Talk:Nerds/@comment-82.82.78.136-20140821124956/@comment-25021853-20140822170444

I think that's why the rewards for winning against a random neighbor/enemy are so much higher, since you have no way of knowing who they are or how often they play. With your friends you can see who it is and how long it's been since they last played (and even get to know over time how often they play each day and when they tend to be gone for hours, usually sleeping or at work) and plan attacks for when they are gone.

I did the math, and with your friends you are better off just sending one nerd against each building, most of the time. Any more than 5 per building is a waste, even if you win, when attacking a random enemy via the crossed weapons icon in the upper right, the break even point is 14 Nerds, as winning pays out 14 times what losing does (at least in Elixir, in Gold it's 25:1 for Castles, and 12.5:1 for houses).

It seems like the best overall strategy is to send only one Nerd against each castle or house for your friends, and then they get plenty of time to defend and get more Elixir and Gold themselves. You get less for losing but if everyone does this then we all get the maximum benefit (sort of a prisoner's dilemma situation).