The challenge I’ve had with all my Pax * experiences is that your actions are SO constrained by the cards in the market. So playing effectively requires you to look at the market and see what actions will even be available to you - or your opponent - for the next 2-4 turns. I got over this hump with Pamir, as the space is a little smaller and I began to find the puzzle enjoyable.
I never got over it with Renaissance as there are so many more actions and pathways, and I always found myself in the space of “well, I can’t do what I planned to do, I don’t see any feasible pathways in the market, I’ll just build up potential energy somewhere…” and then someone gets the card or action they need to execute and it’s over. (I’m not saying that’s the final state of the game, that’s just as far as I got and I wasn’t motivated to keep climbing).