Islanders Forward Planning
It is good to plan ahead, for what comes in future. Here are the buildings scores, their relative values and a general idea of their proximity radius sphere and footprint.
General Notes
- Saving buildings in the inventory is fine, if there is no need to use them.
- Try to save the City Pack for as late as possible.
- High base scores mean it’s ok to place many close together (eg sandpit) if the main building will score higher, and it will save space.
- Sometimes it is ok to lose points if the position will gain in the future.
- Houses are for devout workers, whereas mansions prefer to be closer to luxury goods.
- The city centre does not have to be near the statue – you may even get a few city centres.
- You do not need an “official” city centre structure to make a new urb.
- “Useless” structures that are being saved may have to be placed in order to progress
- Unlock the new tier as soon as possible – don’t wait to place what is in hand before doing this.
- Placing a building that will add to the value of another is good, however it is worth checking in which order to place these – some might squeeze a few extra points, eg, a park placed next to some trees and houses, before a fountain is placed on the trees and surround with more houses, will net more points than building houses and then placing the park and fountain.
- There may seem little point in unlocking a Shaman in a land with no flowers, but it will add some value, the same with other agricultural things.
- Choose the industrial pathways depending on the space and resources available.
- Where there is a Gold Vein, remember that – without enough mansions, the jeweler is always a loss – so it might worth extending the richer part of town to this richer area.
- Keeping space near industrial parts for future warehouses is useful, as is saving some unused industrial buildings to boost the area.
- Sometimes you just have to place that building you’ve been saving, because no Hop Fields are coming your way…
- Once into past the City Pack, it is less often to get agricultural or industrial drops until after Gold Mine / Plateaus / Temple.
- When planning for a future Market (a potential +100 point build) an town of mansions, leading from a gold vein and within reach of the industrial / agricultural areas is important.
- Temples and Markets do not fit on plateaus *doh*! But they can be used to build around these things.
Convention
Until I format it – this is how the annotations work:
Name of Structure (base score, sometimes minus) – minus score in proximity to self (sometimes zero) : est. radius compared to : structure’s footprint (shape)
Positive structures to have in proximity.
Negative structures to have in proximity.
Perhaps I will add a small “hub” section – and why it is ok to place things that have negative points, for future investment. Who needs to spread those 6 woodcutters all over the map when there’s only 1 sawmill in the stack? It nets a profit.
Statue
Statue (15) -25 : 10x : small (square)
Statues do not appear until later in the game and do not often drop with other packs.
Woodcutting
Lumberjack ( ) -6 : 10x : Very Small (round)
- Sawmill 5
- Statue 4
- Tree 1
Sawmill ( ) -12 : 4x : Medium (round)
- Lumberjack 7
- Warehouse 6
- Statue 4
Farming
It may appear to make sense to place the mill first, before surrounding as close as possible with chains of fields, to get the best score. However, sometimes it is worth holding back, laying as many fields as possible to place the mill to cover all of these.
The mill and fields can make a good transition between an industrial beach, with the masons on the cliffs, to the brewery and industrial urban / beautification areas.
Mill (8) -20 :7x : small (circle)
- Warehouse 4
- Statue 4
- City Centre 3
- Field 4
- Mason 2
Field (3) 2 : 2x : small (square)
To lay fields in staggered rows can maximise the number of other fields caught within their proximity, compared to a grid.
If possible, gauge a field space between, so that each might benefit from the score bonus on both (or three or more) sides, as opposed to only one.
Fields must be placed on grass or “regular” ground, not rock or sand.
Only 4 fields may fit on a Plateau.
- Mill 5
- Statue 3
- Resort Oasis 3
- Field 2
Brewing
It makes more sense to lay the hop fields together first, before the brewery – the score for placing a hop field next to a brewery is only 4 – 2 more than another hop field, but a brewery will get 5 for each hop field in its proximity.
As the Oasis Resort benefits from both of these, without losing points from Sandpits, placing these near a beach or an area of beautification can lead to good scores in future.
Hop Field (5) 2 : 3x – small (rectangular)
Hop Fields may also be placed on sand.
- Statue 4
- Brewery 4
- Resort Oasis 3
- Hop Field 2
Brewery (7) -10 : 3.5x – medium
- Hop Field 5
- Statue 4
- Warehouse 2
Brick Industry
It is often best to place at least 2 (or more) Sandpits before a Brickyard.
This is a good way to maximise the score while allowing for further chaining of the structures as they drop in future.
Brickyard (6) -8 : 4x: med (rectangle)
- Mason 5
- Warehouse 4
- Sandpit 4
- Statue 3
Sandpit (9) -3 : 10x : small (rectangle)
Sandpits must be built on sand. They do not detract from a Resort Oasis, so mixing Sandpits with Hopfields and Breweries, at the edge of a beautified area, is a good score earner.
Because of a Sandpit’s high base score – so long as there is more than one Brickyard in its proximity, they can be placed within close proximity to each to maximise Brickyard scores in future.
- Statue 3
- Brickyard 3
Mason
Mason (9) -4 :4x : small (vertical)
Masons must be built on vertical pieces of land, making them a good companion to Brickworks, placed on cliffs toward beaches.
As City Centres and Houses can benefit from Masons, they can make a good addition to an industrial suburb, away from the agricultural or beautification areas.
- Brickyard 4
- Statue 3
- Warehouse 3
- Tower 2
- Market 2
- City Centre 2
- Plateau 2
- Temple 2
- Wall 2
- Shaman -5
Shaman
Shaman ( ) -13 : v small (round)
- Statue 5
- Temple 5
- Flower (map item) 3
- Mason -6
- City Centre -10
Fisher
Fisher (5) -10 : 10x : v small (round)
The Fisher must be placed at sea.
- City Center 7
- Warehouse 2
- Statue 2
- Hut 1
City Pack
Eventually, you will be forced to pick the city pack, if you have not taken it before the others.
It is a good idea to keep the urban areas in mind while laying out your industry, agricultural and future beautification areas.
This is especially true for Markets, Temples, Jewelries and Oasis Resorts.
City Centre (15) -40 : 5x : small (square)
- Fisher 7
- Statue 5
- Mason 4
- Mill 2
- Shaman -5
- Resort Oasis -15
- City Centre -40
House (1) 3x : small (variable shape)
- City Centre 6
- Shaman 5
- Statue 4
- Wall Plateau 3
- Circus 3
- Fountain 2
- Market 2
- Temple 2
- Tavern 2
- Park 1
- House 1
- Mason 2
- Wall -2
- Jewelry -2
Mansion (1) 1x : small (variable shape)
- City Centre 8
- Shaman 6
- Plateau 6
- Wall Plateau 6
- Statue 5
- Fountain 3
- Park 2
- Market 2
- Temple 2
- Jewelry 2
- Mansion 1
- Circus -3
- Wall -3
Hut
Hut (4) 0 : v large radius : v small (square).
Can be built on nearly any ground.
- City Centre 6
- Statue 2
- Shaman 2
- Fisher 1
- Sawmill -1
- Lumberjack -1
- Warehouse -1
- Brickyard -1
- Mill -1
- Mason -1
I must be missing something, because this game I am getting +19 points per hut on the coast between the 2 centres and the 2 fishers – which is +18 only… Oh there is a 3rd Fisher. Ok.
Fountain
Fountain ( ) -15 : 4x : small footprint.
- City Centre 7
- Statue 3
- Park 3
- Mansion 3
- House 2
Park
Park (2) 0 : 4x : small (variable)
- Resort Oasis 5
- Fountain 4
- Temple 4
- Hop Field 3
- Field 2
- Plateau 2
- Statue 2
- City Centre 2
- Tree 1
- House 1
- Mansion 1
- Wall -2
- Warehouse -2
- Brickyard -3
- Lumberjack -4
- Mill -4
- Sawmill -5
Plateau
Plateau (0) 0 : 2.x : Large (square)
Can be built on any flat land with space – or at sea, where it can be used to extend building ground, to make for floating areas, but cannot be joined or built across.
They are around 2.5 houses/fields square in size.
Fields may be build upon a basic Plateau.
Markets should fit on a plateau (sometimes), as will a temple.
- City Centre 10
- Mason 8
- Plateau 5
- Statue 3
Tower
Tower (0) -20 : 20x : v small (square)
- Temple 8
- Mason 5
- Mansion 1
- Park 1
- Wall 1
- House 1
Warehouse
Warehouse (0) -15 : 5x : med (rectangle)
- Brickyard 7
- Mill 7
- Gold Mine 7
- Fisher 6
- Brewery 5
- Mason 5
- Sawmill 4
- Statue 4
- Resort Oasis -5
Circus
Circus (0) -10 : 2x ; med (round)
- Statue 10
- House 4
- Mansion -5
- Temple -25
Gold Mine
Gold Mine (-20) 0 : 1x : small (square)
Must be built next to a Gold Vein, or is worth -20 points.
- Gold Vein 35 (minus 20 = 15 build points)
- Warehouse 10
- Jewelry 10
- Statue 5
- Resort Oasis -15
Jewelry (-35) -30 : 5x : med (rectangular)
Must be built next to a Gold Mine and/or enough Mansions to offset the -35 points for building.
A wall plateau is great to place a Jewelry on a cliff, above and below many mansions – another 3 mansions might fit on the wall plateau, making it a potentially very high scoring structure.
- Gold Mine 30
- Statue 6
- Mansion 5
- Wall -3
- House -4
Market
Market (-20) -35 : 4x : v large (irregular square) – will not fit on plateau.
As the market has a basescore of minus 20, it is worth trying to leave an area between the agricultural/industrial areas, the suburbs and urban areas – placing a market can unlock the next tier by itself.
- Warehouse 20
- City Centre 5
- Statue 4
- Mason 4
- Fisher 3
- Mansion 2
- House 2
Resort Oasis
Resort Oasis (0) 0 : 3x : med (rectangle)
The Resort Oasis is best placed towards the agricultural (farming / brewing) areas, as it benefits from both of these, as well as the beautification structures, trees and flowers. As sandpits are no issue – so long as the brickyards are out of proximity and, as hop fields are able to placed on sand – toward the beach is also a good placement option.
- Hop field 7
- Plateau 6
- Fountain 5
- Park 5
- Water Plateau 5
- Statue 4
- Flower 2
- Field 3
- Brewery 2
- Fisher 2
- Tree 1
- Mill -3
- House -5
- Brickyard -5
- Lumberjack -5
- Mansion -7
- Sawmill -10
- Gold Mine -10
- City Centre -10
- Mason -10
- Warehouse -10
Tavern
Tavern (-15) -15 : 5x : small (squarish)
- Bewery 18
- City Centre 8
- Statue 4
- House 2
Temple
Temple (-75) 0 : 1x : large (square)
Temple is a very difficult one to place and a huge 75 points before it even makes a profit – it really helps to plan it from the start, especially with the statue taking most of its cost. A temple seems as if it should fit on a (regular) Plateau, but I have not tried – something to find out!
- Statue 40
- Mason 25
- Shaman 15
- Mansion 10
- Wall 10
- City Centre 10
- Tower 10
- House 8
- Park 5
- Tavern -20
- Gold Mine -20
- Warehouse -20
- Circus -20
- Market -20
- Mill -20
- Brickyard -20
Walls
Wall (2) -2 : 3x : med (wall shape…)
- Temple 15
- Market 8
- Jewelry 5
- Mason 5
- City Centre 4
- Plateau 4
- Statue 4
- Park 2
- Mansion 2
- House 2
Wall Plateau
Wall Plateau (10) 1 :3x : large (square)
Can be used on vertical faces to provide areas on which to place additional structures (eg, above plateau for a temple, to add more houses / shaman, etc…)
It can be clipped into surfaces, as well as joined together to make bridges or skyways.
- City Centre 4
- Statue 2
Water Plateau
Can be used to extend area over the water, or the beach, to place certain structures.
They can be seamlessly extended.
Water Plateau (13) 1 :3x : large (square)
- Sawmill 2
- Statue 2
- Tree 1
