TradeWars: how to Defeat Evil

HOW TO DEFEAT EVIL

If you can kill players when they first switch to Evil, and keep killing them, go for it. This is when Evils are the weakest.

Most Evils get killed in Merfs. Once they get strong; you have to set traps.

Evils have ten times more credits than Goods.  They can buy fully fitted Flagships every other turn.

They can buy as many fighters as their ships can hold.

But they can’t buy turns.
Make them waste turns.
There’s lots of ways.

Dummy Sectors they can ‘invade’ with planets empty of all colonists, and Q cannons set (depending on how much fuel is there) so that the first entry destroys his ship, is a way.

The setting of Q cannons must be done with mathematical precision.

You want to destroy his ship, have him go, get another, and come back.

Maybe the planets have enough fuel to destroy that Second ship.

The point is, to cost him a few days turns to land on planets which you have depleted of cols, which when he captures them are worthless.

On low turn games, he’s wasted a few days on this ‘invasion’, as well as millions of credits he hasn’t time to make up.

You’ve gotten ‘free’ days to make your real planets stronger.

Another trick are mines.
Mines attract Ferrangi.

Mine your area.
Do it ‘cute’.

Mine lots of areas he travels.

Ten mines read, using a Density Scanner, as  -100-  which suggests a space station.

Depending on how many shields he has, you might take out another of his ships.

He’ll buy mine disrupters.  He’ll come back either with his new ship or repaired ship and spend turns disarming your mines.

Another wasted day for Evil.

If he’s slow, Ferrangi will cluster about the mines, so he’ll have to kill them before he can kill your mines.

Another slurry of wasted turns.

Often, after Evil has disarmed the mines, he’ll post fighters to prove he ‘owns’ the area.

Arrive, pay the toll (if they are toll collectors), put down another ten mines, hoping he’ll warp to that Sector and get hit again.

Find his Colonial Transport.

These puppies take endless turns to warp. The usual is to leave the ColT in a promising Sector and Warp to it.

Putting mines around it means he’ll either…

• get blown or damaged when he warps there
• have to buy mine disrupters to get the use  of his ship.

BUT DON’T TRY TO DESTROY IT!

Many players booby trap their ship. You don’t want the ship, you want to use it for bait.

He might waste fifty, sixty turns just to get into the game.

Anything you can think of to make Evil waste turns is a successful strategy.

For that’s the key feature of low turn games; making your enemy waste them.