[SPOILER] The Steak, Beer, and Cigar Saloon

[Catwalk]

Good news on the scout surviving. We still need lots and lots more map info.

On the ivory city, could you put a fort on the silver and get it connected via the coastline? I don't recall all the rules on forts for hooking up resources, but I think it would work and you would not need a road. No tile yield bonus, but that is a crummy no food tundra hill tile anyway and at least you would get the happiness.

Very good idea! I'm guessing this is how it would work, but I've never tried it. This is a rare occasion where that would actually be useful. Same with the marble, if I decide not to settle on it.

For the Mausoleum, would you actually have marble in the necessary time frame? If not the wonder is 450 hammers which is quite a task to accumulate, especially competing against IND civs. (Maybe even IND civs with marble....) Calendar is a useful tech even without the wonder since you have silk at the capital and two more plantation luxuries nearby-ish, plus it would allow improvement of the banana. The tech path is easy too since you want Math anyway for other reasons, and Sailing is useful in its own right and not too expensive. Going for Calendar early-ish is worth it if you prioritize sending a settler (or two) for the sugar and incense.

I imagine that t100 MoM is doable if I'm not screwed over by enemy aggression. I can easily hook it up by then, it's not that far away. Settling on top of the ivory would be the fastest way to hook it up, and would also provide me with IC trade routes. It's expensive enough that I'll likely be at least a few turns behind an IND player who can realistically get it in 1t with 5 chops, requiring just 30 hammers from overflow and 1t of production. I'd need 6 chops + 45 hammers from overflow and 1t of production. That's likely to be most of my worker force, and they'd waste several more turns moving there and getting the timing right. Still, MoM would be a major scoop for a PHI player and would let me employ a very simple GP strategy.

Monarchy gives you wine plus garrison happiness which is flexible/expandable if needed. It does require a couple extra techs but they are cheap and have other benefits (temples, monasteries, path to Literature). A turn of anarchy to use HR is always a bit of a pain, but one turn is not that big a deal for the benefit gained especially if you plan for a double switch (OR maybe?). That depends on getting a religion somehow, though, but still one turn is not too bad.

And I'd also need to revolt another turn for the religion.

Really I like both Monarchy and Calendar pretty early for happiness since you have resources for both. More happy cap == bigger cities == lots and lots of cottages working and growing. So I would choose based on how much you want a shot at the Mausoleum, and whether you will be gaining control of marble, sugar, and incense.
[/quote]
Base beaker costs:

Meditation (80)
Priesthood (60)
Monarchy (300)

Sailing (100)
Mathematics (250)
Calendar (350)

Currency (400)

I can get to Monarchy faster, whereas Calendar would let me get happiness + Currency faster. I'm definitely keen on those 3 being my early tech targets, will probably need to sandbox a bit too see when I can get what and how much of an issue happiness becomes. I was hoping for fur somewhere near the western cows, didn't happen.

[Catwalk]

Turn 33
Still nothing interesting discovered, our scout reaches the coast next turn to determine if there's seafood for the deer site. Settler done in 2t, one worker is heading up there to hook up copper. I think I want to go for the close site, putting a fishing village up there later on. They pay off decently for FIN leaders.

[Catwalk]

Turn 34
It's official, the west is a disappointing place to live in.

Nothing interesting by the cows, no seafood by the deer. The settler will finish on t35 and settle red dot on t37. I hope this isn't too far behind other players who also have two workers, I still feel that my start is a bit inadequate.

I still feel that I have to go with the deer site next, as it's the one that boosts my economy the fastest. I don't want to be forced to get extra military right away to defend aggressive settlements against Jowy, I'll take my time to get that military first and then make safe expansions. I don't think there's any risk of him blocking pink dot with a settler before I get there, unless it's to settle on top of it himself. And it would be a far more provocative move from him than from me. With two elephants around, he should guess that there aren't more elephants and he's probably not seeing many early luxuries either. Settling both of those ivories would be a greedy and hostile move. Much better to let me have it

How would you set up a filler fishing village? Granary or lighthouse first? And how profitable do you think they are, given that we're FIN?

[haphazard1]

The west is looking a bit lacking in resources, but perhaps there will be horse or iron over there? Plenty of green tiles for cottages, so it will still be useful. But it is looking lower priority than the other areas. Something can be done with the grass cows obviously, and then probably something along the southern coast with the clams, but they can wait while better options are pursued elsewhere.

For a fishing village, my initial build usually depends on whether it has any useful land tiles at all. If there are no good land tiles (or just one) I will usually go for the lighthouse first. Have to get some 2 food tiles available for initial growth. If there are at least a couple 2 food land tiles I will usually build the granary first. Obviously this would change if you are either EXP or ORG (or both!) and get one of the buildings cheaply. For overall value as FIN, fishing villages can be quite useful to provide some ongoing commerce that your core cities may not be able to focus on while they build military, settlers, etc. The fishing villages keep your economy alive until your core cities can mature a bit and start pumping out their own commerce from cottages, resources, etc. So if your economy is doing OK you can usually wait to found fishing villages. But if you need some commerce, or if you have a high food city that needs to spend some time recovering from whipping and can pump out a spare settler or two, founding a fishing village can be the right move.

Where do you plan to send the scout next?

[Catwalk]

I'm thinking about the two fishing villages I have planned above red dot, one on the far end of the peninsula and one on the PH isthmus. Both can either grow on the oasis or work a mine. How would you start it? Assuming that the forests have been burned down for some shiny thing in the copper city

Scout will get a well deserved rest to get back to full health now. All important nearby objectives have been covered, don't need it to go uncover the last fog down by the fishing site. I want to settle there regardless, doubt that specific knowledge would change my plans. Planning on going west next, probably NW.

[haphazard1]

I'm thinking about the two fishing villages I have planned above red dot, one on the far end of the peninsula and one on the PH isthmus. Both can either grow on the oasis or work a mine. How would you start it? Assuming that the forests have been burned down for some shiny thing in the copper city

Each would have other food available (at least potentially) and would develop best if that food was improved and worked. But if I had to choose between a mine (assuming the grass hill?) or the oasis to start out, it would depend on what you need from the fishing villages. Using the mine would be faster to get the cities up and going -- build a lighthouse first to get the coast tiles to 2F/3C, then work on a granary (which would likely be whipped to completion). But doing so will mean very minimal commerce until at least the lighthouse is done. If you want to get some commerce from the fishing villages while they grow and slow build the lighthouse until it can be whipped, then using the oasis would be better. Slower development, but the fishing village generates some commerce and likely pays for itself (or close at least) while it develops.

If the forests have gone to some project from copper city, then you could cottage the grassland tiles and use them instead of coast tiles. Less commerce for the initial turns until you get a hamlet, but this grows the cottages and allows you to go granary before lighthouse since you won't need to work coast tiles until a bit later. More worker turns needed, of course, but you do get some cottages developing and the granary sooner, making the later lighthouse whip more efficient.

Scout will get a well deserved rest to get back to full health now. All important nearby objectives have been covered, don't need it to go uncover the last fog down by the fishing site. I want to settle there regardless, doubt that specific knowledge would change my plans. Planning on going west next, probably NW.

Sounds good. I am not sure when barb warriors will start appearing, but until then full health gives much better odds if you run into another animal.

[Catwalk]

Turn 35
Remember that plan to rest up a bit to avoid being eaten by animals? Yeah, cats don't have patience for that kind of thing.

Fortunately, no bears showed up to punish me for my impatience, unless you count Nakor as a bear. His scout is sitting N of the fish, fortified 10% as shown. I'm guessing he's just healing up from battle, he's a woodsman too. Found a deer resource that's a bit too far away to be any use for my early dotmap. I can have a nice city N of the silk, but it'd take too long to develop at this point. I'm thinking I'll be settling one city grabbing just cows and one grabbing just deer, both in the first ring. I can chop the forest S of the cows for 16 hammers after borders pop, 24 once I have Mathematics. I don't like settling on top of forests if I can help it. I decide to switch all EP spending away from Jowy and on to Nakor, hopefully he will interpret that as a gesture of peaceful intentions. I'm up to 104 on him with 121 needed for Research Visibility.

I had a brief mental image of a wolf or panther appearing 2 tiles away from my settler when I moved it this turn, my warrior is still one tile away. I would be busy throwing things rather than reporting if that had happened

EDIT: Skipped the picture.

[haphazard1]

I think the picture is incorrect -- from back on turn 31?

Another rival met, although in our land rather than in his so we don't know just where he is located. Oh well. Still useful, and we might start getting a tiny research bonus from known techs as the game continues.

Can't really comment on anything else without a current picture.

[Catwalk]

Whoops, indeed it is. Will fix it later today. Nothing much to comment on, the land still sucks a bit

[Catwalk]

Turn 37
A little late, we finally found a city. It is named Vacuuming!

Getting a granary here first to boost its growth, will probably switch to a worker when it grows to size 2. Had a hard time deciding whether to go for Hunting or Mysticism next. Getting pigs online at Vacuuming would be nice, and it takes 10t for culture to spread once a monument has been built. I'm also not in a major hurry to research Hunting, as it'll be a while before the next settler is done. What do you think haphazard1?