Bill Bunten
"My advice is: play to win."

"As the game begins, get into Smithore. Grab a mountain plot next to the river, and mumble about the need for Food production. Usually that will convince two of the others to buy river land an develop Food."

"Then don't sell Smithore to the store. You want demand to go up and the store's supply to go down. When the others start to notice, coast another turn by cursing your joystick for "inadvertently" flopping you to a Buyer when you were trying to be a Seller. By the next turn, they'll start selling all their Smithore to keep the price down. Play possum. Wait until they're almost to the store and then step a dollar above the store price and buy all the Smithore that you can. The cat's out now, and everyone is on to you."

"So next turn -- don't develop at all -- let M.U.L.E.s free. Grab one, outfit it for food, step out of the town and push your button. If you're quick you can set at least four free. Smithore's price should jump to over $200. You just acquired leverage. Sell all your Smithore at the next auction."

"And remember, there are drawbacks to being the winning player -- you always lose ties in the auction. So, if you and another player both need Food or Energy, and you're winning, you must be conniving. Right before the auction starts, turn to him and make a chuckle like you just made a mistake. Make strong eye-contact and start explaining. By the time he realizes that the auction has started, you'll have that little jump. So buy all the product you need, and, for good measure, buy up any that he needed, too."