The Pregame Show
And so it begins again. This time we’re exploring the civs not chosen, the paths not taken, etc. etc. etc. In PBEM 10 and at least once since then I “threatened” to play Catherine of France as a way to “clean sheet” the start of the game since that civ/leader combo has nothing special kick in until the Medieval (except for Catherine’s visibility bonus). As a result I find this setup mildy ironic in an amusing sort of way – Catherine wasn’t deemed bad enough to make the draft list, so here’s a game in which playing that combo would be appropriate and she’s not available.
Right, so, initial thoughts…
Opponents
Archduke, Ichabod, Woden, myself and Ioan76. This game will be largely dictated, I think, by the start positions of Archduke and Ioan76 and what they choose to do. Archduke because he’s frequently one for early aggression and Ioan76 because he is, in theory, greener than I am. He has Chevalier running herd riding shotgun so that should keep him competitive early on. Ichabod is a bit of a wild card, I think this is his first PBEM since PBEM 3 when he ran over myself and Kaiser who were….as green as Ioan76 appears to be right now. Woden has played in a few and seems to tilt towards being a builder, though he ran right over Jester and eliminated him on Turn 84 of PBEM 15.
This will be an interesting one, to say the least.
The Map
We’re on a pangea unless the mapmaker gives us a fractal map that is pangea-like. We’re also likely on a small map so even with 5 civs and 10 city-states there will be room to expand and enough distance between civs where early wars are unlikely. The other settings are undecided but I’ve noticed that Gathering Storm’s scripts love mountain ranges and breaking up the land mass. The map size will permit four of the five civs to obtain a religion if they so desire.
The Civs
Here’s the list:
Norway
Phoenicia
Eleanore (France or England)
Sweden
Kongo
Spain
Georgia
Canada
Brazil
Egypt
Brazil, Egypt, Kongo and Norway have appeared in previous PBEMs. Of all of these I’ve played one SP game as Kongo and have spent the last week or so messing around with Brazil. I’ve been doing that since I was the only player that didn’t put them in their bottom 12 and I wanted to try to figure out if I was missing something and...I’m not seeing what the others are seeing. Hopefully I get them in my pick list so I can find out. I will say that I consider Brazil to be best in class of the ten civs on this list. As for worst in class, I think Eleanor of France and Georgia are neck and neck for that spot - France's abilities are weak and late, Eleanor's loyalty bonuses for great works gets no real help in getting great works and Georgia appears to rely on getting a religion with no help from the civ abilities and then suzeraining city-states, if there are any left on the map.
I’ve got some ideas how I’d play a few of these civs, but for others I’d need to take a much deeper look at them. I’ll wait for the pick list to show up before I start fleshing out any ideas.
And so it begins again. This time we’re exploring the civs not chosen, the paths not taken, etc. etc. etc. In PBEM 10 and at least once since then I “threatened” to play Catherine of France as a way to “clean sheet” the start of the game since that civ/leader combo has nothing special kick in until the Medieval (except for Catherine’s visibility bonus). As a result I find this setup mildy ironic in an amusing sort of way – Catherine wasn’t deemed bad enough to make the draft list, so here’s a game in which playing that combo would be appropriate and she’s not available.
Right, so, initial thoughts…
Opponents
Archduke, Ichabod, Woden, myself and Ioan76. This game will be largely dictated, I think, by the start positions of Archduke and Ioan76 and what they choose to do. Archduke because he’s frequently one for early aggression and Ioan76 because he is, in theory, greener than I am. He has Chevalier running herd riding shotgun so that should keep him competitive early on. Ichabod is a bit of a wild card, I think this is his first PBEM since PBEM 3 when he ran over myself and Kaiser who were….as green as Ioan76 appears to be right now. Woden has played in a few and seems to tilt towards being a builder, though he ran right over Jester and eliminated him on Turn 84 of PBEM 15.
This will be an interesting one, to say the least.
The Map
We’re on a pangea unless the mapmaker gives us a fractal map that is pangea-like. We’re also likely on a small map so even with 5 civs and 10 city-states there will be room to expand and enough distance between civs where early wars are unlikely. The other settings are undecided but I’ve noticed that Gathering Storm’s scripts love mountain ranges and breaking up the land mass. The map size will permit four of the five civs to obtain a religion if they so desire.
The Civs
Here’s the list:
Norway
Phoenicia
Eleanore (France or England)
Sweden
Kongo
Spain
Georgia
Canada
Brazil
Egypt
Brazil, Egypt, Kongo and Norway have appeared in previous PBEMs. Of all of these I’ve played one SP game as Kongo and have spent the last week or so messing around with Brazil. I’ve been doing that since I was the only player that didn’t put them in their bottom 12 and I wanted to try to figure out if I was missing something and...I’m not seeing what the others are seeing. Hopefully I get them in my pick list so I can find out. I will say that I consider Brazil to be best in class of the ten civs on this list. As for worst in class, I think Eleanor of France and Georgia are neck and neck for that spot - France's abilities are weak and late, Eleanor's loyalty bonuses for great works gets no real help in getting great works and Georgia appears to rely on getting a religion with no help from the civ abilities and then suzeraining city-states, if there are any left on the map.
I’ve got some ideas how I’d play a few of these civs, but for others I’d need to take a much deeper look at them. I’ll wait for the pick list to show up before I start fleshing out any ideas.
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)