Arboria
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:10 pm
I finished playing this game a couple of days ago. Whew! 40 years is a long time, especially when one plays at slow speed. Overall, I liked this game although I think it will a long while before I play it again. I made the gold requirements ($450 mill CBV, $300 mil industry profits) on hard with 3 years to spare. Industry opportunities on the Arboria island were scarce and widely spaced. By mid game I had a monopoly on every farm, every mine, every logging camp and every factory on the island. I would have bought the ports if I could have. The latter part of the game was spent scanning the map for any new farms/camps/mines and buying them on the spot. I placed mills beside almost every farm and every logging camp, upgraded immediately to count to CBV. It was crazy! I also had railroad tracks running everywhere, stations in the middle of nowhere and trains (over 180 of them) covering the island in a blue haze of funnel smoke.
I did like the terrain of the map. Railroad tracks fit nicely to the mountains and there was enough flat land to keep me happy. The views off the trains looking down to the ocean were spectacular. There was not a history tied to the scenario so very few newspapers kept popping up in front of me.
Hints: Pay attention to the ports. New ones appear as the game progresses. Most of them offer meat (!) but some offer coal and oil. Capitalize on coal and oil ones. And watch for dairy farms and sheep farms to continually appear throughout the game. Buy them immediately and place a mill beside them.
I give Arboria a thumbs up with a caveat: patience is required.
I did like the terrain of the map. Railroad tracks fit nicely to the mountains and there was enough flat land to keep me happy. The views off the trains looking down to the ocean were spectacular. There was not a history tied to the scenario so very few newspapers kept popping up in front of me.
Hints: Pay attention to the ports. New ones appear as the game progresses. Most of them offer meat (!) but some offer coal and oil. Capitalize on coal and oil ones. And watch for dairy farms and sheep farms to continually appear throughout the game. Buy them immediately and place a mill beside them.
I give Arboria a thumbs up with a caveat: patience is required.