Sponsor: Sullla
Opening Date: Monday, October 8, 2007
Duration: Six Weeks
Map Script: Donut
Center Region: Peaks
Jungle: No Jungle
Resources: Balanced
Game Speed: Epic

Difficulty: Prince
Civilization: Celtia
Leader: Boudica
World Size: Small
Opponents: Five
Victory: Any

Options: No Barbs, No Events, Aggressive AIs, ALWAYS WAR
Version: Beyond the Sword v3.13

Scenario: What better way to become acquainted with combat in the expansion than to try some Always War action? Until you control all of the earth or are wiped from the earth, there will always be war without end.

Rules: You may not invade the territory of another civilization until 1000BC. Scouts can poke around in enemy lands before then, but no combat units. Many of the Always War strategies in Civ4 (and Civ3, for that matter) revolve around hamstringing the AI before it can get off the ground. By rule, we're requiring you to lay off for the first couple dozen turns. You'll still have hundreds of turns to do whatever you please after that.

Scoring: None. Victors will be listed alphabetically, while defeats will be listed in reverse order (those who survived the longest listed first).

Honorable Mentions will be awarded for the following achievements:
" First (among participating players, by game year) to construct a Dun (Celtic unique building).
" First to generate a Great General.
" Highest XP total reached on a Gallic Warrior.
" First to have a naval unit reach elite status (Combat V promotion).
" Most cities controlled in 1500AD.
" First to build a Tactical Nuke. (Whether to use it or not is up to you!)

Comments: Always War is a difficult beast. Players are strongly suggested to be extra careful in the early going - nothing's worse than having the enemy walk into an undefended capital! The Celts begin the game with Hunting tech, allowing immediate research into Archery if desired. Please note also that players will be starting with a warrior rather than the usual scout to provide a small safety blanket in the early going.

Be aware that you will not accumulate war weariness while fighting within your own territory. How this will dictate strategy is up to the players to figure out.

I honestly don't know how difficult this game will prove to be. It may be no harder than Epic Six, or it could turn out to be all but impossible. Much depends on the performance of Blake's improved AI. Can you beat the map, outnumbered 5:1 on Prince difficulty?

Closing Day: Monday, November 19, 2007.

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