Introduction

As the goddess of marriage, Hera forces her opponents to marry at the middle of the temple. This seems really powerful as her opponents have only 9 spaces to make their win, as opposed to the usual 25. However, without any other powers, this can be a fatal flaw. So as Hera, how to overcome this and retain control over the bonds of the people?

God Power

An opponent cannot win by moving into a perimeter space.

Category

Winning conditions

Explaination

If an opponent's worker attempts to win by moving into a perimeter space (either normally or with special winning conditions), the game continues. They still can move to there, and Hera wins normally when moving into a perimeter space.

Game Strategies

Early Game

Since Hera’s opponent can only win outside of the perimeter, you usually want to build in the perimeter: if no one builds outside of the perimeter, Hera’s opponent cannot win unless using some special conditions. Although Hera should build in the perimeter, it is important for her to control the center. If she does that, it will be hard for the opponent to get some play in the center, which is the only part of the board he can win.

Mid Game

Whenever the opponent tries to move up to a level 2 in one of the 9 central squares, Hera can build a level 3 in that square and in the next move dome that same square. If she does this now the opponent has one square less in which he can win.

Now comes a super important realization for anyone playing with/against Hera: if Hera is on top of a level 2 in the center of the board (C3), she will most likely win! This is because if Hera reaches the previous state, the C3 worker controls every winning square outside of the perimeter. Then how can the opponent win by moving to a level 3? If this worker stays here for the rest of the game, it will be very hard for the opponent to win! I say very hard and not impossible because there are some possibilities to defeat Hera in that scenario. For example, forcing Hera out of that square (Minotaur, Nemesis, etc.), win with another winning condition (Eros, Pan, etc.) , “trap” the non-C3 worker (so that the C3-worker has to move) and maybe some other few cases.

A counterintuitive strategy which could work sometimes against Hera is to dome C3. Why would you do this? Why would you waste one out of your 9 possible winning squares? As said before, if Hera is in the center, she controls everything. By removing this square from the game, Hera won’t control the other 8 squares so easily. You can try this strategy especially when you are playing with passive gods which in the long run cannot win in the center, such as Limus, Urania and Triton.

Late Game

If it is possible for Hera to threaten a win outside of the perimeter, I would recommend doing it. The opponent is forced to build a dome and there is one less square in which he can win.

Specific Matchups

Ares

It is a balanced game but it will take very long until someone wins.

Bia

Although Hera is not an aggressive power, she should still be able to defeat Bia.

Chronus

Although Chronus has some serious chances in this matchup, it is favorable to Hera.

Clio

Clio is very strong, but her strategies against Hera are not as strong as against other gods. Going for the corner strategy doesn’t work since she cannot win in the corners. Hence the only reasonable strategy for Clio is to place her coins near the center in order to control it. These squares will always be hers but if she ever wants to win in them, she will have to get rid of the coins. If Clio focuses in the center (which she should do), this allows Hera to attack in the perimeter. If Clio isn’t there on time, this can be enough for Hera to rise victorious.

Demeter

Demeter might seem better in this matchup. In fact, she is! But it won’t be easy for her to win if Hera plays well.

Europa & Talus

It is a balanced matchup and can go either way.

Harpies

It will be very painful for Hera to defend in this matchup and she will most likely lose.

Hypnus

This is one of those cases where having a worker on top of a level 2 in the center of the board might not be enough. Hypnus is stronger but if Hera tries to play it slow, there might be some chances for Hera.

Iris

Having an aggressive power against Hera is almost mandatory. Iris is better at defending than at attacking. It is way easier for Iris to use her power and win in the perimeter. But of course, this cannot happen against Hera. Moreover, if Iris starts to build towers in the center of the board (hoping to jump to those squares and win), Hera can just calmly dome them and Iris has wasted a winning square. As usual, Hera can play the game slowly, focusing on defending the center, and when she finally feels confident, she can create threats in the perimeter. Iris will be able to defend for a while, but the more domes there are, the weaker she is and Hera will eventually be able to win. Iris shouldn’t be a problem for Hera.

Limus

Everyone fears Limus, but not Hera! It is usually very hard to create winning threats outside of the perimeter against Limus. But Hera likes to build in the perimeter! Furthermore, it will be extremely difficult for Limus to win in the center if Hera doesn’t go far. Hera is better in this matchup.

Maenads

Since Maenad’s winning condition applies at the end of the turn and not during movement, the following can happen: Maenads moves to the perimeter and traps Hera (for example with Maenads in A1, A3 and Hera in A2), builds, and at the end of the turn she wins. This means that Hera only prevents Maenads from winning in the perimeter if Maenads want to move to a level 3.

Medusa

Medusa should have no problem winning this matchup.

Triton

It is interesting to see how much Triton will suffer trying to win. If you want a good counter for Triton, Hera is a very good choice.

Urania

Just like with Triton, Urania is much weaker when playing against Hera. Hera will be in the driver’s seat, but Urania has many defensive resources and it might take some time before someone wins.

Conclusion

Hera is one of the hardest gods to defeat and the opponent will have to create weaknesses here and there before he gets into a winning position.

Tier ranking: B