Ah yes….another PBEM to engage in some serious lurker frustration. At some point you guys might realize that’s why I do these things. (I kid...or do I…).
Opponents
The Archduke: A very good field general though perhaps a bit too eager to go full military at the expense of everything else. This cost him in PBEM 11 but I don’t know that he had other options. Based on his civ choices I expect Robert the Bruce as he was intrigued by them in PBEM 8.
Alhazard: I’m not going to spoil PBEM 13 but don’t know much else about him. His civ choices here are interesting but no stand outs. Harald for early naval control or maybe Seondeok for an early science push.
Rowain: gave me a little bit of panic in PBEM 3, he got run over by the hordes in PBEM 8 and seemed to have trouble with rho21 and Rome in PBEM 11. Interesting civ choices….Peter because Russia or perhaps Australia, though with how naval power has worked in these games that might be a bad idea.
Woden: Seems to prefer building more than fighting, considered by the lurkerati in PBEM 4 to be susceptible to “one...more….build”-itis. I’m not sure what he’d take here, perhaps Alexander for conquest….
Me: Two disasters and one win that was forced by stalemating rho21 after taking over half the map and not having a follow-up plan.
Objectives
1) Continue improving military competency.
2) Be better than PBEM 10 at planning & obtaining boosts
3) Try to stay more aware of the big picture and try to set/achieve specific objectives that are further out than the next 10 turns.
The Map
Continents, two players on one and three on the other. This map type presents an interesting conundrum in multiplayer games – how to balance land & naval power while not getting conquered and/or stranded on your starting land mass? I think regardless of how the game starts out the players that are left after the initial round of conquest need to focus on something that’s not a domination victory. The ones that position themselves best for that eventual outcome early may wind up better off.
My initial expectation is to see a similar progression to PBEM 11. One of the civs on the 3-player continent will get picked off early, the only thing to see is whether it’s because they start slow & weak or because they represent an out-of-the-gate existential threat to the whole continent. On the two civ continent I expect a battle for supremacy as soon as one side sees weakness in the other, followed by getting stuck on the continent because of a lack of navy.
Civilization Choices
India/Gandhi
A religiously themed civilization with a good improvement for population growth and faith generation. The downside is that getting a religion up and running can be quite an investment in production and time. Gandhi’s double war weariness ability could make protracted wars costly for an opponent. The Varu is intriguing as a unit to stave off early occupation.
Indonesia/Gitarja
Great Nusantara: Coast & lake tiles provide minor adjacency bonuses (+0.5 yield) for Holy Sites, Campuses, Industrial Zones and Theater Squares, along with +1 amenity for Entertainment Complexes.
Jong: Frigate replacement, has +1 movement and gains +5 combat strength when in formation with another unit. The unit(s) in formation gain the Jong’s movement rate.
Kampung:+1, +1 housing, +1 for every adjacent fishing boat, must be built on coasts or lakes, unlocked with Shipbuilding
Gitarja: Can purchase naval units with faith. Religious units pay no movement cost to embark/disembark. +2 to City Centers adjacent to coast or lake tiles.
Mapuche/Lautoro
Toqui: +25% XP bonus to units trained in a city with a governor. +10 combat strength against units from a civ in a golden age.
Malon Raider: +5 combat strength within 4 tiles of friendly territory. Pillaging costs 1 movement point. Unlocks at gunpowder but like many unique units is not something that can be upgraded into.
Chemamull: Must be built on a tile with an Appeal of Breathtaking (4 or higher). Provides culture equal to 75% of its tile’s appeal. Unlocks at Craftsmanship.
Lautoro: Deafeating an enemy unit within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 20 loyalty. Pillaging a tile within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 5 loyalty.
Dutch/Wilhelmina
Grote Rivieren: Rivers provide major adjacency for Campus, Theater Square and Industrial Zone districts. Completed Harbors trigger a culture bomb.
De Zeven Provencien: Frigate replacement that gets +5 combat strength and +7 vs. defensible districts (city centers and Encampments).
Polder: +1, +1 for every adjacent Polder, +1, +0.5 housing, increases movement cost of tile to 3. Must be built on coast or lake tiles. Available at Guilds.
Wilhelmina: Internal trade routes generate +1 Loyalty per turn for the starting city. Foreign trade routes provide +1 to the Netherlands.
Mongolia/Genghis Khan:
Örtöö: Trade routes instantly create a trading post in the destination city, giving +3 combat strength against that civ’s units and one increased level of diplomatic visibility.
Keshig: Increased movement rate and shares movement with units it is in formation with. Not a replacement so must be scratch-built.
Ordu: Replaces the stable and grants +1 movement to all cavalry units trained in the city.
Genghis Khan: All cavalry class units gain +3 combat strength and a chance to capture defeated cavalry units.
Initial Thoughts
Stampeding through the countryside as Mongolia would be fun. I enjoyed it playing the Aztecs in PBEM 10. However, the most likely result of that endeavour is to get double-teamed and eliminated early (a la Pindicator in PBEM 11) or conquer the land and be isolated by the ocean (Archduke, same game).
India holds no interest for me because the religious game takes too much away from everything else and they have no advantage at establishing one. The Dutch also don’t provide me with much interest...just seems better suited to an archipelago start than a continents one.
The Mapuche are intriguing. The Malon Raider probably would never see the light of day. However, Lautoro’s ability would make city assaults a little easier – kill units to flip a city to free status and then use the AI’s ineptitude to more easily take the city. Of course, holding it against the loyalty mechanic would be problematic but I wouldn’t need to deal with the occupation penalty. The Chemamull could also provide an early boost if my start were to be coastal. The combat bonus against Golden Age civilizations could also cause problems for the neighbors.
What about Indonesia? This is another interesting choice. Gitarja’s bonuses could be used to shoot for an early pantheon. Goddess of the Harvest and Magnus could build up an early faith reserve for naval replenishment later. Kampung provide good bang for the buck provided they can be defended against pillaging. The Jong is a reasonable frigate replacement. The question would be whether or not to work for a mid-game religion (or push for Stonehenge) and attempt to convert other civilizations using Church Property or Pilgrimage.
Initial Thoughts
I think there are two approaches that could be taken to this game:
1) Seek to achieve land supremacy on my starting continent while building everything inland and then turtle and tech for nukes while not very vulnerable to naval bombardment/assault. This approach pretty much dictates playing Mongolia in order to stomp people early. It also represents the highest risk from a dogpile if I get the “wrong” start position.
2) Seek to achieve stalemate on land while building up naval power to wage war at sea. The Dutch or Indonesian civ would be the better choices here.
I think playing Indonesia in the second scenario would be an interesting ride. Gitarja’s abilities would allow me to use Goddess of the Harvest to chop faith early with Magnus and supplement my navy later on. Likewise a coastal or lakeside start would allow me to get an early pantheon without needing God King or a religious city-state nearby. Toss in the kampung’s extra production and housing and the coastal district bonuses and that might actually work.
I'll have to do some testing over the weekend.....
Cornflakes, what are your thoughts on these civs?
Opponents
The Archduke: A very good field general though perhaps a bit too eager to go full military at the expense of everything else. This cost him in PBEM 11 but I don’t know that he had other options. Based on his civ choices I expect Robert the Bruce as he was intrigued by them in PBEM 8.
Alhazard: I’m not going to spoil PBEM 13 but don’t know much else about him. His civ choices here are interesting but no stand outs. Harald for early naval control or maybe Seondeok for an early science push.
Rowain: gave me a little bit of panic in PBEM 3, he got run over by the hordes in PBEM 8 and seemed to have trouble with rho21 and Rome in PBEM 11. Interesting civ choices….Peter because Russia or perhaps Australia, though with how naval power has worked in these games that might be a bad idea.
Woden: Seems to prefer building more than fighting, considered by the lurkerati in PBEM 4 to be susceptible to “one...more….build”-itis. I’m not sure what he’d take here, perhaps Alexander for conquest….
Me: Two disasters and one win that was forced by stalemating rho21 after taking over half the map and not having a follow-up plan.
Objectives
1) Continue improving military competency.
2) Be better than PBEM 10 at planning & obtaining boosts
3) Try to stay more aware of the big picture and try to set/achieve specific objectives that are further out than the next 10 turns.
The Map
Continents, two players on one and three on the other. This map type presents an interesting conundrum in multiplayer games – how to balance land & naval power while not getting conquered and/or stranded on your starting land mass? I think regardless of how the game starts out the players that are left after the initial round of conquest need to focus on something that’s not a domination victory. The ones that position themselves best for that eventual outcome early may wind up better off.
My initial expectation is to see a similar progression to PBEM 11. One of the civs on the 3-player continent will get picked off early, the only thing to see is whether it’s because they start slow & weak or because they represent an out-of-the-gate existential threat to the whole continent. On the two civ continent I expect a battle for supremacy as soon as one side sees weakness in the other, followed by getting stuck on the continent because of a lack of navy.
Civilization Choices
India/Gandhi
A religiously themed civilization with a good improvement for population growth and faith generation. The downside is that getting a religion up and running can be quite an investment in production and time. Gandhi’s double war weariness ability could make protracted wars costly for an opponent. The Varu is intriguing as a unit to stave off early occupation.
Indonesia/Gitarja
Great Nusantara: Coast & lake tiles provide minor adjacency bonuses (+0.5 yield) for Holy Sites, Campuses, Industrial Zones and Theater Squares, along with +1 amenity for Entertainment Complexes.
Jong: Frigate replacement, has +1 movement and gains +5 combat strength when in formation with another unit. The unit(s) in formation gain the Jong’s movement rate.
Kampung:+1, +1 housing, +1 for every adjacent fishing boat, must be built on coasts or lakes, unlocked with Shipbuilding
Gitarja: Can purchase naval units with faith. Religious units pay no movement cost to embark/disembark. +2 to City Centers adjacent to coast or lake tiles.
Mapuche/Lautoro
Toqui: +25% XP bonus to units trained in a city with a governor. +10 combat strength against units from a civ in a golden age.
Malon Raider: +5 combat strength within 4 tiles of friendly territory. Pillaging costs 1 movement point. Unlocks at gunpowder but like many unique units is not something that can be upgraded into.
Chemamull: Must be built on a tile with an Appeal of Breathtaking (4 or higher). Provides culture equal to 75% of its tile’s appeal. Unlocks at Craftsmanship.
Lautoro: Deafeating an enemy unit within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 20 loyalty. Pillaging a tile within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 5 loyalty.
Dutch/Wilhelmina
Grote Rivieren: Rivers provide major adjacency for Campus, Theater Square and Industrial Zone districts. Completed Harbors trigger a culture bomb.
De Zeven Provencien: Frigate replacement that gets +5 combat strength and +7 vs. defensible districts (city centers and Encampments).
Polder: +1, +1 for every adjacent Polder, +1, +0.5 housing, increases movement cost of tile to 3. Must be built on coast or lake tiles. Available at Guilds.
Wilhelmina: Internal trade routes generate +1 Loyalty per turn for the starting city. Foreign trade routes provide +1 to the Netherlands.
Mongolia/Genghis Khan:
Örtöö: Trade routes instantly create a trading post in the destination city, giving +3 combat strength against that civ’s units and one increased level of diplomatic visibility.
Keshig: Increased movement rate and shares movement with units it is in formation with. Not a replacement so must be scratch-built.
Ordu: Replaces the stable and grants +1 movement to all cavalry units trained in the city.
Genghis Khan: All cavalry class units gain +3 combat strength and a chance to capture defeated cavalry units.
Initial Thoughts
Stampeding through the countryside as Mongolia would be fun. I enjoyed it playing the Aztecs in PBEM 10. However, the most likely result of that endeavour is to get double-teamed and eliminated early (a la Pindicator in PBEM 11) or conquer the land and be isolated by the ocean (Archduke, same game).
India holds no interest for me because the religious game takes too much away from everything else and they have no advantage at establishing one. The Dutch also don’t provide me with much interest...just seems better suited to an archipelago start than a continents one.
The Mapuche are intriguing. The Malon Raider probably would never see the light of day. However, Lautoro’s ability would make city assaults a little easier – kill units to flip a city to free status and then use the AI’s ineptitude to more easily take the city. Of course, holding it against the loyalty mechanic would be problematic but I wouldn’t need to deal with the occupation penalty. The Chemamull could also provide an early boost if my start were to be coastal. The combat bonus against Golden Age civilizations could also cause problems for the neighbors.
What about Indonesia? This is another interesting choice. Gitarja’s bonuses could be used to shoot for an early pantheon. Goddess of the Harvest and Magnus could build up an early faith reserve for naval replenishment later. Kampung provide good bang for the buck provided they can be defended against pillaging. The Jong is a reasonable frigate replacement. The question would be whether or not to work for a mid-game religion (or push for Stonehenge) and attempt to convert other civilizations using Church Property or Pilgrimage.
Initial Thoughts
I think there are two approaches that could be taken to this game:
1) Seek to achieve land supremacy on my starting continent while building everything inland and then turtle and tech for nukes while not very vulnerable to naval bombardment/assault. This approach pretty much dictates playing Mongolia in order to stomp people early. It also represents the highest risk from a dogpile if I get the “wrong” start position.
2) Seek to achieve stalemate on land while building up naval power to wage war at sea. The Dutch or Indonesian civ would be the better choices here.
I think playing Indonesia in the second scenario would be an interesting ride. Gitarja’s abilities would allow me to use Goddess of the Harvest to chop faith early with Magnus and supplement my navy later on. Likewise a coastal or lakeside start would allow me to get an early pantheon without needing God King or a religious city-state nearby. Toss in the kampung’s extra production and housing and the coastal district bonuses and that might actually work.
I'll have to do some testing over the weekend.....
Cornflakes, what are your thoughts on these civs?
Sending units to their death since 2017.
Don't do what I did: PBEM 3 - Arabia , PBEM 6 - Australia This worked well enough: PBEM 10 - Aztecs Gamus Interruptus: PBEM 14 - Indonesia
Gathering Storm Meanderings: PBEM 15 - Gorgo You Say Pítati, I Say Potato: PBEM 17 - Nubia The Last of the Summer Wine: PBEM 18 - Eleanor/England
Rhymin' Simon: PBEM 20 - Indonesia (Team w/ China)
Don't do what I did: PBEM 3 - Arabia , PBEM 6 - Australia This worked well enough: PBEM 10 - Aztecs Gamus Interruptus: PBEM 14 - Indonesia
Gathering Storm Meanderings: PBEM 15 - Gorgo You Say Pítati, I Say Potato: PBEM 17 - Nubia The Last of the Summer Wine: PBEM 18 - Eleanor/England
Rhymin' Simon: PBEM 20 - Indonesia (Team w/ China)