THE GREAT LAKES-HOLDING THE LAKES

[suggs]

anyone got any thoughts on how useful going for the lakes in the great lakes game actually is?
suggs

[alster]

anyone got any thoughts on how useful going for the lakes in the great lakes game actually is?
suggs

Very. Holding a few lakes tends to pass under the radar of many players. Plus, the lakes are a good way to attack into some continents.

It's not something one should always aim for, holding a few lakes, but it can be valuable in some games.

[larry holland]

great lakes is a hard map it take a whole lot of thinking, plus i dont play that map. i played it in a tournament and glad to be out of it, i think im out of it, hope so and that bad to say because i wanted to win and learn how to play that map and yes holding lakes are good

[Symmetry]

Don't make yourself too conspicuous, and don't get greedy. A lot of players miss the borders, or have other priorities. That's worked for me in the past. Be happy to get a small bonus and hope that other players will defend the higher priority borders.

If you spend too much holding the lakes, you can easily spread yourself thin and waste your bonus on attrition. Unless it was the endgame, I'd probably use any armies i got from the lakes to fortify a central position. They can't be held unless your enemies are distracted.

My two cents.

[chessplaya]

they r very useful and provide u with extra armies .... so why not

i mean the map is Great lakes..... wouldnt u think the lakes in it are useful?

[Ninja-Town]

They should be a temporary solution. You aren't going to expand too much with the lakes because of the ammount of just plain defense you need to keep them. I find that the trick is best used with 5 or more players to go for the lakes, and use them to build up so you can take one of the more powerful territories such as Wisconsin.

[Coleman]

In my mind the Great Lakes is a team map, and hopefully that means something since my name is on it. Anyway, if you are playing by yourself then the few lakes idea is a good one, but with a team it is very beneficial to try to have one of your players have the whole thing and be a continent buster, while the other one(s) work his/her (their) way around the board.

Anyway, regardless of game type, very useful. (Although, perhaps, not by themselves)

[grunion]

I know this is an old thread but I have been playing this map a bit lately. As someone said earlier, often the other players won't realize you hold the lakes until they see your juicy bonus pop up in the log. It's even more helpful when Fog is turned on - they will generally assume the bonus you get for partial lakes is from some territory.

The good thing about the lakes as an objective is you still get a little incentive bonus if you don't hold all five. Also it is critical to hold Buffalo if you are going to defend the Eastern Lakes, and Thunder Bay for the west.

[hideaway]

I once played a great lakes speed game that lasted 5+ hours...after that I vowed to never play the map again

however, during the course of the game I did get several lakes bonuses that flew under the radar