ipecac tries crumpets with green tea [SPOILERS]

[ipecac]

Interturn, DTG built the Hanging Gardents (which wasn't even on my radar of important stuff . There's so much health on this map.)

Then it's our turn:





Also, a market provides 3 . Size 13 capital here we go!

[Whosit]

Looking good!

[ipecac]

<insert rant about people opening borders with the GLH owner>

I'm on the verge of checking in because barring a massive screwup by DTG he's not beatable.

[Whosit]

You check in, I'll check out.

I don't really have much to contribute at this point. It does seem pretty inevitable.

[ipecac]

You check in, I'll check out.

I don't really have much to contribute at this point. It does seem pretty inevitable.

On the other hand, I don't want to throw the game completely since Alhazard and DTG have been playing well and it wouldn't be fair to them.

T113: Since the last report the only interesting thing that has happened is wetbandit declaring on Alhazard. Which fizzled as wetbandit saw how prepared Alhazard was (he has cats) and they signed peace next turn. (Pictures available if you want, otherwise meh).

Also DTG's ominous power spiking due to building praets:



On our side, we've just completed IW (looks like forward city really was a good plant) and should get Machinery in less than 8 turns and once CKNs are out we'll be safe until someone masses knights:



We also have a GS born in two turns, who is actually a bit mistimed: I was originally thinking of academy, but since we got MoM a Golden Age is surely better, but it's probably too early to trigger it (we want Code of Laws first at least).

I see three main plans:
1) Go for fastest knights: Skip CoL and do a GA beeline towards Guilds.
2) More conservative knights plan: tech CoL, trigger GA while researching guilds and during the first GA generate enough GP for a second GA to build knights (ideally something like 18 consecutive turns of GA)
3) Go for long-term build up: Tech caste, trigger GA and research CS by the end of the first GA, then decide whether to go for i) Guilds, ii) Aesthetics path iii) something else.

1) seems a bit suicidal economiclaly given that we'll need to do considerable whipping of knights/HA and maintenance costs are quite high.

3) is slow, since we do need to get some land advantage to have a shot at winning, so it means knights given the 5-player toroidal setup

So 2) seems the best for now.
Edit- But I'll still want Bureaucracy after the 1st GA. Hmm...need to noodle over this for a bit

[Whosit]

Hmm, what civics are we in right now? How long would it take to get another great person of any sort if we did burn the GS on an academy now? Even with the MoM, as you say, timing the GA is still important. Otherwise, we could just hang on to the GS for a while.

Conservative knights is probably best, yeah. I don't think we're in a position where rushing for Knights is gonna pay off. Glad to see the fortress city got something else of use, but still bummed that we don't have them crabs. The french have been pretty obnoxious, huh?

[ipecac]

Hmm, what civics are we in right now? How long would it take to get another great person of any sort if we did burn the GS on an academy now? Even with the MoM, as you say, timing the GA is still important. Otherwise, we could just hang on to the GS for a while.

Second GP at normal speed is 200 GPP, so it'll take 34 turns running 2 specs, or 17 turns for four specs (library + market). Too long, I think, especially when it'll take time to set up those extra slots.

Conservative knights is probably best, yeah. I don't think we're in a position where rushing for Knights is gonna pay off. Glad to see the fortress city got something else of use, but still bummed that we don't have them crabs. The french have been pretty obnoxious, huh?

We'll get revenge. Eventually!

[ipecac]

T117:

Finally things got interesting and in a bad way. DTG just suckered me: building Praets and Cats within a border city so I'd think he's not attacking me, then landing with Galleys.



We'll lose two so-so border cities. Of course, I'm just 2T of 100% research to Machinery and since I've kind of given up on this game anyway, time for CKN grudge match

[Whosit]

Tsk. You have to assume that everyone is always in the middle of preparing to attack you! 2T and production time is kind of a long way away, but if we can hold on to the front a while longer it should give us an edge. Can you post any pictures of DTG's forces? I may (or may not) be able to offer some tactical advice.

[ipecac]

Tsk. You have to assume that everyone is always in the middle of preparing to attack you!

2T and production time is kind of a long way away, but if we can hold on to the front a while longer it should give us an edge. Can you post any pictures of DTG's forces? I may (or may not) be able to offer some tactical advice.

Not possible to hold, I'm afraid.





I pulled back the troops in Baoding, while whipping an Axe in Ningbo.



I'm also assuming there's 2 Praets in that Galley, so Guangzhou is covered with three units.