Middle Game Strategy

[schweick]

Sounds like the classic ship chain is an expense you only go to if you need to get the reinforcements there quickly in a overseas war.

"to and fro every turn" = meaning, use half the move points to meet the next ship, and the other half of the move points in the same turn to return to the the meeting point with the last ship? that does sound costly. (If I read you right.)

BTW, I never saw a caravel with movement of 7.
5 if Magellan's.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

I think the main use of the ship chain is to rush caravans/freights to foreign cities.

I guess the problem is that the process only works every 2 turns... the second turn you have to move the ships back into position. Unless your starting point is a city that produces enough shields to build a transport every turn. Then you just move the new one into the chain each turn, and disband the one at the end?

[La Fayette]

schweick
You read me wrong (probably because English is not my mother language):

1) 'to and fro every turn' was supposed to mean that each ship uses ALL its movement points in one direction (with units inside) and then ALL its movement points in the opposite direction next turn (empty) in order to come back exactly where it came from, 2 turns ago.

2) The ordinary caravel has 3 movement points. According to Ribannah you sail two turns in a row in the same direction (loaded with units). This means 3 + 3 = 6 squares, and the next caravel is waiting next square (since your units will walk directly from caravel 1 to caravel 2 at the end of turn 2). This means 3 + 3 + 1 = 7 squares travelled in 2 turns by your units with help of caravel 1.

Is it clear now?
If not, please ask again, since this forum is meant for players to UNDERSTAND how it works.


(La Fayette, eager to understand more)

[schweick]

Thanks, La Fayette.

This means 3 + 3 = 6 squares, and the next caravel is waiting next square (since your units will walk directly from caravel 1 to caravel 2 at the end of turn 2). This means 3 + 3 + 1 = 7 squares travelled in 2 turns by your units with help of caravel 1.

That's what I've been doing in the past. What STYOM described, I think, would be more efficient for anything where you want to preserve the land units' move points. Which I suppose would only be an issue if they were about to land near the enemy and fortify or whatever.

[Xin Yu]

You put two ships at each intermediate square. Then you can do it every turn.