Introduction

xiphiastoo is a game which allows up to 9 people to play at once, and in larger multiplayer games it sometimes feels like the universe is so small.

In my opinion, the game of xiphiastoo is better when played multiplayer and offers much more scope
for play.

Tactics in multiplayer are very important, I am not going to go over the basics of the game, but focus on what to do in multiplayer. As you can see by the below, the tactics which can be employed make the game much more enjoyable

Finances

Larger Affect

The amount of finances you have becomes even more important in multiplayer. If there are 6 players, and you have (+3) then by the time you get to your turn you will have 6x3 = 18 extra golderos.
If you have +10 this would be 60 extra..

If you have a negative amount you would lose this negative amount over time. So you need to be careful. if you had 20 golderos left over but (-3) in a 6 player game you would have just 2 golderos on your turn.

That said if things change, and you lose a planet to an attack or a virus , then your -3 could become -4 and your safety is not enough

In a multiplayer game, finances are less determinisitc, as many players move, and virus can impact over multiple moves.

SUICIDE Attack

if i use all my golderos, and build captains to go through opposition forcefields, then you would end up with something like 3 golderos (-32) and hence you become bankrupt!

In a multiplayer game this can be good for you!

On the player immediately following you will have no money, however if you are more than 12 planets
without virus, then you will stay in the game. However after your aliens have all suicided, you may have (+20) and you will gain this money for each player .. hence would gain 5 times this by your next turn and have 100 to spend.

Making suicide attacks will make virus in planets without forcefields so if you are making a suicide attack do not expand within your own area at the same time

Suicide attack is particularly effective against the player who immediately follows you as when they counter you will be on 0 money anyway so no worse off

SMALL Attack

If you count your opponents finances, and they are tight, you want to make a small attack to keep them alive as long as possible. By killing them off quickly you will allow them to rebuild with finances just like they did a suicide attack. Ideally you want them to die off on the turn before their turn, so on their turn they have no money to spend on their turn, and hence can not counter

If they had died off straight away, they might have lots of golderos to build for a counter

Thus attacking 3 of their planets might be better than attacking 8 of their planets

ISOLATE and EAT Attack

As finances build quicker in multiplayer, hurting your enemies finances is also more important.
If someone is +30 , and they have had 4 players play since their move, they will have over 120 golderos.

If you split into two large area's each area will have 60 golderos, and the impact is just -2 for the extra rocket, making the attack potentially less effective

However, if you can split into an isolated planet and a larger area, the isolated planet would have 60 golderos, and when your alien eats it that 60 golderos is gone.

ISOLATE another planet, and it will have 30, Eat, and your enemy is left with just 30 golderos for his counter which will therefore be much lighter and manageable than facing 120

if you just eat planets without isolating them first, you are not hurting the finances.

obviously, the Eat and Chomp causes more damage on the player straight after you, as that player has built the most money.

POSITIONAL PLAY

PEACE

Even though it is a game of warring aliens, in a multiplayer game , it is often about peace.
When you attack you are building soldiers and captains, and when you defend you are building forcefields. Each of those activities are counterproductive in terms of your expansion, so delaying them as long as possible is ideal for having the largest force in the final battles

Therefore if you can avoid attacks while other people are fighting each other you will be in a strong position.

If you see someone else doing the same, they should be victimized before they will gain too large.

(similarly if you are too passifist, people will do the same and gang up on you, so you need to balance )

TRAPPED ANIMAL

By blocking someone off in a corner of the universe, you are in effect doing two things
a) Giving them no chance to peacefully expand so they need to attack you weakening you both
b) Not giving them room to help you on an attack against another player on the other side of you

Both of these are Bad, very bad, especially if other people are expanding.

however by not blocking off, you may be exposing yourself to a weakness as well as they will often
need to be on your side. In the end both players end up with exposed flanks and become natural allies

MIDDLE MAHEM

Taking control of the center of the board is bad, as you can be attacked on multiple sides. This would see you require larger amount of resources to defend, but in the end you are most likely dead

PLAN YOUR START

Your starting position is critical, and if you do not plan properly you could be in a no win situation.

You want to be as far away from the people who play directly before you, and you want to be
ideally a large area to expand, and try to avoid the middle

COMMUNICATE

Talk to your opposition. If someone is getting too big, informing other people to assist. Encouraging them that the squirrel is more of a threat, will help formulate an alliance

HONESTY

Betraying an ally for a short one game win although understandable would give you a reputation which would be hard to overcome, and such a person would struggle in future games


But the most of all is to have fun.