[chrispedersen]

Not a bad example of a thought process Squirrell but let me make some observations of my own.

If I take a nation with abysmal troops, (EA agartha, LA bogarus)
These are instances where I *do not* beeline. (ie, expand in straight lines).

This might also be true if I take a nation that has high resource requirements (ulm).


I will (generally expand in the direction of my weakest neighbor.
Scouts and intelligence become very important of course.

As a weak military nation- I don't want to try to defend against a stronger opponent. Fighting at all is a losing battle - and fighting on territories you ahve conquered even worse.

But you definitely need a plan to deal with your opponents. And you use the time to define it and achieve it.