[Spoilers] rho21 follows the works of Homer... D'OH!

[rho21]

Turn 156

Score tracking
The Aztecs have done the Charles Darwin thing, gaining 3 techs last turn. This has pushed them into the late industrial, thankfully not yet the modern era. They also grew a pop this turn, and cleared that barbarian outpost near Kongo's new city.

Military
Nothing moving on the Aztec side. Kongo is redeploying southwards now, at last.

With cavalry now an option, I could also send the great general and a force of knights to help out against Aztecs in the far SW. I can't afford to lose the knights but killing an Aztec unit or two in the area could be invaluable. With that plan in mind, I start collecting my knights by Diocles in case they are needed. Will take a few turns for them all to get there.

Housekeeping
Kongo accepted the alliance.

Military Science is complete, next up is Rifling, the prerequisite for Steel. Even if I don't end up paying full price for Steel, I want the option on the table. I will have to delay Rifling for a turn to allow my current scout builds to finish.

I decide against doing any cavalry upgrades just yet, purely to avoid paying the extra maintenance (3 more for each). Need every penny right now.

The Dinostratus-Geneva trade route is completed; the trader starts again on the same route.

Xenocrates has built its commercial hub. That's my 16th district, 1 more required to get the third copy of each discounted.
I'm not expecting to ever use Feudal Contract again, so Xenocrates may as well finish off the musket it has half built. That will be done in 6.

Pythagoras has built a new trader (for the route granted by Dinostratus' harbour). I rebase it to Diocles to get a road out through the roughest terrain. Pythagoras starts another trader, due in 5, for the trade route granted by the new commercial hub.

Aristaeus' workshop is finished, it starts on a factory which will take 14 turns.

The end of turn brings the sound of a barbarian camp being founded somewhere. Will have to check the tundra for that next turn.

[rho21]

Turn 157

Score tracking
Kongo reached the Enlightenment this turn. They also grew 3 population.

Military
One of my scouts on the eastern ocean spots coast off to the east. No sign of borders, so it's not clear yet whether this is an island or the western edge of the continent.

The barbarian camp I heard last turn has popped up right in the middle of Kongo territory, between the capital and Kapsalon off to the south west. I imagine they can handle clearing it for themselves.

Or perhaps not, as first they have to deal with the Aztecs. There are a couple of Aztec muskets approaching Kongo from the SW. They have a great general with them, and both the visible units have significant support bonuses too, so this isn't just a minor attack.

My knights and great general get moving southwards and I upgrade a couple of cavalry at Diocles ready to join them if necessary. I can't send much other than mobile forces without weakening my own border, I hope that will be enough. Either way, Kongo's new city of Katango looks like toast.

I have to feel that this thrust might go a long way to deciding the game. If the Aztecs break through and destroy the Kongolese military, there won't be much left I can do to stop them. If their forces gets cut off and destroyed, it will be enough to put them behind me in military, a situation from which it might be tough to recover.

Aztec forces are still unmoved in the north, incidentally, so no obvious line of counter-attack up there.

Housekeeping
I chop a rainforest at Menaechmus directly into the factory. Not as efficient as using overflow and a bonus card, but every turn the factory arrives earlier is 15, so it pays for the missed multiplier pretty easily. Anyway, that provides 5858116 and shaves 3 turns off the factory.

[rho21]

Turn 158

Score tracking
The Aztecs built an industrial zone and grew a population.
Kongo has researched Ballistics. No money in the bank for upgrades, sadly, as it was all spent on muskets. Anyway, that brings Kongo into the industrial era, so future great people will be modern.

Military
Now visible in the south: Genghis Khan plus 3 muskets and 3 crossbows. Also 1 hidden unit according to support bonuses. The Kongolese military heading south isn't going to be able to do much, because they are attempting to approach across the rough terrain south of Waffles. Between the great general and the Aztec attack boost, they're just going to get cut to ribbons before they can attack.

My vanguard heading south takes the opportunity to kill the barbarian scout on the way (suffering 7 damage in the process). I don't think there's also time to finish off the camp (as Hannibal is speeding up the trailing forces), though maybe if Kongo's approaching crossbow draws the defender out.

The barbarian camp is ringed, the location of the hidden Aztec unit is marked with a red circle.

I expect Katango to fall this turn. Presumably Kongo is expecting it to take one more turn, hence not retreating the knight. The big question of this war is whether we can defend Kapsalon. I expect it to be tricky as the Aztecs are so strong on the attack and there aren't any walls to slow things down. I'm pretty sure they can't advance past Kapsalon without significant reinforcements, as my knights and cavalry are fast enough to get the first strike in the open terrain to the east.

I'm assuming the Aztecs are treating this as a raid, aiming to raze cities. We'll know a lot more in the next few turns when we see their deployments and whether they raze Katango.

Note also the pasture at Kongo's capital, still pillaged all these years after I cleared out the barbarian infestation with my hoplites.


Housekeeping
Rifling changed to Scientific Theory for a turn to let the two scouts finish building. Rangers would only be an extra 350.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Japper might not know that it's pillaged, the UI doesn't exactly make it obvious if he's not paying attention. Then again looking at Kapsalon it's possible he just hasn't built any builders in a long time.

[rho21]

He didn't have any builders for a very long time, but he's had a few recently that haven't moved that way. You're right that it's not very obvious (except in strategy view).

Anyway, I played a turn at lunch time:

Turn 159

Score tracking
The Aztecs finished a new campus and grew a population.
Kongo also grew a population, in Hamka's, perfectly timed to avoid converting to Parallelism. Sigh.

Military
Katango has survived the turn, with 12 health remaining. Kongo's knight hasn't been able to retreat far though, as an Aztec knight showed up from the south. The entire apparent Aztec force is now visible: 4 muskets, 3 crossbows and a knight.
My rapid reaction force is past Frikandel now and will sweep around to the south of Kapsalon. A real shame I can't move through the city.

The land spotted in the eastern ocean is revealed as a pair of tiny islands. They are part of the continent of Africa, which is the one all the Aztec cities I can see live on. No clue how connected they are to the mainland though. I'm trying to be pretty circumspect with my scout to avoid war weariness from its death. The effects of the loss of that caravel still haven't fully worn off.

Housekeeping
Banks are finished at Hippocrates and Euclid, boosting Economics. Both these cities get working on their entertainment complexes. At Euclid this will be done in 8 turns, while at Hippocrates it's due to take 14 turns - but that will actually be more like 7 total as the factory at Menaechmus is complete in 2 turns and it can stop borrowing Hippocrates' best tiles.

Scouts are recruited at Bryson and Apollonius. Both start on builders (well, Apollonius has one part-built already), ahead of the policy switch in two turns where I plan to enable the exciting new builder policy.

I switched research back to Rifling to get that finished now the scouts are done. I have the option of upgrading one to a ranger for an envoy in Geneva. Worth considering if I get pressed again on envoys by the Aztecs, but it's really expensive for a not very good unit.

[rho21]

Turn 160

Score tracking
The Aztecs built another campus.

Military
Katango has fallen but not been razed, instead being renamed Diminished. The Aztecs think they're here to stay. Hopefully there'll be a chance to disabuse them of the notion. Looks as though Kongo's losses so far are their southern knight and one musket. They have *just* failed to kill an Aztec musket, disappointingly.

My forces collect East of Kapsalon. Next turn we can head towards the Aztec flanks, hopefully. My lack of ranged support is a bit worrying, but not much I can do about that.

Housekeeping
Rifling is completed. Next up I plan to research half of Steel then reassess and decide whether to finish it immediately or hope for the boost.

---

Round-number roundup™


Civ Comparison

Civ	Cities	Pop	Techs	Civics	Gold	Districts	Military
Aztec	16	114	39 (+119.6/turn)	26 (+84.8/turn)	442 (+56/turn)	23: 4 Encampments, 3 Harbours, 2 Industrial zones, 5 Commercial hubs, Holy site, 5 Campuses, Theatre square, 2 Entertainment districts	1749 strength
Kongo	9	55	28 (+86.1/turn)	21 (+60.9/turn)	74(+34/turn)	14: Harbour, 4 Commercial Hubs, 6 Campuses, 3 Theatre squares	595 strength
Greece	11	73	35 (+134.7/turn)	24 (+71.8/turn)	302 (+59/turn)	16: Encampment, Harbour, 2 Industrial Zones, 3 Commercial Hubs, Holy site, 3 Campuses, 4 Acropolises	1408 strength

The Aztecs are back to their science rate without the boost from Geneva, which leaves them well behind me. They have been building campuses recently to compensate somewhat. It will be a very long time until the Greek scientific advantage starts to show any practical advantages though, especially given the Aztecs' recent boost from Charles Darwin which was probably "only" 1000.

Kongo continues to fall further behind. They are likely to lose most of their military here, I think; the main question of this war is whether we can combine to cause significant Aztec losses to compensate.

Great People
Recruited so far:
Greece: Generals (classical), Prophet, 2 Scientists, Merchant.
Aztec: 2 Generals (medieval + renaissance), Admiral (classical), 2 Scientists, 2 Merchants.
Kongo: 2 Writers, Artist

Up now (bold indicates who will claim them at current rates):

• (General) Napoleon Bonaparte (420): Greece 168 +3/turn, Aztec 57 +6/turn
  
• (Admiral) Francis Drake (240): Aztec 132 +5/turn, Kongo 78 +2/turn, Greece 10 +1/turn
  
• (Engineer) James of St George (120): Greece 93 +4/turn, Aztec 36 +2/turn
  
• (Merchant) John Spilsbury (420): Greece 215 +8/turn, Kongo 180 +6/turn, Aztec 100 +10/turn
  
• (Prophet) Madhva Acharya(240): Aztec 101 +1/turn
  
• (Scientist) Dmitri Mendeleev (420): Kongo 304 +7/turn, Greece 188 +9/turn, Aztec 82 +12/turn
  
• (Writer) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (420): Greece 227 +6/turn, Kongo 223.5 +9/turn, Aztec 19 +1/turn
  
• (Artist) Qiu Ying (420): Greece 208 +6/turn, Kongo 64.5 +4.5/turn, Aztec 19 +1/turn
  
• (Musician) Yatsuhashi Kengyo (420): Kongo 304.5 +4.5/turn, Greece 188 +4/turn, Aztec 19 +1/turn
  

The engineer will be mine very shortly, for what good it'll do me. He becomes entirely redundant once Steel is researched.

The interesting question right now is whether to make a play for the great scientist. The power (boost Chemistry and a random Industrial tech) is actually pretty good for me and worth about 1100 as I doubt I'll get the boosts any other way. It even has a 50% chance of boosting Steam Power which would give me a better shot at boosting Steel. There's also the chance the Aztecs will build more campus projects to try to claim him ahead of Kongo.

What would this cost? Well, first off he's going to Kongo right now, so they might be a little put out. Then the next scientist will be Modern and the Aztecs will be in pole position. A campus project will cost 217 right now and I'd need 2 of them to overtake Kongo. That's a *lot* of production. It does produce a little science in recompense, of course. Overall I'm just not convinced I can afford that sort of investment.


Research and boosts

Tech	Cost remaining (* if without boost)	Boost	Turns until boost
Military Tactics	150	Already boosted
Scientific Theory	283	Already boosted
Steam Power	970*	2 shipyards	Never?
Sanitation	970*	2 neighbourhoods	Never?
Economics	422.5	Already boosted
Flight	1140*	Industrial or later wonder	Never?
Replaceable Parts	570	Already boosted
Steel	967*	Coal Mine + Ironclad	Never?
Electricity	1250*	3 privateers	Never?
Radio	1250*	National park	50?
Chemistry	1250*	Research agreement	Never?
Combustion	625	Extract artifact	25?

The current debate is whether to seek the boost for Steel. That would require building a caravel, then finishing research on Steam Power and upgrading the caravel to an ironclad. This could be done in 12 turns from now. Alternatively I could pay an extra 570 for Steel to get it as soon as 8 turns from now.

I think the boost route is likely to be better because I don't feel a desperate urge for Steel for defences right now, and I would quite like to build a couple of bombards before Steel is done so I can upgrade them to artillery and perhaps set up to go on the offensive with an observation balloon.

On the other hand, having battleships a little earlier might make a lot of difference. Very difficult to say without knowing what navy the Aztecs have.

Civic	Cost remaining (* if without boost)	Boost	Turns until boost
Naval Tradition	200*	Kill with quadrireme	Never
Divine Right	290*	2 temples	Never
Reformed Church	200	Already boosted
Civil Engineering	Completing this turn	Already boosted
Nationalism	920*	Declare war with casus belli	Never
Opera & Ballet	362.5	Build art museum	~15?
Natural History	435	Already boosted
Urbanisation	1060*	Size 15 city	30?
Scorched Earth	530	Already boosted

With Civil Engineering completing this turn, I'll be moving on to Natural History for the extra envoys and the opportunity to start spending vast amounts of on an archaeologist. That will probably be delayed for a bit to allow for a longer time in the government, and a shorter switch government after. I'm going to be paying full price for Nationalism after that, so still a bit over 20 turns until I'll need Xenocrates to reach size 15 if I want to get the boost for Urbanisation.

[rho21]

Turn 161

Score tracking
The Aztecs finished a commercial hub and an encampment building of some sort.
Kongo upgraded the final Ngao Mbeba to a musket.

Military
Here's how things look at the start of the turn:

That red-lined Kongolese musket looks to be in trouble, though only crossbows can hit it.

Sadly I'm just out of range to attack the near-dead Aztec musket. If only there were roads around here. I'm going to try to set up with cavalry as the easiest units to target, because I'd rather lose them than my knights. A few cavalry losses can be easily replaced by upgrades., Knights are approaching the end of their effective lifetime but will upgrade to tanks before too long and will be difficult to replace.

Diminished has 52 strength right now, which means there's a musket healing in there. Running a knight forward to scout reveals a knight on the hill immediately east of Diminished. I suspect it's being used as a scout to watch for units approaching from the east.

Even so, I need to approach if I'm going to get close enough to actually attack any Aztecs in this rough country. Here's how I leave things:

The Aztecs will see about half these forces and may choose to retreat. But if so, they'll lose their new conquest. Perhaps they'll try out the north with so much of my force down here. I doubt they will though, I don't think they can get close to doing any real damage.

Next turn, some actual fighting, hopefully.

Housekeeping
Civil Engineering is complete, on towards Natural History for the time being.

I'll be dropping Professional Army, so time for some upgrades. I have 710 with an income of 83.6/turn right now, increasing by 10 when I send my new trader out.
Currently available to upgrade:

• 2 archers -> field cannon (205)
  
• 4 crossbows -> field cannon (115)
  
• 6 horsemen -> cavalry (190)
  
• 4 scouts -> ranger (265)
  
• 1 quadrireme -> frigate (125)
  

Ignoring the scouts (not worth upgrading) and the quadrireme (wants to be a battleship before it sees action) still leaves me about 1300 short of doing everything. Not as bad as it has been, by any means.

In the not too distant future I'm going to be looking for ~600 for ship upgrades (3 battleships and an ironclad). Then some for artillery and infantry, and finally some for tanks. So in short I need to keep my income flowing.

For now, I upgrade a couple of horses and a couple of promoted crossbows. That takes me to 100 in the bank.


Next up, it's time for a switch of government. New policies are Public Works (+30% to builders and +2 charges) and Skyscrapers (+15% to industrial and later wonders). Of interest right now:
Gold:

• Conscription: 35
  
• Triangular Trade: 328, increasing next turn
  
• Merchant Confederation: 16
  
• Free Market: 16
  

Science and Culture:

• Rationalism: 24
  
• Meritocracy: 16
  
• Trade Confederation: 88, increasing next turn
  

Production:

• Public Works: builders, builders everywhere
  
• Press Gangs: need to keep these ships rolling out
  

Utility:

• Retainers: currently I have -10 total amenities, this would essentially zero that.
  

7 to choose from just 10 this time. In practice there's no real option except Conscription, Triangular Trade, Merchant Confederation, Rationalism, Meritocracy, Public Works and Press Gangs (i.e. just exchanging Professional Army for Public Works).

I should get out enough builders to last quite a long time during this government, then probably back into Professional Army for a short spell before I can perhaps afford a slot for Retainers.

Pythagoras has finished a trader, which rebases to Aristaeus because a trading post there would be really handy to redirect other trade routes and get some useful roads out of the east. Pythagoras starts on a builder, naturally, due in 4.

Menaechmus has finished its factory. It hands back one of the tiles it had borrowed from Hippocrates and returns to working on a bombard, as that needs building sooner rather than later. It's due in 7 turns.

[Garath]

How good is the Industrial Zone position? That is, how many cities are in the radius of the production boost?

[rho21]

The factory at Menaechmus affects 5 cities: Xenocrates, Menaechmus, Perseus, Hippocrates and Pythagoras. The one at Aristaeus will pick up 3 more cities: Aristaeus, Euclid and Meton. That leaves just Diocles in the SW and three cities in the east uncovered. I may look at placing another zone in the east once I can get a discount.

Turn 162

Score tracking
The Aztecs finished a civic and their science rate jumped by 25. That was probably the Enlightenment then. They also spent 495 and their base city strength also increased to 52, suggesting they upgraded to cavalry. In fact that's just the right cost for 2 cavalry and a field cannon.

Military
One of the scouts in the eastern ocean discovered Aztec borders, about 20 tiles east of my eastern seaboard.

Back to where the action is, I moved a cavalry forward to uncover this:

The red circle indicates a unit implied by support bonuses; it's a reinforcement I haven't seen yet. The other fogged tiles next to units are empty. That newly-upgraded field cannon is a real threat.

I can attack the musket on the hill at even odds with my cavalry, plus 2 for every flanking bonus I can get. The knight could be killed with a cavalry attack, or with a lucky knight attack. A cavalry can make it through to kill the near-dead musket, though it would surely die on the Aztec turn. Much as it's good to finish off units, I'm not too worried about that one as it clearly doesn't have a promotion to burn and I doubt it can get away.

I can't sensibly avoid the field cannon fire without barely attacking at all, so let's look at attacking options.

Can I kill the musket? It defends at 62, I can get 2 attacks at 66 and one at 57. First attack would do 28 to 42 damage. Second attack (against the weakened unit) would do 35 to 54 damage and the third attack would kill it (unless the first two are both minimal, in which case it can be aborted. That would leave a knight vulnerable on the hill east of Diminished. I could also attack the Aztec knight, with about a 50-50 chance of killing that too.

The other option is to attack the knight first, then see what I can do to the musket. Attacking the knight with a cavalry is a guaranteed kill. That would give me 8 flanking bonus on the musket and remove 2 of its support bonus. My attacks would be 68v60 (33 to 50 damage) 59v~56 (27 to 41 damage) and 59v53 (30 to 45 damage). There's a good chance this will also be enough for the kill. I think I'll try this option.

Here goes:
Cavalry attacks knight at 62v46, killing it and suffering 16 damage.
Cavalry attacks musket at 68v60, dealing 40 damage and receiving 26 damage in return.
Knight attacks musket at 59v56, causing 37 damage and taking 24.
Knight attacks musket at 59v52, finishing it off at the cost of 23 health. It also earns a promotion, hopefully it will survive to be able to use it.

Here's how things look at the end of the turn:

I'm fully expecting to lose a unit here. It's possible I won't, if the Aztecs reckon Diminished is falling next turn so they need to evacuate their field cannon. It's also possible they will concentrate on Kongolese units, though I'm not sure why they would.


Housekeeping
Frigate built at Dinostratus which starts a caravel next, due in 9.

Musket complete at Xenocrates. It can build a bombard in 13 turns. Can I wait that long for Steel? Ideally I'd be finishing Steam Power in 10 turns, once the caravel is built, and Steel the turn after. So, is a 3-turn delay worth it? The only place I could build one quicker would be Aristaeus, but that would mean delaying the factory. Eventually I decide to start the bombard at Xenocrates anyway and if I need to finish Steel early so be it.

Trader sent from Aristaeus to Frikandel. It's amazing how important it is to have an ally or a city state to send traders to.

[rho21]

The turn arrived this morning too late for me to play before work, but I had a quick look to see how things stand.

I lost one cavalry to the Aztecs, but I think only because they finished researching Steel on the interturn. Bad timing from my perspective, but I had been wondering if they were getting close to it.

I will pull back from Diminished for now as I have no hope of taking it until I can get battleships round there to drop the defences. That means the almost-dead musket will get to survive and heal. On the plus side, I didn't lose any of my difficult-to-replace knights.

The current plan is to send the fleet over to the Aztec main coast first in the hope of razing a city by surprise, so it could be a very long time until I make any further attacks near Diminished. Well, except for killing the barbarian camp, which has now spawned a ranger.

I also need to keep a close eye out for the Aztecs spending money on upgrades in case I'm going to have incoming battleships before long. I really have no idea how much of a fleet they have left.