A Great Western Trail Strategy Article
One of the things that makes games like Great Western Trail so fun is trying out all the different strategic paths. In Great Western Trail, there are three obvious paths to try: hiring lots of cowboys and focusing on buying cows, hiring lots of craftsmen and focusing on building, and hiring lots of engineers and focusing on moving your train. There are also many other, more subtle strategies you can try such as: focusing on removing unwanted cows, focusing on gaining certificates, or focusing on one specific high-level building.
There really are a huge number of ways to play the game, and experimenting is half the fun of playing. For that reason, in this article, I’m not going to talk about what I think is the single best strategy. Instead, I’m going to share my top ten tips to help you get a good score, regardless of the strategy you choose. I’ll count down from ten and save the best for last.
10. COWBOYS: Cowboys can be very valuable workers. However, they are an all-or-nothing worker. The more cowboys you have, the more efficient they are. I have done the math, and I can save you the time by saying you should either acquire 0 extra cowboys or acquire 5 extra cowboys. Therefore, if you see players purchase a cowboy or two, you can try to make it harder for them by keeping the cowboys off the job market.
9. CRAFTSMEN: Craftsmen can also be very valuable workers. They are somewhat opposite to cowboys in that they are most efficient in low numbers, and there are two main reasons for this. First, low-level buildings can be upgraded into high-level buildings over time. Second, there are often a limited number of desirable spaces on which to build. It is generally a good idea, regardless of your core strategy, to acquire 1 extra craftsman. Then, only acquire more if it fits your plan.
8. ENGINEERS: Engineers are harder for newer players to use well than any other worker. This is because moving the train doesn’t directly result in victory points. However, in the right hands they can be quite useful. The key to getting the most out of your engineers is to acquire them as early in the game as possible. Much of the engineers’ value comes from saving you money when making deliveries. So, if you’ve already made 4 or more deliveries, it’s probably not a good time to start acquiring engineers.
7. KANSAS CITY: Almost universally, it is best to make your very first delivery to Kansas City, and then never deliver there again. It may seem at the time like you don’t need the coins, but you’ll likely get stuck later and end up forced to deliver there anyway. Knowing that you’re very likely to deliver there anyway, you may as well deliver there right away and use the coins. On the other end of the spectrum, delivering to Kansas City more than once is not advised because 6 victory points are considerably more valuable than 6 coins.
6. DELIVERIES: After your first delivery, you have 2 safe places to deliver without losing points, Topeka and Colorado Springs. Wichita should be avoided as much as possible. This means that after making 3 deliveries, you’ll be out of safe, easy options. It is for this reason that, no matter what core strategy you choose, you need to have a method of making high-value deliveries by the fourth time around the board. A strategy that completely ignores both buying cows and obtaining certificates will not be viable because you won’t be able to make deliveries.
5. TURN VALUE: Every turn is precious. Every player will get the same number of turns, and the winner of the game will be the player who got the most value out of each and every turn. It is therefore crucial to skip over the tiles that you don’t need or can’t fully utilize. Generally, it is best to move through the board as fast as possible so that you can spend more of your turns focusing on your core strategy. However, this approach will backfire if you move so fast that you can’t make good deliveries (see tip #6).
4. MOVEMENT: Don’t underestimate the power of movement in this game. Remember that you can unlock more movement from your player board by removing discs and that the movement values are increased in games with more players. It is easy to forget that the default movement is 4 spaces, not 3, in a game with 4 players. The decision isn’t easy because the movement discs are black-bordered, which means they compete with the coveted hand size discs. However, the hand size discs cost resources to unlock, while the movement discs give you resources. Choosing the movement disc is the right call more often than you might think.
3. TOLLS: Buildings with tolls (green or black hands) are the single most efficient mechanic in this game. You can’t afford NOT to construct these buildings. Not only do they pay for themselves many times over, but they also significantly slow down your opponents, both in terms of cash and in terms of movement spaces. On both the A and B building sides, the magic numbers for tolls are 1, 2, and 5. Everyone, even with no craftsmen, can and should build their level 1 and 2 tolls, at a minimum. Building the level 5 toll is certainly not mandatory, but it is a huge perk of acquiring 1 or more extra craftsmen. This tip is listed at #3 so that the next 2 tips would make more sense, but it truly is the most important tip of all. If you only remember 1 tip from this list, let it be this one.
2. TOLL PLACEMENT: Choosing the best spot for your toll buildings is like an entire minigame within the overall game of Great Western Trail. The location of your tolls can single-handedly win or lose a game. You don’t want to put a toll building on a spot that can easily be avoided. First, consider placing your tolls parallel to a line of natural hazards. That way, players must either pay you, or go through the hazards. Either way, they are hindered. Second, consider placing 2 toll buildings parallel to each other. This can be a bit risky and can feel somewhat counter-intuitive, but if you pull it off, players will have no choice but to pay one of those 2 tolls every time they go around the board. There will be no hazard routes for them to take as a detour.
1. THINK AHEAD: One of the worst feelings is landing on a space you were looking forward to using, only to realize you’re just a few coins short of using it. You have plenty of time to think while other players are taking their turns, so use that time to work through your next 2 or 3 purchases and make sure you can afford everything you want to do. For example, let’s say you just made it around the board and you’re back at the start. This time around, you really want to recruit an extra cowboy and then visit the market to purchase some new cows. Look at the available cowboys and the available cows and count how much everything would cost in total. Then, use that information to decide whether you need to slow down and get some coins along the way or move quickly and forego the coins. You don’t want to get caught without enough coins, but you also don’t want to waste time getting coins you don’t need. Furthermore, you don’t want to get greedy and buy an extra cow if it means you won’t have enough for that nice building you’ve been planning.
That concludes my top 10 tips for Great Western Trail. Good luck and happy herding partner!