Aquire Strategy (Luxor Early)

[albertbayer]

I have noticed that usually it isn't the middle priced chains(like worldwide)that grow large in the late game. It is best to invest in 1 small hotel(luxor or tower) and one large one(festival) to win the most money. It is very cheap and if you get 12 shares of Tower on your third turn it will probably last you a while. Then a little later, you will buy 6 shares of festival at medium price. (You have to look at what has potential though, and you got to find it fast.)

//Luxor Rules//

[simply4est]

Okay, keep these tips coming - if I ever do get this game, I'll have something to start with - lol.

[Granite]

One of the keys in the early game is getting as much stock as you can. By starting the cheaper chains, you can buy more options (until they grow large) and can always trade them in 2 for 1 with an expensive stock that might later merge with it.

[simply4est]

I finally got a copy of the game - more strategy tips, anyone?

[msjells]

I am familiar with the older 3M/AH versions of the game rather than the Hasbro version, but I believe that we may be inadvertently be creating the impression that there is a single "best" strategy here. Granted, the cheaper chains will allow you to own the most stock, but there are a number of factors to consider when starting a chain. Some that spring to mind are:
1) How quickly will you be able to merge a newly-created chain?
2) Which chain will be the survivor in a merger?
3) How much cash do you have available to exploit your position?
4) How much cash do your opponents have available?
5) Are there possible mergers out there that could dramatically change the relative cash positions of you or your opponents?
Consider, for example, if you are able to create a 2 (or better, 3) hotel chain. If you also have the tile to connect it to a larger existing chain, it may well be worth your while to go for the most expensive chain rather than the cheapest. This is even more true if you can expand it by a tile or two before merging it (as long as you won't make it so large that it threatens to be the survivor). The free share of stock you get for creating it gives you an inside track to control. If you have the stronger cash position, you can guarantee continued control. If you're not particularly strong, but your opponents have no free cash and cannot merge in a single turn to create some, your one share can be the controlling block. A quick merger would then allow you to receive the majority holder's bonus for a stronger chain at little or no cost.
If it is later in the game and you have an opponent with lots of cash who is maxed out on shares in existing chains, you may wish to take the expensive chain so that he can't start it himself. If all of the chains are in play, you may even be able to prevent him from playing several of his tiles that would create chains.
Very early in the game, particularly in 5 or 6 player games, you may not have the option to take a cheap chain. In this case you have to decide whether you are better off to not create a chain at all. If you will be unable to merge your chain out of existance in the near future, you may quickly become stock rich but cash poor. This is an open invitation to gradually fall behind as the game progresses. Even Luxor is a loser if you can never merge it away to get some cash, so be wary of tying up all of your funds in stocks of any chains which are unlikely to generate anything until the end of the game.
The point is that the game allows a choice of strategies to win, and none are likely to always be winners. You must constantly judge your position and that of your opponents. At the beginning of the game, you can gain an advantage if you know your opponents like to do certain things. Against someone who always buys the cheap chain, I like to make sure it's always the largest chain in a merger so that the owner never collects the bonuses. Even the huge value it may achieve at game's end is likely to be overcome by a player who has been the majority holder in numerous mergers of small chains along the way.
John