I just completed a competitive beginner game and ended up third from the bottom with a score around 1,600,000. The score for completion was 1,740,000 with 100% connectivity and the cost and time penalty only reduced this score down to 1,600,000. Most people manage to get a score above 1,700,000, and others have scores above what i started with for completing the game.

I'd love to increase my score but I am unsure where to even start improving my game. I think adding some more detail to how the scoring works in the 'How to play' section would help out people trying to improve their scores.