[Spoilers] Woden takes on the World (PBEM18)

[Woden]

Turn 99
It is the dawn of a new age...



I go with Free Inquiry again, as my science rate sucks without it. Everybody else earned a golden age and it looks like suboptimal also chose Free Inquiry, as his science jumped significantly and it looks like Ichabod when for Pen and Brush, as his culture jumped by 17 points. As for me, the new commercial hub at Osgiliath and a new Cothon at Mount Doom bring my science rate to 81.5:science;, blowing past Egypt (75) and Brazil (63) but still second to England (89). 

I also finished...



I was going to switch off this last turn but forgot until after I send the turn. I didn't think it would finish but thanks to the era discount, it did. I put in Cartography to finish next turn. I have 2 trade requests. Canada is asking for 30 horses.  I do decide to give him the horses but I am not sure how much more I want to help him out. I do need to keep Kaiser happy because I want an alliance for the boost to Diplomatic Services. Ichabod also comes with a deal...  



Not rally a good deal. I reject and send him a new deal, Fez for Belem. I also through in the resources he is going to lose. No way he will accept it but it is just as bad a deal as Fez for 300

With Military Engineering complete, I have 3 niter within my borders and 1 more that Fez will grab soon. Two are underneath aqueducts (at Osgiliath and Rivendell) and one at The Black Gate...



I wonder if this is why Kaiser was blocking, preferred spot? I am actually liking the spot I settled a little better. Less loyalty pressure and I get Furs hooked up earlier. Also, the housing limit will give me some time to get more luxuries hooked up before I need them. The only drawback is the loss of a +2 Cothon. 

First World Congress
The First World Congress convenes...



Not much of any worth here. I decide to vote...



I go with no international trade routes for suboptimal since he is the only one that I know of that has substantial trade routes with all his RND and lighthouses and he might be sending them to city states. Don't really know. I figure everybody might put a point there, so small chance I can get my way if some of the others pick Kaiser or Ichabod. 

As for the great people, I am not collecting GS points yet, so this might let me catch up a little bit. I will complete a few campuses and libraries in the coming turns. 

I decided to use all my points even though Ichabod and Kaiser have at least double my diplo points because I plan on razing a bunch of suboptimal's cities shortly and Firaxis added a penalty for excessive grievances. Not sure how that works in MP games but you can rack up some negative diplo rates if you piss the AI off enough. So, no point in keeping them now. 

I didn't have much time this weekend to write up a empire review and I still have another turn to report. I will have a game summary after the T100 report.

[Woden]

Turn 100
Start off with...



and...



Results are in for the World Congress. Kaiser used a bunch of diplo points and snagged an extra trade route and double Prophet points. I look at the Great People screen and figure he might have enough gold to poach the next prophet on his turn so I faith buy him for 200. The next one cost 155 points, so definitely worth it. I am going to hold on to him while I build another Holy Site at Moria and should have it complete before Kaiser can found his religion. I am thinking the culture to shrines and temples belief and then either the culture per 4 followers or 30% discount to religious units. I think I can use my religion to supplement my culture. 

Forgot to mention last turn, but my +7 Commercial Hub at Osgiliath finished and gave me 3 era points for a splendid CH. This turn, I finish both a splendid Industrial Zone and Campus for 6 more era points. In total I ended up with 11 era points, 6 for districts, 2 for a kill with my Admiral, 2 for Cartograph, and one more for the prophet. 

Time for some new policies...Oh, wait! I chopped out the lighthouse at Mount Doom and start a monument, due next turn. Okay, now a policy swap...



Out with Serfdom and Veterancy and in with Maneuver and Professional Army. I upgrade 2 caravels and a sword. I put in Drama to finish next turn to swap out Professional Army for Limes to build some walls while I research Exploration. The overflow from Drama will shave a turn off of Exploration (now 5 turns, should be 4 turns next turn). 

Misty Mountains finished its Campus and starts library. I send Magnus to MM to speed up a library and Commercial Hub. Gondor finished its Industrial Zone and starts a trader, due in 2. My warrior in the east has uncovered a few Egyptian cities...



Looks to be flat land in the north and gets hiller the further south you go. My warrior will head west to defog a little more before getting kicked out in a few turns due to the end of open borders. Also, Ichabod is building the Oracle at his capital. 

I am still a little divided on if I should attack Ichabod first or go raze suboptial's coastal cities. With his high science rate, he might be to frigates before I can make it over his way after taking out Ichabod's coastal cities. I will get more into it in my summary report.

[Woden]

Turn 100 Summary Report

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[NobleZarkon]

Look forward to the summary reports, seems you are at a crucial phase.

[Woden]

Been busy IRL, so I am a little behind in reports. Luckily, not much going on.

Turn 101
So much went on this turn, the only screenshot I got was the civic finishing...



I upgraded a warrior and slinger before swapping out of Professional Army for Limes and switched all my frontline cities without walls to start building them. 

Turn 102
Open the save to find Canada asking for some more horses. I have enough time to fill my stock pile up again before I need them, so I give them to him. I think I am at the point where I need to save my gold and resources for myself, so this is probably the last gift I give to him. My exploring horseman in the south found the war front...



He will continue to poke around here for the time being. Get a good picture of the war. Overall, it looks like Canada has been holding their own while slowing down Kaiser's development...Perfect!

I do notice that Kaiser is now earning 4 great engineer points. I will have to get my IZ built. I have plans for the first GE. Will need to run a project at Osgiliath, boosted by the 100% GP point promotion on Pingala to see if I can steal him. 

I did end up sending my western Caravel across the sea to find suboptimal and he crossed the world wrap about 10 tiles of Fez (the screen jumped to the other side of the map). Best guess is the other side of the continent is about 10 tiles from the world wrap. 

Ichabod has finished Stirrups and upgraded at least 1 knight. It is standing on a campus under construction at Belem.  

Turn 103
My +6 Campus at Rivendell finishes and the city starts a chariot. Gondor finished the trader and starts a builder. Looking around the map, I see Brazil has founded another city...



That is where his warrior was fortified on iron. This is good news, as it is another coastal city that I can take with Frigates. Not much else going on. I am working my way to Square Rigging and Exploration at the moment and will switch research to Stirrups when I get a few more chariots out.

[NobleZarkon]

Good you have a war correspondent now!

[Woden]

Turn 104
Turn didn't get back to me for a couple of days. I think Ichabod is losing interest or is busy IRL, because he has been playing his turn later and later in the day and didn't send the turn along until after suboptimal's play window. Not much going on this turn. Kaiser came asking for 6 niter. I want to keep him happy, so I give it to him. I will have plenty by the time I need it. Exploration will finish next, so I will get a new government! I switch research to Castles and it will finish in 3 turns with a bunch of overflow. I am now barely ahead of suboptimal in science and will chop out a library at Misty Mountains next turn. 

Forgot to mention that I met another science city state last turn. Forgot which one but I will send my  envoy next turn when I can get the 2-for-1 card in play. My Caravel also found the eastern edge of the landmass. As I suspected, there is about 20 tiles of ocean between the western coast and eastern coast. He is the know world...



I am assuming my Caravel that is heading east by the new scientific city state will come across on of suboptimal's cities soon. It looks to be about equal distance to suboptimal in both directions. 

I have a decision to make in about 10 turns...who do I attack? As I see it, I have 3 options: Ichabod, suboptimal, or Kaiser. 

Ichabod 



Ichabod is the obvious choice. My neighbor and probably my main competitor at the moment. We are about equal in tech and he currently has a production edge but I have a military edge. He has been building infrastructure and wonders and allowed Kaiser to raze on of his cities, so he might be vulnerable to an attack. The plan would be to attack his coastal cities rather quickly with Frigates and take out his Government Plaza before he can make use of the Grand Master's Chapel. Attack Sao Paulo first and then Recife, followed by sending a few Frigates to Sao Luts. I should be able to conquer each walled city in 2 turns with 3 Frigates and a Caravel. While that is happening, I can have 2 catapults working on Porto Alegre's walls. One will be on an Encampment, so impervious to attacks for the city center. While that is happening, I can start working on Fortaleza with some knights and corsairs if it doesn't have walls yet, otherwise I can go on a pillaging run. My other units will wait until Gunpowder completes to upgrade some muskets, that will attack from the west, near Misty Mountain and maybe I can send a few knights down south to take out Curitibia. Once I take Porto Alegre and Manause, swing up to Belem, then south to his capital. I will have trouble with loyalty on his coastal cities, so I will keep my Frigates to retake the cities once they revolt. They will lose all there population but I will keep them out of Ichabod's hand while I work on his other cities. After the coastal cities, this could turn into a slog but attacking him from multiple angles will make it harder for him to defend. I will have to see if I can get a knight to pillage his Holy Site at his capital because he will start mass producing units as soon as I attack. 

This is the most likely scenario I am planning nd would lead to gaining a bunch of territory and probably concessions from the other players, as it looks like I will control about half the available land. 

suboptimal



This is what I know of suboptimal right now. He does have a galley poking around my capital right now. Hopefully he is not up to no good and looking to pillage me. You can see Fez's borders on the right of the screenshot. This Caravel will follow the coast south since I have other one looking at the northern coast. I do know that suboptimal has a bunch of coastal cities, or at least a bunch of RNDs, at least five of them. He is probably the biggest threat later in the game. England's power comes during the Industrial Age, bonuses to IZ buildings and power and a nice unique boat. If he builds a decent navy, my coastal cities are vulnerable just like Ichabod's. He currently has the highest science rate, fueled by Free Inquiry and lots of harbors. His high tech rate means I have a small window where I have an advantage with Frigates before he can get his own. He is still running around with galleys, so I don't think he has Cartography yet and I pushed it pretty hard, so no telling how far he is from it but it might not take him long to get it. Then, he is at least 10 turns from Frigates after Cartography. 

I wouldn't gain any territory attacking suboptimal, as I would raze all his coastal cities, but it would destroy his game and give me naval dominance. There would be no gain against the other players if I attack him but I also would not be threatened by the sea in the future. This is probably the lowest ranked option. 

Kaiser

 

Kaiser is pretty vulnerable from the north and his army is down south fighting Canada. I should lose open borders next turn and our friendship ends on T109. I could take Alara Kitan easily with Frigates and Ed Mercer with a Frigate and some land units. He doesn't have walls in any of these cities. Kelly Grayson and Gordon Malloy will be harder to capture but I will already have his capital and give him a major blow. 

A couple of issues with attacking Kaiser. First, Ichabod would definitely attack me if I push in this direction and second, I want to try and get an alliance for the boost from Kaiser. Me attacking him is going to depend on how he reacts to our friendship ending. If he refuses another Friendship and looks hostel towards me, I might consider going after him instead of Ichabod. I am not sure how Kaiser feels towards me. I did settle towards him while he was busy in the south and he did want me to join in a war with Ichabod but I was not ready. Hell, he wasn't ready for a war with Canada, let alone, Brazil. 

Attacking Kaiser will 100% depend on if I can get a renewed friendship and an alliance. He is a little ahead in military tech and but I will catch up shortly. 

Overall, I am leaning towards Ichabod. I can take a few cities early and then use my massive empire to chip away at his empire.

[NobleZarkon]

This is the most likely scenario I am planning and would lead to gaining a bunch of territory and probably concessions from the other players, as it looks like I will control about half the available land.

Very interesting analysis, this definitely looks the best option for you.

Hadn't thought about the whole concession thing, interesting - especially if a player has checked out.

[Woden]

Turn 105
Open the save to...



This gives me +2 era points for a new era civic. Also, lets me get into a better government...



I put in the 2-for-1 policy to get 2 envoys in Geneva. I also slot Serfdom and Veterancy. I leave Limes in while the walls finish on my holdings in the northeast. I will change policies again 2 turns for more money and ship building. 

My open borders ends with Egypt, so I test the waters with this trade...



Magnus is established in Misty Mountains, so I chop out the library and place a Commercial Hub. The builder will go harvest the stone to finish it and overflow into a Market. Here is my core and western cities...



Next turn, 2 builders will finish. In the east...



The builder at Moria harvests a marsh and I place a discounted Holy Site. I have another builder that will harvest a forest to speed it along. 

Suboptimal's galley poking around Gondor and Osgiliath has disappeared. He might be just in the fog or trying to hide for an opportunity to pillage me. He better be careful, he is going to get trapped. Once I can place a Cothon at La Venta (2 turns) that way will be blocked and not sure how long the eastern path is going to be open. My Caravel in the northern sea has come across one of his cities. My other caravel is still travelling south along the eastern coast. The landmass seems to be weighted more in the southern hemisphere.

[Woden]

Turn 106
Lots going on this turn. Two builders out at Rohan and Gondor. Walls complete at Helm's Deep, Mount Doom, and The Grey Havens. Chop the Holy Site at Moria (was 8 turns, now 2 turns). Start quadriremes at Gondor, Mount Doom, and The Grey Havens and an Encampment at Helm's Deep. Encampment will finish next turn, thanks to a stone harvest. Rivendell finished a chariot and starts its library but will switch to an encampment next turn when one of the desert tiles is grabbed.

My northern caravel sails past one city and finds another...



I also see a swarm of galleys, the 2 you can see in the screenshot plus another one at Howard. I don't want him to get too jumping and do something stupid, so I send him a 1 for 1 to let him know I have no ill intentions. One or 2 galleys wouldn't be much of a threat but 3 probably could kill my caravel before I could get away.  

Internationally, Kaiser accepts my deal and Ichabod built the Oracle at Rio. Not going to update the scores every turn anymore. We have reach the point where everybody has enough cities where you really can't tell what is going on. I will probably post the score every 10 turns and comment if I see something funny. I will mention that suboptimal might be looking like a strong 3rd place. Still significantly behind Ichabod and I but might be starting to push away from Kaiser, who is getting slowed down by war. Left to build, suboptimal might be able to catch up a little once Ichabod and I start fighting.