Overview
Some tricks for getting to the end of the game on highest difficulty
Some Random Thoughts
Just completed Dragon Sweat 3x in a row: 89, 86 and then 76 turns. At the end of my game, I have around 100 cards, and certainly no character has more than 30 cards.
+ The difference between Dragon Sweat and other difficulty levels is that at the beginning the draw pods are all broken so your characters draw only 4 cards instead of 5. Althought it doesn’t seem like it, this is a HUGE handicap. Get your characters to draw their normal 5 cards ASAP, and then Dragon Sweat is like any other difficulty. This is first priority. Don’t repair anything else.
+ On Dragon Sweat, if the engineer research is damaged at the beginning, I restart. First research should be at least 1 quantum nuclear core for the engineer – I usually get both. You have about 6 rounds (24 turns) to completely heal your ship with relatively good shields. After turn 24 meteors do 2 damange instead of 1 and things just seem a little bit more severe.
+ After Engineer, Cook is my second focus. I usually start with both flambe and flambe two starter cards every turn. I also used the cooks “taste test” to toast one of my 2 starting cook cards and all the starter cards that come up. Feed the cook starter cards if the cooks is low on cards, but be careful. The key to the cook is keeping his deck very lean. I can usually play the whole cook deck every round, and in the early game my cooks deck will be as low as 8 cards. Lower than 8 is not good either.
+ Only use hall pass when you also have a professional card to play. Professional cards bring you back to your room. Try to always end the turn with characters in their correct rooms. (Chef is the main one I use to give cards to other characters)
Crises — Pick up diplomacy cards when you can (2 or 3 are usually enough, especially if you have at least one with the cook, because he can usually play it every turn.). I use diplomacy cards to cure all crises. As long as your engineer is solid, you can recover from a few of crises blowing up on you every round. Late game the AI will spam crises, and if you can handle them with diplomacy, you will be in great shape, because that means the AI is not giving you other problems.
+ I keep the engineer in his room until shields are 8. Sometimes I give FTL drive one point on the way to building up my shields to full, but basically it’s shields first, then FTL.
+ It’s important that the captain be able to move to an uncharted star every turn to replenish the zapmarket. I research Overdrive when the captain has too many cards for the 3 starting engage cards to come up reliably
+ Beginning Research: My research is usually as follows: Engineer’s quantum nuclear cores (2), Cook’s Flambe (2), Captains Overdrive (1), Cooks Free Sample (2) or Scientists Breakthrough (2) or Engineers Duct Tape (2). Scientist Mini are also very good, but stronger mid-game when all the other characters have good cards.
+ Mid-Game Research: Engineer, I add wrench and duct tape when I’m having trouble reliably fixing everything completely. I usually don’t need Extermination because the cook can keep my Vexyls down to 1 or 2. If you ever go over 4 Vexyls, you need extermination. Scientist – minicube because it’s most effective when other characters have good cards. Chef – I get one of the discard drives mid-game to late game. Captain – I add the overdrives midgame to make sure the captain can move every turn – having them will give you 5 moving cards total. I usually don’t get captains orders because I’d rather have a higher chance of getting a move card and rely of diplomacy for crisis.
+End Game Research: I save my cooking for last. Towards the end of the game I will cook as many as 5 items at once using the discard drive and cook cards, and with a lean cook deck can always come up with these cards. During the game, my goal is to visit each of the 3 recipe delivery sites and find and secure the serendipity rare item. I go to these 4 locations very slowly, 1 planet at a time. I usually only do more if I have more than one movement card and want to restock multiple times in a turn. Once I have my three delivery sites explored, I finish cooking food and research the captain’s backdrive and hyperspace to each spot directly. I have sometimes delivered the 2 final recipes in the same turn. (If you know the cook is going to finish a recipe his next turn you can camp out of the delivery planet — but be sure, or you’ll find yourself swamped with leftovers.) So basically, end game, I research the 3 food items I need to complete recipes and the 2 backdrives.
+ Cards to maximize and optimize your hand: Glove is my favorite. I also like remote because you can boost another character’s hand until he has the right card.
+ Getting the right card: Chef’s flambe and free sample always lead to the victimized character drawing a cards. These cards plus a few remotes will almost always pull up the card you need.
+ Maximizing Exchange Effect: If you know a character is going to use exchange, try to augment with a few remotes so character has more cards to exchange. You can also give the character a card — glove is a super good card to give.
Chefs & Exchange Card: In the end game I use 2 exchanges in the chef deck so I can go through the whole deck every turn. Food clogs the deck. Instead I prefer keeping food in the discards of other playes and cookins with discard disk.
+ Food Substitutes: There are a few cards with 2 worth: battery, xray, diplomacy & exchange. You can eliminate extra foods in favor of these cards. But in the first rounds, I always pump characters with the 3-worth foods.
+Super Charging Flux: If you give flux an extra point or two, you can have it switch between power and worth but with 4 or 5 instead of 3.
+ Claws are great in the end game when you have over 20 cards. In the early game, you often have no discards, s claws don’t work reliably.
+ Using redo turn to your advantage: If you choose the wrong research or go to the wrong planet and you haven’t bought anything at the store yet, you can redo your turn and try another research or planet. Going to the store saves and ends your turn. This trick means you can erase the scientists Foresight card.
+ Also, probably obvious but didn’t see it right away — On the left you can see each characters current worth and power. This helps you stock the store appropriately with things people can afford (esp. early game.)