= Pass or Play? =

Learn when to 'Pass' or 'Play' in Age of Empires IV's Stone Age. Factors include defensibility, resources, civilization matchups, and enemy economy.

You need to decide early in the game where and when you want to fight your opponent. It almost always makes more sense to fight the enemy in HIS town, so that you can cripple his economy by killing his Villagers. The question is when will you attack? Will you attack in the Tool Age (play) or sprint through it to attack in the Bronze/Iron Age (pass)?

A pass or play decision should be made in the Stone Age and based upon a few key pieces of information, including:

Is your spot defensible? Can you wall in easily? (lends itself to a pass strategy). Do you have access to a lot of resources (primarily food)? Qualify that food... if you have access to lots of shore fish (which is considered "fast food"), you can be assured a quick Tool and, if you want it, a quick Bronze. (could be used for either a pass or a play strategy).

What civilization are you using? What civilization is your enemy using? If you are using a civ. that is strong in the Tool Age (and/or a civ. that can Tool quickly), and your opponent is using a civ. that is particularly strong in the Bronze or Iron Age, a play strategy makes sense. Hit the enemy before they arrive to a point in the game where they can take advantage of their strengths.

Have you located your enemy? How defensible is his position? If the enemy can wall easily you may want to attack before he can build walls (play). What else is the enemy doing? Does the enemy have a stronger economy than you? (defined by the number of Villagers he has) If he has, say 24 Villagers and you Tooled with 16, you darn well better hit him fast (play) before he has a chance to use that overpowering economy against you in the Bronze Age.

In any case, you need to decide whether it makes more sense to pass though the Tool Age with little or no conflict or to play (to give battle during the Tool Age). This decision should be made in the Stone Age. After you've started the Tool upgrade, you can't make more Villagers (boats, maybe. Villagers no.)