Nothing like the Prodigal Sons: The Odd Couple actually play as themselves.

[Gaspar]

Also, Dropbox sucks now, so no promises this will be the usual picture filled spampage that I normally go on to open a new game.

[Gaspar]

Current Sandbox Here

1.Sevenspirits/Krill - Montezuma of Zulu
2.ad hoc- Huanya Capac of the Netherlands
3.Gavagai - Darius I of Aztecs
4.2metraninja - Roosevelt of Sumeria
5.Bantams- Suryavarman II of Persia
6.Dhalphir & Hashoosh - Mansa Musa of Ottomans
7.Gaspar/Noble - Bismarck of Mali
8.Retep - Mehmed of Carthage
9.Kuro - Isabella of China - UP NOW
10.Mikehendi - Elizabeth of France
11.wetbandit - Hannibal of Egypt
12.Goreripper - Zara Yaqob of Greece

City Name Post

[Gaspar]

Game Info:

Teams:
Gaspar/Noble/Boldly
Jowy
Retep
Goreripper/Commodore
Kuro
Dhalphir/Hasoosh
Gavagai
Sevenspirits
wetbandit
2metraninja
Mikehendi/Yuri
Zaldax

Current Game Settings:
Game Speed: Normal
Barbs: On
Events: Off
Huts: Off
Corps: Off
No Vassal States
No Elephants
No Coastal Blockades
Scout start regardless of starting techs
Difficulty level: Monarch
Espionage: Passive only
No Tech Trading
No Nukes
AI Diplo
...

Other stuff still up in the air.

[Gaspar]

It goes without saying he's Felix and I'm Oscar...

Alright, so... first things first - I have no idea who most of our opponents are. I understand there are a fair amount of you who probably think the same about me, or just know me as the werewolf guy, but we'll fix that as we go. But if I'm going to do my typical pregame analysis, I need a bit of crowdsourcing help figuring out who the hell these guys are. The problem is, I haven't really read a game in a while. The last PB game I followed to any relevant extent was PB8 and the last PBEM I read at all was PBEM39 (and this includes 47 which I played in and 48 which I made the map for .) So I'm assuming these guys aren't all first timers, but here's what I know currently about our opponents:

Jowy - I can speak fairly intelligently about Jowy. I've played Diplomacy and Werewolf with him and I've read a couple of his previous games.
Retep - I spent most of the signup period confusing him with teleh. I know absolutely nothing about him.
Goreripper/Commodore - I've played 2 games of Werewolf with Goreripper. I know Commodore all too well. But I know nothing about Goreripper as a Civ player.
Kuro - I can speak intelligently about Kuro.
Dhalphir/Hasoosh - These could be names of midfielders for the Qatari national team for all I know. First time I've seen either.
Gavagai - See last comment.
SevenSpirits - I could write a book here. I've played against him twice and followed most of his games. I didn't include Krill because Krill never really dedlurks anyone. I'll actually guarantee that he posts in this thread before turn 100.
wetbandit - I know a bit about his personality from WW and Fantasy Football. No clue about his Civ skills, though.
2metraninja - I know a little about him from the Duel league and his antics in the origination of the multi-team demo game. But not enough to write a meaningful preview.
Mikehendi/Yuri - Yuri I know well. Mikehendi is a new player, IIRC?
Zaldax - CivPlayer? Anti-depressant? Invader from another planet? You be the judge.

So, yeah. If anyone can give me a blurb and/or links to previous work from Retep, Goreripper, Dhalpir, Hasoosh, Gavagai, 2metraninja, Mikehendi and Zaldax, it would greatly assist in my ability to entertain you over the next week.

A post in a minute about how we got here, then I'll let the spam settle gently for a bit.

[NobleHelium]

I'd say it's more likely that Krill doesn't post in this thread until the end of the game, but he'll mostly stop paying attention to Seven's thread and won't comment much in general. Seven will also fall behind on updating fairly early and not post much, because he doesn't have a teammate to communicate with.

[Gaspar]

"They never see me coming. All this is a riddle. Everything all around you is a riddle. Thus is the mystery of me, open to the world's interpretation. I've played with these fools like puppets. I shot 'em like glass when I'm through. It feels good ... really good. We're past the point of no return, aren't we? Haven't you seen it? 'cause I have. We're coming. I want you to do me a favor, go back and tell all these men that I'm here and this, everything, is all real. You tell them I said that. You can never, never hurt me, you hear that? You can never hurt me! They say we're coming ... but naaaah we've been here all along."

...

Okay, I suppose my story isn't quite that interesting. But I really can't tell you why I'm playing. Mostly Noble and I have been talking about playing another game together roughly since PBEM47 died a quick death and for one reason or another never really had the right combination of game and time on our hands. We haven't really found that here either - I like neither normal speed nor pitbosses and I know Noble also prefers PBEM (though doesn't mind normal speed) and we're playing a big game (prefer small) against one of the two people I never want to play against ever again (Seven, mackoti.) But anyway, here we are.

I suppose a little re-introduction is in order - I'll no doubt cover us more fully in the preview section - but hi, I'm Gaspar. I haven't played a Civ game here in a year but I used to play them quite frequently. Specifically (in rough chronological order):

PBEM12 - With Nakor, finished 3rd as Willem of England
PB4 - With Nakor, finished really poorly, as Asoka of the Vikings
PBEM14 - Bismarck of Maya, game called tied for first with scooter.
FFH7 - Second player eliminated, as Arendel of the Ljosalfar
PBEM24 - Isabella of China, 2nd or 3rd, depending on who you ask
PBEM26 - With Commodore, or more aptly, Commodore with me, I dunno, 3rd maybe?
FFH17 - Game called on account of stupid, as the Calabim
PBEM29 - With Noble as Mao of Babylon, 3rd
PBEM37 - With Noble, Isabella of China, won
PBEM47 - HC of Mali, last with a bullet

So this will be my 11th game here, though as you can see they've become less and less frequent. Realistically, if you were looking for games with which to analyze my skills, PBEM14 and 24 are the only solo games where I put in a decent effort for some portion of the game. Essentially, I'm a mediocre player who reports well and whines a lot. That's the part you tune in for, I suppose. Fortunately, my teammate is an excellent player if an incredible frontrunner and we'll fare okay because of that. Noble probably needs no introduction since he posts roughly 4590346 one-line posts a day. And I haven't really followed Boldly all that closely but what I remember skimming he seemed pretty solid too. So hopefully I'll bring the fun and they'll bring the skill, since Noble is absolutely no fun.

[Gaspar]

Also, just because this belongs in every thread eventually...

[Azarius]

I am so dedlurking you guys.

[NobleHelium]

Hurrah. We welcome all lurkers of any type!

[Gaspar]

I am so dedlurking you guys.

Welcome Azarius. Though I still can't believe you got away with that post.

Also, screw this pick order. And screw Krill acting like he's running the show when he won't even remember this game is ongoing in a month. And screw Seven signing up right after us. And screw the Saints killing the Bills. And screw Flamini being out for 3 weeks before we play Chelsea, Liverpool and Dortmund. And screw that awful red card yesterday too, while we're at it.