So with 6 games under my belt, I thought I'd post some musings about the different ways to try to win.
Certain things are common to all paths. Like all worker-placement Euros, the game is about efficiency. Placing or using only one worker in a turn isn't efficient. What you want to be doing is placing two workers at a time, and then on the next turn using two -- obviously, not always the same two -- to keep up a steady rhythmic flow of small actions while you leave other workers on the gears moving towards the big actions.
Three workers really aren't enough for this; four is a minimum and five or six really does make things flow better.
I find that one very useful small action is Yaxchilan 1: while you're waiting for your other workers to move up, you can place on Yaxchilan 0 and somewhere else, then on the next turn use Yaxchilan 1 to grab a wood, plus use some one worker somewhere else. For that reason, I think all players should move up to the first level of Resource Gathering as soon as possible, because it doubles the effect of Yaxchilan 1.
With that said, I see three basic outlines of a game available. Which are best may depend on your starting wealth tiles, and which monuments are out.
In no particular order:
THE CORN STRATEGY.
Max out the Agriculture tech track. Use Palenque to gather corn, and Uxmal to spend it. You plan to get most of your points from temple advances, but also to build some useful buildings (using Uxmal 4 to buy them with corn). At the three-quarter mark you get a bunch of resources from your temples, which you'll apply towards a monument, getting the other resources you'll need from Uxmal 2. You can build the monument by riding up to Tikal 4, or by using Uxmal 5 to take the Tikal 4 action. Your short-term engine is 4 corn from Palenque 1 / a temple advance from Uxmal 1. Since you'll often be corn-rich, look for opportunities to trade corn for time, spending corn to place workers high up on gears that others have placed on.
This strategy works well with the monument that scores for corn harvest tiles, the one that scores for wood harvest tiles, and the ones that score for temple advances. A starting wealth tile that advances you on the Agriculture track is a useful head start.
THE BUILDING STRATEGY.
Max out the Resource Gathering and Architecture tracks. Use Yaxchilan to get resources and Tikal to spend them. You plan to get most of your points from the Architecture track bonus, from buildings that provide VPs, and from monuments. You'll occasionally throw a worker onto Palenque or Uxmal to supply your corn needs, but most of your workers will spend most of their time on Yaxchilan and Tikal. Your short-term engine is 2 wood from Yaxchilan 1 / use Tikal 1 to turn 1 wood into either 2 gold or 3 VP.
This strategy obviously works well with the monuments that score for colors of buildings; also since you're maxing out two different tech tracks, it can work well with the one for tech advances and the one for max tech levels. A starting wealth tile that advances you on the Architecture track is a pointer to this strategy.
THE CRYSTAL SKULL STRATEGY.
You plan to max out the Theology track, then use its fourth-level advance to gather many crystal skulls and place them on Chichen Itza. Your short-term engine is also 2 wood from Yaxchilan 1 / Tikal 1, but you'll be turning that 1 wood into a skull, and then trading the other wood for the extra temple advance. You plan to get most of your points from placing skulls, but you'll also get useful points from the temples.
You don't plan to build many buildings, but you'll want the crystal skull monument if it's available. A starting wealth tile that gives you an advance on the Theology track is obviously a pointer to this, and so is the one that gives an extra worker, since this strategy involves leaving workers on the Chichen Itza gear for long periods.
Certain things are common to all paths. Like all worker-placement Euros, the game is about efficiency. Placing or using only one worker in a turn isn't efficient. What you want to be doing is placing two workers at a time, and then on the next turn using two -- obviously, not always the same two -- to keep up a steady rhythmic flow of small actions while you leave other workers on the gears moving towards the big actions.
Three workers really aren't enough for this; four is a minimum and five or six really does make things flow better.
I find that one very useful small action is Yaxchilan 1: while you're waiting for your other workers to move up, you can place on Yaxchilan 0 and somewhere else, then on the next turn use Yaxchilan 1 to grab a wood, plus use some one worker somewhere else. For that reason, I think all players should move up to the first level of Resource Gathering as soon as possible, because it doubles the effect of Yaxchilan 1.
With that said, I see three basic outlines of a game available. Which are best may depend on your starting wealth tiles, and which monuments are out.
In no particular order:
THE CORN STRATEGY.
Max out the Agriculture tech track. Use Palenque to gather corn, and Uxmal to spend it. You plan to get most of your points from temple advances, but also to build some useful buildings (using Uxmal 4 to buy them with corn). At the three-quarter mark you get a bunch of resources from your temples, which you'll apply towards a monument, getting the other resources you'll need from Uxmal 2. You can build the monument by riding up to Tikal 4, or by using Uxmal 5 to take the Tikal 4 action. Your short-term engine is 4 corn from Palenque 1 / a temple advance from Uxmal 1. Since you'll often be corn-rich, look for opportunities to trade corn for time, spending corn to place workers high up on gears that others have placed on.
This strategy works well with the monument that scores for corn harvest tiles, the one that scores for wood harvest tiles, and the ones that score for temple advances. A starting wealth tile that advances you on the Agriculture track is a useful head start.
THE BUILDING STRATEGY.
Max out the Resource Gathering and Architecture tracks. Use Yaxchilan to get resources and Tikal to spend them. You plan to get most of your points from the Architecture track bonus, from buildings that provide VPs, and from monuments. You'll occasionally throw a worker onto Palenque or Uxmal to supply your corn needs, but most of your workers will spend most of their time on Yaxchilan and Tikal. Your short-term engine is 2 wood from Yaxchilan 1 / use Tikal 1 to turn 1 wood into either 2 gold or 3 VP.
This strategy obviously works well with the monuments that score for colors of buildings; also since you're maxing out two different tech tracks, it can work well with the one for tech advances and the one for max tech levels. A starting wealth tile that advances you on the Architecture track is a pointer to this strategy.
THE CRYSTAL SKULL STRATEGY.
You plan to max out the Theology track, then use its fourth-level advance to gather many crystal skulls and place them on Chichen Itza. Your short-term engine is also 2 wood from Yaxchilan 1 / Tikal 1, but you'll be turning that 1 wood into a skull, and then trading the other wood for the extra temple advance. You plan to get most of your points from placing skulls, but you'll also get useful points from the temples.
You don't plan to build many buildings, but you'll want the crystal skull monument if it's available. A starting wealth tile that gives you an advance on the Theology track is obviously a pointer to this, and so is the one that gives an extra worker, since this strategy involves leaving workers on the Chichen Itza gear for long periods.