Map by [player]Sully800[/player]
Guide by [player]danryan[/player]
[bigimg]http://maps.conquerclub.com/Classic.S.jpg[/bigimg]
Introduction
The purpose of this short guide is to quickly explain the basics of the classic map and different forms of gameplay to the new player. A more detailed guide with tremendous amounts of valuable information is provided at Classic and Classic Style Maps.
The Classic map is the most popular map on Conquer Club. It is a basic map of the world, including 42 total regions and 6 bonus zones. It is a medium sized classic gameplay map. This is a very flexible map which works with almost any settings. An excellent map for doubles because both teams will start with a 3 troop drop and 10 regions. On the small side for quad games but workable.
[spoiler=Classification]Size: Medium.
Bonuses: Balanced.
Complexity: Easy.
Features
- None.
How to play Classic
[spoiler=Two Player]Each player begins with 14 regions, which equates to a troop drop of four per turn.
Your goals are, in this order:
- Increase your regions to 15 (bigger bonus)
- Decrease your opponent's regions to 11 (smallest bonus possible)
- Attempt to take and hold Oceania
- Attempt to take and hold South America
- Attempt to take and hold Africa
[spoiler=Escalating]The general goal in a single player escalating game is to eliminate opponents for their spoils, especially if they allow you to cash spoils mid-turn (see the Spoils Guide for details). As a result you will want to consolidate troops into a few stacks, perhaps 3 or 4, on a combination of choke points or bottlenecks, and regions with good reach to the rest of the map. Good regions to build stacks on include: Chicago, Berlin, Dubai, Moscow, and Hong Kong. Make sure you collect a spoil every turn.
The map is excellent with escalating spoils for any number of players up to 8 for both terminator and standard games. Fog of war works well for the map and the regions with a lot of reach become key.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Flat Rate, Nuclear, and No Spoils]Flat Rate: Oceania is the natural bonus zone most will gravitate toward, simply due to its single entry point but as a result fights often develop over control of it. South America looks easy to hold but is not due to having two regions which can access it. North America is an excellent long term bonus zone for these games because of its attractive ratio of bonus to territories needed to defend it. The main difference for nuclear spoils games will be the need to spread forces out in order to avoid being taken out by a lucky nuke. Focus on being able to quickly retake your bonus zones by strategically locating your troops and avoid the lure of the big stack!
After the initial maneuvering for bonus zones, unless one player is clearly ahead, the game will settle down into a build game where the long term goal is to position yourself to gain more troops on the drop (i.e. through region count advantage and zone bonuses) than your opponents, while looking for an opportunity to pick off the weakest. Diplomacy can be your best asset in build games.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Team Games]Bangkok, Mexico City, and Dakar are important choke points in team games. For larger team games on this map, especially quad games, the usual strategy is to target someone for elimination. Zone bonuses are relevant for doubles and on some occasions triples. In quad games a team may try for Oceania or South America to distract the other team. Oceania is an attractive bonus zone so long as it has only one neutral region or none. It is not worthwhile to have to whittle down two stacks of 3 neutral troops for a +2 zone bonus. Unlimited reinforcements are generally not recommended for team games on an open map like this as they give the first team to take a turn a big advantage. I'd recommend chained or adjacent reinforcements.
For quad and triples games, it is best to have one player try to grow his strength and be the aggressor while the others support him. Due to the size of these games turn order becomes crucial because eliminations can happen in early rounds with either attacker's advantage or due to poor reinforcements.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Additional Notes]As a general note on the map’s bonus zones, see the following:
Asia: +7 troop bonus, five entry points (i.e. 1.4 additional troops per tied down defense point).
Europe: +5 troop bonus, four entry points (i.e. 1.25 additional troops per tied down defense point).
North America: +5 troop bonus, three entry points (i.e. 1.33 additional troops per tied down defense point).
Africa: +3 troop bonus, three entry points (i.e. 1 additional troops per tied down defense point).
South America: +2 troop bonus, two entry points (i.e. 1 additional troops per tied down defense point).
Oceania: +2 troop bonus, one entry point (i.e. 2 additional troops per tied down defense point).
Based on this, it is clear that Oceania is far and away the easiest bonus zone to hold, while North America is the best value of the large zone bonuses with only three entry points.[/spoiler]
Other related strategy guides
I think if you hold Asia and Oceania the game is over. I agree that Asia has a pretty defensible border but getting the interior cleared is incredibly difficult. I suppose in a 3 player game there might be a situation where this could occur, though.
