Zalson Plays One Turn At A Time (DEITY: Loss)

[haphazard1]

With Avar at size 2 it will not auto-raze. Hopefully you get a chance to vulture it.

[Zalson]

T63

Argos is founded in the west. it grabs the FP farm for a bit while Athens is working the corn and the plains hill copper into the pyramids. Athen's sitting at 42/500, and adding 14 a turn. I have 1 2x whip ready to fire (a 4/35 phalanx), plus 5 forests roaded and ready to chop. Math is due in 3 turns, which should give me an additional 42 hammers, which leaves me with 416 hammers left. The chops will get me 300, the 2x whip will get me 60 -- so I'm about 7 turns from the Pyramids. Hope that's quick enough.



I've got a decent army set to pounce on Hun -- but Avar is looking very vulnerable. There are 2 spanish archers, plus a chariot and a vulture incoming. I had hoped the vulture was coming for Hun. Since it's not I'll scramble my 2 available phalanxes up north.




64
everything's in position for an attack on Avar. I'm so nervous I miss a screenshot!

65
Thanks Gilgamesh.



I have to grab the city and I absolutely have to prioritize getting some culture in there first. Otherwise, that'll be Gilgamesh's city in 50 turns.

I still have the phalanxes moving forward in case Isabella attacks.

[Fluffball]

Is that five cities now, with 2 possible/likely barb cities? Any chance for anything else or would it lock you into a culture victory?

[Zalson]

5 cities, yep. At least 3 more cities, maybe more depending on how expansions, plus the Barb cities. So that'll give me 10, peacefully.

I think I can definitely try a cultural victory, despite the non-optimal conditions. Might try for more than that, though. We'll see how much of a challenge I want. We'll also see how it goes.

T66

Mikhail Lomonosov is born in Athens and promptly researches Math. Then I drop the forests into the Pyramids.



Sparta finishes its Lighthouse and starts the Great Lighthouse... But I need units more than the Lighthouse, so I switch off, into a Phalanx. Corinth 2x whips that phalanx, overflow into another one next turn.

Drop research into iron working. If I need an aggressive plant for iron, I'd like to find out sooner rather than later. Pacal has iron working, joy...



Once IW comes in, going straight for Calendar. I hadn't realized that this was a no happiness variant for me, only.

[haphazard1]

The AI cities might not be all happy faces, so perhaps it is not quite as bad as it looks. Or maybe it is -- what does the demographics show for rival average happiness?

[Zalson]

T67
Phalanx out of Corinth and start another.

I'll get another next turn at Sparta, which will give me about 7 attacking Phalanxes -- not in position but I'll have 7! I've got 3 in position on Avar now. I mismoved them a bit; I was concerned about exerting enough force to capture Hun, which I think I may erred -- I should have kept 2 in place to vulture Avar and kept the rest down at Hun. As it is, the Mayan Sword at Hun is probably going to redline the CG2 unit, and if I had everyone there, I might be able to push through. Oh well.

Here are demos. It would appear my opponents have happiness galore.



Yep, that's at 47 bpt. That's pretty bad. But you have to work with what you got.

Fortunately, there's a Taoist missionary coming in hot. That'll get me 1 more happy. I think I should have gone straight to currency after math though. Those extra trade routes and the ability to generate cash would have been useful. Oh well, let's see if we have iron -- and be able to chop down the jungle at Avar -- and maybe some of these cities up north.

T68
More of the same. Except Pacal just tried to convert me to Taoism...



Because of Ivory, I pull the trigger. And give him clam, corn, and horses for the ivory. I'll renegotiate in 10 turns.

T69
Meet the Silly Man. He's at +1 cities on me, but so is everyone else.



And Pacal killed the CG2 archer! Good thing I started running units down there!



Unfortunately for me, Pacal planted pretty aggressively on me. Bummer. Well, aggressively on the barbarians.

[haphazard1]

Hmmm, Pacal has no copper but he does have a sword so the Mayans have iron. Plus ivory for future war elephants.

Suleiman has gotten Isabella's Christianity, so he (and of course she) will be unhappy with you for adopting Taoism. But you can certainly use the happiness, and at least Pacal will be more favorable. It will be interesting to see what religion Gilgamesh ends up getting.

Good luck with the barb ciities. Hopefully you can get both of them.

[Zalson]

T70

2x whip the phalanx at Athens into the Pyramids. That means I should have them turn 72.

T71

Meet Sitting Bull. Finish Iron Working and start Currency. Really should have prioritized currency earlier.



My 2x whipped phalanxes will be in position to take Hun with these forces in 3 turns. Then Avar will fall maybe 5 to 7 turns after that. then i'll have a backfill city in the center of the map, plus 2 in the north. That should be enough for culture.




After Pyramids, the order of the day, I think, will be ... something else. Not sure what comes next. i'll need a think. Avar and Hun are my 2 cultural cities, along with the capital. I think hanging gardens might be in order at the cap.

[haphazard1]

Hmmm, Sitting Bull is Taoist, nice. Now to see which way Gilgamesh will jump.

[Zalson]

Yeah, Taoist but Cautious. Yay, peaceweight!

If I could spare the time for a missionary, I'd make Gilgy my friend too. Alas.

Currency is next, as that represents +2 commerce per city -- I really should have prioritized that before Iron working since I could have that right now. My next research targets are:

Currency for $, markets
Calendar (for spices)
Priesthood (for temples)
Construction (Odeon/Catapults)
Drama/Music
Courthouses (for Spy economy/caste system)

So that's just a few research priorities

I also need to found the fish spot, the filler spot in between Avar and Hun, and the spices spot (which also gets iron). And then maybe 2 more on the north coast, if Gilgamesh will let me.

Finally, I need to be prepared for a T80 attack by Isabella. Fortunately, I think I have the forces in place to repel that kind of attack.

So, that's what I'm doing next.