[Spoilers] Woden takes on the World (PBEM18)

[NobleZarkon]

Last on T59 to finish 6 turns later.

Impressive.

Work Ethic with Russia or Brazil is really overpowered ...

[Woden]

A couple of turns to report here. 

Turn 66
Not much going on this turn. First time in a while that no new techs finished. Trader at Moria creates a trade route back to Gondor for 2/3/2 and shaves a couple of turns off the Cothon. I chop teh jungle at Rivendell and place a Campus (133). The city will finish its monument before starting on the Campus and might fit walls in there once I get the Limes policy working. Also, Ichabod's warrior is blocking the mountain pass towards my next city location...



I move my settler out of Rivendell and will have to see if he moves next turn before I commit to a path. If he fortifies, I will go the western route around the mountain. 

Internationally, Kaiser gained 4 empire points, so maybe a district plus a few buildings or pops. Ichabod and suboptimal both gained 2 era points and CMF's score remained the same. Ichabod has 3 envoys in Fez and is now their Suzerain. I don't think he has any shrines, since is GP points are now at 2 (was 4). 

I switch my civic research to Military Tradition since the quad is due next turn and I will then start building horsemen. 


Turn 67
Finish...



I swap out Maritime Industries for Maneuver. Gondor starts a 3-turn Horsemen. The quad heads to the barb camp to get teh boost to Naval Tradition. I earned an envoy this turn and see that Hattusa doesn't have a Suzerain yet so I put my 3rd envoy into them to get some scouting information on the south...



A couple of things to note here: 

• Rio's holy site is "only" +5 and now giving the city 10/10
  
• He is building the Temple of Artemis and it looks almost complete.
  
• I think I can figure out where is 4th city is located and it might be the one on the coast where he built the galley. 
  
• It looks like the mountain chain goes to the southern ocean. This means I am Ichabod's only real competitor. Lets hope Kaiser is smart enough to leave me alone, so I can hold him back. On the flip side, they may double team me if one of them attacks. 
  

Brazil's warrior did fortify, so I send the Settler west...



I have a decision to make here. Next turn, I will move settler to the stone tile. Then, I need to decide if I settle the stone, blocking a majority of the fresh water locations along the western river (there would be 1 freshwater tile south of the horses available to settle). Or do still go for the planned city location. The stone tile would apply more loyalty pressure on Belem and I could build a cheap Cothon but is not as defensible as the pinned location (hill and rivers to cross). Ichabod also bought a Settler on T66 at Belem (loss a pop, noticed it this turn), so he is probably sending his own settler towards my planned one and is trying to stall me. I might switch off of Defensive Tactics next turn to see if I can piss him off enough to declare war.   

Internationally, Kaiser regains the lead on the score board with a civic, an empire point, and a bunch of era points (7). Best guess would be a high adjacency district (3 era points) and getting a settler out plus building his unique unit (4 era points). I guess it could be a close barb camp and his unique unit too. Will have to check on the GP screen next turn. Ichabod, suboptimal, and CMF all gained an empire point.

[Woden]

Turn 68
Osgiliath finished an archer and starts a horsemen. I send my eastern warrior east to find Kaiser's borders. He is Bologna's Suzerain so he knows my borders with their warriors wandering around. It would be nice to find his. Ichabod comes asking for a deal: 2 horses (me) for 10. I think about it for a little bit and accept. I won't be attacking before he can build a horseman regardless of the deal or not but with 10 extra gold, I can upgrade a swordsman a turn early. 

He is what the south looks like...



I move my settler to the stone with the warrior. I figure if bought the settler out on T66, he would be on one of the pins marked "Settler?" this turn. I then pinned where he could go and settle a city on T71. T71 is when I could settle the pinned "City B" location if there is no delays. The hexagon locations invalidate my planned city spot and the triangle spot would still allow it. Also, if the Vilnius warrior moves northeast or stays in its current spot, I will be blocked for going east. If I settle the stone spot, it will invalidate all 3 of those pins and the only freshwater left will be the one west of southern pin...might be settling the stone next turn, will have to see what it looks like next turn. 

Internationally, Ichabod snags the lead by finishing the Temple of Artemis. He also gained 3 empire points and and 5 era points. Kaiser gained an empire point and suboptimal gained 2. Still no points for CMF.

[Woden]

Turn 69
Interesting turn, I even needed to step away to think about it for a half an hour to decide what I needed to do. Start turn off with the boost to Engineering as walls finished at Rohan. Also get the boost to Feudalism with a farm at Rivendell. Two monuments also finished at Erebor and Rivendell. Rohan starts a spearman, Erebor starts an archer, and Rivendell starts its Campus. 

What took so long was the south. Ichabod moved his warrior back to the geothermal tile and the city state warrior moved away too, opening the path towards my pinned city location. Then, I see I have a deal and a demand waiting for me. Kaiser wants 5 per turn for 20 horses? Dude, I make 6 horses per turn and could get another 2 at Moria. No need for your horses right now. I will have enough horses for another horseman each in the two cities currently working on them. I reject the deal. I think he is thinking to play Ichabod and me against each other while he builds away and checking to see if I am desperate.

Then there is the demand...



Wow, that is funny! I was a little worried a few turns ago while I was getting my settlers out but he could attack next turn while levee-ing La Venta's army and I would still be safe. Ichabod has 2 cities with massive production but lacks resources, all he has is one horse hooked up, compared to my 3 horses and 2 irons. Plus, I can get Black Market on Magnus going for my next title and product units at my capital for only 4 resources. Best bet is he doesn't even have Magnus right now. All 3 of his titles went into Pingala. 

Not worried, I will have a horseman next turn and a swordsman the turn after. He could mass product chariots but don't think they can do much against my cities. Nope, not going to happen buddy! 

He might just be egging me on to declare so he gets the boost, since that is what I would do. Not going to happen either...at least not for a few turns. I am starting to lean towards aggression towards him while he is still fairly weak. I think start by taking out La Venta and Vilnius with horsemen and swordsmen while building a few chariots to upgrade to knights. Then rolling over Belem and heading south.

Okay, back to why I needed to think about the turn. Do I want to settle on the stone or find a better city spot? Settling on the stone would lock a city in but the city would not be very good for awhile, with little production. I look it over and decided I want to move towards the river...



This gives me vision on all three potential settling sites for Brazil and he would have to move there next turn in order to settle on T71. And unless Hattusa's archer moves east or south next turn, I will get vision on where he plans to settle if he is coming this way. Also, if he doesn't move his warrior onto my planned city site and I don't see his settler, I still have the option to settle my planned city site. Even if the archer moves, I will still be able to see the 2 sites that will invalidate my site. So, if I see his settle on one of those 2 sites next turn or his warrior moves to my ideal location, I will settle in place. If neither occurs, I will move to my pinned location...And here is where I screwed up. After passing the turn and as I look it over to write it up, I noticed something I didn't while playing the turn. If his settler is currently on the horses, he could settle there and move his warrior to my ideal location and blocking me. My pinned location would be the only valid location left in this area and he could be hoping I declare war, giving him the boost to Defensive Tactics. I will, by the way. This may have been a huge trap and I walked right into it. Tomorrow's turn can not get to me soon enough. 

Well, if worst comes to worst, I either attack him or send my settler north to where the barb camp is located.

Out east, my warrior does find some Egyptian borders...



There is a nice approach towards Kaiser, lucky for him, Brazil is a bigger threat to me right now. One bonus here, an attack by him would be problematic on his side. Lots of rough terrain with small chock points.  

Score-wise, Ichabod gains 2 empire points and finishes a tech. Kaiser and suboptimal had no change, while CMF gained an empire point and 2 era points. Kaiser still hasn't finished a new tech, I am still tech leader. He might be tech dumping, while waiting for a few boosts, or researching Apprenticeship (like me). Next turn, I will swap to Iron Working to complete it and that will kick-off another tech-ing spree, five techs in 5 turns.

[Woden]

I thought about the game last night and decided to go full on war mode. I need to stop Ichabod before he can hook up all his resources and become too powerful to hold back. I think this is where it is going anyways, especially when I found my next city. I should still be able to chop out few settlers and continue expanding but most of my focus in the immediate future will be getting out units.

One thing I am still questioning is where to use the next governor title. Do I take Black Market for pumping out units or do I take the cultural promotion for Pingala and speed up civic research. The next title would be at Medieval Fairies, which is on the path to Exploration. The added culture from Pingala would shave a turn off of each civic and represent a 20% increase in culture generation. Black Market would help me get horsemen and swordsmen quicker but I will reach a limit based on my gold generation and maintenance costs. I though Black Market in Magnus would be the go to promotion but the more I think about it, Pingala's promotion would speed everything up and culture is king in civ 6.

I have a few turns to decide. What's your opinion on the next title NobleZarkon?

Edit: I also might send Kaiser a friendship request to secure my eastern flank. No need for a double team on me.

[Woden]

Turn 70
The turn arrived 2 hours later than usual and I was anxious as it loaded. First thing I do is look to see if Ichabod settled a city on the horses and moved his warrior to block my settler or if I might get my desired city spot...


  

 

Not only did he not move his warrior but his settler is not in a spot that would invalidate my planned city location! I move my settler across the river and will found the city next turn. I still need to figure out a city name for this one, but I will get it. There is nothing Ichabod can do to prevent it.

This city will lack product as I am settling the only mine-able hill around but the city will be way more defensible. Flanked by 2 rivers and on a hill, so the only real attack vectors are form the two tiles south of the city center. The builder will first chop the forest for the campus into a monument and thanks to the road from Vilnius' trader, it can be done next turn. Then he will hook up one of the spices and then the stone. 

There was another deal from Kaiser waiting for me: 2 horses for 1...Okay, maybe he is trying to tell me not to worry about him and focus on Ichabod? That is his best play with relations on this side of the world. I accept and send him a friendship, see if he really wants to build in peace. About 30 turns, I should be looking pretty good and could handle an attack from him. 

Gondor finishes a horseman and starts another. I switch research to Iron Working because I will have enough gold next turn to upgrade a warrior and already have enough iron. That should secure my new city until I can get some walls up. The horseman moves west towards Rohan and will play zone defense until the other horsemen are out, so I can take La Venta. 

Now that I have decided to get ready to attack Brazil, I am going to need gold. I have been thinking about a Commercial Hub at Osgiliath as the next district, instead of an Industrial Hub. I check out what kind of adjacency I could get...

 

Thanks to the 2 Cothons, I can get a +7 Commercial Hub! I will also get +7 while in a Golden Age and the era points for a high adjacency CH to help getting the next Golden Age. I figure it is probably better than the Industrial Zone right now, so I lock in the cost by placing it. I will start building it after I get a watermill for the boost to Construction. 

Elsewhere, scouting around Egypt is nice but I decided to return my eastern Brieme and have him head towards Fez. The plan so far is to take out La Venta and Fez if Brazil doesn't attack me and then turn towards him. I thin my 2 Briemes and a horseman should be able to take the city in 2 turns if it doesn't have walls. That will prevent Ichabod from getting a bunch of science for converting his cities. 

No new techs for Kaiser yet...



Figured I would post the leader board and scores since I haven't done it in a while. I am still leading techs with 13 and am about to finish 5 in 5 turns. Should be on top for a little while. I am also second in MP, behind Kaiser but might take the lead with my new horseman. Problem here is I don't think Kaiser has any ships, so a bunch on my military power is in boats. 

Here is the score board...



 

Ichabod gained a tech this turn and Kaiser gained 5 era points (curious). Suboptimal with a big jump, gaining 18 points. He finished a civic, a tech, earned a Great Person (Great Admiral; finished another project), and 6 era points. CMF finished a civic and a tech and gained an Era point. Me, I only gained an era point for the horseman. We will see next turn if I am first to a swordsman.

[Woden]

Turn 71
Start turn off with...



This allows me to upgrade the warrior at my new city once it is founded. I am first to a swordsman, earning 2 era points. Nothing unusual where my new city is to be founded...



I called it Misty Mountains since it is the mountain range that divides the continents. It starts working the 2 spice and I chop into a monument and place a Campus on the chopped tile. It will finish its monument and then start on some walls. 

Moria finishes its Cothon and starts a lighthouse. One thing I need to work in for the next dozen turns is lighthouses everywhere I can. Those trade routes will help all my new cities. 

Other than the new city, uneventful turn. Ichabod's military power increased by 28, so probably a chariot last turn. We will see if it keeps going up, meaning he is preparing for war. I will declare on La Venta in 3 turns, once the horseman at Gondor is out and in range. It should take 2 turns but maybe 3 if one of their units gets in the way. 

Internationally, Kaiser did finish a tech but I also completed one, so held my #1 spot. He also gained an empire point. Ichabod's and CMF's score held steady and suboptimal finished a civic and tech. 

Overall goals for the next 10 turns is to take La Venta, build some lighthouses, get walls up in all front line cities, and get a few builders out once Feudalism is complete. Then I will build a bunch of chariots to upgrade to knights and launch an attack, unless Ichabod attacks first. 

I will also see if I can take Fez during this time, so a secondary front. Send all my horsemen over there, attack Belem with my swordsmen and archers, then knights and sweep east form Fez with horsemen, pillaging him back to the Stone Age.

Edit: Forgot to mention Kaiser didn't accept the friendship offer and instead sent a delegation. I accepted and sent him one in return.

[NobleZarkon]

Overall goals for the next 10 turns is to take La Venta, build some lighthouses, get walls up in all front line cities, and get a few builders out once Feudalism is complete. Then I will build a bunch of chariots to upgrade to knights and launch an attack, unless Ichabod attacks first. 

Exciting times, hope it all goes to plan!

[Woden]

Turn 72
Start off with...



Earning 2 era points for first to complete a Medieval Age tech. I also get a notification that I have met Canada. Click the notification and it brings me to Misty Mountains but don't see any units. Must have moved off already. Best guess now, is that Canada is southeast of Kaiser. Looking at his trade screen...



Ouch, 2 per turn, looks to be hurting for income. He has only 3 cities and pretty much is a "also played" player. Not sure if Kaiser has pushed him out of some good city locations or he got stuck near some useless tundra but is definitely off to a slow start. 

I look at Brazil's trade screen and noticed he has collected enough horses and is building a horsemen (he only has 2 horses). Still no iron collected, so nothing hooked up yet. He also settled his 5th city by Misty Mountain. 

Horseman finishes at Osgiliath and I will put a turn into the Commercial before switching to the watermill next turn. I want the boost to construction for some lumbermills on my flat forests for better production. I move my units towards La Venta and might declare next turn if I have an opportunity to kill a warrior with my spearman. It will take 3 turns to take the city regardless if I wait a turn, so might as well get it started a turn early...



Internationally, Ichabod holds the lead with his new city. He finished a tech and era a couple of era points. Kaiser finished another tech, earned a great person (scientist), and a era point. Suboptimal gained 2 era points and CMF gained 4. 

I also made it to the normal age threshold, so don't think I will have issues getting another Golden Age. Kaiser looks to be trying to snipe the barb camp with one of his unique chariot archers, so I hold off attacking anymore units. Another barb warrior popped out of the camp this turn, so maybe the 2 warriors and injured spearman can kill his chariot but probably not and he is getting the gold.

[NobleZarkon]

Canada can do ok in a human vs AI match but multiplayer, not so much!