The reason how I converted all of the heathens (including) rascals was when ever I had Females who could have kids I would make them have kids I would just have the men work. I have always had a big population not only to get work done faster but to have a lot of divine energy to get the high ranking powers such as earthquake. When ever I had a hut that could have been built I would everyone the farmers scientists and healers build the hut to get it done quickly to get my population up. When I ran out of kids I made one using grant youth. You should always have a child even if you have found all the collectibles. Especially when you start the game always have at least one child. Missing collectibles really hurts and it could mean the difference between life and death for your tribe. Well, maybe not life and death but it will certainly make the game harder. I am just saying when ever you can increase your population you should do it.

I like to start with one kid and four nursing moms. That way you get access to new powers faster.

I've never been that bold, because I'd have to wait a couple of hours minimum before the mothers dropped their bundles of joy. During that time no work could be done. Also, there is a severe gender imbalance.

The kid can't The period of inactivity (which you don't really notice because you're too busy keeping them alive) is the price you pay for the huge boost in power once the babies do leave the moms (which is only 2 hours, really).

Edited to add: I don't mind a gender imbalance that has more females. That gives you more flexibility. I hate ending up with mostly males and having my population stall at some lousy number.

Next time I'm going to try starting with one child and four nursing mothers. Great idea. You never know what gender the sick heathen at the hospital is going to be. This sounds like fun, that's what I'll be doing this weekend. Thanks for the idea.

I like to do little experiments with my tribes (most of which I end up abandoning after a few days when I get bored of them).

I've tried starting with all nursing moms (they survived), all kids (they thrived... had like 5,000 food by the time they grew up), all learners, all runners, only one head (I was going for a tribe of a hundred clones, but got bored).

Another thing I've tried is not touching any of the heathens to see how far in the game you could get without converting anyone or breaking any of the totems. That was a fun one I suggest people try.