some ppl said the winner in this game is a foregone conclusion as soon as you started the 1st move (huh?) and some said this game is all about scraping for the last victory point in the end by trying to sack temples.
I've played (and won, and lost) Antike where
- you need to sack temples for the last victory points (esp the game @ Jelutong with Chua/Edw where Chua used diversion tactics to cut thru a well-defended temple to sack the one in Mecca!)
- where someone sacked three temples for his last 3 points (two of those temples BELONGED TO ME!!
![Angry [:@]](/community/emoticons/emotion-12.gif)
)
- where you can win by turtling in one corner and quietly amassing VPs without being confrontational
- where some dude thot this was RISK and went on expansion strategy, stomping every cities in his wake (and almost won!)
But yes, this is a game where an experienced players tend to prevail over newbies.. probably becoz they can see the end coming earlier and know where/when to get those crucial VPs. A newbie tend to play "the board" (ie they decide what to do next by looking at their positions on the board) whereas an experienced player play "the VPs".
Larry Levy's recent article in Boardgamenews described this point well.
"Naturally, the Curse isn’t restricted to this year’s games. Last year’s Antike is pretty highly rated, but a lot of folks have complained that the game can stagnate toward the end, as everyone scrambles to get that last VP. Now, I’ve only played the game once, but based a little on that, and much more on the accounts of experienced players, once this issue is recognized, you adjust your play earlier in the game and plan just how you’re going to get to the necessary VP total. Specifically, combat breaks out earlier, since if it doesn’t, stagnation will result, making it anyone’s ballgame at the end. Again, experience is needed to see this, but players need to stick with the game long enough to figure it out. It’s also true that a bit of a hint in the rules might have alerted first-time players to this, allowing them to enjoy the game on their initial play."