2019-12-21 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler # # # # # # UNITY A One City Challenge # # # # # # I do believe I will be playing on the highest level... with a completely baked start. # # # Trait Selection Industrious This is a no-brainer. I am going to build lots of Wonders. The second choice is harder. Imperialistic For lots of Great Generals. But really only +3 during the game. So, scratch that. Philosophical This would be nice. But there is no Industrious/Philosophical Leader. Spiritual This will be the second one. This really was my choice going in, but I thought I would review the others. The main advantage in my opinion is Diplomatic. I can change whenever an ally requests... and then, change back. # # # Possible Leaders with the Desired Traits Ramy Ramesses II of Egypt Obelisk A monument with two Priest Slots War Chariot A 5/2 Chariot Meh Mary Mary Stuart Queen of the Scotts Highlander Better than a Jaguar Warrior Mercat Cross Translates into a +10% Gold Top Hat Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl Jaguar Meaningless, as I'll have Iron Sacrificial Altar Very nice But Obsoletes fast Mary Queen of the Scotts is the best. Yes, the Sacrificial Altar looks tempting. But the Globe Theater (a must build in a OCC) comes fairly early, giving Unlimited Happiness, making a Happiness Counter unimportant. As to two extra Priest slots {which the Egyptian Unique Building provides, well}, I expect to have a bunch of Religions and to build both a Temple and a Monastery for every Religion I have. In fact, I expect to Build EVERY LAST BUILDING AVAILABLE. {I did not Build every Building. I never got around to Walls, Castle, Harbour, or a few of the Cathedrals... you know, if memory is correct. I did Build every Wonder that I could... not losing the Race on a single one. But once I was in War Mode, the only thing I needed to Build (I can't remember if this was the only thing I did Build) was more Units.} # # # Mary Queen of the Scotts Industrious Wonders Spiritual No Anarchy Highlander Really, just so-so Mercat Cross +10% Gold Mysticism Polytheism/Judaism would be nice Hunting Not overly important Mining would be better. Maybe, I will cook it. # # # Mary Queen of Scotts In the End, There Can Be Only One # # # 2019-12-21 That's enough decision making for this go. Eventually, I will need to cook a map. Prior to that, I wish to prioritize Technologies and Wonders. For instance, early discover of Drama is insanely important. Whereas, Stonehenge is essentially meaningless... as is any Wonder whose chief bonus is 'This In All Cities.' # # # 2019-12-28 I believe I get Five (count them) National Wonders. Forbidden Palace Reduces Maintenance in Other Cities No Globe Theater No Unhappiness A definite Yes Hermitage More Culture No Heroic Epic Double Production of Military Units Maybe Iron Works More Hammers Maybe Maoi Statues +1 Hammer per Sea Tile I'm only going to have 2 Sea Tiles {I wound up having 3} So, no Mt Rushmore Globe Theater is much-much better No National Epic +100% Great People Yes National Park Denies Coal So, Ironworks not as useful No Unhappiness Hmmm Maybe Oxford University +100% Beakers Yes Palace Starts with I'm guessing a person gets 6 National Wonders and this counts as one Red Cross A Lone Medic Promotion is not worth it No Wall Street +100% Gold I don't need Gold... or won't Planning on runnning 100% Science all game No West Point +4 Experience is Meaningless Special Forces 25/2 Units that act like land Pirates could be fun... but they are very late game Maybe Globe Theater - Yes Heroic Epic - Maybe Iron Works - Maybe National Park - Yes... Maybe Oxford University - Yes West Point - Maybe As fun as West Point would be (by enabling Special Forces), I think the Iron Works is more versatile... and important. Typically, my Diplomatic efforts are not so nuanced that a Covert War is meaningful. Also, I have a feeling this is not a standard unit and is part of the Modern Era Expansion for the Leaderpack I am playing with. {Not that this makes a difference from a Game Play perspective. But if you have no idea what I am talking about or never heard of this Unit before, that's why.} Though, I am going to back off on that decision, as no Unhealthy from Population may not mean that much. After the Granary, Grocery, and Supermarket, there are 11 Health Resource all that can be doubled. I'll need to map out my expected City size. {I did not give myself a divergence of Health Bonus Resources, so National Park was the way to go. And even if I had, a Population of 50 gives -50 Health. It's a big obstacle to overcome. With this map, there is no option but to Build a National Park.} # # # Ha! I just did a check in the World Builder. For each tile, I can have: Grasslands or Plains Flatlands or Hills Floodplains or Forest (it will be Floodplains) And a Bonus Resource on top of all that We are talking 5 Food all around. 20 Squares x 5 Food = 100 Food That's a Terminal Population of 50 or so. 11 Health Bonuses + 11, still leaves me at negative 20 Health at the Maximum Population, which means my City will top out in the low Forties. I'll put a Plains Hill Stone for the Capitol and a River Forest Hill for my chokepoint against Monty. # # # 2019-12-29 I made the Map, which I shall declare 'Good Enough!' I have a Fantastic Garden of Eden Start. But the rest of the Map is fairly lush. {I went through and added a bunch of Resources and Floodplains. My start is better, of course. But I gave the opposition starts that I would be happy to get from a Random Roll.} The conception {of the Map} is close enough to as drawn. And the other Civilizations will have plenty of land to make quite killer Civilizations if they bother to Settle it. After making the Map, I played a trial run to see if I could sweep the Early Religions. I cannot. I will Found Buddhism and call it a day. Researching: Meditation -> Masonry Building: Worker -> Worker -> Stonehenge -> Great Wall -> Pyramids But that's all for another day... or at least, not right this moment. {Rather than Buddhism or Polytheism, I believe I am better off taking Judaism or Christianity as my Founding Religion. Judaism certainly comes early enough the difference hardly matters. And leaving the first two open to the AI makes it more likely there will be conflicting Religions present. Now, I say this, but the Far Continent ran a Homogenized Religion each of the three times I ran this map.} # # # 2019-12-29 4000BC T0 I, also, think I will save more often. And if possible, go to the last relevant save rather than start over. To that end, I only intend to play to Masonry. # # # Well, that went fast. Not only did I play longer than I intended. But I already made a mistake... two of them. First, I figured why not and Declared War on Monty. But that doesn't help me any, as he hates me just as much for Declaring on the first turn as 100th. {I was curious if I could avoid the Negative Declaration Modifier if we were always at War, since the day we met. But no such luck.} Secondly, because of the War, I switched to Hunting -> Archery, when even if I was at War, I should have Researched Bronze Working next. It's not enough time to call it a play over. {So, I'm simply going to play it over, without incrementing the Game Number... call it a Mulligen.} But it does go to show how prone to bad decisions I am. {Very. I am very prone to bad decision making.} # # # 2019-12-29 2420BC T108 I am cruising along on the Turns. So much for going slow. Bismark just made contact. He may make a good long-term ally. He hates Montezuma. {In every game, The Khan reduced the German Civilization to ashes long before Monty ever Attacked me... or I got a Fishing Boat up to explore German Lands.} # # # 2019-12-29 2340BC T116 I am one Turn away from the Oracle. But I am going to postpone Building it in the hopes I can get Metal Casting {as my Free Technology}. That means 20 Turns or so of Research to get Pottery. If I don't get it. I will reload and start again here. # # # T185: I forgot to Revolt to Representation upon Building the Pyramids. So, I did that now. # # # T201: Um, guess what. I am not playing with the One City Challenge Option. And that is what I intend to be doing. Time to amend that. # # # Option=GAMEOPTION_ONE_CITY_CHALLENGE # # # # # # 2019-12-29 I shall restart, but not today. There was little to no pressure in the early game. I will only get Buddhism or Hinduism. But without really trying, I managed to get Judaism. I wanted it more for Organized Religion. I swept all the Wonders, which isn't that much of a surprise. I will not be keeping the save games... or at least, posting them to the web. I don't think there is anything to learn from them. BUILD: Worker -> Wonders I should have built the Barracks prior to any Units. Monty was not yet gunning for War. RESEARCH... for Wonders It worked last time. # # # # # # Restarting. Set for One City Challenge this time. Oh, I realized it wasn't a One City Challenge when the Globe Theater required six Theaters. # # # # # # END: Not OCC (No Games, But Log Included) START: -01 (I am still counting this as the first game) # # # # # # 2019-12-30 T158 1920BC The German Civilization has been Destroyed! {Again!} Mongolia will be a contender. {Actually, Mongolia was never a contender. The AI is fairly good at Settling its Initial Lands. But it is not very good at Settling the World. I do feel that if I played a Super Huge Map against a single Opponent (with the Default Game Settings), any Opponent would run their Economy into the ground. And I could win by simply not having that many Cities.} In a twist, I went for Polytheism, as that gave me access to The Temple of Artemis. This enabled Monty to pick up Buddhism. Some third (Far Continent) Civilization Founded Judaism. I specifically did not Found it, so as to let another. I'm pausing in my Wonder Builds to Build a few Axes (after a Barracks). But I expect to sweep all the Early Wonders. # # # T193: Monty has just Researched Mining and is starting on Bronze Working. I built a few Axes for Defence. But I need not have bothered. It will be some time before he is able to Attack {through lack of Units, desire because he has Open Space, or Game Settings which shelter Human Players from an Early Attack}. Also, in thinking how to milk Great General Points, all I have to do is not kill Units on Offence... merely smash Siege into them non-stop at +1 Exp per. # # # 2019-12-30 850BC T265 Montezuma Attacked! I'm actually surprised how well my Stack held up. But then, Monty quit. I had 3 Axes and 1 Spear against 11 Mixed Units. He likely would have killed the Stack {had he kept on going and not called off the Attack}. On the other hand, I switched to Producing Crossbows. So, it is possible I would have Defeated him with Just In Time Units {before he could take The Capitol}. Whatever the case of what might have been, I seriously doubt Monty will ever have a better chance. The choke point is getting reinforced. He'll need an even bigger stack next time. # # # T291: The Babylonian Civilization has been Destroyed. Two down... # # # 2019-12-30 390BC T311 I have taken a clean sweep of the Wonders. I did not get Buddhism or Judaism. I was never going to get both Buddhism and Polytheism and I chose the later. While initially, I wanted more Religions on the board. At this point, I am going to grab all that I can. I am playing rather sloppily. Don't I always? But there is a certain sense of security, that it just doesn't matter, that the AI will never overcome the advantages I gave myself. Anyhow, I should have gone for Civil Service early, likely Optics, as well... along with the Later Religions. On the other hand, that pretty much covers the field. So what should I have not bothered with? Alphabet Horseback Riding Archery The Khan is gearing for War and I believe I am the target. Since he needs to come by sea (or he'll get crushed at The Pass if he lands far away), I need to build up a bit of a Navy. I'm pulling my Triremes back and and will Upgrade them to Caravels once they are within my Cultural Borders. Add a few more Caravels for Rounding the World and Spreading Christianity to The Far Continent and I should be alright. {In later games, The Khan would launch his fleet of Galleys against my Frigates. He would not attack them (2 vs 8, don't you know) and in the end, I trapped a stack (locked in on the coast) between two Frigates, which slowly Destroyed the Ten Odd Galleys. Um, The Khan should have Disembarked his Troops.} Certainly, Mongolia is as backwards as they come. He can't even build Triremes yet. I would have expect Monty to slam more of his troops by this point. Sure, it's a lost cause. But I still would have expected him to slam more of his troops. I built a Fort. So, his Axes are at like 5 vs 15 or something like that. They really don't stand a chance. Little Thought. No Worry. I am enjoying myself. Oh, I am planning on going on the Offensive (or at least, working that Siege trick) once I have Cannons. So, I should prioritize those. Of course, there is so much to prioritize, there is the danger of falling back into the pack by not specializing enough. Though, that danger seems remote at the moment. We'll know for sure once I see the competition on the Other Continent. Eh, it would be a shame if The Khan Attacks. I likely never was going to be buds with him. But I liked to think it was a possibility. Maybe he'll ask for Tribute instead, which I can do. # # # 2019-12-30 745AD T449 Well, it's nice to see the AI can launch a successful Attack. Carthage Declared War and lands 30+ Troops next turn... lots of Knights, I'm expecting. I'm not going to sit around to find out. Don't ask me why, but mentally I lost track of where Hannibal was. Sure, I was annoying him intentionally. Sure, I was thinking about launching an Invasion against him. But what do you know? He had Astronomy. I mean, I should have known that, as I was looking at the Tech Screen. But the place where it switched from him needing Astronomy to him having Astronomy sort of passed me by. So, like, my biggest mistake was not tracking that... which comes from spending the day playing and hitting End Turn. Oh, well. My first Religion should be Christianity. I literally got every Wonder. So, no worries. And Running Religion does not do me much good prior to Christianity. So, I'll get Christianity and run that... or maybe take on Mongolia's Religion. I would have liked to have been friends with The Khan. That would have been a different game. I was sidling up to Putin. So, give it time (and if he did not Declare), Putin and I could have merged: i.e. formed a Permanent Alliance. {The Unit Upgrade Path} Trireme -> Caravel -> Frigate I have tons of Gold (almost 10,000G). There is no reason not to Build the low level Troops {in replays of this Map} and Upgrade... except for those Units with 10+ Experience. And now, I feel the tug of getting back where I was. Um, I already exited the game, but I think I was wrong about the Unit Count. I'm pretty sure Hannibal was going to land with 60 Units or so, as he had 20+ Galleys. No worries. I can do better. # # # # # # END - Game-01 START - Game-02 # # # # # # 2019-12-30 500BC T300 The road to T300 has been smooth and uneventful. I think I've done a bit better in the micro management and have a few more units. Monty will Attack sooner or later. I might have bought some time sharing a Religion with him. But that is past tense. Eh, maybe I should spam Christianity to Mongolia while I still have the chance... or you know, just Build Wonders. # # # 2019-12-30 20AD T352 I am two Turns away from Astronomy and have just made contact with everyone. Monty and The Khan are double teaming me. But that Hill Fortified Longbow could probably keep Monty's at bay all by his lonesome. I need to decide who to team up with on the other Continent. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. I just granted Open Borders to both Carthage and Russia. We'll fine tune that as time goes by. # # # 2019-12-31 130AD T363 Monty Attacked with around fifty Troops, which was enough to Decimate my Choke Point. It was not breached. I still have a few Units left. But they will not hold. A single Longbow lasted through Ten or So Attackers. I'll need to Build more Longbow next time. And with Feudalism on the way to Civil Service, I should prioritize that sooner. Further, there is little need to avoid the later Religions. There is one block of Hinduism and another of Buddhism. And I do not see anyone splitting off despite their being the Founder of a New Religion. I am not Winning. I thought I would not have to think. But that is clearly not the case. I cannot sleep walk through this game. Thus, I should pull out all the stops and not play with any silly mind games. 1) More LongBows 2) Explore at Optics, not before 3) Explore Aztec Lands earlier, while at peace 4) Keep a Great Spy for Infinite Scouting 5) Capture the later Religions 6) Run Buddhism. Both Monty and The Khan will benefit from my Religious Wonders (The Apostolic Palace, if nothing else). But that's not a game changer. 7) Drama (for Globe Theatre) -> Civil Service (Bureaucracy) -> Education (Oxford University) 8) Might as well nab Judaism 9) Though I want to be The First to Circle the Globe, T400 for that is soon enough. Oxford University is way more important. 10) Get that Academy {in the Capitol} sooner. After switching to Caste, there is no excuse for not getting it within a Great Person Cycle or two. 11) Monty will Attack around T250. So, I don't need Defenders until then. Hmm. This will probably be a break for awhile. I've got things to do in the days ahead. But we'll see. The draw {of playing} can be overpowering. # # # # # # END: Game-02 START: Game-03 # # # # # # 2020-01-01 170BC T333 By prioritizing the right things, I feel much farther ahead this time. After the Globe Theater, I Researched Civil Service for Bureaucracy. And from there, I beelined Education for Oxford University. Speaking of which, I should make sure my Observatory is in production. Hammurabi is at War with Putin and Hannibal. In the grand scheme, I think I would rather be friendly with Hammurabi than Hannibal. Well, if I had to pick one as a War Ally, it would be Hannibal. But things are looking up for my being able to form a Permanent Alliance with Mongolia. I probably should beeline the relevant Technology, as we have a Defensive Pact. And it would suck if Monty decided to wreck that by Declaring War, again. Thus, it is 28 Turns until I Research Communism. Unless Attacked, I am intending to be Peaceful. And offer a Permanent Alliance to The Khan the first chance I get. This game has been different in that I grabbed all the Religions I could other than Buddhism and Polytheism. This doesn't do that much for me... outside of shiny things... and loads of Monasteries {+10% Research each}. I have been remiss in my Construction of Monasteries. On the other hand, I have swept the Wonders. Anyhow, The Khan adopted Judaism and never felt impelled to Attack, so he is Friendly. On the other hand, I am playing so much better (conducting my Research in the proper order) that I am in first place. And I do not believe The Khan will make an Alliance (nor anyone else) if I am in first place. Drat. Oh, well. {I believe Permanent Alliance is based on Power, not Points. Neither Partner in the Proposed Alliance can lead in Power. And the rest of the world combined must have twice the Power as the Alliance would. Of course, I could be wrong.} On the Far Continent, I have decided Sitting Bull is my man. I will do as he desires for Peace, War, and so on in the hopes of becoming Super Friendly. He did not Found Polytheism, so maybe I can Convert him to Judaism. Though, this was not the deciding factor. Those were: 1) Sitting Bull is not at War with anyone. 2) Everyone likes Sitting Bull. Thus, there is some chance of becoming best buds. Also, he's last place in Power. So, when I drop (as I am assuming Carthage or Babylon will rocket upwards soon enough), he won't become Number One {in Power} and we can form a Permanent Alliance... not that a Permanent Alliance is the only way to Win. But it could help. Between The Khan and The Bull, I would rather be Friends with The Khan, as he has more Land to expand into. But that might be a mistake. Still, I should send a ship or two of Troops SB's {Sitting Bull's} way. # # # 2020-01-02 200AD T370 Upon Discovering Scientific Method, I went from 1275 Beaker down to 1,020 Beakers. A loss of slightly over 250 Beakers. I had been postponing Discovering Scientific Method for just this reason. But in 15 Turns, I'll be able to Build a National Park, which long-term should be worth 14-20 more Population, which is worth more. I should start working on that climb. Thus, I predict within 50 Turns, my Research will be back where it was. {It was not. Certainly, from a Research Perspective, I would have been better off forgoing the knowledge of Scientific Method forever.} The Khan hates Sitting Bull and will Declare War just as soon as he can. I will not be able to maintain the dual relationship. # # # 2020-01-02 655AD T431 My Technological Research is still lagging what it was by a good 100 Beakers. So, I've only made about a half of it up. Mongolia agreed to Peace for a few hundred gold; and then, The Khan was quite happy to Declare War on his good buddy Monty for a thousand more... all in the same Turn... if not Diplomacy Screen. The Opposition is 4 Turns away from Gunpowder, while I have just Discovered Railroads, which will give me Machine Gunners. The first few (perhaps dozen) of these are headed off to The Far Continent. Carthage and Bablyon are at War with Sitting Bull. And it is time to put an end to their (Hannibal and Hammurabi's) love fest... a Stack of Rampaging Machine Gunners Pillaging the Countryside should do the trick. I don't know if I mentioned this. But I probably did. Either way, rather than using offensive Units, my new policy will be to preserve Enemy Units for Repeated Siege Attack; thereby, milking the Combat Experience. Further, the Globe Theater (and here I have an even stronger feeling that I am repeating myself) makes War Weariness meaningless. I'm fairly confident that Carthage will rue the day it Declared War on my friend Sitting Bull. # # # 2019-01-02 785AD T457 The Khan has accepted a Permanent Alliance. The first thing I note is that my Research Times have increased. Well, I hope this will be worth it. I hope The Khan knows how to use the Tools I have given him. I can ask The Khan to Attack Select Cities! I have requested he Attack Babylon. That would give Mongolia control of the Hindu Shrine, which is worth a pretty penny. And it puts The Khan on The Far Continent. Benefits of a Permanent Alliance: City Investigation Shared Research/Techs Directed Attacks Any Trade Desired And that might be it. {I was at War when I made the Permanent Alliance. And I may well have been better off Declaring Peace... or asking The Khan to Attack Monty. As it was, The Khan Attacked prior to Upgrading his Stack. And as such, lost almost all of his Units right away.} # # # 2020-01-03 890AD T478 Monty Capitulated. Um, this came as a surprise. I did not think he would... or could. I guess, he is comparing his Power to the The Team's Power. Also, I have been mucking about, sending a few Stacks into his Territory. And there might be a counter for where his Casualties take place. It being quite different whether his Casualties took place close to home or on foreign soil {where most of the prior casualties occurring, indicating an Offensive War}. I might as well assume Monty is with me for good. I think I can win a Diplomatic Victory... but I may be Delusional, there. Anyway, I am prioritizing Mass Media for The UN. We'll see how it goes. Sitting Bull likes me. He is not a threat. Putin is lucky that he came out on the right side of the Hostilities. Whereas, it is to the point, I am going to start Razing Carthage/Bablyon Cities, because... Why Not? Monty's Capitulation really came out of left field. I have told him to Attack Carthage, but he doesn't have Astronomy. I don't know how I feel about building him up. I think the thing to do is Gift him Technologies up and including Astronomy. And let him swarm over Hannibal... or not. It's not like The Khan is making a concerted Attack. Well, he did... sort of. But having smashed his reserves prior to Upgrading them, he only managed to take over a single City. Until the Capitulation, I would have said I was floundering. So, I've lucked into a wonderful turn of events. My small Stacks are not powerful enough against Hannibal. Of course, I say that as a huge Stack of Cannons head off towards Carthage {by ship, from Aztec lands}. Carthage is falling. It's just a matter of when... and whether an Ally is there to pick up the pieces. I sent my latest Great Spy over to the Far Continent, but it was a meaningless journey. Next turn, he will join Unity and I'll get another 10-20 Espionage Points per Turn. For ease of Turn Ending, I am going to Stack my Units. The dispersal is not gaining me much... even if it was likely the reason Monty Capitulated. I will reduce Carthage to rubble... and move on. Well, what do you know. After Monty Capitulated, both Hannibal and Hammurabi were willing to Capitulate. This game is almost over. And with that in mind, I just Declared War on Putin. I won't need to wait for Mass Media. This game is over. # # # # # # Subsequently, I decided to call it. # # # # # # 2020-01-11 GAME OVER NOTES: As in, in reading this document over, these are the ideas I wish to highlight in the main write-up. 1) Try to leave as many of the Early Religions as possible for the AI. Of course, I say that and immediately reverse course. The reason to leave the Religions for the AI is to ferment discord. And the reason to capture them for oneself is that +10% Monastery Bonus. It adds up if one starts to sweep the Religions. 2) Since Siege is Non-Destructive, it is a way to Milk Experience and Great General Points... you know, if one is sufficiently advanced. 3) Bouncing off of the Siege Trick, I am Wondering if I shouldn't play a game where getting 10 Great Generals isn't the goal... or Ten Units with 100 Experience each, whichever comes first. I would definitely have to play an Imperialistic Leader. But the whole thing has the potential of being amazingly tedious. 4) The way I am playing (a few tall Cities) makes Oxford University all that more important. I'm pretty sure it doubles Research... or if not doubles, halves it again (i.e. gives +50%). 5) Along with Oxford University, an Academy gives another Beaker Bonus. And by Running Scientist (with Caste) one can be fairly certain of getting a Scientist (and then, an Academy) once available. When are Academies available? 6) Postponing Scientific Method is often the correct play... certainly, if I have the lead. The reason is pure and simple: upon Discover of Scientific Method my Rate of Research tends to drop... significantly. In this game, 15% or so. {Um, doing the math, it's more like a 20% drop from 1,275 to 1,020 in one Turn upon Discovery of Scientific Method.} 7) Have a Period of Peace following the formation of a Permanent Alliance to allow my Ally to Upgrade their Troops; and as such, not lose all of them in their first Attack. In other words, I need to not only preservation my own Troops. I need to conserve my Allies Troops, as well. # # # # # # 2020-01-11 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler