Strategic search

If we divide a circle into 360 equal angles, we end up with one degree incremental vectors in which we can look around ourselves on a planar surface. When we misplace something, we can head off in 360 different directions. If we then allow for up and down angles of equivalent size, then for the sphere surrounding us at every moment, there are 41,253 directions we can look. Given all these options, we must choose wisely.

Technically, the number of directions is computed from A=4πr² where r=360/2π. [Square degree]

Our 2018 list of top mobile games

In our spare time, the most played games last year were:
1. Battle Bay from Rovio (strategy guide here)
2: BitCity from NimbleBit (strategy guide here)

3. Go Round from Little White Bear Studios
4: Hackers from Trickster Arts (defensive strategies here)

SimCity 2000 running on Windows 7

SimCity 2000 runs on Windows 7 x64, but crashes when attempting to access the dialog box to save or load a city. After searching for and trying all of the suggested fixes and patches to avoid this crash, we still had no success. Crash, crash, crash!

Alas, there is a solution! Use the command line to invoke the app with a path to a city file to open. For example: "c:> simcity Saved\city.sc2" This will not only open a city, but allow saving it on exit. If a new terrain is desired, use the urban renewal kit.

Gameforge: War-Game Strategy Guide

The following advice/opinion is primarily for War Game (present level 216), but also applies somewhat to Knight Game.

Reinvest collected hourly payments and objective earnings into income production. Spend attribute points primarily on attack offensive strength and secondarily on oil(fortitude) - this helps perform assignments(quests). An assignment in Fireland requires 95 oil while later, in Hawaii, an alliance size of 973.

Realize that these games are not continuous play...after depleting resources on objectives, attack opponents, build up income production and then set the game aside. Opponents take 8% per successful attack and can be repeated several times until health is below 24.

Sometimes a higher level player attacks unprovoked. If this happens, check to be sure the opponent is not in the alliance(order). Remove the player if they are poaching.

Each player's country flag is displayed. It might be advantageous to attack an opponent during their sleep cycles.

At some levels/ranks and alliance/clan size combinations, some or all opponents may be artificial players with random names. Watch for player profiles where the number of assignments(quests) and battles(duels) won/lost are displayed as a dash (-). Also, there is no comment tab on these players. These opponents are dynamically generated for an even match up and often yield little rewards. They can be useful to bring health down below 24.

One major difference in Knight Game, is the lack of dedicated defense objects. Instead, this function is performed by Vassals, which also produce income. Tip: buy as many Beggars as possible. ALL of them are used in duels.

Additional links:
http://mafiagameapp.blogspot.com
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/669052-war-game/64582658
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/669052-war-game/64582709

Clash of Clans Strategy Guide

Below are tips for Clash of Clans, serving as guidance from level 4 onward. First, focus on upgrading resource acquisition and storage. Note that upgrading the gold mine requires elixir while upgrading the elixir collector requires gold. Be aware that operations are halted during upgrade of the mine and collector, thus sometimes it is necessary to simply wait for resources to build up before proceeding.

After upgrading the Town Hall beyond the first level, build additional mines/collectors so only one is down during upgrade. Remove obstacles to find gems. Be careful with some of the interface elements as it is easy to accidentally spend hard-earned gems. Save every gem to eventually afford a third builder hut for 500 gems.

The first 19 levels is mostly about building a solid home-base with good resource collectors, seeking opponents with weak defenses, and collecting trophies. Difficulty might be found in the single-player "Fool's Gold" and "Immovable Object" challenges...these levels require some ingenuity or additional research at the laboratory.

Build a strong defense by creating a double-wall around cannons, archer towers, and resource storage. Mines can benefit from defense protection when placed just outside the wall within range of defense units. Check that opponents cannot deploy forces within the wall...when moving an object, watch for the highlighted areas on the ground to be certain there are no holes. Lay traps and bombs on the interior and reinforce the inner wall around the secure area. (see diagram above) The interior can serve for resource storage or for housing the town hall and eventually additional defenses like the wizard tower.

When attacking an opponent, if there are undefended buildings in the corner areas, deploy a troop to each building at the start of the battle rather than waiting for the collective to spend valuable time running to every corner near the end.

The gem box yields 25 gems and recurs every 8 days (on average).

Additional strategy...
General: jump
Attack: jump
Layouts: jump
Top 6: jump

Further reading:
http://clashofclans.wikia.com/
http://toucharcade.com/2013/09/30/clash-of-clans-guide-how-to-win-without-spending-real-money/

CoC shares mechanisms found in other games: building construction (like OGame), resource collection and management (like Edgeworld), multi-player combat (like Edgeworld), clearing obstacles (like DragonVale), re-arming defenses after use (like Edgeworld), and freemium play (like Dark District).

http://virtualeconomists.com/blogs/news/10823889-6-free-to-play-design-lessons-from-clash-of-clans-to-engage-players-and-increase-profits
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/185406/Clash_of_Clans_5_keys_to_success.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_video_game

Also interesting are the copies of Clash of Clans: jump

Edgeworld Strategy Guide

Strategic tips:
1) When attacking a player who is online, do not end the attack prematurely; keep the clock running for the full 5 minutes. This can help frustrate the opponent.
2) When using a 15 minute XP boost, attack Factions (PvE) about half the current level. When the experience bar reaches maximum, end the battle and re-attack. This can help accelerate level gains to a rate of about 100 levels in one 15 minute boost.
3) When given the opportunity to spend a Cerulean core, choose offensive structure upgrades such as warp gates, tech lab, fleet academy, generals quarters, etc.
4) Be cautious with Battle Cruisers on higher level bases. They can get wiped out easily.
5) Always keep queues full: buildings upgrading and troops training.

Star Wars: Tiny Death Star Strategy Guide

Inheriting its game mechanics from Tiny Tower, sales can be maximized in the same way within a Tiny Death Star: After building 20 or so levels, focus on re-stocking only 3-coin inventory. See the prior article for a bit more on this. Work toward evicting any Bitizen not in their dream job. On each apartment floor, try to keep one slot open for a new move-in. (Evict any new tenant if no dream-job is available.) Save Imperial Bux to upgrade the elevator.

Pocket Trains Strategy Guide

Below are some tips for Pocket Trains (iOS version 1.0.6), serving as guidance from level 4 through level 20 with expansion to the North American continent. An enjoyable and engaging interactive experience with some geography lessons for good measure.

Getting started:

Aim to build and operate five railroads between 11 cities in Europe. This is sufficient to fund the start up phase.

The Jobs button leads to a list of available cargo to haul, grouped by city, mixed with items parked in the yard. Upgrade the station to increase the yard size. Each prospective shipment has a coin-number assignment (1 through 4) to indicate relative value of the job. Maximize profit by prioritizing selections in the following order: bux, crates, event cargo, 4-coin, yard cars. Choose 3-coin and 2-coin only if the higher priority shipments are not available. This strategy might involve hauling a few pieces in the opposite direction temporarily. Choose to haul as many cars as possible. Don't bother with 1-coin offers unless there's no better option and it is delivered at the next destination - storing single coin cars clutters valuable yard space.

Let's take a closer look...

Galaxy Empire

We reviewed this free on-line strategy game last year. Since then, we've developed eight planets, acquired five moons, gained over 27 million points, and ranked in the top 70 players on one of the many game servers. With this experience, we've compiled a few tips and tricks learned along the way:

1) As new planets are developed, don't bother with solar plants...they are a waste of space on the planet. Fusion plants are much more efficient. If a little extra power is required, put up some solar satellites. Here's an example: if Energy Tech is researched to level 15, the output from a level 16 Fusion plant is 8889 energy. The solar plant on the other hand requires level 28 to generate 8075 energy - not quite as much, yet it uses up valuable planetary space that can be put to better use by increasing mines to higher levels.

2) After making careful observations of all metrics across planets, research, production, construction, ship efficiency, battle reports, etc., we could find no benefits to improving Plasma Technology beyond level 10, other than gaining double score points for spending resources on research. We asked Support about the specific effect when upgrading Plasma Tech beyond level 10. Here is their response:

The plasma tech can be used in the construction of the new fleet, the tech has powerful combatting force. Every upgrading the tech can let you to construct the higher one or the stronger weapon or fleet. if you did have the relative tech, you can not have other fleets or weapon.

Huh? We were hoping for a comprehensible response such as, "there is a 1% gain in metal mining production", or "there is no specific gain beyond level 9", or "good idea - look for an improvement in the next version".

3) Each scan using the EU-X radar array costs 50K in gas. Be sure to have a reserve available on the moon.

4) Try specializing some planets. By sacrificing a few levels in the other mines on a planet, a higher gain can be had in another. For example, a level 39 metal mine with Lv7 four-star metal galactonite equipped on the planet produces 770K/h. That's over 18M per day...not bad!

5) Researching Hyperspace Tech reduces fuel requirements for fleet transit. As a result, there is a corresponding increase in the amount of cargo that can be loaded. It doesn't change the cargo capacity of the ships, but be aware that the fuel used for flying is also loaded into the cargo bay, therefore reducing fuel requirements increases space for transport.

6) To identify where improvements can be made, create a one page spreadsheet to tally building levels and production numbers across planets. For example, to optimize for Destroyer production, aim toward the ratio 48:40:12 - that is 48% of total production should be metal, 40% crystal, and 12% gas. Our next goal is to determine the optimal configuration of mines for a given planet size with respect to Destroyer production. Stay tuned.

7) On the defensive side, every 16 ion cannons is equal to one large shield dome. It takes 2.5 plasma cannons to take out a dreadnought and 3.5 to eliminate a destroyer. Build accordingly.

8) Expenditures of gas to move ships around does not contribute toward score.

The Blockheads

Clever, intriguing, and well-engineered game! Presently investigating optimal methods to mine for gold and time crystals.

Pocket Planes

Presently investigating ways to maximize sales.

Galaxy Empire

This free on-line strategy game is extremely engaging and time-consuming. An iOS clone of OGame, it combines elements of science fiction, flight management, factory logistics, planetary exploration, and battle tactics. There are many upgrades including somewhat complex requirements dependencies. For example, the research lab needs to be at level 7 before researching hyperspace technology which is needed before developing hyperspace drives which are required to build battleships.

There are several paths a player can take in this game. For example, the tutorial introduces the mines, the shipyard, research, defenses, constructing a small fleet, attacking an enemy (other players), and colonizing a new planet. After the tutorial, although it might be tempting to try some more attacks, it only makes sense to go back to basics and focus on upgrading infrastructure (mining, defense, ship building, and research) until somewhat stronger.

Two worthwhile tips: 1) Colonize a planet in a system other than the starting system. 2) If a probe is detected by radar prior to attack, deploy all fleet to another colony along with as much material as possible. In the present version of the game, planetary structures (mines, research lab, shipyard, etc.) cannot be damaged or destroyed by enemy fire.

Review here
Explore tips here
Wiki here

Flight Tycoon tips: To maximize sales, first build the city next to your airport to a population of 50,000 - achievable before level 10 if you replace low-cost buildings with restaurants. When you reach this population, your outbound planes will be fully loaded with passengers.

Next, upgrade your planes as often as you can. The most efficient planes are the hardest to obtain due to the research and mastery process. The Concorde, however, can be purchased from the in-game store and earns about $19K per hour on short flights. If you can, stick to one or two cloud (measure of distance) routes since they pay the most, but require more frequent turn-arounds. Only fly into airports that return full loads.

If you buy fuel when the price dips, you can average under $6.20 a barrel. Expand your airport ramps as soon as you can afford it, but open then sequentially as you acquire aircraft so that friends don't take them all. To minimize losing a ramp when you upgrade an aircraft, buy your new plane first, then quickly drop the old route and build the new one. When friends do fly into your airport, turn them around as quickly as possible - you'll earn a bonus of 20% of the inbound route revenue.

If you follow these tips, you can achieve level 34 in two weeks.

Pocket Planes vs Flight Tycoon: Really enjoying the airport simulator genre. Flight Tycoon employs high resolution graphics while Pocket Planes (soon to be released) prefers low-res graphics like Tiny Tower. Both simulators are free on the iOS platform and share the common goal of growing a fleet of planes to ferry passengers. Presently, we're investigating how to maximize sales (flight earnings) using the most efficient planes and optimal destinations in Flight Tycoon. To learn more about Flight Tycoon, take a look at this walk-through. A preview of Pocket Planes can be found here.

Pocket Planes is expected to be available June 14. Watch the trailer available on YouTube.

Isoball 3: A challenging mental exercise where you construct a pathway for a ball using a fixed set of resources like blocks, inclined planes, bridges, elevators, and directional. In some cases there are multiple solutions to a level. This game is free and runs in Google Chrome.

In the attached photo of level 75, the blue ball drops from the chute, runs down the ramp, gets an added boost from the conveyer belt, makes a right and rolls across a power bridge though a tunnel that pops out at the upper right. From there, the ball goes down the 3-level elevator, makes two more right turns and heads into another tunnel popping out at the upper middle. After passing though the four tunnel openings, the target doors open in the lower left and the ball makes its final descent in the four-level elevator.

Shadow Cities: Still a strangely attractive world. Earned the red spider "sigil" this past weekend. Accomplished by assisting in the collaborative vanquishing of the powerful Arachne Weaver. One or more participants "gain" the Shadow Spirit at the end of the battle. Ten gains earns the red sigil.

Architect realm liking link

TripleTown: Solo board game that challenges you to build a small "city" by matching three of a kind objects to open up space to place yet more items. Haven't made it passed Outpost yet. Really silly looking bears.

SimCity 2000 on Windows 7 (x64): Although it runs great in almost every way on the relatively newer operating system, the SimCity 2000 program quits whenever Load or Save is selected. After investigating file permissions and compatibility suggestions found online, the only solution that worked for this studio is to run the program within Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. These tools are free from Microsoft here. Note: through Remote Desktop, performance is notably sluggish.

The screenshot below demonstrates SimCity running within the virtual environment. Just after program launch, the anticipated dialog box appears successfully upon selecting "Load Saved City". Yay!

Shadow Cities: On December 12th, game developer Gray Area released three more levels beyond 15. It is possible to level from 15 to 18 within 4 weeks, sooner with more effort.

Below is a chart of average damage at levels 11 through 18. The nine lower set of points are un-buffed hits. All data was collected while leveling up.

Tiny Tower Update: Management has decided to halt tower construction at the 120th floor. Sales reached a peak of 1950 units per minute at a sustained rate. View the tower: here

New update: Construction resumed!