How do you play?

I like large FFA's or large team games (2v2v2v2, 3v3v3, etc). I find even the normal AI to be way too hard for me even though I would consider myself to be an average skilled player.

I was like that for awhile as well, I'm by no means a "pro" player. I have issues with both my hands so I can't twitch play like they do .

What I did to deal with the increased capacity of the AI was started playing vs 3 Easy AIs, then after awhile switched one of the 3 to Normal, then after awhile more another. I now sit at 3-6 ( depending on the night) of Normal AIs to lay vs. You will still swear at the AI and it's BS, but it does make for an interesting game.

Baring that, do something crazy like 10 easy AIs If they don't all gang up on you it makes for some fantastic land battles.

Small planets, 1v1, against AI. THey're basically small enough that you can outright win using solely the basic units, and T2 is built to support the action that is going on.

as far as what kind of matches, i take what i can get. though sometimes i do a 1v1 vs the AI as a warm up, if it's been a while.

as for overall strategy, it depends on the overall map composition:

Single Planet - "Dig in, and hope you come out alive"

While I do expand outwards when i can, i tend to focus on securing my immediate vicinity, and clearing out any unsightly neighbors that live too close. i do try to avoid tunnel vision, and occasionally send out some scouts, and always keep an eyeball free to spot a third party. if i feel i have an advantage, i push it hard. if i feel a little outmatched, i dig in my heels and hope the others give him hell.

Multi Planet, MPS (Multi-Planet-Spawn) off:
flee, formulate, execute, win.

stage 1(flee): GET THE HELL OFF THE MAIN PLANET. let the plebs fight amongst themselves. though i will admit, this sometimes leads to my doom.

Stage 2(formulate): "radio silence"
this basically involves arriving at the destination planet, suiciding the astreus, and not building any orbital units whatsoever until i am fully prepared to strike. the target planet is usually one that is un-nukeable, and the farthest from the main i can manage. during this time, i fortify the moon i am on, and watch the orbital activity closely. if i feel plucky, i will send radar sats to keep me updated on the situation at large.

Stage 3(execute): when i feel the time is right, and my position is secure, i invade the main planet with a full orbital "shock fleet" consisting of large numbers of anchors, an even larger number of avengers, sattelites, and death lasers. during an invasion, i will secure outer moons first, targeting the dominant player in the local theatre.

Stage 4(win): as the final blow, it either comes down to a mass-nuking of the main planet, or a planet smash if the enemy is dug in that hard. though ground invasions are attempted if i sense a weakness in the defense.


Multi-Planet, MPS ON:

In all honesty, i have yet to fully formulate a true meta-game for this scenario. for now, i treat it like a single planet battle, except i have control of what planet i start at. in this mode, i am actually far more aggressive than usual, in that i will actually try to take whatever planet i am on.

no matter how i play ... i am bad ...

Badly.