The Great Zimbabwe Strategy: Logistics, Pricing & Victory Requirement
Editorial analysis: The Great Zimbabwe is a race against your own target. A powerful ability is bad if it raises the Victory Requirement more than it accelerates your monument growth.
Measure every specialist by target efficiency
Before taking a God or specialist, estimate how many monument levels or cattle it will create over the remaining game and compare that benefit with the extra Victory Requirement it adds.
Place craftsmen where several monuments can reach them
A central craftsman can earn repeated payments from opponents. The same tile in an isolated network may serve only your own monument and generate less total value.
Price for use, not exclusion
Very high prices protect a resource but may eliminate all outside demand. Set prices where opponents still prefer paying you to building an alternative production route.
Advanced craftsmen need reliable inputs
Before building a higher-level production chain, verify that its required basic goods are reachable and affordable. A powerful advanced craftsman can be inert if one upstream resource is monopolized.
Cattle is both cash and tempo
Spend cattle where it directly raises monuments or creates a revenue-producing craftsman. Avoid tying up the economy in infrastructure that will not be used before someone reaches their target.
Watch opponents’ personal targets
A player with fewer powers may have a much lower Victory Requirement. Compare monument progress to target, not just raw monument height.