Early in almost every strategy game, you face the same choice: grab more, or guard what you have? Grab too much and an early attack catches you spread thin. Guard too much and a greedier rival out-grows you. Good players do not pick one; they read the board and choose each time.
The case for expanding
In games where territory makes your army, each new source of units pays you back for the rest of the match. Taken early, it pays for longer. That makes early expansion the strongest default: when in doubt, expand.
Expansion is especially right when:
- Neutral targets are close and cheap. Low defences, short walks.
- Your rival is far away. He cannot punish you before your new cities pay off.
- Your rival is cautious. A defensive opponent gives you time.
The case for defending
Expansion has a cost: units spent taking a target are not guarding anything, and new territory is often thin and exposed. Defending is right when:
- Your rival is aggressive and close. An early push is coming, and spread-out forces lose to a concentrated one.
- The next target is expensive. A heavily defended target eats your army; a counter-attack then finds you weak.
- Your new territory is cut off. Land you cannot connect or supply is a liability.
Signs to read
Look at three things before each decision:
- The cheapest target. How strong is its defence, how far is it?
- The nearest threat. Where is the rival army, how big, and which way is it facing?
- Your own weak point. Which of your positions would fall first if he attacked now?
If the cheapest target is cheap and the threat is far, expand. If the threat is near and your weak point is weak, defend first, then expand.
Expand safely
You can often do both: expand in a direction away from the threat, or expand with a group that can turn back. Take the targets that are behind your other territory first; they are the safest to hold.
In Dot Conquest
The numbers to read are all on the map:
- The guard. The number under a neutral city is its garrison, which your dots have to fight down:
- What a city gives. More dots, and a bigger army limit:
- The rival's army. No fog: you can see it and what kinds of dot are in it.
And the rival's style matters. Against an aggressive general like the Brawler, defend first; against a careful one like the Warden, expand hard. See every general and how to beat them.
Two more things push toward expanding in Dot Conquest: land near your cities makes them grow faster, and falling behind in cities makes your Councils come faster, so an early lead in cities is valuable but not decisive.
Where to go next
- How to take a city well: capturing cities.
- The whole match: opening, middle and close.