[Spoilers] GES, Roland & Friends (Mansa of Egypt)

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 71:

Currency came in EOT and immediately added +20 base cpt. Now I can finish my last 3 major city placements, and then consolidate. I spent forever long on chat with 7 yesterday, and I have zero fear about them poaching one of my tundra sites. Since they cannot work FIN coast, they seem perfectly willing to concede the tundra to me and let me play blocker for them out there.

Next tech I think will be Calendar. If I can poach MoM, all the better. After Calendar, I think Metal Casting, and then I will decide if I am going for Liberalism, or towards the religious wonders. I think probably Liberalism.

Another barb warrior came onto my land, and my chariot was only healed by to 84% odds, so I attacked with a warrior at 65% and lost. Then the chariot attacked at 99.2% and dropped from 3.0 to .6 health. I have had zero luck killing barbs this game.


Time for the requested city by city breakdown, taken in order of founding:

Stone, my capital:

I just grew to size 11 at my happy/health cap. I can hook up fish and cows to raise the health cap, and with silk/dyes and markets, I can get the happy cap up around 16 easily, without even building HR troops. I am working the two sheep, a grass mine, a FP village, a grass/river village, 3 grass/river hamlets, 2 grass/river cottages, and next turn the unimproved tile will be a plains/river cottage. It generates about 60 bpt at max science and ten MFG. It has a granary, library, and temple. It will get a market VERY soon. This is 100% my Oxford city.


Alpine, the Confu holy city:

The major flaw in this city is that I planted it on iron before I knew iron was there. But it means the city tile gets 3hpt, which is solid. This city has grass pigs and wet corn if needed, plus a flat AMAZING FIN/river horse pasture. It has a FP village, another grass/river village, a grass mine, two grass/river hamlets, and a grass/river cottage. I will grow onto one more grass/river cottage, and 3 more grass cottages. This city will get a market as soon as the settler finishes. In fact, I may chop into it and then switch back to the settler. My eventual Wall Street city for sure, and another future commerce monster, with solid production.


Ballast Point:

Easily my best production city. Currently works a copper mine, gems mine, grass mine, and grass cows, plus a netted fish, and a bunch of FIN coast. It has nine coastal tiles, plus the fish, so this would make a really nice Maoi/Heroic Epic city. But I could also go for Heroic/Ironworks, and leave Maoi for a couple of cities with more coastal tiles, and balance my production some on the east/west of my empire. I am currently working on building a grass mine, and then I will build the plains mine to be worked once all the coast is worked and growth is halted. The one grass tile will be cottaged I suppose in the next 10 turns. My Confu missionary at the capital is headed here, so a Confu temple will be built next.


Green Flash:

Right now I am getting my GP from this city. It produced my GProphet and is working on my GScientist for Stone's Academy. When I go Caste, I will hire several more scientists. My next Confu missionary will go here, but I keep hoping for a free spread since it is so close to the shrine. It works wet corn and a gems mine, but can also pick up a grass sheep if needed.


Lost Abbey:

This is the city I founded too early to get RL7 marble. It was SUPER slow to get off the ground, but is pretty beastly now. The plain river marble is very good with FIN, and the grass/river dyes will be great with a plantation. Doesn't really have any necessary tiles right now, so it is building a settler for the FP/clam/fish site on the jungle arm. Eventually it will need a LH, Confu temple, and market because it will be a great commerce city, probably a forge too.


Pizza Port:

A city I founded only to allow the improvement of corn for Lost Abbey without an obelisk. I had Lost Abbey produce a work boat for its clams in exchange, and it has whipped a LH and whipped a granary and is ready to grow onto tasty coastal tiles. It didn't have any choppable forests in its initial borders, so it was a slow grow. It also just overflowed a work boat for the jungle city New England to net its crabs. It will produce another for the fish for the other jungle arm city. Next is a library, though, but I want Confu there for the OR bonus. It will get a CH and market for sure.


Port:

The next two cities I mainly founded because I was completely happy capped and wanted to use that opportunity to share a food resource and grow my filler city. This city has been on the exact same track as Pizza Port, which explains the similar name. It has produced a work boat for the jungle arm city's clams, another for its own crabs, plus a LH, and next will grow to size 4 and whip a granary before growing to its happy cap. This is my other serious contender for a Maoi city. It has grass sheep and gems mine for production and 12 coastal tiles. That way all my production wouldn't have to be focused on the far opposite corner of my empire in Ballast Point.


Alesmith:

I also founded this city to use the capital's corn while it was happy capped. It has sat at size 4 while the capital used its corn to grow, and this city worked 2 grass/river cottages and 2 grass mines. It has a granary and just completed its LH this turn. Once its borders spread, it will work lots of coast, including an eventual whale tile. I am going to chop into a library here and eventually, a Confu temple.


Mission:

This city was founded to establish my border with RL7. Eventually I will get the second ring back, and work lots of coast and grass and river cottages. This city was only founded about 10 turns ago, but I chopped a granary before its food box was half full the first time, and now I will whip a LH next turn. At that point, it will just grow, and I will chop a library once Confu spreads for the OR bonus.


New England:

This city was the one I extorted from Comm. I forced him to SIP or I would've killed his settler. His city would've had two additional seafood, so I screwed him pretty hard. I already whipped on obelisk and I will spread Confu here with a missionary in 1-2 turns. I will get my inner ring back at that time and I already have a work boat en route for the crabs. This city is a fishing village, but a pretty damn good once since I am FIN. It should have a food surplus of +8. It whip a LH next, and then whip a granary, and then grow before whipping a library.


Empire:

My next cities will be founded in the following locations:

A) 1W of the FPs on the jungle arm. It will have a fish, a swappable crab, and two FPs. I will probably farm everything once CS is in, and turn this into a GP farm. I think I can get the food surplus to 15 if I farm the FP, 13 if I don't. I probably will cottage at least one FP on pure principle, with the round number of +14 food surplus pre-Biology. So that will likely be my National Epic city.

B) Probably the tundra tile 1N, 1NW of the silks. It would work a fish, plains silk, and a lot of coast.

C) Probably on the tundra hill 3NW of city B. This site will work clams, 2 tundra deer, 2 fur, plus coast. This will probably be about my last tundra city. RL7 is planning to plant the desert tile 6N of the silks.

I will eventually found one more city on the north coast of my island to share the capital's food, and maybe on other between Ballast Point and Alesmith, but the latter of those is very marginal.


My island:

Charts:

The top most you can see my GNP spike at max science, and the bottom you can see I am last in culture. So I think I am certain to have the highest bpt at max science right now, ~215bpt.


Demos:

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Diplo:

Comm wants a piece of MNG, so I have agreed to sell him four war chariots for 80g. This is a 1:1 hammer to gold exchange, so what is the benefit to me? Well, the biggest benefit is that it helps turn the west into a slugfest. Comm is in last place and he needs support for any chance against MNG. If he can slow both of them to a grinding halt, awesome.

I immediately regretted being nice and gifting Comm gems to make up for extorting land. But then I convinced him to use the silver he was promising me for war chariots to drag yuris into the conflict. So Comm gifted me my gems back, which I was able to immediately exchange for ivory. Now if yuris and Comm get stuck attacking a more advanced MNG, this is bound to slow them all down while in the east . . .

. . . RL7 and I pull the "nothing to see here, everyone look away routine." I had already been hearing grumbling from Comm, yuris, and MNG about the solid play by RL7 and myself, so this way if we tie all three of them up, we can move in a commanding position. Why do I care? Because unless I am going to get Diplomacy level backstabbed, I think RL7 and I are in this together to the end. Right now my plan is to get Liberalism, and RL7 isn't going to oppose me. Thus I think I am just about a shoe-in unless I seriously screw up. RL7 going for Guilds/Astronomy with bulbs. I will probably go Rifling/Nationalism. Then we will go crack heads, and presumably race for space or culture or something.

RL7 is gifting me rice, and I am gifting them marble. I will also gift them furs and deer, because they are basically conceding the tundra to me since coast is so much more valuable for me than them. They will gift me stone to get Maoi and Oxford up faster at some point. They also aren't going for Taj, so I will probably build that as my first wonder.

I will give them a Confu missionary on T76 and they will revolt to Confu during their early GA they are popping. They will have 6-7 GP by the time I get my second. But right now I think I am teching significantly faster in bpt, and given FIN and the fact that I have well over double the number of river tiles as them, they cannot keep up tech wise without a significant land advantage long term. 7 acknowledges this, but guarantees that it won't cause them to backstab me, so we shall see.

Also, RL7 organized a mass border closing with MNG. Everyone but me has already closed borders and I will too soon. The funny thing is, with no foreign TRs, post-Currency, we will all make the exact same in TRs as MNG. And post-harbors, we'll all make more.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 75:

Stone is growing and producing missionaries.

Market chopped out in Alpine, and Settler due in 3 more turns.

Plantation finished on dyes at Lost Abbey (2 turns after calendar came in) for a 2/0/7 tile, and a settler finished EOT. Workers will move to cottage the FP I thought was a desert .

Whipped a LH in Mission which will get Confu in a couple turns. Maybe a bad decision. Oh well.

Whipped a granary in Port. That city will now grow.

Pizza Port is now finished whipping except the 1-pop work boat it will whip for the jungle arm fish.

Worker will get started on a silk plantation for the jungle city and be ready to immediately chop into a granary. I will be sure to have a work boat to have the fish immediately netted.

Alesmith is up to size 6 and should continue to grow onto coast tiles now that it has a LH/granary once its borders pop for the Confu I spread there this turn.

Workers are farming a plains tile to irrigate the corn that will happen in 2 turns when CIVIL SERVICE is due. I will immediately revolt into Bureaucracy.

Confu missionary due in RL7 land next turn. RL7 popped the GA and has through the roof stats right now.

I am now positive at 50%, so the two new settlers shouldn't hurt me. Which suggests I should immediately pump out two more settlers, one for tundra furs, and the other to share the Stone's food.

War chariots are close to being gifted to Comm. I will use that 80 gold to either grab Phil or Metal Casting.

Demos:

Finally lost the food lead after whipping off 4-pop this turn. RL7's demos are skewed with the GA.

I am #2 in GNP even at 0% science, despite being last place in culture still.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 78:

Civil Service in, and immediately revolted to Bureaucracy. I also grabbed Meditation. I am headed towards Philosophy next. Then I will decide whether to divert to Metal Casting briefly, or head straight for Paper, Education, Liberalism. I think I can get Liberalism, without bulbs, at breakeven science, in ~20 turns. That should be good enough.

I may well OR whip everywhere, and then go to Caste/Pacifism.

Chatted with 7. They will get me stone to get Maoi and Oxford up at double speed.

I am closing borders with MNG this turn. He seemed to know it is coming.

I have gifted four war chariots to Comm for 80 gold.

Market finished in Alpine for the shrine/commerce city. Another market due soon in Ballast Point and another cued at Stone.

Courthouses building in Green Flash and Pizza Port. All the really distant cities will get CHs.

I founded a new city: Karl Strauss. I have a flood plain farmed, and I will farm one of the plains to irrigate the corn tile, and then farm everything on the jungle arm in the range of KS, which will be my GP farm.

Stone is up to size 13. I am going to mine a couple of plains hills so that I can work them to staunch growth at the happy cap. But with a market, furs, silks, whales and probably a forge coming in the near future, the happy cap should eventually be around 20.

Lost Abbey is becoming a really good commerce city. I found a flood plains tile I thought was a desert and cottaged it, so that is helping.

I am spreading Confu all around. I have three missionaries in the field right now. One headed for KS to pop borders for fish and allow for OR whips. I have one headed for Green Flash for OR, and one headed for Mission for border pop and OR bonus. At that point, only Pizza Port and Port will lack Confu.

Demos:

The top screenshot is my GNP at max science. It is #1 even during RL7's GAge. That bodes well.

I have opened my food lead back up. I have three more cities to settle, so that should keep going steadily up.

[Krill]

Somebody stole the PBEM17 Egypt playbook, looking at those Demos.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Somebody stole the PBEM17 Egypt playbook, looking at those Demos.

I learned a ton from lurking you guys closely in 17. But I am not as far behind in MFG as we are in 17, because those numbers were skewed by RL7's GAge and MFG boni. These are the new demos from this turn:

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 81:

Philosophy in, and Taoism founded in Port:

I closed borders with MNG, and he got pissed and canceled our gems for ivory deal even though he has no other way to trade ivory. I had been sitting on a plantation on silk, waiting to finish it so that I could put the chop into my next city. But I had to go ahead and finish it unfortunately to prevent any unhappiness.

I was able to whip a LH last turn in New England, and with OR overflow, I was able to immediately whip a granary this turn, just as the foodbox would be getting to half full. So New England should be ready to grow to size 6, where I will 3-pop whip a CH and then grow the city to max size.

I farmed a second floodplain for my GP farm at Karl Strauss. I finished my last few river cottages and I am beginning to build mines everywhere to park my larger cities when they hit the happy cap.

RL7 will get me stone in the next few turns, which I will use to quickly get Maoi and Oxford. Assuming I get Liberalism, I will probably take Nationalism and start on Taj (should be getting my marble back). After that, Metal Casting, then Printing Press, and then probably towards Rifling.

I can always grab Feudalism quickly for longbows if needed for defense.

I had a long convo with Comm who assured me he was going to attack MNG and not me. We have an NAP, but he was strangely militarizing our jungle border and then MNG showed up with a chariot. He claims he was letting MNG see our border as militarized before taking everything over and DoW. I believe him. Still doesn't mean I won't be vigilant.

Whipped a library at Mission, and will grab a temple next, to start working on getting my second ring back against RL7.

Market finished at Ballast Point, onto a temple.

At some point Optics will be good because my whale tile will get me +2 happy in all market cities, plus it will be a tasty 3/1/5 tile.

I like this photo of my vicinity:

Demos:

In second place running 0%. I should check where I am at with break even next turn. One turn of 0% will allow me to run max science and grab Paper in 1 turn if I want it.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 83:

Still just spreading Confu and growing. Trying to decide whether to whip universities or not.

RL7 is gifting me stone in 5 turns, so I will knock out Maoi, Oxford, and maybe Sankore and Minaret too.

Ready to settle the tundra and net the fish next turn. I will begin chopping the forest for a quick OR-granary because I already have a missionary on the way. Then I will start on a settler for the furs.

Market finished in Stone. Here is what it looks like post-Bureaucracy at 0% science:

I plan to have two monasteries, a university, Oxford, and an academy there in the next dozen turns. Should be in the 400-500 bpt range at max science by then. Once I get Oxford up, I will definitely cottage or windmill that river grasshill mine. I might also windmill over the two river PH mines. Eventually Univ Suff will give this city all the production it needs.

Overview:

Demos:

Very proud of those screens. #1 in GNP despite running 0% science and having miniscule culture production.

Honestly, I am a little worried though. When I turn research up to 100%, my GNP is likely to look a little scary. Maybe diverting to Metal Casting so I am 1-turn from Machinery for maces would be good.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Turn 85:

Took a one turn diversion to Metal Casting. Cued a 3 turn forge at Stone now that the Confu monastery is finished. Should be able to get that, plus a Taoist monastery before working on a univ and Oxford.

Went ahead and 3-pop whipped a CH in Port now that I got the OR bonus. Saved 7 gpt in maintenance and immediately regrew to size 6.

I have two more CHs finishing next turn, and then I will 3-pop whip two more at New England and Pizza Port the following turn. All that should shave 22gpt off my maintenance immediately. At that point, I will be teching positive at nearly 70%, which means I really should get my last two major cities built.

I am teching Education right now at breakeven, which is 60%. It is due in 4 turns. I have enough gold saved up to get it in 3 for sure. But really, I am doing my damnedest not to draw attention to my GNP. I figure once I have Nationalism and Gunpowder, then I can hopefully jump into a Taj fueled GA and a 1-GP GAge back-to-back once I have my academy up in Stone and really try to grab a lead.

I made a map trade with yuris, and you can see why this is going to get really interesting post-Astronomy:

I can probably hit Comm from the jungle arm, and across the ocean:

But my best option might be yuris:

Overview:

Demos:

Whipped off 4-pop this turn and still have the food lead, so that is good.

MFG is rising, and I took a 1 turn diversion to Metal Casting. Cued forges in my four highest production cities. I can probably get them just exactly in time to add hammers to the universities.

[mackoti]

Its a small map you need 5 unis? Do you have a plan to land OU in no time. I want to say great game and i hope i see a war soon because just teching its boring.