War Monger Rocket Tech 2021-05-26 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler {I tend to name The Games at the start. The intent was to focus on Tech, which I always do. Rockets play no role.} # # # 2021-05-26 4000BC T0 Yesterday, I rolled a New Map. CIV: Incan - Huayna Capac MOD: BAT Mod v4.1 MAP: Fractal Difficulty: Monarch Same Settings as Previous Game: No Barbarians No Huts No Events Who knows what else? Check and see... The Start is Seafood Rich. And going by memory, it includes: 2 Clam 1 Fish 1 Wheat 1 Pig Furthermore, the start is on a peninsula (or so it appears), which should be easy to defend, a lone Flatland Forest {+50% to Defence) standing in the way of the only overland route. Of course, I could be wrong, as sometimes the land continues {sight unseen behind The Fog of War}. But it does not look like it does. It is my intent to focus on Technology. Furthermore, I will not Declare War prior to T750, allowing everyone else plenty of time to come up to speed. {I routinely forget, ignore, and discard these Role Playing Rules.} I can Join a War if Requested. I can Make Peace at will. I cannot Unilaterally Declare prior to T750. Historically, such restrictions have been observed rather haphazardly {as noted above}. So, let's say it is an intent and go from there. There are no other limitations, just desires. And my chief desire is to dominate The Tech Race... totally and completely. And in that regard, I would like to have a strong enough Army that I never have to pay Tech in Tribute. Critical Builds: Moai Statues Mo'AI Statutes +1H on Water Tiles The Colossus +1C on Water Tiles The Great Lighthouse +2 Trade Routes for Coastal Cities The Oracle The Hammer to Beaker conversion is quite favorable I will need Bronze Working soon enough to Chop Trees and form a Border Patrol. But there is only a small chance of Discovering either Copper or Iron within my Starting Cultural Borders, even after a few Pops. Ideally, I would start isolated. My goal is not to go Wonder Crazy. But I do play The Long-Shot Slingshot. And as such, I do not need a neighbour whose only agenda is to harass me. {I often view The Game as jumping from one adversary to another: Early Neighbour Aggressive Civilization High Techer With each skirmish getting in the way of preparing for the next obstacle. For instance, fielding an Early Army can well set A Player back 10-20% or more in The Tech Race.} Finally, I like running Judaism. So, it is on The Research Path. I will start with Fishing to bring the Clams & Fish online. From there, I should likely tackle Sailing, as it opens up two of my four key Wonders. Researching: Fishing Sailing From there, Priesthood, Monotheism, and Bronze Working are important. But I, also, have Pigs to work. So, the intent is less clear. # # # 2021-05-26 2875BC T75 If I had been quicker on my feet, I could have done it a few Turns earlier. But I Captured Thebes, Destroying The Egyptian Empire. I had accepted that Egypt would lock me into my one City. I was fine with that. Then, one of his Archers came sneaking around. And I remembered that my Quechuas do pretty good against Archers. So, I built a few of them. The first three Quechuas died. But the next two survived, killing the two Defenders and yielding Thebes. It's a very strong start... even more so if Egypt turns out to be my only neighbour. Oh, also, Thebes is Hinduism's Holy City. Wa-Bamn! # # # 2021-05-26 2000BC T150 I have the rest of The Continent to myself. The land is not overly lush. But there are a lot of Grasslands, which is good enough. I believe I will load The Continent up with Coastal Cities. Between The Great Lighthouse (+2 Trade Routes) and The Colossus (+1C Water Tiles), I should do pretty good. The Next City Site is fairly crappy, as most of them will be. But this one is particularly crappy. But it will yield Marble, which I will need sooner or later. I should nab the Mediocre Stone Site after that. I've founded worse Cities. {In Later Games, I decided The Wonder Bonus for Stone & Marble wasn't worth the cost and hassle of Settling either City. Both sites are quite rather pathetic otherwise.} There are loads of Islands. So, I shall make those a priority as well, as each Island will be worth 3x 2x +1C in International Commerce. +1 Commerce per Trade Route on different Continents 3 Trade Routes per City after Lighthouse Going in Both Directions (the final x2) That's a lot of extra Commerce, which should more than pay for the maintenance hit {of additional Cities}. I will have to make Code of Laws a priority. {Though, in that we have the contradiction. Lighthouse enables more Cities. But Hammers are still needed to Build those Cities up.} I'm excited. I'm basically, almost shaking from anticipation. I'm getting my adrenaline rush on. # # # 2021-05-16 1190BC T231 Someone beat me to The Great Wall, which is a bummer. A sadness overcomes me. Oh, well. So much for The Clean Sweep. I do not know what I will do if I lose either The Pyramids or The Oracle. Sure, I wasn't pushing The Great Wall and even only started Building it, because Why Not? But The Oracle is important. And I've sunk a lot of Hammers into The Pyramids. But then, oh, well. {At this point in my thinking, The Oracle replaces The Pyramids, as The Oracle can easily yield Monarchy.} # # # T232: I lost The Oracle. Gripe. Gripe. Gripe. Actually, I've taken it better than I would have expected. Research is now back to 100%. # # # 2021-05-26 980BC T252 So, I lost: Buddhism The Great Wall The Oracle And with any luck, that will be all on The Game. I need to fill out The Continent. I should put a tentative goal of T300 on having Settled it all. Sure, I'll take some degree of a Maintenance Hit. But after The Continent (and/or towards the tail end), I will be Settling at least some of those islands. And the Increased Trade Routes should do me some good. But it is time to break for a least a little while, let my eyes rest. I don't tend to blink when I play. I am totally confident about This Game. Sure, those Two Lost Wonders won't help. But it wasn't really my intention to spam Wonders. I figure Eight More Cities on The Home Continent. It will be crowded. But like I keep on saying, all but one of those Cities (and Thebes) will be on The Coast. So, The Great Lighthouse will be doing me wonders. Thebes goes on Settler duty, as does Cuzco, before Building The Colossus. Well, I'll get one Settler out of Cuzco. It would hurt to lose The Colossus. So, I will prioritize it. Let's hope Metal Casting was not chosen as The Oracle's Free Technology. # # # T282: I did not even come close to Building The Colossus. Metal Casting must have been The Oracle Tech. Once again, Oh, well. # # # 2021-05-26 80AD T358 And that's enough on the day. I did not come close to Settling Out my Home Continent by T300. I'm still working on it, having another City to Settle. From there, I have two Accessible Islands. The Northern One will get Two Cities. And The Southern Island will get five, which will put me another 50 Odd Turns out from being done with The REX. I have 10 Cities and am Researching at 40%. On the other hand, I have Two Shrines. And things are looking good in the long run. The Great Library came in. But I am forgoing the pleasure of: The Statue of Zeus Schwedagon Paya I mean, I may Build the later two. But I am in no hurry. Researching: Code of Laws 1 Turn Away This is definitely a Builder Game, so Courthouses are on the way. Civil Service Bureaucracy will be worth a pretty penny. Music For the free Artist. I can't resist. I'll have myself a Golden Age. Machinery Compass Optics As I might as well get The Bonus for Circumnavigating The Globe I need a few more Missionaries to max out The Shrines. Prior to Courthouses, I should Build a few. And that's the night. I got a very good roll This Game. Knocking Egypt out was great for me. - - - It's funny. I just now remembered that I said I would not Declare War {prior to T750}. Ha! That didn't last long. And truthfully, if I come up against Monty with Jaguars, I may well Attack him, as well. We'll see. # # # T515: I Settled a Great Artist when I intended to Launch a Golden Age. So, I am reloading... to my nearest Save a few Turns back. # # # 2021-05-27 750AD T450 Don't let the date fool you. It's still yesterday, 12:32AM. I wasn't sleeping. So, might as well play. I still have Three Cities to Settle. But I would say my Economy is humming along. Perhaps, I should replace the the "my" with "we". Then again, perhaps not. Two Caravels are Circling The Globe, hugging The Southern Ice Cap. I'll be OK if they make it without contacting anybody. I think I will sweep The Religious Wonders. Someone else Founded Christianity. So, it wasn't clear cut. But I got The Apostolic Palace. And that's the hard one. Well, it's the hard one if someone else Founds Christianity. 40% Research: 227 Beakers per Turn Philosophy Monarchy Divine Right So as to get The Religious Wonders. Then, Researching: Guilds Chemistry To get Workshops up and running at Full Speed. It's a ways off. But I expect Research to pick up rather than slack off, as The Monk Economy comes online. Anyway, Good Night! # # # 2021-05-27 1000AD T500 Well, I slept. So, it is the next day. But it's 4:11AM. Don't ask me why I got up again. I mean, I know why. I'm sort of sick of just lying in bed for hours. And if I got something doing, doing enough that I want to get out of bed, I am going to. But my mind will be shot tomorrow. I'm not getting enough sleep, tonight. I've contacted all the Enemy Civilizations. Ragnar is in first place and is quite The War Machine. He's a Techer, too. So, I'll put a little more Espionage into him. There are islands for the taking, worth a pretty penny. So, I will prioritize Astronomy... a little. At the moment, I'm researching Guilds. But after that, I will do a little backfilling. I still don't have Horseback Riding. And building up a Mounted Force is something that needs to happen. I am sure I am in last place Power-Wise. I am going full on Build, This Game. I will be rejecting all Diplomatic Entreaties. I do not care if The Ragnar Block hates me. Ragnar will Attack sooner or later... or I will. # # # GAME OVER! 2021-05-27 1360AD T575 Unfortunately, Russia Attacked. I like This Map. I will be playing it again. I consistently have problems with the Post Astronomy Phase. A landing party, such as Stalin's is a common occurrence in My Games. So, what went wrong? No Colossus Judaism in remote City Not Enough Troops Clearly, for this determines Attack or not Not Enough Workers Workers should work like a landslide Capture Thebes Earlier This is Map Specific But having encountered Egypt, seen the play, I should have just done Quechuas (or however that is spelled) right out the gate. It's a fairly long list. Do I want lots of Cities? I get lots of Trade Routes. And all those worked tiles push my Commerce up. So, yes. Lots of Cities. I should, probably (why do I say probably) ring The Continent every Five Spaces X - - - - X - - - - X Every City gets 4+ Mines or Workshops. The rest are Cottages. {And here, in review, I'm thinking I need more than one City Model. There are The Major Cities and The Minor and they should be optimized better.} I believe (notice the absence of a Probably Construction), I would be better off constructing a Sea Net. I will have Sea Superiority Tech-Wise, so I might as well have it Unit-Wise. Chemistry gives me Frigates, which will give me Command of The Sea... which is all I need. My Tech Lead was significant and was likely going to stay that way. So, I could Upgrade My Fleet and call it a day. Finally, Thebes is not ideally located. It's not on The Coast. I can destroy it and not worry. I wonder how many Quechuas I need? I'm thinking three in an early rush. # # # # # # GAME-02 # # # # # # Four Quechuas was not enough. I shall try six. # # # 2021-05-27 3205BC T53 Six Quechuas did the trick. Of course, this time I rolled better. So, four would have done the trick. I Researched Polytheism first. Egypt was kind enough to Research Buddhism. So, I have both the Early Religions. And will be getting Judaism fairly quickly. I will be disappointed if I don't land Judaism. I'd much rather run that as my State Religion... even if I am likely far more of a Buddhist. I like the icon better. I've said this before. # # # T132: I reloaded, as I mismanaged growth in Cuzco: First Unhappy Then, Starved Down Too Far # # # GAME OVER! 2021-05-27 1270BC T223 I did not get The Oracle. I am not playing very well This Game. It's the same old problem: in Later Games, I'm trying to make time {get back to where I was}. # # # # # # GAME-03 # # # # # # I'm just not going to take that this early. The Game is running the same way. I'll build six Quechuas. And I expect to Found Hinduism and Capture Buddhism in Thebes. Restarting, if that's not clear. I shifted from Fishing to Wheel, which may have made sense... if I had finished Fishing. # # # T53: I move in with a Stack of Six Quechuas. Hatty has Three Archers in Thebes. She moves one out. Thanks Hatty. You deserve to die. # # # 2021-05-27 870BC T263 I must admit, The Race for The Oracle was fun. But I lost The Race for The Lighthouse. I will blame Building too many Wonders. I need to trim it back. No Stonehenge No Temple of Artemis I chopped the later. And I could have used all those Hammers for The Pyramids instead. T220: The Oracle T250: The Great Lighthouse I can Build The Great Lighthouse after The Colossus. Sure, this is fine tuning, fitting The Map. But at this point, it is what it is. # # # # # # GAME-04 # # # # # # 2021-05-27 3265BC T49 Thebes is mine with Five Quechuas. Sure, it's fine fitting. But at this point, that's the name of The Game. T150: I Researched Priesthood before Monotheism and lost Judaism. So, I am Restarting. And like the other soft Restarts, I am not keeping the log. # # # 2021-05-27 1000BC T250 It's a Clean Sweep: Buddhism Hinduism Judaism In just two Cities Hopefully, Confucianism, as well The Pyramids The Great Lighthouse The Colossus Now, it took a lot of tweaking to get it just right. But to some degree that was just getting the order right. I will delay Settling The Third City until after Confucianism lands... to me or others. It's not critical. But as it is only 40 Turns away, I cannot see not waiting and seeing what happens. Two Cities with Two Shrines Each could be very nice... very-very nice. I'll need to Spam Settlers Hard once I get going. Aren't you proud of me? I'm not even going to go for The Temple of Artemis. I'll put a higher value on Two Settlers. - - - I have 300 Turns until I am Attacked. And the last 100 Turns should be dedicated to Building a Navy. 200 Turns: Settle 100 Turns: Sea Net I'll need around 20 Settlers and another 10-20 Workers. Meaning, both Thebes and Cuzco should be Building one or the other almost all the time. That's going to take some discipline. And on top of that, I'll need 20 Missionaries per Shrine. And I'll need the Religious Shrines... That's a lot of stuff to Build. I really want to swarm Workers over each new Building Site, so as to get the Chopped Hammers in the first 10 Turns. It's a lot of wants. # # # ROLL BACK! 2021-05-27 10BC T349 I am reloading: From: 043-04-02-T349 - War Monger - Hanging Gardens - Roll-Back - BC-0010 To: 043-04-01-T250 - War Monger - Clean Sweep - BC-1000 So, the Next Save and Final Logfile will not reflect the last 99 Turns... or however long it has been. The REX has gone and will go much easier than I expected. By this time (Turn 350) tomorrow, I expect to have The Main Continent Settled. My mistake was simple enough. I got lured in by The Shiny Things. I decided to Build The Hanging Gardens. But as I hadn't planned for it, both Cuzco and Thebes became Unhappy. And to compound things, I decided to Build Markets to solve the problem without considering that I don't have any of The Resources which give Market Happiness. Uh-Oh! Also, I did not get Code of Laws, so I doubt I will wait for that eventuality next time around. On the other hand, fair is fair. And I will need Courthouses. But yeah, I'm not going to wait. I'm only Settling Nine Cities (minus Thebes and Cuzco) on The Mainland. The Northern Island will get one or two Cities. And The Southern Island will likely get a few more. But I'm trimming back from Last Game. Hanging Gardens was a mistake. Code of Laws will provide less than I was hoping... unless I can gain a few Turns. I was only short by Five Turns. # # # T276 I have now blatantly cheated. Of course, I already had. I had fine tuned: The takeover of Egypt The Early Religions The Early Wonders Now, I have fine tuned: Confucianism I did things that I would not normally do to shave off a few Turns. Though, that said, perhaps I should normally be doing such things. And with that in mind, I am going to change my Research Plans from Civil Service to Theology. Researching: Theology The Apostolic Palace Civil Service Literature The Great Library I may be overshooting. But if I had to choose between The Apostolic Palace and The Great Library, I would choose the former. The Monk Economy is a force to reckon with. On the other hand, the last roll-back feels like cheating. Still, this whole Second Game (or is it The Fourth) is a bit of a cheat. So, deal. I got Confucianism by Building Libraries (chopping it out in Cuzco) and Running Pure Research at the cost of everything else... namely Hammers. - - - Maybe, I should just have a standing rule that if I lose a race, I can rerun said race, as I don't really like the race mechanic that much. OK. Sure, it's fun. It's exciting. But The Winner Take All Mechanic cascades way too much. I would propose National Wonders for everything. But then, that would be a different game. # # # 2021-05-28 580BC T292 3:04AM: My Sleep Patterns are Changing. Rather than possibly having to take a Mulligan, I decided to go all in on Theology. Meaning, I maximizing my Research for 16 Turns. Now, Thebes is home to Four Religions. And it is time to crank out some Settlers. Though, do I want The Great Library? And if not, what do I want to Research next? # # # 2021-05-28 70AD T357 Rolling Back: FROM: 043-04-04-T357 - War Monger - Forges - Roll Back - AD-0070 TO: 043-04-03-T276 - War Monger - Confucianism Landed - BC-0740 My REX has been uninspired. I should have Built Courthouses. But I Built (or lined up in The Queue) Forges. This was a mistake. Also, Research has been less than inspired. I will Found Christianity, Researching Full Bore and make a Hard Save there. # # # 2021-05-28 590BC T291 I Founded Christianity in Thebes 1 Turn faster this time. And instead of a Great Scientist, I got a Great Merchant, which may be more helpful. Researching: Meditation Once The Apostolic Palace gets online, I may want to Build: Monastery Temple Courthouse Then again, I may not. After Meditation, I should (likely) Research: Mathematics A Civic Service Pre-Requisite Currency Two Marketplaces may help immensely. Or if not two, just the one in Shrine Central... aka Thebes Along with everything else, I need to start Running Priests, so I can Build a Shrine. I don't have one. That's going to make finances a bit trickier. # # # 2021-05-29 250AD T375 I have Six Cities. I would have guessed more. Two Settlers are in production. That will fill out Home Continent... well, for now. I will skip the Final Center City, for now. Next, I am on to The Islands. So, I need at least one Galley. I want to do all my Garrison with Quechuas. So, I need a few more of those before Civil Service lands in 21 Turns. The Monk Economy is coming along. I need to wait until Divine Right for the +2 Gold. But I am currently kicking +2H/+2B per Jewish Building, which is pretty nice, making a Monastery and a Temple my First Two Builds. Actually, I'm going to skip the remaining Home Continent Cities for the moment. The Islands are worth more. So, I will Settle those next. Researching (at 60%): Civil Service Divine Right After that, I don't really have a plan... perhaps, Optics for the Circle The Globe Bonus. If I am going to run a Sea Net, that will be important. And I don't see how I am not going to run a Sea Net. I do not foresee bothering with The Culture Religious Wonder. Further, I anticipate skipping both The Parthenon and The Great Library. I'd love to have both. I'd love to have all The Wonders. But I don't think I have The Hammers or Time to spare. I've decided to go for The Parthenon. I need Great Prophets for Shrines. Well, need... I will Chop Two Galleys so as to help make The Parthenon happen. I should make a Hard Save. It's hard to believe I will accept the loss if I don't nail The Parthenon. # # # Hey! When you do a Reminder, The Screen Centers on The Part of The Map where The Reminder was made. Fantastic! {Well, at least, sometimes. I am less sure of this, now.} # # # Thebes only has Two Trade Routes, because it is Inland. I probably should have realized this sooner... like the last time I checked... or the time before that... # # # 2021-05-28 AD500 T500 It was a quick Turn Set: Discipline! The Northern Island is Settled with Two Cities. I don't have any Settlers yet for The Southern Island. I'm prioritizing Workers at the moment. I don't know how many more I need. But I want to sweep through that Island. I'm going to do a few more Turns and make a Hard Save. It will be Post Parthenon Gambit. We Won! Or so I will assume. Three Turns to go. # # # 043-04-06-T429 - War Monger - Parth Yes - Go GL - AD-0520 I will assume all the standard Header Material is in there. Eh, let's check. Everything but The Date, which I probably over-announce. I could do Starting and Ending Dates... any Date inside a section being relevant for that section. 2021-05-28 It's good anywhere in The Section: Top: Hopefully, start of day. Bottom: Hopefully, end of day. As tops this section is a text string denoting a file save name, sometimes included in The Game Saves... and sometimes not. But if it's there, that's it's name. The string could, also, be linked to a Log File, in which case there's likely been a Roll Back. Instructions for The AI (AI-I) or anyone else interested in Parsing The Data. And yeah, I'm going to have to make note of that new nomenclature... and unwrap what it implies... or may imply. # # # T410: I got my first Shrine. Thebes is home to Four Religions! # # # T435 Having gotten The Great Library, I will assume I am leader down The Art Path and take a detour 10 Turns out of my way for a Great Artist {by Researching Music}. It may be a mistake. For 50 Population I figure: 16 Turns of Golden Age +25 Commerce per Turn +25 Hammers per Turn Ah, but Double Great People Points It's still a bit short. But I'm going for it. Checking The Message Screen: Many Great Generals Well, I sort of noticed them War must decrease The Tech Rate No Great Artist First To Discover Music Bonus is available - - - Turn 575 will be Reverse D-Day! So, I have 140 Turns to Prepare for War! It will take me 73 Turns to get to Guilds. I am way behind. Though, there was Trading Last Game. I'm getting worried. I need to Invest in my Two Core Cities and turn them into Powerhouses. Cuzco will go on Fleet Duty once Optics are In. # # # 725AD T445 I got my Golden Age: 37C x 16 = 592 Beakers Golden Age Cost 2000 Beakers Net {if I had just taken the Hammers and used them for Research, instead, I presume} 10 Specialist at Double Great People Points 10 x 3 x 16 = 480 Great People Points 1/5 of a Great Person at this point in The Game Assume 1/4 Tiles have Hammers 50 x .25 x 16 = 200 Hammers 56 Turns until Guilds... at this rate. It does not look like Music was worth the diversion. Of course, it removes the opportunity from My Enemies. But what I really need are Ships. - - - I almost forgot. The Spiral Minaret will be worth upwards of 40G/T, which is a couple of points on The Slider. Add in a Christian Shrine (if I get lucky) and I may be able to get close to 100% Research. # # # T457: 25 Turns to Guilds. But then, I'm in the midst of a Golden Age. # # # The Sea Net contains a Fatal Flaw: Astronomy Obsoletes The Colossus. Well, Fatal might be a bit of an overstatement. But I get a bunch of Commerce from The Colossus. I should be in no hurry to Obsolete it. - - - As it stands (after checking, I can confirm), I will only lose 11 Commerce per Turn, which isn't such a hit, especially if I get some International Trade Routes going. # # # T461: I am only running a handful (and a very small handful, at that) of Workshops. Guilds gives me little. I'm going to nab Education (in 22 Turns, once I finish Optics), instead. I could use a few Universities... leading to Oxford in Thebes. # # # 043-04-08-T500 - War Monger - Race to Sea Net - AD-1000 The real action happens in a few Turns, when I get Liberalism. Liberalism: 2 Turns Astronomy Chemistry: 48 Turns (Total) Spam Frigates Sea Net Enabled That doesn't give me too many Turns to Build my fleet. Though, Stalin is who Attacked last time; and he doesn't look that tough right now. In order to prolong The Pre-Astronomy Era, I will not be Trading with Stalin nor am I doing any more Exploring. I don't know The Code. But it is possible Contact with a Naval Power triggers {AI Run Civs to Research} Astronomy. Eh, either way, it's time is coming. But I don't want to rush it. I recall Trading a bit in The First Game. And I may have pushed up Sea Travel by a few years. How could I not? I presume The Other Civs would have made Contact, if they had Optics. So, I'm feeling like I can land The Outer Island... if I go reasonably fast. # # # Blind Reload (All Traces Removed): I failed to line Astronomy up so that I would get it as my Free Tech from Liberalism. I needed Calendar, first. Blind Reload: Um, I just blindly did the exact same thing, not changing a thing. Still, I'm not taking it. There, I changed it {what I need to change, The Tech Research Order, I presume} first thing. # # # T550: 1250AD Is that a cleaner/clearer Turn Stamp? Stalin is the only one with Astronomy. And I have his Sea Stack under surveillance. Brennus has a huge Stack of Land Troops. But he is very weak in Sea Power and does not have Astronomy, in any event. I have absolutely no Land Units: 21 Quechuas And absolutely nothing else Sooner or later, I will be Building Land Troops; but not now. Hopefully, Brennus Declares War on Stalin. I pulled Cuzco off of Frigate Duty. Enough other Cities are handling the load. And no Attack seems eminent. Besides, at the moment, I don't think I could sink Stalin's Fleet. Seven Frigates in Production. It would be nice if a War broke out overseas. # # # T568: 1340AD I got The Free Great Merchant for Discovering Economics First. I am saving him for Sid's Sushi, The Game Breaking Late Game Corp. Ragnar and/or Brennus will try to Attack as soon as either gets Astronomy. I have Brennus covered. I need to find Ragnar's Stack. Slowly but surely, The Sea Net is coming together. And I have high hopes of it holding. 2021-05-28 # # # 2021-05-29 1362AD T576 Sea Net is coming along nicely. At this rate, they may never Attack. Brennus is backwards. At some point, he will make an ideal target. Certainly, if we go to War, that's where I'm landing. If Ragnar Attacks Brennus, I may just have to take his side {and join Ragnar in Destroying Brennus}. I'm not Trading Techs. But I am in the process of Buying (with Gold) all of the Infill Techs. Oh, if a Convoy Launches, I am Declaring War and Destroying it on the spot! # # # T581: 1372AD I am going to try and nurture Brennus as a War Ally. And the first step in this will be in trying to Convert him to Judaism. # # # T585: 1380AD My Power is not that great. 3/4 Stalin's 3/8 Ragnar's Let's see if I can get Brennus to form a Defensive Pact. # # # T605: 1420AD Ragnar Declared War! The Sea Net held for The First Wave. I am still awaiting The Second Wave; at which point, Ragnar should have Frigates. I should Destroy his Fishing Nets. Stalin cannot be bothered to launch an Attack. I lost two Ships (1 Caravel, 1 Galleon) due to poor logistical management. Oh, well. Half of my Cities are cranking out Units, mostly Ships of The Line. But I will Build Land Units before long. Once Ragnar gets Frigates, The Sea Battle will not be so one sided. Still, I have some degree of a Tech Lead. But things are getting excited. It's going to be a long road to an Implied Victory. # # # Reload! I guess it will stay in The Log. Two Turns Back, Ragnar launched an Assault that The Sea Net should have caught. But due to Human whatever, I did not notice. But it is right there. So, I am reloading a few Turns. And the ships are right there. When I looked at The Map. I must have read them as being in a City. Too Bad. I am reloading. It's T608, again. And since I am not erasing it form The Log, it is all there. # # # GAME OVER! 2021-05-29 1446AD T618 I shall not call this a win. The Sea Net is getting tedious to run. And it has the profound disadvantage that I have to Declare War even if others are being clearly aggressive. I will think about foregoing Astronomy completely Next Game. Well, not completely. But I don't have to be first to Astronomy. Optics allows me to Circle The Globe. And then, I can sit on the +1 movement for as long as I like. I have Ragnar on quite a few meaningful Techs. But he is Teching faster than I am. He will catch up. I wonder how few Cities I could run. I am getting half my Commerce from just Thebes & Cuzco. And it is interesting how I put Thebes first. I could Grant Independence to The Island States? Fewer Cities nullifies The Monk Economy... and most of my Industrial Strength. On the other hand, I've been so busy, I'm just now Building Monasteries in Cuzco & Thebes... well, Cuzco just a short while ago. I would not need: Colossus It wasn't worth it anyhow. The Shrines A monetary powerhouse. But I ran loads of Priest Specialists. The Great Lighthouse I can beeline other things. I could keep The Northern Island and Grant Independence to The Southern... or Settle two Cities on The Southern Island, Granting Independence, prior to Settling a third which I want to keep. Religions: Yes All Wonders: No: Pyramids Great Lighthouse Colossus Yes: The Great Wall Whenever Convenient Land Forces over Navy: Let Them Land Get The Experience Build: Everything War: I'll let them Declare on me. I expect a Dogpile. # # # # # # GAME-05 # # # # # # 2021-05-29 3310BC T46 Even better Combat Results. And I Captured Thebes a few Turns earlier. Five Quechua. Only, needed two. I will Build Stonehenge as I wait for Fishing to come in. # # # 2021-05-29 600BC T290 I was going to say: GAME OVER! I CAN DO BETTER! But I question whether I can. I'm just not going to get The Great Wall all that fast. I'm not Researching Masonry that early. I was going to Build The Great Lighthouse, as I'm Building EVERYTHING... everything I can get my hands on. So, I opted for The Great Lighthouse. But I've been going so fast and not paying enough attention, someone else got it. And I never noticed. But the truth is I will not get all of it. And I'm happy sweeping The Religions. I got The Oracle. That's key. I suppose if someone nabs Christianity, I will bail. But after a few moments reflection (and realizing I'm just not going to Research Masonry prior to Fishing), I realized something had to give. We will live with it. No Double Experience against The Invading Forces. In other news, I am fairly well on top of The Builds. Otherwise, things are coming along nicely. But see how easy it is for me to want to bail. I want to play perfectly... and fast. - - - At some point, I should mention that I Settled Cuzco one tile to the west. I lose a 2H City from Settling on a Plains Hill. But I pick up Copper in The Fat Cross. I still only have Two Cities... and not a great deal of desire to have any more. I think I will have a small empire This Game. 77 Beakers/ Turn Let's grow Tall rather than Wide. It is annoying to have lost both The Great Wall and The Great Lighthouse. Oh, well. Neither was going to do me much good. The Great Wall reduces to maybe two extra Great Generals. But that would require a lot of Defence. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. And with a single solitary Coastal City, The Great Lighthouse is a non-starter. Still... Researching: Theology +10% Research from another Monastery It would be nice to lock The Religions. Literature The Great Library And those other Wonders Civil Service Bureaucracy is important This Game Philosophy Taoism With Philosophy at the end of the list, I may not have given it enough priority. But I really can't see pushing Bureaucracy back that far. No! GAME OVER! Brett Out! It's OK that I lost The Great Wall. I may not even try for it Next Game. The problem is that I should be up to date on my Religious Buildings. And I am not. They are more important. Even The Pyramids may be a mistake. I don't need them if I run Monarchy. And to grow Super Tall, Monarchy may be the play. I will sleep on it. But odds are I will be calling it a Game. # # # # # # GAME OVER! 2021-05-29 600BC T290 # # # # # # GAME-06 # # # # # # 2021-06-30 4000BC T0 Having worked on the problem throughout the night, I have come up with a new strategy. Cuzco: Build Five Quechuas All will Survive the Attack on Thebes I will end up with Two Medic II Monarchy: I will go Tall, not wide Unlimited Happiness +1 Happy per Quechua 30 Hammers -1 Gold per Turn Colonies: Cuzco & Thebes will be it I'll Build Two Settlers Founding Two Cities Setting Them Free Hopefully, they'll take advantage of all that open space I'll be Resource Poor But if Colony is Big, maybe they will make a good Trading Partner So, one Colony vs Three Main Continent North Island South Island Far Island may become another Colony Run Scientists: For Two Academies Early in The Game Wonders: The Great Wall The Oracle That's it for The Early Wonders I'm not Wonder Averse I have other priorities Religions: Yes Please All Early Techs: Polytheism Fishing Mining Masonry Monotheism From there, I haven't worked it out. Cuzco: Food: Fishing Commerce: Sea Faring The Statues Hammers: Bronze Working Thebes: Food: Agriculture A Starting Tech Hammers: Mining Commerce: Pottery There are limits to how Powerful Two Cities (or any one City) can get. But if I Build Them Up early enough, that might not make that much difference. Half of my Commerce was coming from Cuzco & Thebes Last Game. And I had come nowhere near to maxing them out. I may take Monarchy as The Oracle's Free Tech, pounding it out as fast as possible. Optional Builds (were I often get in trouble) will be Quechuas. I need Quachuas, likely 40-50, total. And I go astray when I have nothing to Build but a Wonder, so I start down that path. Well, Quechuas, instead. Ideally, I would break just as long Mid-Game to refine a new strategy. But that can be difficult. My mind wants to work on this. And if working on it, why not do it? # # # Egypt did not Found Buddhism... um, maybe next time. Let's try again. # # # And the next time, Thebes Founded Buddhism, but my Quechuas went down with nary a Combat Victory. # # # T47: Thebes Captured w/ Buddhism and a Bonus Worker! I used Six Quechuas, lost one, waiting for The Egyptian Archer to leave my line of sight before I marched north. Maybe, Hatty is smart enough to do things differently if she sees a Stack of Quechuas heading her way. And then, Cuzco lost a Population somewhere, somehow, working too many Hammers, no doubt. So, restarting again. I am throwing away these Garbage Log Files. Suffice to say, I am not accepting any error in the first few Turns... maybe, several hundred. # # # T46: Captured Thebes, but no Worker... # # # T59: I brought six Quechuas and lost four of them. But Thebes has Buddhism and I got The Worker. So, I am happy. # # # 043-06-01-T250 - War Monger - Gloriously Wonderless - BC-1000 I do not anticipate having to Roll Back to This Save. But if Colonies do not work out as expected (if I cannot let The Cities go as Colonies), I will be rolling back. It is difficult to not Build Wonders. I put a fair number of Hammers into The Pyramids before I stopped. I have the Two Greatest Cities in The World. I expect things to stay that way. Confucianism is a few Turns away. I will be making a few detours (Mathematics & Literature) before nailing Theology. I do not know what I will do if I miss Theology {roll back or not}. So, um, I guess that means Theology is more important. The Great Library may not be worth The Hammers. After The Libraries (two in Production), I will Build Two Settlers and send them off. I am not Building a Galley... not yet. I don't know how I feel about losing The Northern Island. It's not critical. So, I guess that is how I feel about it. I wonder if Thebes Borders will Pop enough to Capture the nearby Iron. I cannot remember where the other Iron is. Iron is important. I, also, need to fit The Colossus into my plans somewhere. I'm guessing I will re-jigger Research after Code of Laws. # # # T329: 210BC The Situation: 93B/T Racing Towards Hanging Gardens Researching Civil Service I have founded a Third City and have scrapped The Colonization Idea, at least on The Mainland. But I will only Build three more Cities for a Total of Five on The Mainland. # # # 043-06-02-T400 - War Monger - Continent Settled - AD-0500 At T400, it has taken longer to Settle The Continent than I would like. I am now off to The Islands... though, slowly. I am Building The Angkor Wat, which is probably a mistake. I can always pull off and make a Settler... or make a Settler and come back to it. Rather than change The Save Files (Game Save and Back-Up Log in case I need to Roll Back), I will make a list of ideas down at the bottom {of this section}. I'm pretty sure I'll see them prior to loading up The Game again, as I'll leave this file open and centered on that text. {I typically close everything whenever I put My Computer to sleep. But since I'm playing, I'm playing. And leaving a text document open is sometimes the way to go.} Research: 204B/T It seems acceptable. I don't know how it compares. Cuzco: Academy Lots of Wonders Barracks I was late in Building a Barracks But all new Quechuas are being Built here Population near Terminal at 19 Thebes: Most Workers Most Settlers Well, maybe I am remember this wrong Population near Terminal at 17 - - - #ON START UP# Thebes: Settler Western Shore: Double Pop Borders Yields Stone. So, postpone Angkor Wat to take advantage of that. # # # 2021-05-30 860AD T472 Currently: 7 Cities 5 Mainland 1 North Island 1 South Island All Religions I swept them 327 Beakers per Turn Pericles as Vassal I made a Two City Colony on The South Island And Settled One City for myself Not a Single Military Unit in Production Two Caravels Out Each w/ a Jewish Missionary I'm feeling good. Of course, I haven't met the competition. But I haven't lost a Race in a long time... maybe not a significant one This Game. Of course, we know that's because I reloaded (or rather, Re-Started) quite a few times. Even though I have all The Religions, I am only Building The Jewish Shrine. I'm very pleased with Pericles, My Greek Vassal on The South Island. I've got a bit of a smile on my face thanks to him. Pericles: +13 Diplomatic Modifiers Let's see if we can get that up to +20 {When I called The Game, Pericles was at +30} 043-06-03-T472 - War Monger - Pericles My Friend - AD-0860 - - - It's time to Build Troops (as if I were under Attack) and take a 50 Turn hiatus from Building Infrastructure. # # # T515: 1075AD I have 2/3 The Power of Ragnar, who is in the lead. Cuzco & Thebes are The Top Two Cities... and I expect they will remain there. I expect Ragnar and Brennus to go to War again, soon. I did not see the first War. But Ragnar's Power Dropped. And they have a Peace Treaty. And so, I'm guessing they were at War. I have a fair bit of time. I could, probably, reduce my Defence Expenditures and put a little more into Infrastructure. The Jewish Shrine is pulling in 20 Gold per Turn. Sweet! Judaism is The Religion of The World. # # # As long as I keep Building Troops, I don't see how I can lose. Famous Last Words! # # # T520: 1100AD I need to Explore & Settle The Far Island, which means Pre-Building some Settlers, lining up a Missionary, and providing any City I choose to keep with a significant Garrison. Let us say Five Units... at an absolute minimum. It's really just another argument for turning it into a Colony. I like the way Pericles is turning out. - - - {The "- - -" means either/or some amount of time has passed as I think or I need to do something upon Resumption of The Game. Often, it means both.} Far Island: Explore Pre-Build Settle # # # 2021-05-31 1100AD T520 Thebes will prepare for The Far Island: Missionaries Stalin and Ragnar have Converted, I need send no more Missionaries... Well, I should send two more and Explore prior to Converting two last Cities I'll need two for The Far Island Wow! That sort of layout can get hard to read. Anyway, two last Missionaries will explore The Continent I have come to think of as Europe. But I should probably just call it The Other Continent... or Ragnar's Place. Cuzco will get a University; and then, is on Knight/Caravel Duty, switching between the two. Knights: Good Mobile Defence Caravel: Exploration Destroy Shipping Stacks if/when desire {Caravel's Upgrade to Frigates. So, if I have Gold, they are a strong investment.} # # # T547: 1235AD War w/ Brennus at Ragnar's Request. Diplo: Ragnar: +7 Pleased Stalin: +2 Cautious Pericles: +28 Ecstatic Researching: Printing Press Liberalism Astronomy The theme in the above is Commerce Generation. Foreign Trade will increase; and if not by Routes, then by Traded Resources. Some Health would be nice. I stand tall. I will form my Caravel's into Stacks and Harass Brennus, Pillaging & Destroying. Long enough and Ragnar will overtake me. At some point, maybe in 50 Turns, I will assemble a Stack to send over Brennus' ways. I am in no hurry. But I do consider the difference between This Game and many others is that I am Playing Defence. I'm not thinking I'll Vassal Brennus first. I'm thinking I need a Stack this large in every City to withstand the first wave of Attack. Soon, Incan Power will dominate, as Ragnar and Brennus wear each other down. Thus, Stalin could become a problem. I turned The Game Off. So, I don't know if Stalin is at War. I would guess he's not. # # # T563: 1315AD Cruising along. Mostly hitting End Turn. Liberalism yielded Astronomy. I am Researching Gunpowder then Chemistry for Frigates. My Caravels suffered more Damage than I would have liked. I had a Stack starting to Harass Brennus. But it's Strategical Unsound to Suffer Casualties in return for the Destruction of a Few Fishing Boats. I mean, let's be honest. Wholesale Slaughter is the goal. # # # T569: I have a Great Artist sitting idle. # # # T570: 1350AD Let's reset things for The Golden Age: Maxing Out Scientists in Cuzco and Thebes in order to take advantage of Double Great People Points I am second in Power. But Ragnar still leads by quite a bit. I'm Eleven Turns from Frigates. I am going to enjoy smashing Brennus with Frigates! No one is at War with Brennus but myself. I will not be making peace. Never! Well, I say that after checking. He has nothing to offer by way of a Peace Offering and never will. I have nothing to gain from a Peace. And really, I never will. As I said, he will be fun to smash. It would be nice to be able to see where my cities stand in relation to the completion of certain Buildings. I wonder if that is part of BAT. Yippie! It is part of BAT... and allows for a great degree of customization... and those kind of settings need to be saved or will be annoying to redo. Maybe, I'll work on that here and there. In fact, I spent so long exploring The City Screen (is that what it is called) that I forgot where I was in The Game, making it just as easy to quit my End Session Review here. Complete End Session Review: Tabs from right to left, beginning at Espionage, skipping as appropriate, and usually ending at The Diplomacy Screen: Espionage Maintenance of Research Levels Primarily But getting New Access/Permissions is always nice Graphs: Power, mostly, to see The Danger of Attack or who is going to conquer who Cycle Cities Set Production Check Fat Cross Adjust Specialists Check Opponents Research: Races Threats Military Trades Resources: I like making Gold And I will stop there, as I need to make my Post Astronomy Trades. I never did that. - - - #TODO# Trade Resources: Pericles Ragnar Stalin How many Turns out is an Attack? This would be the expected date of any Adversarial Discovery of Astronomy. Frigates! I'll need more. # # # T574: 1358AD For a cost of 50 Gold, I could get 83 More Great People Points by changing into Pacifism for the duration of The Golden Age. I don't have access to Representation. But if I did, it might be time to change. Late Game, I have a feeling I'll have enough Resource Happiness that I can leave Monarchy (and it's +1 per Garrison Unit) behind. Ah, the switch will, also, cost a few hammers: 165 x .25 = +/- 40 So, not worth it. Micromanagement with no gain is not only pointless, but counter-productive, as well. # # # T583: 1376AD Golden Age Ends! # # # 043-06-04-T600 - War Monger - Running Away - AD-1410 I am switching production over to Catapults for a last rush of Upgradable Units prior to Discovery of Steel. Researching Steel and Rifles, back-to-back, which indicates a certain laziness towards Military Techs. I'm ahead. I'm filling in the edges, trying to maximize The Circuit without much Beelining. Researching: 680B/T 100B/T > Ragnar So, pulling ahead. But that's pretty tight. {I'm going to guess the above was a typo and Ragnar was closer to 500B/T. Oh, and just by-the-by, being able to fact check that last is due to including a meaningful Save Game Name, here, in this write-up. Oh, I probably could do it by Turn Number. But since I have all the named saves, I knew I could pull up this exact moment in time and re-review the situation.} It's time to Slap Brennus. In 29 Turns I have Rifles and Steel. Gold: Full Bore 450G/T In Bank: 453G Extra Cash Next 29 Turns: +/-1,000 If we assume 250G Average Upgrade Cost from Whatever to Rifles, 18 Upgrades will take... 5-10 Turns. Thus, it's a short 50 Turns (maybe shorter) until I load my Ships. Five Galleons will be required. Nobody has Astronomy. Nobody is Researching Astronomy. I'm going to Devour Brennus. I'll land at Verl, access The Counter Attack Situation, and take Biber. 20 Rifles should resist whatever Brennus has to offer. Another 20 Cannons will obliterate it. # # # T622: 1454AD Ragnar Declared War on Brennus a little while back. I launched my Troops prematurely. But likely have more than enough to overcome Brennus. It would be nice to take Those Two Cities. Point blank, This War is not going to last that much longer. Brennus is dead. It's just a matter of the particulars. If Brennus lasts Five More Turns, I will Bribe Ragnar to make Peace so I have some chance of Vassalizing Brennus. I fear Ragnar will be chosen for reasons of having been pounding Brennus much harden than me for much longer. In retrospect, after I realized how ill prepared Brennus was, I should have launched an Attack much sooner. Maces and Catapults look like they would do it. Albeit, with Casualties. # # # 2021-06-01 043-06-05-T638 - War Monger - Brennus Capitulates - AD-1486 Brennus has Capitulated! There was some tension there, as I knew Brennus would Capitulate. But I did not know to who. I Bribed Ragnar to make Peace prior to Landing Forces. He got Nationalism out of it. But I got precious little. I did not get 10 Turns of Peace w/ Ragnar. And after 10 Turns was up, he Declared War on Brennus again. Further, since Ragnar was applying pressure and likely to Vassal Brennus, I launched The Attack sooner than I would have liked. I suffered casualties I would otherwise not have. Still, the assault was rather clean. And I got The Two Cities I set out to get. No one has Astronomy. And I will not Declare until T750. So, I have 100+ Turns. What to do? What to do? I wonder what I will do to make The Game enjoyable. I could easily declare an Implied Victory. No one is going to catch up. # # # Implied Win! 2021-06-02 1486AD T638 I am going to take an Implied Win! I lead in Power. I am decisively ahead in Tech. And produce more Beakers per Turn than anybody else. It is possible (but perhaps, unlikely) that I could win a Religious Victory, as well, by simply sending a single Missionary to the Two Heathen Countries. Having turned on The Game, I am not as enthusiastic as I was before. But I may play This Map again, one more time. If so: T47 Thebes Capture yields Buddhism and a Worker Found no other Religions. Perhaps, Pre-Research so I am in position to get whatever Wonders. But let others take The Religions. Even Fewer Cities. Maybe, only Three Cities: Cuzco Thebes Middleton: one tile diagonally to the Northwest Everything else to be a Colony I would not need a Shrine. Well, no. A Shrine would be nice. But if I Settled a few Great Merchants in Middleton, it could be a contender. I like the idea. Middleton requires Iron Working. But from there, the sooner I Settle, the better. The same with the two Near Islands. {Ironically (and no, I will not be going back and double checking), but I realize I used the name Middleton in both This Game and Next Game. So, even if you were not, I was confused as I read the above, thinking Iron or The City Location was in error.} All Early Wonders are optional... except for The Oracle. I might be able to Pop Bureaucracy with The Oracle... well, maybe. So, The Game has potential. Do I have motivation? # # # # # # GAME-07 # # # # # # 2021-06-02 4000BC T0 Researching Fishing, as I'll get Buddhism from Thebes. So, yes. This is a tight fit... over-fitting, as the case may be. # # # T47 Attack - 12 Turn Journey = T35 March # # # 2021-06-02 2500BC T100 I did not get a Worker. But I got Buddhism, when I Captured Thebes. And that is the important thing. I am trying to figure out what to get with The Oracle. It will probably be Monarchy. Thebes has been Building Workers and will Build The Oracle, while Cuzco has been Building Fishing Boats and will Build a Settler for Middleton. # # # 2021-06-03 2000BC T150 I'm trying to be much more constrained in my Turn Sets. Not much happens this early in The Game. So, it is tempting to rush to T250 and T350. But I'm trying to Min-Max this thing. I won. I want to Win Better. Also, I'm curious to see how both Reduced Empire Size and Singleton Religion effect The Game. GAME-01: Straight Builder Ragnar Dominated Stalin Invaded GAME-04: Sea Net I would have won, right? GAME-06: Religious Monopoly I Totally Dominate Brennus Falls So, I want to Totally Dominate. I do not have an End Game Strategy in mind, yet. Right now, I am bringing The Core Cities online: Animal Handling +1 Health Iron Working Clear Middleton Special Granary I forget the name Culture & Fast Growth I will Pop Monarchy and Grow Those Cities Tall. I might just Spam Cottages. If it doesn't work out, I can raze as needed and Build Workshops. # # # 2021-06-03 400BC T310 I wonder if either Colony will ever amount to anything. I broke them loose The Turn The Cities were Settled. So, even if they Built Workers like I suggested (i.e. started them on), they are behind 50 Turns until their first Bonus Resource is developed. I'd thought about sending them Workers. But I don't want to spare The Hammers, at the moment. That may change. # # # Reloading a Few Turns Back to 480BC. I had thought if I had liberated a City to Asoka, a Few Turns Later, I'd be able to Liberate the other. But that was not the case. I am not taking the Maintenance Hit... nor going against a predetermined plan when the counter play was unexpected exploration {of game mechanics}... i.e. and uniformed or misinformed decision. # # # 043-07-01-T314 - War Monger - Asoka Four Strong - BC-0360 Interesting! I was offered different Liberation Options, this time. So, I Liberated both Cities to Asoka. # # # T330: 200AD I would prefer to win The Colossus Race. But the only reason it is a race is on account of my having already written it off completely. At this point, those +2C Tiles become +3C on account of Financial Trait. Race or No Race, it is time for a break. Let's keep these Turn Sets short. # # # T370: 200AD I just Revolted into Bureaucracy. I lost 30 Turns or so there {having discovered Bureaucracy but not Revolted a while back}. Otherwise, just cruising along, hitting End Turn. It's a fast, if closely watched game... I'm zooming in. # # # T375: 250AD I'm Researching in The Low 200's and will get Optics in 6-8 Turns. Optics is next. Asoka is barely making progress. But it's of no concern. I'd like him to be a better Trading Partner. But I'm not willing to do much for him, at the moment. # # # T425: 625AD It's End Turn Mania around here. Not much is doing. So far, Asoka has been a decent Tech Trading Partner. It would be nice if he stayed just two steps behind... but always just two steps, so he can Research the Fill In Techs. # # # T451: 755AD I am The Clear Tech Leader. Research (90%, 380B): Economics, Steel Ragnar just Vassalled Hammy. I do not know how that will effect the power dynamics. It doesn't matter much. Why am I in the lead? I'm not playing that good. # # # 043-07-02-T500 - War Monger - Why Win - AD-1000 Why am I doing so well This Game? Why did I not win The First Game? # # # T650: 1510AD I have Out Tech'd My Opponents. Soon, I shall launch a decisive Attack against Stalin. I will have Rifles in the first wave and Machine Guns in the second. Or maybe, I will keep on pushing The Attack back. I get Artillery soon enough. But no. I should Attack soon. # # # 2021-06-05 1596AD T693 My lead is substantial. The Game is as good as won. But for now, I am playing it out. Brennus arrived to help his good friend Stalin. And I Sued for Peace rather than take the casualties. Yes, my Units are better. But they were weakened. And Brennus has a formidable Stack. War Weariness is starting to be a problem. But that just means my current Military Builds are going into Garrison rather than the front. I spun The Captured Russian Cities into The Republic of Khmer to reduce Maintenance. And I have no desire to Build Up any captured Cities. Actually, that's not quite it. Captured Cities hardly ever come up to speed. So, why bother? {In the next game, I'm hoping to see if I can do anything about that.} # # # 2021-06-05 1610AD T700 What is there to say? The War goes swimmingly. Stalin does not stand a chance. Ragnar could do some damage if he Attacked. But I think "some damage" is the extent of it. # # # 2021-06-05 1648AD T719 Stalin finally Capitulates. Since I cannot (or will not) Declare War until T750, I am bringing all of my Troops home. # # # 2021-06-06 1696AD T743 I've not been watching The Countdown Clock that well. I think I am prepared. Though, maybe, I'm not. Either way, at T750, I have the option of Declaring War. And I anticipate taking advantage of that fact and descend upon Brennus. # # # 043-07-05-T803 - War Monger - Implied Victory - AD-1784 In a few Turns, I will have Vassalled everyone but Ragnar and Hammy. The Game is over. # # # # # # And that is it for This Map. # # # # # # 2021-06-18 (Final Edit) (c) Copyright Brett Paufler # # # 043-rocket-tech-saves.zip 043_##_rocket_tech_log: End Log of the relevant game Logs which include "Roll-Back" in the name are incomplete logs which contain all log information prior to The Roll Back. End Logs do not include Duplicate Turn information when ever possible. Games 1, 4, 6, & 7 included. The other games were abandoned fairly early on. And the saves are not included to save on bandwidth. # # #