Turn 60
An interesting tidbit in going back over things in my head. Glenfarclas' tile picker had been consistently selecting the 3 silver tiles as the expansion point except for the one turn in which I was working the 3/1 oasis tile, at which point it went to the cattle tile. I wonder if I can force the picker to take the cattle tile by working the oasis again if it decides to target the second silver tile. Hmmmm.... On to the turn….
First, the north. Two positive developments:
Development One: Rowain has settled….over there. That works. I will be able to settle Glenkinchie free and clear.
Development Two: Tomatin grabbed the right tile. Chop to complete settler and overflow into Encampment is on schedule!
Next up. That little trophy icon in the lower right. Ichabod wants a DoF. Let’s see what’s going on in the south:
OK, Kaiser has put the warrior and builder in the city. Good. Ichabod has advanced but his warrior is still out of position. Good. His scout isn’t really in the way as the sword can go southwest of it then move NW next turn. Good. Quick check of the numbers vs. Strength 25 city:
Ichabod: 43-65 in one turn
Me: 117-175 in one turn
Hmmmm....
The DoF would allow Ichabod and myself 30 turns of relative peace to build up our fronts and forces. This is slightly more advantageous to him as he’s currently the tech and civics leader, though if I capture Kikyo and when I settle Glenkinichie I’ll pull much closer. I’ll call that an almost wash. The partial issue there is that it negates my swordsman advantage against him. However, it’d let me move my swords (well, one of them) north to perhaps put pressure on Rowain (or invade outright after some upgrades and building).
Major potential downside: if Ichabod manages to steal Kikyo out from under me I want to be able to attack him to take it for myself. With a DoF I can’t do that. That right there is a temporary show stopper.
I decide to not accept the DoF and instead do a 5-for-5 gold trade to try to indicate to give me some time. If I take Kikyo I’ll offer the DoF. If he takes it I’ll offer war.
The plan of battle has shifted slightly:
Provided Ichabod does not move into Kikyo’s first ring on his turn I’ll declare war and then move my forces into position as shown above. That should cut off the warrior’s access to Kikyo’s center for at least two turns. If he decides to move his scout to the first ring hex in the east that will delay the second sword's arrival. However I'd still have the flexibility to manage city damage appropriately.
Internationally nothing much has changed. I decide, belatedly, to put my spare envoy into Hattusa to boost my science. Next turn I’ll need to change out of State Property – after this turn I’ll have slightly over half complete and will work on Military Tradition while the Encampment completes. Notably Kaiser has not founded a city with his settler yet.
An interesting tidbit in going back over things in my head. Glenfarclas' tile picker had been consistently selecting the 3 silver tiles as the expansion point except for the one turn in which I was working the 3/1 oasis tile, at which point it went to the cattle tile. I wonder if I can force the picker to take the cattle tile by working the oasis again if it decides to target the second silver tile. Hmmmm.... On to the turn….
First, the north. Two positive developments:
Development One: Rowain has settled….over there. That works. I will be able to settle Glenkinchie free and clear.
Development Two: Tomatin grabbed the right tile. Chop to complete settler and overflow into Encampment is on schedule!
Next up. That little trophy icon in the lower right. Ichabod wants a DoF. Let’s see what’s going on in the south:
OK, Kaiser has put the warrior and builder in the city. Good. Ichabod has advanced but his warrior is still out of position. Good. His scout isn’t really in the way as the sword can go southwest of it then move NW next turn. Good. Quick check of the numbers vs. Strength 25 city:
Ichabod: 43-65 in one turn
Me: 117-175 in one turn
Hmmmm....
The DoF would allow Ichabod and myself 30 turns of relative peace to build up our fronts and forces. This is slightly more advantageous to him as he’s currently the tech and civics leader, though if I capture Kikyo and when I settle Glenkinichie I’ll pull much closer. I’ll call that an almost wash. The partial issue there is that it negates my swordsman advantage against him. However, it’d let me move my swords (well, one of them) north to perhaps put pressure on Rowain (or invade outright after some upgrades and building).
Major potential downside: if Ichabod manages to steal Kikyo out from under me I want to be able to attack him to take it for myself. With a DoF I can’t do that. That right there is a temporary show stopper.
I decide to not accept the DoF and instead do a 5-for-5 gold trade to try to indicate to give me some time. If I take Kikyo I’ll offer the DoF. If he takes it I’ll offer war.
The plan of battle has shifted slightly:
Provided Ichabod does not move into Kikyo’s first ring on his turn I’ll declare war and then move my forces into position as shown above. That should cut off the warrior’s access to Kikyo’s center for at least two turns. If he decides to move his scout to the first ring hex in the east that will delay the second sword's arrival. However I'd still have the flexibility to manage city damage appropriately.
Internationally nothing much has changed. I decide, belatedly, to put my spare envoy into Hattusa to boost my science. Next turn I’ll need to change out of State Property – after this turn I’ll have slightly over half complete and will work on Military Tradition while the Encampment completes. Notably Kaiser has not founded a city with his settler yet.