Do not ignore either buildings or cards, they are equally important for winning the game.
Food is very easy to run out of, try to increase your agriculture from the beginning without growing your population too early. Do this until like 30% of the game, only start growing population after that point.
Resources: Try to collect as much wood as you can, you can use it for buying cards for the cheapest price.
Card Bonuses: Stay aware of what bonuses (bottom half of the card) other players are collecting and which ones you can collect. Building a strong set of Green culture cards or of a multiplier which matches the extras you have been gathering is a game changer.
Multipliers are as follows based on the number of different icons you have in total: 1 = 1 Point, 2 = 4 Points, 3 = 9 Points, 4 = 16 Points, 5 = 25 Points, 6 = 36 Points, 7 = 49 Points and 8 = 64 Points. If you have duplicates, the duplicates start a new set.
‘’’Tools’’’: When deciding which meeples to use first, try to use the meeples on the most expensive resource (Gold) 1st so that you have the most tools available, then use meeples on the next cheaper resource. This ensures the most efficient tool usage. When gathering gold, make sure you have a lot tools available to overcome low dice rolls, otherwise you might not get any gold.
‘’’Building’’’: At the outset, always select the building that costs 1-7 resources. All you need is one wood and you’ve got a building. You may need to grab that building as soon as possible because someone else will surely grab it first if you don’t. Don’t hesitate to place meeples on a resource your competitors need for a building in order to block them from that resource if possible.