Start the review before the army disappears. The cinematic disaster is often only the invoice.

Pause at each commitment: age-up, production building, extra town centre, forward position, tech switch. Ask what information was available, what the choice assumed, and what the economy could actually support. Then look three minutes ahead. If the game becomes impossible there, rewind one decision—not one fight.

Score is a useful smoke alarm, but it is not a fire investigator. The best replay note sounds like something you can do next game: “scout the second gold before adding the third range,” not “avoid losing twenty crossbows.”