Beginner's guide

This page describes the basics of how to play (and win in) Antiyoy and explains concepts which everyone should know. This page mainly focuses on completing Campaign. It will help you to play.

## Early game

In early game it is very important to focus on maximizing income by building Farms and capturing hexes. When there not a lot of neutral hexes, building Farms is better.

### Position

Best positions are near water. At the start of the game the player should look:

* where they are (and how many Provinces they have),
* where they can expand and
* where are the closest threats.

If the closest enemy is:

* 1-2 hexes away and has good economy, build a Tower.
* 1-2 hexes away and has same or even worse economy that the player, build some Farms. A Tower should be placed later, when units can't defend the Province anymore.
* 3-5 hexes away, build Farms and leave some hexes unoccupied for placing towers when the enemy is closer.
* 6 and up hexes away, spend Coins on Peasants to capture as many neutral hexes as possible, before an enemy can. When close to an enemy, towers should be placed. If an area of the map is only reachable by the player, they should not invest to much on capturing those neutral hexes.

*Note: These numbers were not gotten from calculations of any kind, but from intuition.*
### Trees

Trees on player's hexes lose the player 1 Coin per turn, making the hex with a tree not produce income and should be captured as soon as possible. If there are trees on the players Province, the trees should be captured by placing a unit on it (this also rewards the player with +3 Coins). Trees can spread on other adjacent hexes and should be captured before they reach a captured hex. The player shouldn't go around the map capturing trees, but should keep an eye on possible trees spreading on their hexes.

### Provinces

In some levels the player is give more than one Province. Usually merging Provinces is a good tactic since it combines the Provinces' Coin balance and Coins income. Having two Provinces instead of one allows the player to build Farms for much less Coins. When building more Farms isn't efficient or Coins are needed in either Province, Provinces should be merged.

## Mid game

Mid game is often the time when all (or almost all) neutral hexes are captured (i.e. there are no neutral hexes). At this point the player should have some Farms and some towers.

### Protection

Before attacking it is important to check if all (or at least most) of the player's hexes, which an enemy can reach, are protected. This can be done by tapping on a Tower, Castle or Strong tower. However this does not show the level of protection each hex provides. Hexes can also be protected by units. This should only be used in the early game, as upkeep of a unit is much higher than that of a tower. Only place Strong towers when they are needed or if the enemy has a good economy.

*For advanced tactics see Defensive grid.*
### Attacking

Once the player has a good defensive grid they can start to attack. It is recommended to first **capture the hexes with least protection** (see table below). Tips to keep in mind while attacking:

* Don't spawn a Baron or a Knight, if the Coins income decreases by more than ~30%.
* Strong towers should be especially avoided, because of the Knight's high upkeep.
* While attacking the player should keep a good Coin balance with building Farms and not overspawning units.
* Don't spend every Coin on just Farms or just units, keep a balance and save some Coins for towers.
* Focus on destroying the enemy's Farms as they are the main source of income.
* Buildings and units can also be destroyed by capturing all hexes around them i.e. isolating them.
* Control choke points (see image).

#### Choosing an attacking side

Usually the player wants to attack the closest enemy. When the enemies are equally close and the player's economy can't support two attacking groups of units, a side/enemy has to be chosen. Important things to consider before attacking:

* What protection does each enemy has (lower is better).
* Is the enemy already attacking another enemy (look where the enemy units are positioned). If an enemy has already chosen an attacking side, it it most likely that they are not going to attack the player. That means the player is safe from that side and can **attack the other side**.
* Where are the player's Farms positioned. If an enemy attacks the player, the Farms should be as far away as possible or very well protected.
* The player's protection on each side. The player should build a Tower or even Strong tower on the other side of the attacking side.

## Late game

Late game is often the time when the first Knights start appearing.

### Playing from behind

In later levels of the Campaign the player is often put into a disadvantageous position. There are two main strategies:

1. Build a lot of Farms, protect captured hexes (mainly those with Farms) and capture hexes *slowly*.
2. Build some Farms and stash Coins for a couple of turns. When sufficient Coins are acquired (around 500 Coins), spawn units in the direction of enemy's Farms and capture as many as possible. *For more information see blitzkrieg.*

## See also

* Economy
* Fog of war
* Diplomacy
* Strategies
* Tactics