Hum...At the very beginning, I start in 2x speed and so the children grow faster and I have more people for working (and less for eating ) When I have only 2 chidren I turn my game in 1/2 speed.

i tried that and i discovered that it just meant i had to get med L2 sooner to keep my people from passing on too soon

i actully had a tribe that I cloned right after i made it... i played the same characters the same amount of time with different strategies

the village on 1/2 speed too longer to build their population, but it was stable much faster

the one I started on 2x speed was higher in population number, but slower at getting techs, even with the kids (now grown) able to help

Sometimes I change the order of which technologies I purchase, but I generally stick to this pattern:

• Have two farmers fish until the algae comes.
• Purchase L2 farming and start harvesting coconuts.
• Purchase L2 engineering and start building the [censored] (depending on the number of farmers and builders, this usually means that the coconuts will be depleted by the time the first crop comes in)
• Solve the scarecrow puzzle.
• Have as many researchers at the table as possible.
• Purchase L2 Science.
• Purchase L2 exploration & solve the stew and cutting tool puzzles (if necessary, prepare the health-restoring stew).
• Keep researching until I have 90,000 tech points and can purchase L3 of farming (yes, before I purchase L2 of medicine and culture).
• The rest differs with every village.

I prefer to have a minimum of two kids at all times. That way it's easier to spot one in time when that rare collectible pops up. The kids seem to have a knack of turning into chamaeleons then. I'll therefore try to have the first baby once the youngest-but-one kid turns 11 at the latest. Usually, though, unless I've been unlucky in my collectible-hunting and dam-building, one will already be on the way.

i'm pretty good at keeping up with where the kid is... comes from havint o keep up with them in real life i suppose lol

I go farming 2, engineering 2, farming 3, and then go on from there - usually science.

Pinkfish, how in the world do you get 3 master builders after just building the dam??

I usually know where my kids are cos I keep em on the island as much as I can. they drive me freaking nuts otherwise. (yeah prolly not good, but at least i know where they are and they arent drivin me nuts!)