Tideborn Command: a cleaner opening in your first ten turns

Tideborn Command throws a lot of menus at you right away, and it's easy to flail around for the first campaign. After a few restarts we found an opening that consistently left us in better shape.

Scout before you fortify. The temptation is to turtle up on your home island, but the fog hides resource-rich spots that you'll want to claim early. Send one cheap scout ship out on turn one, every time.

Keep your starting fleet together until you understand the formation system. Splitting forces early feels efficient but gets you picked off by the AI's grouped attacks. Strength in numbers really does win the opening battles here.

Prioritize the shipyard upgrade over almost everything else. More build slots compound over the whole campaign, and the games where we rushed it felt noticeably smoother by the midpoint.

Once you're past turn ten with a scouted map and a solid fleet, the game opens up and the harder strategic choices become fun rather than overwhelming.