Choose the electronics option if there are numerous other robotic players who will rely on buying electronics to upgrade. Choose the glass option if other players have gone into early farms or upgraded without placing Glass Kilns.

(Risky) - Place an Elemental Quarry on a high silicon tile, and two Glass Kilns or Electronics Factories next to it for the adjacency bonuses.

Claim the silicon tile and use the extra silicon from founding to put down two Solar Panels.

(Somewhat Risky) - Found on as many silicon tiles as possible while making sure there is a high silicon and high/medium aluminum nearby.

Also, aluminum is usually more common and Robotic HQs require half as much of it to upgrade, meaning that an early non-adjacent aluminum claim is likely to become a dead tile or a Solar Panel by the middle of the game.

This option is best if aluminum is plentiful and other players look as if they will be bringing the price of aluminum down.

(Standard) - Place a Metal Mine on a high iron deposit and two Steel Mills next to it for the adjacency bonuses.

Robotics players have many options on how to begin, being less constrained than other HQs. Typical robotics openings involve landing adjacent and on top of as many resource tiles as possible, then selling those resources not needed directly for upgrading and using them to acquire a fast level 2. Robotics players have a small HQ, but resources they cover upon founding are doubled, and provide a necessary boost to the early game of robotics players.

The halved aluminum costs for upgrading and replacing glass with electronics (and in lesser quantities) make robotic players a little less reliant on aluminum and silicon, though both resources are still important for upgrading and high-income production so that in sum nothing changes about basic strategy. Less important is the lack of life support as a source of debt on some maps with very scarce or difficult-to-access water.

The adjacency bonus also encourages power production at the HQ instead of spread out at optimum spots. Of the gameplay changes given to the robotic player, the need for more power in exchange for less fuel is the most notable. Robotic buildings and HQ upgrades need only half the Aluminum normally required. When upgrading HQ, uses electronics instead of glass, and needs less aluminum.Buildings receive adjacency bonus for being next to buildings that supply an input resource, including power (Ex.

Offworld trading company robotic