General tips

• Target tiles with multiple players on them
• Set off a volcano, it unlocks you a power, gives you a point, and wipes out opponent critters!
• Maximising the same colour early on will help set off an early volcano
• Look to split up well connected biomes
• Connect opponents together and knock them off
• Look to take over the tallest stack or largest biome (particularly in end game) for big bonus points!

More advanced/subtle tactics

• If you’re going to collect max resources, consider sacrificing instead to lock in a point and make yourself less of a target
• Push opponent critters on to a target tile that the next player(s) will want to attack/capitalise on
• Make sure one player can’t hoard all of one colour
• Connections are harder to keep track of during the game, so can get you the bonus points right at the end.
• Keep an eye on how many tiles are left and if someone could end the game with an island if they’re out in front.
• A well placed and connected island can be an instant 4pts (3 critters + 3 connections + 1 diversified biomes bonus - 3 sacrifices)
• Diversify your biome colours towards the end of the game for bonus pts
• Resource Denial: Buy particular tiles depleting scarce resources opponents need.
• Lava Bait: Place lower-value biomes uphill from opponents to lure lava toward them and distract from your most valuable biomes
• Tallest/Largest biome builds: Create 2+ competing areas for these bonuses to put yourself a turn ahead in keeping control of the bonus.

Some recommended play styles

After many playthroughs, here are some effective strategies to pursue, note these are just guides and you will always have to adapt to how others are playing.

Aggressive Disruption

Focus on volcanoes (especially with Lateral Eruption or Magma Bomb), Pack Critters, and Cooperative Critters (against non-cooperative opponents) to actively remove opponents and seize territory.

Expansionist Engine

Prioritize Bountiful Resources, Crafty Critters, Flying Critters and Sea Critters. Aim to create and utilize volcanic soil for rapid expansion and control multiple biome types for resource generation. Utilise Island summoning.

Defensive/Economic Build

Herding Critters for bonus resources/points, Lava Diversion, and Volcanic Migration to protect assets, while steadily building a wide and connected board presence for biome edge scoring.

Salary Sacrifice to the Bonus Boss

Exalted Sacrifices, Frugal Ritual, and churn out sacrifices for points. Target a few key areas to gain the tallest biome and largest biome bonuses using Flying Critters.

Counter powers

See this blog post on countering certain powers: https://volcanique.rocks/blog/25-05-28-power-counters/

Determining valuable plays

Certain plays offer high value in terms of points, resource generation, board control, or opponent disruption.

I. Early Game (First ~3-5 Rounds): Focus on Engine Building & Positioning

• Efficient Resource Generation:
  • Goal: Secure 3 unique biomes quickly.
  • Value: 3 different resources per turn, maximizing your purchasing power. The starting max hand size is 6.
  • Play: Prioritize buying Trio (2 any resources) or Duo (3 any or 2 of a kind) tiles that allow your critters to spread to different biome colors.
• Strategic First Tile Purchases:
  • Trio Tiles (Cost: 2 any): Extremely cost-effective for expansion, offering 3 biome spots and potentially 3 new connections (worth 3 VP at game end).
  • Duo Tiles (Cost: 3 any or 2 of a kind): Good for targeting specific resource types needed for more expensive tiles like Volcanoes or for powers.
• Unlock “Bountiful Resources” (L1-2 Power):
  • Value: Increases max hand size to 7. This is crucial. It’s a prerequisite for summoning an Island and allows for more flexible resource management (e.g., buying a tile AND having enough left for a 5-resource sacrifice).
• Initial Critter Placement & Movement:
  • Use your initial critter movement to position for claiming multiple empty tiles or to set up diverse resource collection.
  • Remember: “Careful movement of critters will allow an extra space to be filled when claiming all empty tiles.”

II. Mid Game: Expansion, Disruption, and Power Plays

• Activating Volcanoes Strategically:
  • Cost: Stable (6 any / 5 same), Unstable (5 any / 4 same on 4+ stack).
  • Value:
    • 1 VP (activated volcano).
    • Unlock a Volcanic Power: This is often the primary driver. An L2-L4 power can dramatically alter your capabilities.
    • Disruption: Removing opponent critters (denying them VPs and resource income). Breaking key biome connections.
    • Lava Flow: Can destroy further critters/tiles or, ideally, reach the ocean to create Volcanic Soil. The D6 roll for lava direction (re-rolling same-height tiles) means targeting tiles with many lower adjacent tiles increases the chance of beneficial flow, but adds unpredictability.
    • Targeting: Aim for high stacks (especially with Unstable Volcanoes for cost efficiency), opponent-controlled tiles with multiple critters, or tiles that will cause lava to flow beneficially/disruptively.
• Exploiting Volcanic Soil:
  • Value: “You may buy a second tile during the buy step of your turn if the first tile was played on a volcanic soil tile.” This is a massive tempo advantage, allowing two placements and potentially two critter claims.
  • Synergy with “Crafty Critters”: “You may buy up to 3 tiles if the first two tiles purchased this turn were played on volcanic soil tiles.” This is exceptionally powerful for rapid expansion if you can engineer multiple volcanic soil placements.
• Efficient Sacrifices for Points:
  • “Frugal Ritual” Power: Sacrifice 1 critter from hand for only 2 different resources (instead of 5 any). This is incredibly efficient VP generation. If “Exalted Sacrifices” (2VP per sacrificed critter) is also active, this becomes 2VP for 2 specific resources – a primary scoring engine.
  • Standard Sacrifice: 1 critter from board after claiming tiles (1VP), or 1 critter from hand + 5 resources (1VP). Less efficient but still useful for cycling critters or if resource-rich.
• Summoning an Island (Requires “Bountiful Resources”):
  • Cost: 7 resources + 3 sacrificed critters in your crater.
  • Value:
    • Critters from crater return to hand (retaining their VP potential).
    • Place any 3 tiles from supply to form a new island 1 space away (no biome connection needed initially).
    • Immediately claim these new tiles with critters.
    • This is a significant board presence swing, good for late-game critter deployment or establishing a new scoring base.
• Power Combinations & Takeovers:
  • “Pack Critters”: Form packs to wipe out opponent critters on controlled biomes. Excellent for aggressive board control.
  • “Cooperative Critters”: Move onto an opponent’s biome. If they don’t have Cooperative Critters, their critter is wiped out. If they do, you share (and potentially set up for a Colossal Critter HP loss if they have one).
  • “Flying Critters”: Relocate a critter to any uncontrolled biome. Amazing for grabbing bonus objectives (Tallest/Largest Biome), hard-to-reach volcanic soil, or escaping danger.
• Maximizing Connections: Each connecting edge of a controlled biome is 1 VP. Strategically place tiles to create large, interconnected networks. Placing a tile that splits an opponent’s biome while connecting yours is a double win.

III. Late Game: Securing Points & End Game Triggers

• Bonus Objectives:
  • Tallest Biome (3VP): Use “Flying Critters” or strategically stack to claim this.
  • Largest Biome (3VP): Focus on expanding one dominant biome color.
  • Diversified Biomes (1VP per set of 3 unique): Consistent small VP gain.
• Spending Down Resources: In the end game sequence, 3 resources = 1 VP. Don’t let resources go to waste.
• Colossal Critter (4VP, 2HP):
  • Cost: 4 resources to upgrade a critter.
  • Value: Net +3 VP over a regular critter if it survives. Its 2HP makes it resilient to a single lava hit or non-cooperative takeover. Good late-game investment if you can protect it or if opponents lack immediate means to deal 2HP.
• Triggering End Game:
  • All 21 Critters Deployed: If you can do this while having a strong board, it can catch opponents off guard.
  • Final Land Tile Drawn: Be aware of when the supply is low.
  • Super Volcanic Eruption / Volcanic Winter (L5 Powers): Game-ending powers that need careful timing. Super Volcano gives one last round for opponents, Winter progressively locks down the board.
• Limited Use Powers: “Converging Tectonic Plates” (shift an island) or “Rift” (split an island) can be game-winning if used in the final turns to disrupt opponent scoring or secure your own bonus objectives.

A working formula for determining best plays (Heuristic Approach)

A rigid mathematical formula is tough for dynamic board games, but we can create a heuristic scoring system to evaluate potential plays.

Assign a point value (or utility value) to different outcomes:

Move Value (V) = (ΔVP_Immediate + ΔVP_Future) + ΔResource_Value + ΔBoard_Control + ΔDisruption - Cost_Value

Let’s break down the components:

• ΔVP_Immediate (Change in Immediate Victory Points):
  • Claiming an uncontrolled biome +1 VP (+ all connections within that biome)
  • Critter sacrificed to crater: +1 VP (or +2 VP with “Exalted Sacrifices”).
  • Colossal Critter upgrade completed: +3 VP (4 total - 1 for the base critter).
  • Herd formed: +1 VP.
  • Points bought in end game: +1 VP per 3 resources.
• ΔVP_Future (Change in Future Victory Point Potential):
  • Critter placed on board: +1 VP (at game end).
  • Volcano activated: +1 VP (at game end).
  • New biome edge connection created: +1 VP per edge.
  • Progress towards Bonus Objectives (Tallest, Largest, Diversified): Estimate a fraction of the 3 VP. E.g., becoming the sole tallest stack could be +3 VP here.
  • Value of an unlocked Volcanic Power: This is subjective but crucial.
    • Simple powers (e.g., slightly better movement): +1-2 VP equivalent.
    • Strong economic/scoring powers (Bountiful Resources, Exalted Sacrifices, Frugal Ritual): +3-5 VP equivalent over time.
    • Game-changing powers (Crafty Critters for multiple buys, Pack/Cooperative for takeovers, L5 end-game triggers): +5-8 VP equivalent.
• ΔResource_Value (Change in Resource Value):
  • Net resources gained this turn: (Resources collected - Resources spent on non-VP generating aspects of the move).
  • Increase in income per turn: Each new biome controlled potentially means +1 resource/turn.
  • Valuation: Roughly, 1 resource can be valued at ~0.33 VP (since 3 resources = 1 VP in end game). So, +1 resource income/turn might be worth (0.33 * remaining turns) in future VP. Early game, this is more valuable.
• ΔBoard_Control (Change in Board Control/Position):
  • New tiles controlled.
  • Improved defensive position for your critters.
  • Access to strategic locations (e.g., future volcanic soil spots, chokepoints).
  • Denial of strategic spots to opponents.
  • Valuation: This is more qualitative. Assign +1 to +5 points based on strategic impact. For example, placing on Volcanic Soil allowing a second tile is a high board control value.
• ΔDisruption (Value of Opponent Disruption):
  • Opponent critter removed: +1 VP (they lose it) + lost resource income for them + potentially broken connections. Estimate +2 to +3 VP swing per critter.
  • Opponent biome connection broken: +1 to +2 VP swing.
  • Opponent forced to spend resources sub-optimally (e.g., to evacuate).
  • Valuation: Sum the negative impacts on opponents.
• Cost_Value (Cost of the Play):
  • Resources spent: Value them at ~0.33 VP each.
  • Critters sacrificed (if not for direct VP gain but for an effect like Island summoning before crater points were counted).
  • Opportunity Cost: What else could you have done this turn? (Harder to quantify but important). Example: Buying a Volcano (6 resources) to get “Frugal Ritual” (L2 power) and erupting on a tile with 2 opponent critters.
• ΔVP_Immediate: 0
• ΔVP_Future:
  • Activated Volcano: +1 VP.
  • “Frugal Ritual” value: If you plan many sacrifices, this could be worth +5 VP over the game.
  • Lava flow (assume it creates 1 volcanic soil you can use next turn): + (value of free tile placement next turn, which is like +cost of that tile, say 2-3 resources = ~1VP + board control).
• ΔResource_Value: 0 now, but Frugal Ritual saves 3 resources per sacrifice later.
• ΔBoard_Control: New volcanic soil potential (+1-2).
• ΔDisruption: 2 opponent critters removed (+2 VP for you, + their lost income/position, say +4 to +6 VP swing total).
• Cost_Value: 6 resources * 0.33 = ~2 VP. Simplified Calculation: V = (1 VP [volcano] + 5 VP [Frugal Ritual] + 1 VP [soil]) + (0) + (1.5 [board]) + (5 [disruption]) - (2 [cost]) V ≈ 1 + 5 + 1 + 1.5 + 5 - 2 = 11.5 (This is a high-value play) How to Use This “Formula” Each Turn:
• Identify 2-4 plausible moves. (e.g., buy tile A, buy tile B, buy volcano, sacrifice).
• For each move, estimate the values for each component (ΔVP_Immediate, ΔVP_Future, ΔResource_Value, etc.). Be realistic.
• Sum them up to get a V score for each play.
• Choose the play with the highest V. Important Caveats:
• Weights Change: Early game, ΔResource_Value and ΔBoard_Control (expansion) are more important. Late game, ΔVP_Immediate and securing Bonus Objectives dominate. You might mentally (or literally) adjust weights.
• Opponent Actions: This formula is self-centered. You also need to consider what opponents might do and if a defensive play or pre-emptive disruption is better even if its “V” score is slightly lower.
• Randomness: Lava flow (dice roll) introduces chance. Your V calculation for a volcano should perhaps be an expected value if you can estimate probabilities of lava hitting certain spots.
• Subjectivity: Valuing powers or complex board states has a subjective element.

Your experience will refine these estimations.

This framework should give you a solid way to “crunch the numbers” and make more informed strategic decisions in Volcanique!

Good luck, and may your volcanoes erupt favorably!

Other key formulas