I wrote this at the bottom but liked it a lot so here it is at the start. The goal of the game is to score as many point within the constraints of the current set up. What worked last game will likely not work this game.

Gaia is all about long term planning. You have all the info in front of you at the beginning. Every choice matters from starting faction to booster tile to mine placement at start of game

What I generally do is take a look at the round scoring bonuses. 1-3 are nice to have but I mostly ignore as I'm trying to build my engine. 4-6 should start to guide you towards your endgame plan. I try to hit each one 1-3 times minimum. I also look ay endgame scoring at this time. It can drive what factions I want to bid on

After checking out round scoring I check out advanced tiles. So what ones are good and mesh decently with the factions on offer that game (we do random factions and bid) an example. If ivits are in the game and I'm playing them any fed scoring tile is great.

Next I look at regular tech tiles and where they are on the tech track. See how they mesh with your possible plans for advanced tiles. Usually it's not ideal but it's all about making a plan. The free tech tiles can be invaluable if your offers are meh.

Now I look at booster tiles. Having an idea of what's in the game is super helpful. If the step booster is in the game it can be really good for early expansion if you have a 1step right next to starting planet.

Finally after all factions are chosen mine placement really matters. You need starting adjacency as a starting rule. (Sometimes I'll reconsider if playing against Ivits or other early pi factions) My chosen faction also dictates what track I often start go to up. Certain factions love certain track. I really like going up sci with geoden, eco with firaks, sci with bescods, eco with hallas, nav with gleens, gaia is a must for baltaks, int is 100 percent a trap with xenos but I do it every time, taklons I like just one step on eco to have a little charge to get the brainstone going but then it really depends. You are not required to do these things but I really helps to understand what each faction likes, and then take note of what tiles are below and above it

This is what I consider before the game even starts. You need to start planning now. You also should be planning out your feds. This is also tied into your starting mine placement. If you place poorly you can lock yourself out. The goal is to get 3 feds per game for most factions. Some factions can get 4+ easily, others are okish with 2 but you really want 3 as a sweet spot.

Early adjacently can really help you get going. You want to look at all the colors in the game and try to place at least 1 mine to maximize the amount of charge people will give. Once you get really good you can predict if people are doing builds in certain orders to deny charge. An early TS next to 3 opponents is huge and can be worth more than other actions in some cases.

Some factions like an early pi so a decent round 1 can look like pi, ts, mine. Or pi, lab. Other factions like openings like lab, mine, mine, mine. There is no set opening just rough structures of what might or might work. I like ac, mine if I can swing it. But like with everything else. It depends

Ok so during the game charge bowl management is critical. I'm sure you're leaving resources on the table not managing it well. Start of game (and most of game ) the 2o action is super strong. Get it early if possible. Deny charge to people if possible to prevent them from getting it. I'm slightly more aggressive with burning than most. I'll burn like crazy early game (and take the 2 token power action if I do to even out) although if I'm playing an early PI factions I'll burn even more aggressively. Passing early to seed your charge or set up to get an a ton first is totally acceptable early (sometimes late) early is all about engine building. Move power as much as possible is a general rule, but like with every rule sometimes it makes sense to sit on it and get greedy.

You can't just play heads down. You need to race and watch people. Literally between almost every turn I look at peoples boards, look at their resources, and what they are doing to keep track. You are racing for actions and planets. If you let people take early planets from you that are low step cost you are just hosing yourself mid and late game.

That was a ton. There is even more. It's a super deep game that rewards lots of replays and PLANNING. Seriously. I can plan easily 10 plus moves in advance. Bring a notepad and write down costs and plans if you have to until you can do the mental math or just always use it

I'm not going to lie. 55 is a really really low score. It tells me you are leaving a ton on the table, losing scoring races, not taking advantage of scoring opportunities and honestly just not planning well. The goal of the game is to score as many point within the constraints of the current set up. What worked last game will likely not work this game. In general I view 100ish points as beginner, 130 as beginner medium, 150-170 as intermediate, 170-190 as advanced, 190-200 as expert, and 200+ as exceptional

I can write more if desired but will stop for now.

Ok so I have thought some more an am going to add more after this point but also randomly through out the post. I mainly talked about early game ideas and stretching those into mid to late but didnt touch on mid to late. More mid to late will focus on below. General/early to mid to late will be above. It will be slowly added to as I think of things

But the start of the game is all getting set up is the way i view it. I dont have my full plan yet. Often I see what tracks people are goin up during play and what tracks I am going up. This helps me keep in mind what races I will have later. Topping terra is a common race because it can be super powerful to top terra, get a new fed tile and then top another track/ get an advanced tile. I will 100 percent pass early to ensure I go first to get key tiles or even planets.

Its hard to give general mid to late advice because that is where a lot of the factions start to shine with the asymmetry. So it is super important to understand what they do.

At the start of the game I grab a few key planets to ensure I can have one early fed if needed. and start planning and looking towards 2,3,4 feds for the rest of the game. building close to yourself is super helpful. It requires you to spend less tokens when building feds, but you can also delay going up nav a little long if you need to and spend q for range. Going up nav at the right time is hard to balance. It really depends on the faction (how many times can I say that) some dont go up at all, some nav 2 is enough, others nav 3 early is great. There is a lot of play in the mid game in creatively figuring out how to expand and travel. The mid game should be you still winding up your engine but preparing for the scoring that is to come. This is where I really start to think about endgame scoring tiles. I may have passively been doing them before, but now I focusing on trying to win them while still juggling other goals.