[Spoilers] Gavagai, Bacchus and Elizabeth Form a Romantic Trio

[Gavagai]

If you are playing this game or dedlurking someone else...
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[size=24-big]GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!![/size]

[Gavagai]

OK, first of all - rules. We have banned so many things that I will really need to consult them often...

Full Settings (updated):

Map: Natural-looking, non-mirrored map by Krill! Checked by Commodore and Regoarrar.
Barbarians: On
Starting units: Everyone starts with a scout
Huts: Off
Random Events: Off
Espionage: Building spies is not allowed. The great spy infiltration action is banned, and great spies are not allowed to leave your borders. Great spies are settled or used for Golden Age.
Corporations: Off
Vassals: Off
Difficulty: Monarch
Tech Trading: No Tech Trading
Diplomacy: AI-Diplo only
Double moves: Honor rules
Bans:
War Elephants
Nukes
Blockades
Gifting except in peace deals
No AP resolutions
Statue of Zeus
Cristo Redentor
The Great Lighthouse
Leaders: Pacal, Willem
Civs: India, Inca

[Gavagai]

...and my start



Ignore the fact that I'm Khmer here, we haven't chosen our leaders/civs yet.

[Oxyphenbutazone]

Picture's broken

[Gavagai]

Fixed.

[Gavagai]

OK, keeping up with spam. We will be snake picking, hence, pick order:

Jowy + Qgqq
Slowcheetah
Dazedroyalty
Gavagai
Kurumi
Serdoa + Ichabod
Merovech + WarriorKnight
Sian
Nakor + CFCJesterFool
BaII (and then the reverse)

[Gavagai]

...and initial analysis (last post for now, I think):

1. Fact: this is an NTT game.
2. Fact: this is a commerce capital.
3. Fact: financial leader is a priority.
4. Fact: settling on Banana is the superior.
5. Fact: 10 forests and seafood.
6. Fact: Mining and Fishing are priorities.
7. Fact: Mansa Musa of England is optimal.
8. Fact: given my position in picking order, I will most probably end up with Hannibal of Korea.
9. Fact: a lurker who will explain the logic behind fact #8 correctly (or disprove me on this point) will be awarded with the right to choose a naming scheme for me.

[Gavagai]

OK, scrap facts #8 and #9 as I have suddenly ended up with Elizabeth. Was pretty sure that she and Mansa would be taken by first 3 players...
It was a toss up between Hanni and Liz, actually. I really need ultra-early happy here and the problem with Liz is that Alpha is ultra-useless given our rules and it blocks GS and GM bulbpaths... But decided to go with Liz nevertheless.
Civ will be an easy choice. I really want fishing + mining here; there are four civs with these starting techs - England, Rome, Portugal, Carthage. Chances are high that they will all fall before my next pick. Also someone will surely take Spain. It leaves Korea as next best option.
...or may be I would still got lucky and be able to grab Portugal.

[Bacchus]

Dedlurking.



You can take this sort of start anywhere. The biggest worry is that the land to the north is a two-bit peninsula and we will have to settle straight into the jungle. Not a huge problem, but, you know, meh. Minor worries is lack of a 5-food tile until lighthouse and difficulties with sharing, I guess the city NE-E of the starting position can grab one clam and an eventual city SE-SE-S of starting can grab the other, but none of this gives as pleasant and quick a start off the abundant seafood as one could hope.

Fishing-Mining is a no-brainer, but with 3f in capital, what about alternatives? You thought about Korea already, Mali? Going straight into worker leverages this extra food to the maximum, and god knows there are enough forests to chop, plus you have three tiles which should be cottaged asap, so Wheel is nice for Pottery, in addition to letting the worker build a road whilst BW finishes. And you can easily research fishing whilst building/chopping a pair of Igors. I'm thinking that the map being water-based, Korea might be picked early too.

Also, everything is up in the air regarding the food source for the second city, you should pray for more fish, I guess.

Resource on that forest-less tile in the lake, you reckon?

[Gavagai]

I think there is at least one resource somewhere to the east of starting position. It looks like we will leave it for our second or third city.
I thought about Mali - their starting techs are slightly better than those of Korea. But they have worse (in current circumstances) UB an UU. Also, I'm thinking that early religion is an option here that's why I value Mysticism (and also because we will need early Monarchy).
Possibility that all fishing/mining civs, Korea and Spain would be taken before our pick is very low. So, I think that we will end up with one of these six.

Edit: Pottery is a priority, of course, but not something we would want as first-second-third tech: first three citizens in capital will go to clam tiles.