Potluck Fun with Willem van Oranje
This was my first try at an RB potluck, and I got off to a good start, reaching the AD years in a couple quick sessions the first week. Unfortunately, other commitments ate a tremendous amount of time over the next month and I have to report this game as unfinished. I intend to finish it, but for official scoring count me as retired, 1770 AD.
I started extremely strong, and was solidly in the lead -- tech, land, population, and score -- at the AD crossover. I played a peaceful game, though, and despite the incredible starting land -- that many floodplains for a financial civ?!? -- I was surrounded by AI civs and had limited land. I had 7 strong cities, claiming all of the flood plains system east of the starting location, and also the iron site to the northeast and the horses site to the northwest.
But the AIs were expanding and developing their territories, and started narrowing the gap by 1000 AD. And out west, Sitting Bull was going crazy with all the available territory. By 1600 AD I was trading the score lead back and forth with the Native Americans, and had been passed in population and land. I still held tech superiority, but not by much.
My big advantage as of 1770 AD is production: the AI civs are just starting to research Assembly Line, while I have fully industrialized all my cities with factories, coal plants, and the powerful Dutch UB the dike. All those cities getting 2f1h3c from every coastal tile (2f2h3c for my Moai Statues city) suddenly have more than enough hammers to complete all the infrastructure one could wish for, and the river hammers plus town hammers from US make those flood plains commerce cities powerful as well.
So I am getting crazy hammers from multiple cities, and have decent tech, but do not see a clear route to victory. I don't have the religious spread or infrastructure for a cultural victory. One possibility would be to translate those hammers into military and smash a rival or two, consolidating the territory and playing for the space race. I don't know if I could manage a pure military victory, particularly against Sitting Bull -- he's grown into an absolute monster out west and has a TON of military, although he's a couple key techs behind. Grabbing some nearby territory while beating up a couple weaker AIs seems a better bet. So a major military buildup (aided by the Pentagon) is under way. Justinian and Pacal are going to face the wrath of the Dutch military very soon....
Thanks to Sulla for sponsoring this game -- it's been tremendous fun. I just haven't had enough time.
Can't wait to read the Native American reports, to see what human players did with all that land.
This was my first try at an RB potluck, and I got off to a good start, reaching the AD years in a couple quick sessions the first week. Unfortunately, other commitments ate a tremendous amount of time over the next month and I have to report this game as unfinished. I intend to finish it, but for official scoring count me as retired, 1770 AD.
I started extremely strong, and was solidly in the lead -- tech, land, population, and score -- at the AD crossover. I played a peaceful game, though, and despite the incredible starting land -- that many floodplains for a financial civ?!? -- I was surrounded by AI civs and had limited land. I had 7 strong cities, claiming all of the flood plains system east of the starting location, and also the iron site to the northeast and the horses site to the northwest.
But the AIs were expanding and developing their territories, and started narrowing the gap by 1000 AD. And out west, Sitting Bull was going crazy with all the available territory. By 1600 AD I was trading the score lead back and forth with the Native Americans, and had been passed in population and land. I still held tech superiority, but not by much.
My big advantage as of 1770 AD is production: the AI civs are just starting to research Assembly Line, while I have fully industrialized all my cities with factories, coal plants, and the powerful Dutch UB the dike. All those cities getting 2f1h3c from every coastal tile (2f2h3c for my Moai Statues city) suddenly have more than enough hammers to complete all the infrastructure one could wish for, and the river hammers plus town hammers from US make those flood plains commerce cities powerful as well.
So I am getting crazy hammers from multiple cities, and have decent tech, but do not see a clear route to victory. I don't have the religious spread or infrastructure for a cultural victory. One possibility would be to translate those hammers into military and smash a rival or two, consolidating the territory and playing for the space race. I don't know if I could manage a pure military victory, particularly against Sitting Bull -- he's grown into an absolute monster out west and has a TON of military, although he's a couple key techs behind. Grabbing some nearby territory while beating up a couple weaker AIs seems a better bet. So a major military buildup (aided by the Pentagon) is under way. Justinian and Pacal are going to face the wrath of the Dutch military very soon....
Thanks to Sulla for sponsoring this game -- it's been tremendous fun. I just haven't had enough time.
Can't wait to read the Native American reports, to see what human players did with all that land.