What do you think is the best strategy on total fog games on Antastic, in the beginning, with lets say 8 players. Do you try to expand as fast as possible to get alot of bonus without leaving alot of defences. After all they can't see that you're leaving yourself vulnarable. Or do you defend your borders with alot of units so you will always keep the bonus you already have, but dont expand as fast.

I'd probably mix the two. Too passive and you risk falling behind. Too aggressive and someone will gobble you up.

I'd save a decent stack near borders if they guard several rooms... like 12ish. If I attack the next room and find that it has more than 3 defenders, I have to either go all out to stop a counterattack by busting bonuses, or maybe I stop and hope they don't watch the history and attack back.

If I move a stack into a room and encounter different players and their starting 3s, then I know it is not contested and go for it.

Watching history helps me know where people are working and I try to avoid long and early conflicts. When evaluating I am usually going for +1s in the first 2 turns. Helps me expand faster in the middle stage of the game.

My strategy for Antastic games involves a lot of losing!

I like Gimli's ideas, might have to start playing that board more over here and see if I can't skill up some on it.

Gimli wrote:

I'd probably mix the two. Too passive and you risk falling behind. Too aggressive and someone will gobble you up.

I'd save a decent stack near borders if they guard several rooms... like 12ish. If I attack the next room and find that it has more than 3 defenders, I have to either go all out to stop a counterattack by busting bonuses, or maybe I stop and hope they don't watch the history and attack back.

If I move a stack into a room and encounter different players and their starting 3s, then I know it is not contested and go for it.

Watching history helps me know where people are working and I try to avoid long and early conflicts. When evaluating I am usually going for +1s in the first 2 turns. Helps me expand faster in the middle stage of the game.

What he says, unfortunately, it does not appear to have helped recently (particularly against you ;o)  ).  I do try and put some focus on keeping the opponent pushed back.  The bonuses on Antastic stack up quickly and it is important that you do not get left behind too early.  In some ways keeping your opponent from gaining territories is more important than taking a territory, particulalry if you have a weak defensive poisition at the end of the turn (IYSWIM)

I think it's a two staged approach (and this may just be repeating Gimli's strategy with different words). The best tactic I've found is to conservatively expand, building up a reasonable defense until I understand who else is trying to establish in my area. Then when you have a bonus you feel comfortable with, you get aggressive and attack. If you get lucky, you can focus on one person at a time until you have the bottom or top. But what it comes down to is the sooner you get aggressive the better... which usually backfires if you try too early.

But like most of my strategies, it's probably too conservative and requires a perfect scenario which rarely happens... which is why my win total is also conservative!