Knowing When a Run Is Already Lost

The hardest skill in strategy games isn't building well, it's recognizing when your run is already doomed and cutting your losses fast.

There are usually clear signs. If enemies are leaking through by wave three and you've spent your economy, you're not coming back. Every second after that is wasted time.

I used to grind out losing runs out of stubbornness. Then I started restarting the moment things went sideways, and suddenly I was clearing levels faster because I was learning from quick failures instead of slow ones.

Treat early restarts as free information. Each doomed run teaches you what not to do, and the next attempt starts from that knowledge. Pride is expensive in these games.