly find all the AIs and the minors) than on larger maps.

Actually, I think the Tiny maps offer just as much variability. I can win by playing generally peaceful.

Proactively responding to a military buildup is important because it doesn't take much of a war to wipe out a race.

It takes astoundingly long to get a tech victory on tiny. Playing peaceful without culture victory can be a challenge as everyone beats up on you and you are spending as much as possible on research.

Diplo is key to a tiny tech victory because it keeps the dogs at bay.

In terms of the four squares, surprisingly few trade routes are solely along one of the sides, so almost all travel through the central four of the sixteen squares on tiny.

Diplo is what allows me to keep ahead of the game. I can spend my cash on whatever is needed at the moment and buy the techs I need. The only downside to buying tech is that it really makes your tech tree confusing, as you have techs you still have to do that give you no gains since you bought the finished result.

TFM

~SDC~