For many reasons, I'm a fan of Alt-VP. Finding when it is right, or making it work, are some of the most satisfying Dominion moments for me.
I just played two such games.=============================================In the first, I played a similarly-ranked opponent, and won in 17 turns with:
5 Harems
6 Islands
7 Silk Roads [23 Victory Cards]
4 Estates
1 Province
= 67 points
Against my opponent's:
3 Harems
2 Islands
1 Silk Road [17 Victory Cards]
3 Estates
2 Duchies
6 Provinces
= 59 points
Harems, Islands, and Silk Roads were all gone.
Now, 17 turns may seem like long, but I wasn't racing Provinces, and forcing him to get more than 4 gave me the time I needed to drain the three piles for the win. There were none of the traditional Silk Road gainers on the board (if there were, I would have been using them instead). The only non-VP action card in my deck was a single Margrave. Essentially, I played BM+X for Alt-VP instead of Provs. And Villages were on the board (Bazaar). Very fun!
=============================================In the second game, against a lower-ranked opponent, the exact kingdom was:
Colony/Platinum
Counting House
Rabble
Tactician
Tribute
Walled Village
Shanty Town
Warehouse
Pawn
Transmute
Vineyard
I opened Potion/Silver. On first $5, I bought a Tactician. On first P, I bought a Transmute. Buying as many actions as I could to fuel a Rabble-draw engine. Pawn for the +Buy. The only treasure I bought after the initial two turns was two Platina.
The key component was the Transmutes. I used them to gain two Gold from Estate-trashing, but after that, I trashed all of my Coppers so as to gain extra Transmutes! Essentially, I was going for both Vineyards AND Colonies.
I won with:
4 Colonies
6 Vineyards [18 Action cards]
2 Provinces
1 Duchy
= 91 points
Against my opponent's:
4 Colonies
1 Vineyards [9 Action cards]
2 Provinces
3 Estates
= 58 points
Ended on Colonies in 25 turns. I was amazed at how going for both Vineyards and Colonies worked out for me. It was pretty fun to see it work.
=============================================Granted, both of these games could have been played better. I'm not claiming that they were perfect, nor that my opponents played perfectly and that I out-strategized them. Luck may have been a significant factor. But Alt-VP is still fun.