[SPOILERS] Emporium For Sale. We Don't Rent Pigs.

[Commodore]

IMPI IMPI IMPI!

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

IMPI IMPI IMPI!

Shaka says you've been warned.

(Bronze mine finished this turn).

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Fair warning: if we slow down the turns I might start sandboxing.

Ok, first off, you're novice. Sandboxing is what you do, man. I really don't think you're not sandboxing now. But, if not:



Second in GNP, one behind me. Killing me in Mfg. And crop yield? I'm 22 behind 37 turns into the game.

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This gets me back to the question of how to settle on Dazed. In all likelihood, he and I will be in conflict at some point. But, my hope is that if I can give him a reasonable border, meaning I don't settle too aggressively on him despite his less than perfect city placement, that he will focus energies elsewhere and leave me to do....something? to novice.

As hard as others are expanding, I should have gone with the full tilt expansion plan and come back to Oracle if it was still there. Or, Dazed's copper is only a 4t hike for an Impi from Austin. That would be annoying to Dazed, but would also set him back. He only has a warrior in the city now and has not settled horses yet. This bears thinking on. But, meanwhile, novice will keep eating terrain on either side of me. Poor tradeoff for the rest of us, certainly.

[spacetyrantxenu]

If you remember how Dazed played PBEM29, he planted a city in my face early on there, too. He also later planted one right in the middle of the map on the other world wrap, because it was the best site available. It didn't seem like he took any other considerations regarding placing his cities, and that was in a game with diplomacy where he knew that pinkish-dot city placement would piss off other players. There's no diplo to worry about here, but you can be sure Dazed will plant any site that you let him and isn't thinking about whether it's going to prompt a reaction from anyone. That doesn't seem to be how he plays. You have to play the same way against him. If you don't like where his city is, burn it down.

References:

PBEM29 T48

T51:

Later in the game, this was the city in the middle of the jungle world wrap, where Dazed grabbed all the resources he could with his city placement:

Land Grab. He's driven by the best location he can get, not worried about what the other players think. And I'm not saying he's wrong in thinking that way, it's up to you to show him you don't like the city placement. To complete the PBEM 29 references, sometimes you just have to



Don't worry so much about what Novice is up to. I thought that way in PBEM 29 about how Sian was running away with the game, and it didn't work out. I should have attacked Dazed while he was flinging cities all over the map and tried to catch up to the leader later on rather than worrying about what Sian (across the map) was doing. Unless all the other players are going to take collective action to dogpile the leader it won't matter what you do because you can't solve the problem profitably on your own if Novice builds up a big lead. Prisoner's dilemma or tragedy of the commons, you decide which, but you need to run your empire the best way for you and hope it's enough to keep pace.

But yeah if you don't like Dazed's city, kill it. Or settle the one 1N of the silks right in his face.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, I already moved my settler in the mirror location to his city, 2N of the eastern silk.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

(Almost) all the news of the turn in one shot:



City #3 is here (hello San Antonio, start granary working bronze), behind the competition, and Buddhism founded in Austin. Dazed's new city was actually his fourth. I think he may be back to three soon. He doesn't have his copper hooked yet, but will soon. I'll wander around with a couple impis just to see what I can do to interfere. If I'm lucky, he'll only get out a single axe and I'll be able to prevent him from making any more. But, that axe won't come out of his new city, Saddleback, and won't get there in time to save the city, which I can attack T43 with one impi or T44 with two. Dazed has connected a road to Saddleback for the trade route and has already roaded the bronze, but it's not hooked up yet. I'm guessing he'll get that done next turn. Being behind in the turn order isn't going to help him here because this feels like a close run thing. IF he has a unit (warrior) started and ready to whip this turn when he hooks up the bronze (would be a spear, not an axe/vulture), he can get it to Saddleback T43. His roads cross the river twice east of his capital. But, borders just popped this turn, so next turn is a more likely due date on Dazed's bronze, so T44 with two impis may be better. Anyway, if I can raze Saddleback, Dazed has no bronze in his borders and becomes pretty helpless. I'll then set up shop on his horses and see what I can do from there.

Early impi rush (BW first) would have been much more profitable than Oracle play, methinks.



But, meanwhile across Gotham, novice continues to work his magic.

Also, worker #4 finished in Lonesome Dove. Growth there to size 5 and we'll think things over after that. Should have priesthood in by then, so I could get the Oracle done, or crank out a couple more impis if that looks profitable. Commodore (and whoever else is lurking), you're welcome. hammer

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

First blood in this game (however minor) goes to my impi over dazed's warrior. Celebrate now, because I fear I'll have little reason to celebrate when the game is over.



Zak is now half-creative, he built Stonehenge as he was destined to do. I chopped an axe in San Antonio, finished another axe in Lonesome Dove, and finished a second impi in Austin. Builds are now more domestic: LD 3t worker, Austin 5t settler, SA back to the granary, though I may just chop out a quick work boat. I made a tactical mistake. Dazed whipped Saddleback for a vulture (hoping he doesn't overflow for a quick second). He has two workers on the sheep that will probably road and end up killing my warrior. Oops. I could then attack his vulture with an axe/impi but he'd have the forest and I'd be attacking across a river, so that's a non-starter. We'll see what he does soon enough. For my fourth city I'd like to get the double seafood starting position and get silver online. I may opt for horses if Dazed puts the pressure back on me. That's all for now, time for beer and basketball.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

This is the date I completed the Oracle in the sandbox. Yeah, behind schedule, but whatever, I'm not ready to build forges yet anyway. I don't have enough cities, and they're more important.



Dazed elected not to smack my warrior in the forest. Good call or bad call, who can say? I would have had a chance to kill his vulture, but at a 75% bonus to the defender. He instead covered the worker on the hill with the vulture. +75% is good, but unless he has a unit that can get to Saddleback, I'll get it next turn. Most likely, he'll retreat his vulture into the city and I can choke him on the forest hill. I moved the warrior into the plains to see if he'd waste the vulture turn there, but I doubt he'll go for it. I'd love to get my impi on that forest where his other worker is, and then move/pillage the bronze the following turn. But, as I've switched back to domestic duties in my build queues (workers/settlers), I'm not in position to follow this harassment up with a killing blow. Basically I'm stirring the pot right now and if something convenient happens I'll try to take advantage. But, WAAAARRRR MODE only puts novice further in front, so I can't let blood lust take hold.

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Non-civ thoughts: Seriously Kansas? Way to choke and fubar the rest of my bracket. Jerks.

[spacetyrantxenu]

@Kansas: way to collapse and not defend the one guy who can kill you! Wish I had seen that whole game, the ending was amazing.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

@Kansas: way to collapse and not defend the one guy who can kill you! Wish I had seen that whole game, the ending was amazing.

And so falls another of my Final Four picks. Anyway, on to business:


Zakalwe built the Great Lighthouse. Good move. His score is low because he's invested in wonders (also built Henge in his capital) but his GNP is going to be very good going forward with the island routes. REX catchup game for him next. Who's the industrious civ again? Zak 2, me 0.


Hopefully I can pillage Dazed's iron next turn. More likely, he's going to whip a second vulture and put an end to this madness. Prediction: whip vulture, take 50/50 shot on my axe. Because I have two units there, the winning vulture would stay in the city preventing me an easy clean up win. Or, the second vulture will cover the copper and prevent me pillaging. Or, he could have something else in striking/covering distance in the fog, and I'm just pissing in the wind here. Looks like I would think all these things out in advance and save my hammers for workers/settlers/wonders.