2019-11-21 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler # # # # # # Rome: Four Way # # # # # # 2019-11-21 This is the pre-game huddle. It may last a couple of days. Heck, it might just last until after Thanksgiving. But it probably will not. Ha! And that's as far as I got. This is going to take awhile. # # # 2019-11-22 4000BC T0 Let us play a Turn or two. But the intent it not to play too many Turns, as I get caught up in the moment {don't think ahead} and play poorly. I do not have Mysticism, so I will not be Founding an Early Religion. Nor do I think that Masonry is that important. Yes, I like all those Wonders. But any Wonder comes at a price. I have Fishing, so I intend to build 2-3 Fishing Boats, 1-2 Workers, and perhaps a Settler. But that is further than I wish to play today. The Wheel shall be the first Technology, as it connects the Gold, leads to Pottery, and is required if I find Stone and wish to build a few Wonders. The Great Wall would be nice for 3x Great Generals wherever I am Culturally Dominant. But without Stone, I probably will not build {The Great Wall. I presume, but perhaps I meant anything}. And right away, I've decided to Build a Worker prior to any Fishing Boats, as I'll be able to Mine both the Sheep and the Gold right away. # # # 2019-11-22 2920BC T72 This will be my first break point. I am Researching: Bronze Working (for Slavery and the Chop) -> Writing (for Libraries, let's get some Great Scientists, everybody is doing it) -> Iron Working (Praetorian Up!) I am Building: Warrior -> Warrior (to grow on and for future Garrison duty) -> Worker -> Settler -> Settler I am sort of indifferent about the order of the Workers and the Settlers. But I figure I'll get the extra Worker out first. Working the Gold, I'm getting 21 Beakers a Turn, which is good for me for this stage of the game... excellent, really. Yara of Ethiopia, who is a good Researcher, is my neighbour. And he likes me. I could go Peace with him if I wanted to. We'll see. I mean, if he were Monty, I would take him out, no questions... or Vassal him, first chance. But Yara, I don't know. I've got a Tundra Island to the South East. So, who knows what's all there... or {who or} what I will be able to reach via Work Boat. Well, it's Tundra, so it's not the center and likely a dead end. So, I will not be re-prioritizing my Build Queue. I have two nice City Sites close in. I am using the Dot Mapping Tool. Both of the Cities are on rivers and have plenty of Floodplains, one with three hills, the other four. I might have a fourth site as well, which will yield Stone. But Stone is not worth going out of my way to Settle... not as I perceive this game going. Certainly, I have no Wonders in the Build Queue. And that extends out 60 Turns, bringing the start of my first Wonder to T130... or a bit earlier if that's what I choose to do in my Second City, which I might. Let us assume Fail Gold will be worth it's weight in Gold. {Ha! Ha!} # # # 2019-11-23 2710BC T87 I rolled back time about 4 Turns to take back a Whip. I'm leaving it in the logfile, however. I don't think that messes with any of my graphs. Huh, maybe it does. It's so easy, I'm going to kill the Turns that are repeated. # # # 2019-11-23 2530BC T98 The Southern Island leads to Arabia and the lands of Hussein. It may make sense to be aggressive towards him and keep Zara as a friend... at least, for now. # # # 2019-11-23 2080BC T142 I need Iron for my Praetorians. And I do not have many options. The Iron to the far North is going to be a hard Cultural Battle to win against Ethiopia. OK. I'm flat out not going to win that Cultural Battle against Zara, as he is Creative. The only other Iron on the Board (that I can see, outside of the one by Hussein's Capitol of Mecca) is in the middle of a Desert. So, it will be a Dead City. Well, I can nab both Iron and Stone in the same Dead City. I suppose that's a sort of consolation. But it really is a bad City. I thought about hooking up Copper. But there isn't much of that about, either. I believe Arabia will be my first Target. There's Iron there. But more importantly, Hussein has built Stonehenge. And I want it. I will stop there {only take his Capitol}. I very much like my Three Main Cities, Gold Star, Secondi, Tripoli, but Iron Waste is going to be a waste. I am not pleased about that. I think I will fight towards the East {down Arabia ways} and see if Yara and I can't be Friends. The ones I have met are not the Founders of any Early Religion. # # # 2019-11-23 1610BC T189 I Researched both Alphabet and Masonry, which were mistakes: Alphabet: no one will make a fair trade, and I will not make an unfair one. Masonry: I likely will not build a Wonder... though, both The Great Wall and The Pyramids would be nice, so we shall see. I did not give Iron Working to Yara {as Tribute}, so we will not be Best Buds. I am Researching Sailing to Build a Galley or two to transport my Troops (not yet Built) over to Arabia. # # # 2019-11-23 1240BC T226 I just Researched Metal Casting for Workshops. The next +1 Hammer comes at Guilds, which is a ways off... and then, Chemistry. I will be building a mixture of Cottages and Workshops. To start, the Workshops don't do that much good. But they will get there. I have yet to start my Offence. # # # 2018-11-23 1120BC T238 I have Founded North Bend way up North. It's the same type of Floodplain Hills environment as my three Core Cities. Meanwhile, a Stack of 4 Praetorians is on its way to harass Hussein. I'll likely need a few more to take over a City. But I am hoping to stall out his Economy and get some Great General Points. Soon enough, Mecca will be mine. # # # 2019-11-23 1070BC T243 I Begged Hunting off of Yara. It is my intent to ask for something every 25 Turns or so. On the Quarters (00, 25, 50, 75). So, assuming I remember, I will ask next on T275. I'll set up a reminder. # # # 2019-11-23 500BC T300 I landed 4 Praetorians in Arabia and after a few Turns, they were all Destroyed. I Looted a few Improvements and Razed a City. But it was hardly worthwhile. So, Praetorians are not all that. Well, they might be all that. But they are not indestructible. The Stack was neatly demolished. I am Researching Construction and Engineering. And I will use Siege, Praetorians, and Crossbows to rip apart whatever is left of Hussein, as Wang Kon is at War with him. Oddly, no one has very many Cities this game. I might have the most. And I do not feel like I am expanding quickly. Of course, I had the foresight to only pick fantastic Build Sites. Eh, I've decided to send another Stack over Hussein's way. It may be a bit premature. But they are just going to camp out until Siege is ready. What hurts most about these Premature Attacks is the loss of Troops and the City Turns that represents. Oh, well. Live and learn. I do not consider myself a good Warlord. And the only way to learn is through these sort of mistakes. Still, I'm not really sure how others survive. The stack was decimated. And Praetorians have a better Strength {than Axes... even after the Axemen Bonuses}. On the other hand, I was not in a Defensive Position. And that does make a difference. # # # 2019-11-23 I will not play any more today. But I am loosing heart. Yes, I could continue {with this game}. But I have made plays that were less than stellar. Metal Casting for Workshops has proved to be unimportant. And my early Researching of Alphabet was for naught, as so far, I have only managed to Beg a single Technology... and made no Trades. Eh, I'm just going to call it. I mean, it's a shame, because I like the added honorific of winning on the first go. On the other hand, mistakes multiply. Also, there really was no pressure for any City Locations. I got everyone of them that I wanted and then some. So, it's official. I am restarting: Alphabet Only when I need for something else Metal Casting Ditto Cities I have no real beef with the locations More and earlier, though War Antagonize Hussein into a War Do not Declare Slavery I do not like this mechanic Sure, I will Whip some stuff eventually But let us minimize the Whips Run Scientist Specialists, instead # # # # # # End -01 Start -02 # # # # # # 2019-11-25 4000BC T0 Much concern is given to the first few Turns {in online forums, principally}, as the effects are said to snowball and accumulate moving forward. Five Turns behind at the start is Five Turns behind for the rest of the Game... or until such a time as those Turns are made up. Researching: The Wheel (hook up Gold) -> Pottery (for Cottages) -> Writing (Libraries as my Culture expanding force) -> Bronze Working (I have my reasons) After that, I may well go for Iron Working. But I do not know. Building: Work Boat -> Work Boat -> Worker -> Work Boat I will find something else to build while my Population grows to the maximum. And then, it's putting together an Army of Workers and 5 Settlers, as that's how many City Sites I remember... plus the Iron. Though, as long as I am replaying, it might make sense to go for the Northern Iron. We shall see. These first few Turns should be quick. My Warrior is on Auto Pilot. # # # 2019-11-24 2500BC T100 Researching: Bronze Working (get in 6 Turns) -> Iron Working (if I can, I'll Settle that spot up north, if it comes in sequence) -> Sailing (I'll need a Galley or two to Attack Hussein) -> Masonry (as a prerequisite, but one never knows) -> Mathematics -> Construction (for Catapults) That should give me the Technological Base that I need to take over Arabia. I would like Mecca as a City. I think this is pretty pure, as it gives me what I need... but also, follows the path I took last time, less the unneeded ventures into Alphabet, Metal Casting, and Machinery. In Unity of One (what I am naming the Capitol this time around), I'm building Workers and Settlers. At some point, I will want a Library for the Research Bonus... but for now, that next City is more important. Of course, I say that. But being one under the Happy Cap, I will need something to grow on. # # # 2019-10-24 1000BC T250 Hussein demanded Tribute of Fish for 10 Turns, which I gave him. Had he Attacked, I would have lost, as I have precious little Military... besides, an extra Fish is almost nothing. Anyway, that Trade is done and gone. And I'm fast approaching the point were I do not care if I antagonize him. I'll assume (knowing that I consistently misjudge these things, but I have beelined the Military Technologies) that I will be in a position to Attack in 50 Turns. And I will be taking on either Hussein or Zara. At the moment, I am indifferent as to which... or should I say, ambivalent, as I am of two minds. Zara: as we share a Continent. It is logistically easier. And he going to win the Cultural War. He just will. I don't have much by way of Culture. And he gets +2 Culture per City for being Creative, which is all the Culture I am mustering at the moment. Speaking of which (Culture, City Progression, there's a tie-in in my mind somehow, ah the bonus Specialists sometimes get), I should make a note to do Specialists when my Cities are at Size. Right now, they are growing. And I don't see the advantage in slowing that down. As to the other target, Hussein is a bad guy. See, I'm playing with the Extended Leaderheads. And most of these Leaders may well be jerks. But guys like Hitler, I am just never going to buddy up to. It just ain't happening. I am not going to relate a game to someone else (you know, someone special) in which Hitler and I took over the world. It's not going to happen. So, Hussein falls into that category {even if I did take him on as a Vassal in my final iteration of this Map}. He's a bad guy. Also, he's got Wang Kon on the other side, so he's going to be small. Right now, he's got 4 Cities Total. And although he does not have Stonehenge (which would be nice in the Cultural War against Zara), he did Build the Temple of Artemis, which is something. I have no idea how many Troops I would need. 10? 15? 20? I would think a Stack of 10 Praetorians and 10 Catapults would suffice. But one never knows. That Counter Attack killed me last game. Research is at 60%. I have Construction for Catapults (and Iron for Praetorians), while Trebuchets are a good 100 Turns away... maybe more. I have heard good things about Trebuchets... you know, on the Offence. I am looking forward to giving them a go. Did I mention that I have six Cities. Iron Waste will never amount to much. There just isn't that much with which to work, there. But all the rest are Floodplains with a few Hills and have solid Potential. No, I take that back. There is a Grassland City in there. Not scrap. But it doesn't have the same potential as Floodplains. I feel good. No one is plotting. So, I expect to have the time I need to put a Defence/Offence into place. Hey! What do you know! Arabia is the home of Hinduism. I must admit. Hussein is looking juicier. No wonder the AI always wants to Attack me. I usually Build goodies in lieu of an Army... and that's pretty much why Hussein is looking good to me right now. I will refrain from Settling another City. So when I take Mecca, it won't kill my Research that much. I'll have to pick and choose. I'm OK burning four Cities to keep one. Though, if I don't need to do that for Cultural Reasons, there might not be much point. # # # 2019-11-26 990BC T251 I am Fourth in Size: Unknown Zara Unknown Me Hussein Unknown Unknown And since I would say I am about the same size as Zara, the top four are likely pretty close. I'm going to guess I am twice the size as Hussein. # # # 2019-11-26 290AD T279 My War against Hussein has been highly ineffectual. In truth, I have been sleep walking through the game. I was not psyched to play. But I needed to distract myself. It worked. But I was merely hitting the End Turn Button for the most. I should roll back or start over. It probably doesn't matter much which. I need 20-30 Units... for the easy decisive win. So, I am Declaring War around T400. I probably should be fighting Zara, instead. He's not going to be that friendly. And I get more gains fighting him. Yeah, I can barely be bothered to look at the board. Oh, well. It seemed like it was going so well. I probably should Declare War on Zara {next game} much sooner and harass him. In other news, I discovered Silver. And that Happy Resource (doubled with the Forge) was very nice. Still, I am floundering. I must either roll back or start over. So, it's rolling back, either way. The only question is how far. Darn. I was really hoping to play through just the once. But the truth is: this last play session has sucked. I should have quit a long time ago. In other words, I pretty much suck at Planning My Play and Playing My Plan. Also, I sort of lack the plan in the first place. But I really am falling by the wayside, plan-wise. Fine! Just The Fine! A Restart It Is! And it was feeling so good there for awhile. # # # # # # END -02 BEGIN -03 # # # # # # 2019-12-02 1500BC T200 I cannot say I am thrilled with my restart. But for now, it is what it is. I may be making a mistake by Researching Priesthood. But Code of Laws would be nice. After that (or depending upon how that goes), I intend to work towards Construction next. I have maybe 100 Turns more of Peace before Hussein starts putting on the pressure. Which really just means, I need to build a few units before too terribly long. My Cities are packed closer together. I have three Cities at the moment. And if the Continent splits as it has been splitting, I will Settle upwards of seven more. Zara will be my first enemy. And I will lazily eat him whole, Settling new Cities as I raze his old... or however that goes. Let's say I want a stack 30 Tall prior to starting that Offensive, including a good ten Catapults. I am getting 46 Beakers a Turn, which seems good to me. It's a straightforward Cottage Economy. And that's about all there is to say about that. Oh, I would like a few more Hills than I have. It would be nice to Build those initial Libraries {the old fashioned way} rather than depending on The Whip. # # # 2019-12-02 820BC T268 Once again, I am not happy with my start. I'm going nice and slow... too slow. After Pottery, I can snag an early Religion. And that will give me the Culture I need. From there, I can Research Bronze Working and Iron Working. But I don't really need either until T300 or so. I will be packing the Cities in tighter. So, the upshot {for next time} is more Building, less War, with a bit of REX thrown in for good measure. # # # # # # END -03 START -04 # # # # # # 2019-12-02 1500BC T200 The start does not seem much better than any other one. I did found Judaism. And spamming Missionaries is more effective than building Libraries at getting that initial Culture Pop. I do not feel as honed in as I would like. But it does feel good enough. We'll see. I'll be taking a day or two off again. And when I come back, I may prefer starting from T0. # # # 2019-12-04 1150BC T235 I played a few short Turns and Founded Confucianism, which I take to be a good play. I sent one of my Missionaries over to Zara. And now, he is running Judaism, as well. Hussein is preparing for War, which is bad news, as I have no troops to speak of. If he Attacks, I am doomed. In the replay, the only thing I would do differently is forgo the Granaries as my first Build and concentrate on Missionaries, instead. I've been locked into Building Granaries for far too long. Otherwise, I am pretty happy. Typically, I would rush the play to see if Hussein would Attack, hoping to Build my Defensive Forces prior to his onslaught. But I'm just not that interested in the game right now. And I am happy enough to restart if that's what it comes down to. # # # 2019-12-04 350BC T315 I can't say that I feel like I am playing particularly well. I am busy building Infrastructure. And as such, I will not be ready to fight a War anytime soon. Zara loves me. So, maybe I should switch targets to Hussein. But then, Zara shares my Continent. So, War with him makes a lot more sense. Either way, I really need to Attack prior to Feudalism, which isn't that far away. Yeah, he's Researching Monarchy and my guess is Feudalism is next. On the other hand, I've landed Judaism, Confucianism, and Christianity. So, that's nice. Unfortunately, I have no Great Priest with which to Found a Shrine. Eh, Zara has no Troops. I really should not fear him or worry about my ability to decimate him whenever I choose. # # # # # # END -04 START -05 # # # # # # 2019-12-06 I lost the Far North City Site, which is a nice prize... and that took the wind out of my sails. Also, I Researched Theology to no end, as I do not need Christianity. Furthermore, in my first few Cities, my first build was a Granary, which is a total waste. In the next game: Researching Pottery Cottage Spam Monotheism Judaism Sailing Spread Judaism I am not using my Leader to good effect... and likely will not be anytime soon. I definitely want that Far North City... and maybe the one next to it claiming the Iron. My Initial Builds: Worker Let's get that Mined Sheep into Production ASAP Work Boats To Grow on Workers Settlers Missionaries To Grow on In new Cities: Missionaries To Grow On Workers Settlers Temples To Grow On Along with Praetorians Courthouses The first Building should be a Temple, not a Granary, not anything else... the extra Tile or Specialist is worth more than anything else. After that, I do not have a plan. After that, I need a plan. Courthouses imply Code of Laws. Praetorians imply Iron Working. Bureaucracy or Currency (for my Special Building, the Forum) may be the next most important Technologies. But then, not starting at the moment, I have more time to think on this. # # # 2019-12-07 10AD T351 Oddly, rather than writing anything up, I'd prefer playing another Turn. It has been a peaceful game. And I should build a few more Units. I have 10 Cities, all Garrisoned (three double Garrisoned), but I need more Troops. Presently, only one City is building a Praetorian. But almost every other one is Building a Forge, so I will let that priority ride. Hussein, Wang Kon, and I are all running Judaism, which I founded. And Zara is running Hinduism, which I, also, founded. So far, no one has Targeted me. Hussein and Wang Kon are enemies. And it seems, Zara will be Attacking (likely me) soon enough. So, after Forges, it is back to Praetorians... and when available, Catapults. Zara will be my first Target. But I am not ready for that. Religion did the Culture Trick. I am not going Wonder Crazy. (I have yet to build a Wonder, except for The Oracle, which yielded Fail Gold, as expected.) So, I'm short on Great People. I would like a Great Prophet for the Shrine, which would bump me up 10% on the slider. Eh, I'm just going to play. # # # 2019-12-07 580AD T416 It is time to do something else with the day. I Declared on Zara, Razed two Cities, and accepted Peace for 590 Gold. We are now at War again. I do not think he stands a chance... nor will I accept him as a Vassal. I've Dot Mapped his lands. And will keep 3 of his Cities... and eventually Rebuild one of the Cities I razed. I do not anticipate interference from anyone else. I'm going to guess I've got Twice the Troops as when the War began and Zara has Half. He was silly and slammed a Stack against a well defended City. Oh, well. Live and learn. I have. Finally, Zara should be Researching Feudalism. But he is Researching Metal Casting. Longbows would be very annoying. And his Researching Monarchy is what launched the War. I wanted to make progress prior to Longbows. But without that fear, I would have waited another 25 Turns or so... if I could. # # # 2019-12-07 795AD T459 Zara was an easy kill. His first Offensive was his only Offensive. I've got a feeling the Hungarian Empire will be my main competition. The Slider is at 50%. But that's only because I am in a Golden Age. Arabia is next. I've got a nice Stack. And all of my Cities are working on Infrastructure. Finally, it would be nice to get the Monk Economy Wonders. But it seems sort of unlikely. I'm not Industrious. But at least, I have Stone. # # # 2019-12-07 1265AD T553 This has been a solid day of playing... with not much else doing. Hussein is my Vassal and is doing a decent job of helping me destroy Wang Kon. I will be eliminating Wang Kon in full, splitting his land between Rome {myself} and Arabia. Spain is rocketing upwards on the Power Graph. I guess Charles is building lots of Troops. Good thing he's not that advanced {and an entire continent away}. I have Astronomy on everyone. And in a few Turns, I will have Gunpowder, as well. Oddly, I'm Researching Gunpowder for the Workshop Bonus (+1H) for Chemistry, the next Technology in line. It's actually quite late in the game for no one else to have Astronomy. Hey, I've got Espionage on everyone. I can see what everyone is Researching. Hungary could be winning this game if they switched to Military Technologies. Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say I had everyone on Astronomy? I have everyone on Optics. Hopefully, something happens to allow someone to advance... otherwise, it is going to get boring soon... or not. I like winning. # # # 2019-12-08 1370AD T580 I essentially got up early to play. That's not totally true. But it is essentially true. I did not think I would get back to sleep. And I was thinking about the game. So, I simply decided to play the game. Though, there really isn't that much to think about, at the moment. I am leaving the rest of Korea (one City, at this point) for Hussein to mop up. He is taking his time. I do not know what's up with that. Maybe as a Vassal, he's reluctant to make the killing blow. In other regards, he was a good War Ally. I've kept 5 Korean Cities. Arabia gets 4. I am Declaring War on Mongolia... just have. Hungary is the True Target. But I don't want to eat all of Hungary... nor do I want Hungary as a Vassal. So, I want Mongolia to mop it up. Thus, I need Mongolia to Capitulate, first. Mongolia is very backward. Hungary is an up and coming Tech Power. Like I said previously, it will be Istvan's downfall that he's not Teching the Military stuff. I get Steel in 10 Turns. And after upgrading a few Catapults and Trebuchets into Cannons, I will go on the Offensive. In the meantime, I've got a Stack of 14 Units for Genghis to slam his Stack into. I'm camping out in a Forest at the tip of his lands. So, I should be alright. But one never knows how big his Stack is. It would hurt to lose those units. I lost a lot of Catapults in my War with Korea... other Units, too. It was... well, it was decisive {my win}... but those Longbows are tough. # # # 2019-12-08 1384AD T587 My adversaries are silently Declaring War against me by Declaring War against Arabia... or at least, that's what I think is happening. I'm certainly not getting a Pop Up Screen. I am sure this latest War is in response to my Attacking Mongolia. Oh, well. Four Enemy Civilizations... none with Astronomy. # # # T599: Let's hear it for Arabia. In my fight against Mongolia, they sent a Fleet containing Eight Units. Hussein may well take over a City. I'm going to have to keep that in mind during my Hungarian Offensive. # # # 2019-12-08 1444AD T617 Istvan of Hungary is essentially defeated. He would Capitulate. But I do not see the advantage. On the other hand, I do not want any more of his Cites. So, I will let my Vassals devour the rest of his lands by simply not Declaring a Truce. Istvan has a fair bit of Land, however. And if The Khan eats all of it, he may be able to break free. On the other hand, my next decision is who to Attack next. {Decisions. Decisions.} But {having just decided} it's going to be Smoke Jaguar of the Maya. So, even that decision is made. Oh, if I spam Christianity to my Cities, I probably could win a Religious Victory. Maybe, I should go for that. # # # 2019-12-08 1454AD T627 The game is basically over. I still want to play... just not today. But who knows what tomorrow will bring. Like I said, it is over. So, is the mopping up fun? Will I learn anything? Or get to a new part of the game? My Score of 3,850 is more than double Charles of Spain's at 1462. Istvan is the only one close to having Tech Parity, but he's going down. He simply does not have an Army and is at War with The Mongols. It's just a matter of time... especially since I am slowly but surely feeding The Mongols Technologies. Charles Power is looking pretty good. So, I guess I have to fight the start of that War, at least, as a proof of concept. I think my Troops are better and he's not launching an Invasion anytime soon... not having Astronomy, yet. But he does have a nice Power Graph. On the other hand, my Arabian Friends (Vassals) are only slighly less powerful that the Mayans. Eh, it is over. Though, I would have said the same thing last game prior to Churchill running completely over me. So, I'm not willing to call it just yet. Still, I'm done playing on the day... and maybe, for several days. # # # 2019-12-18 I played a Turn or two yesterday. And I may get around to playing a Turn or two today. The Game is over, however. I will delay my invasion until after I discover Rifling... a short 10 Turns away. At which point, I will have both Rifles and Muskets on everyone. So when my forces land (after being upgraded to Riflemen), neither the Mayans or Spaniards will have a chance. And it won't much matter how many Knights they throw at me. Well, if they send 100 Units against my landing party, I am in trouble. But I don't think they have that many units. # # # 2019-12-18 1492AD T641 Isn't this the year Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue? I decided to play a few Turns, after all. I have Riflemen and am on my way to the Mayan Lands. I will Declare next Turn... but not today. I expect the War to be easy. I would have said quick. But the Mayans will likely be stubborn. Also, I would not be surprised if Charles joined the fight. And for that reason (along with the fact that he is next in line), I'm sending a bunch of Frigates his way. I used two of my Great Engineers to Bulb Steam Power. Since everyone talks about doing this (and it seems like one gets a good rate of return), I'm going to have to start doing this more and more... Bulbing, that is. Finally, I should mention that the Offensive Strength of my Units hardly matters. I'll be Attacking with a near endless supply of Cannons. So by the time my Field Units Attack, the Defenders will be whittled down to nothing. Thus, what I really need out of my Units (at this point in the game) is Defensive Strength. I will need to promote my Units accordingly in the future. City Raider is not important in the end game... not if one has Tech Superiority. So much for my final (as in finally) comment above. In review of this game, I do not feel like I played overly well. My Land was great. I started next to a fairly Peaceful Civilization. And as such, I was able to play the game more or less on my own terms. Still, I liked using Religion as my source of Culture. Lessons: Religion as Culture Bulb for Techs... more often, at least Defensive Promotions It's hard to get a game to go into the later stages without my being completely out of it. {As in, if I no longer have much chance of winning. Either they run away with it... or I do.} # # # 2019-12-20 1512AD T651 Snow Leopard Capitulated... and I finally allowed Hungary to enter my protectorate. It would have been cleaner to simply wipe Hungary out. But Mongolia is the most populous Christian Nation. And they were pushing for the Religious Win. So, I didn't need to gift them any more Cities. I will keep 3 Christian Missionaries in Production at all times... from now until the End of the Game... or Mass Media, but the game is going to be over prior to that. In fact, please hold on for a second and allow me to Declare War on Charles. There! We are now at War. It is everyone versus Charles, who does not stand a chance. He has Knights as his best unit. Whereas, I have Riflemen (a wonderful counter to Knights) and Cannons. It's just a matter of time. But I want to see what kind of score I can get. # # # 2019-12-20 1530AD T660 Victory on the Roll! Score: 3,876 Normalized: 196,899 # # # 2019-12-20 1532AD T661 Score: 4,371 Normalized: 196,058 I won (as much as any other reason), because I had such lush land. The others couldn't keep up. Also, they did not Tech the appropriate Military Technologies. I like: Religion for Culture Allies that Fight Mistakes: Great Engineer didn't do much Corporations not even close The Apostolic Palace was almost my undoing. Though, I was starting on my Missionary Crusade. And I would have won a Religious Victory prior to anyone Discovering Mass Media. # # # Next game, I'm thinking about going for a One City Challenge. I'll give myself an insanely rich start (totally custom, totally cheating). But I may play on the highest level. Don't know. We'll see. # # # 2019-12-20 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler # # # Items For Webpage Write-Up 1) I do not find an Early War to be worth it. It's not how I play, keeping in mind that in next game, I will be playing Almost Always War with Monty. 2) Eat Early! Vassal Late! 3) Religion is a good source of Culture. A Missionary is very cost effective compared to a Library. I don't like Monuments. And Religion is a way to transfer Hammers from a well developed City (via the Missionary) to a brand spanking new City. 4) By switching to the Apostolic Palace Religion (and then, spamming the appropriate Missionaries), I likely could have won a Religious Victory much sooner than my Military one. 5) For my playing style, Researching Alphabet is a waste. Once I get it, everyone wants me to Pay Tribute. And no one is willing to trade at a fair price. 6) I am not in the habit of Begging for Gold and Technologies from my friends. I need to get in the habit of doing this. 7) Workshops are not an important improvement until after Guilds, at the earliest. +1 Hammer Guilds. +1 Hammer Chemistry. +1 Hammer Caste. While to start they are -1 Food, +1 Hammer, so no Bonus, just a conversion. 8) Whipping is a pain. Grow to Happy Cap and Run Scientists. 9) In a Warring situation, my Opponents only have one Offensive Counter Attack in them. Once they lose that first Stack, they will never rebuild it... unless I gift them with a Protracted Peace. 10) After Siege, the Offensive Strength of my Combat Units almost doesn't matter. Instead, all Promotions for Non-Siege Units should go into Defensive traits... whatever that means. In fact, I could see arguing that March is a rather important Promotion: Combat I -> Combat II -> Combat III -> March... for Healing on the run. Also, Street Fighter I -> Street Fighter II looks interesting. # # # # # # 2019-12-25 Yes. Proofreading this page is (in part) how I spent my Christmas. (c) Copyright Brett Paufler