> One thing to consider, though, is that you save time this way, so if you're trying to get lots of high scores it might be faster overall to prune out those ones where you start poorly.

Yep. Plus, I don't have a high-speed modem, and the game takes enough time as it is.

> You probably know all of the basic stuff, I'd guess. Do you pay attention to where the leviathan and pixie move throughout the game? Every square they step on eliminates a square you have to search for level boosters. By putting off catching the pixie, you can speed up the level booster search a bit by having the pixie scout out the corners of the map for you (this is also great for figuring out where the Mirror is).

Of course. I have a little worksheet where I mark off (in different colors) where I've been and where the leviathan/pixie have been. (I am such a dweeb. :-) )

> Also, my general strategy for purchases is to stock up on (normal) saws throughout most of the game, saving them for use on level 5 (the average payoff is 180 gold/saw, so at a cost of 100 gold/saw, you make on average an 80% profit, whereas you average a 20% loss with magic saws). Sometimes I pace it a bit to keep from buying more saws than there are trees (this is a fairly rare case for me). At the very start, I like to get about 8 to 12 teleporters stocked up to prevent against getting trapped early or being chased down by the leviathan.

Exactly the same as me -- teleporters first, then nothing but saws. Occasionally at the end I'll buy some magic saws, if all the unpetrified trees have been taken care of. That's risky though; more of a payoff, but also less chance it will repay your investment, as you say.

> Then there's strategy about how you move around. That's pretty simple though, as for the most part it's just visiting a sector at a time until you get 4 level boosters, keeping your distance from the leviathan in the meantime. I usually pay attention to the general area where the blackstone is, but don't make it the highest priority to get it immediately (I'll usually finish off getting the booster for whatever sector I'm working on before going for the blackstone). You don't want to put off getting it for too long, though, or you'll have less time to get whitestone clues.

All true. In addition, in the beginning of the game, once I have that stock of teleporters, I use them. The fewer squares you step on yourself, the more the leviathan and pixie can take care of for you. So, for example, my first move of the game might be to to the square north of center, then back and forth until the leviathan reaches me. Then teleport far away, find a teleporter as quickly as possible, then wander among used squares until the leviathan reaches me. Repeat.

> The bonus square? I always (okay, 99.5% of the time) take the gold.

Always. And I always hate it when the unicorn gives hits instead of gold.

> Most of the rest, I guess, is your strategy for picking a cutoff gold/hits ratio for fights, and your strategy for buying potions. I usually end up getting the 100 hits potion/50 hits potion about half the time each, throughout the course of the game.

I never buy potions. Seems like a waste of gold to me.

>> Beyond that, I guess it's just luck, and for me, the fact that I've played so many games.

Nah, you're just hiding your *real* strategy secrets. :-)

Here's a question: is the number of trees that hide gold a set number, or random? If it's set, that's one thing I could do: stop buying saws once I'd found all of the "tree gold". My belief is that it's random, though.

I rarely play EF2 anymore, actually -- just have other things to do -- but I do keep my hand in every now and again. It is a cool game.

-- Trip