[PB59] Charriu welcomes all the townfolk

[Charriu]

Well nothing is set in stone at this point. A lot will change when we know what other civ/leader combos are in the game, who our direct neighbors are and how our surrounding land turns out in the early scouting phase. We are not set in stone for any gameplan for the first 25 turns or so. All of my above ideas are just things that play stronger into our traits.

Of course Rep GP do not obsolete cottages, but with Rep you want to focus specialist a little more then usual and with that you want to focus farms a little bit more. You also can't place watermills on every river tile and Machinery is more costly to get then Monarchy.

The reason why I want to keep culture victory in mind is because on a large map like this you have the best chances to achieve one of those. Say we have not the strongest super powers as neighbors and those super powers are on the other side of the world. In that case it is a lot harder for them to deny us a culture victory.

The reason for the Cuirassiers is because in my plan I am already heavily invested in the upper tech tree and from there it is easier to get to Cuirassiers then to knights.

I'm not saying the MoM is completely out of the picture, just that it is a bit weaker.

True about Machinery. But like you mentioned in your plan the Machinery bulb is an alternative to failed key wonders and in that case the bulb is at least better then a Mathematics bulb for example.

[Coeurva]

I think we're on the same page on Rep, except on the watermills. Three pop can feed 6h (mills) or 6b, 3 GPP (two farms + Rep scientist). We're going to want both at different cities, or even just at different times. I know mills can't be built opposite each other (it's an unfortunate necessity to repeat what we both know at each other because we don't know that the other knows, I guess)

If we don't have the strongest superpowers as neighbors, we should just aim to be ready to conquer those neighbors. I also think it's unlikely that a 25-player PB map won't have post-Astro interaction, although of course I'm not expecting that every single civ would send boats at us, either. But at least one superpower will.

TBS won pb18 (jointly) on a CV, but he was one of the superpowers (and PHI), had conquered one neighbor quite early (by T140, jointly with his neighbor's neighbor dazedroyalty) with a ~15-unit mace/cat stack, and that neighbor had initiated Classical war earlier but lost. TBS also founded Confucianism and prioritized Nationalism explicitly for cuirs, but took Guilds first (also to reach Gunpowder which cuirs need anyway), went to cuirs precisely because he decided knights wouldn't be enough vs. dazed who had culture-bombed him right after the war, and he did not have Drama or Music yet on T140, for instance. I don't know how relevant pb18 is to today's meta and CtH, of course, but I don't think CV is a mid-game dark-horse turtle strategy so much as something that one of the superpowers will turn out to be best-positioned for in the late game, through advantages accumulated on its Domination path up to that point that are also good for CV.

TBS had also had good late-game diplomacy with a strong-but-out-of-contention civ next to him who sold him an essential Great Artist (edit: looked it up and TBS said it's not clear the GA was needed, but the good diplo overall probably essential to the win). And you never get good diplo when you're weak. (Unless you're still useful enough in stopping some third party.)

I'm not saying we must conquer with knights, but I am saying we must have the earlyish conquest for a CV. Cuirs could be good for the second one but I think are just too late for the first.

[Charriu]

All good points that I will take into consideration. I think it's best to mull over the overall strategy, when we have more information at hand (other picks, who are our neighbors, what's our surrounding land)

[Coeurva]

Yeah indeed. But you know I have no chill and can't wait for that info to be in already.

[Charriu]

Absolutely understandable. I just don't want to be as detailed with my plans right now with so many unknown factors. But I also see that this conversations is good for the classic post count wars.  

I will do a testgame with IND/SPI in the next games to get a feeling for it. I also want to check two niche things:

- Is it possible to generate fail gold from wonders by obsoleting a wonder during build time.
- Is it possible to generate fail gold by building missionaries and then loosing access to those units (switching out of Organized Religion for example.)

[Charriu]

- Is it possible to generate fail gold from wonders by obsoleting a wonder during build time.
- Is it possible to generate fail gold by building missionaries and then loosing access to those units (switching out of Organized Religion for example.)

Just tested those and sadly both cases do not produce fail gold. Well could have been a nice niche application of fail gold.

[Charriu]

Opponent analysis

Miguelito + Rusten
Pacal (EXP/FIN) of France (Salon, Muskeeter, Agriculture, The Wheel)

The winning team from PB54 is back and I expect a great show from them in this game, too. Miguelito has the tendency to settle aggressive (PB49) which is important to remember if he's one of our neighbors. Rusten on the other hand is a very competent player and will contribute a lot and important input to Miguelito's game just like in their last.

I find their civ/leader combo a bit underwhelming. There's nothing totally bad in there, just not that much synergy. Still a solid combo with an early bonus in EXP and late bonuses in France and FIN.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Tarkeel
Hannibal (CHA/FIN) of Egypt (Obelisk, War chariot, Agriculture, The Wheel)

If I remember correctly then this is actually Tarkeel's second PB, the first being PB58. What I've seen so far is very good. Tarkeel dedlurks Amicalola in PB56. So far I haven't seen any glaring weaknesses other then the few MP games played so far.

As for the combo. This is a great one. War chariots are still great especially with XP bonus from CHA. Thankfully FIN got nerfed more and will come only in affect later. The UB isn't that great, but there is synergy between CHA and the UB. The good thing is that I have the Phalanx so even if Tarkeel will be my neighbor, I doubt the war chariots will come in my direction.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 2
Economy rating: 4
Civ/Leader combo: 5
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 2
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Jowy
Kublai Khan (CRE/AGG) of Byzantium (Hippodrome, Cataphract, Mysticism, The Wheel)

Ah Jowy. My arch-nemesis from PB52. Great game and great performance from him back then. Now from the other games I watched, I get the feeling that he's kind of a trickster. Provoking other players and getting under their skin.

Jowy chose the big rush-me-early sign aka Byzantium. But AGG might prevent that early rush and may secure him the run to Cataphracts. CRE will also help in defending till then. Now my phalanx can perform good enough against knights, but against Cataphracts they stand no chance. I also don't want to be the one, who needs to prevent Byzantium getting to Cataphracts, so I rather would not like him as my neighbor.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not.
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Amicalola
Roosevelt (ORG/IND) of Ethiopia (Stele, Oromo Warrior, Hunting, Mining)

The only other IND leader in the game. Amicalola's capabilities grew with each game he played, but one can still see areas of improvement. Nonetheless they are getting better with each game thanks to good dedlurker support. Here they have no dedlurker as far as I know, but the civ/leader combo shows some interesting stuff.

The civ/combo doesn't really have a lot of early bonuses. The only being the Stele, which upon construction produces 1.25 culture therefore popping borders in 8 instead of 10 turns. ORG will be especially great on this large map and at the later turns. Now the big question is what wonders will they chase with IND. I see two very likely candidates:

Stonehenge: This has great synergy with the UB. With 6 CRE players and 3 CHA players there's also less competition for Stonehenge. I think this is a very important for them in this game.
Great Lighthouse: With the lighthouse bonus from ORG this is actually a great wonder to get for Amicalola.

I think it is less likely to go for Pyramid or early Metal Casting for Amicalola.

Player rating: 2
Aggression rating: 2
Economy rating: 2
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: Yes please
Neighbour rating: Food
How likely to go for early religion: 2
How likely to build the Pyramids: 3

--

civac2
Shaka (AGG/EXP) of Sumeria (Ziggurat, Vulture, Agriculture, The Wheel)

The winner of PB55. Great player, who contributed new things to the meta of RB. Coming from civforum he's used to a different meta. He's also one not to give up early, which I appreciate a lot. Overall very solid player with great economic understanding.

Here he's going all in for early aggression with early bonuses in EXP and AGG Vultures. Because of that I definitely do not want him as a neighbor. Because of the UB it is also very likely that he may found an religion, while teching towards Priesthood.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 4
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: NO, please
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 5
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

naufragar
Joao (IMP/EXP) of India (Mausoleum, Fast Worker, Mysticism, Mining)

Loved dedlurking him in PB42. Unfortunately he ran against a lot of walls in his past games. He's not a bad player, but has still potential for improvement. From what I get he also tends to be the more peaceful builder type.

Here he is playing the now classic IMP/India combo, chopping out settlers as fast as possible together with another early bonus in EXP. But what will he do if he doesn't get enough land. There isn't that much other great stuff left in this combo. Still solid early bonuses.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 2
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Yes, please
Neighbour rating: Food
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Mr. Cairo
Darius (FIN/ORG) of Aztec (Sacrifical Altar, Jaguar, Mysticism, Hunting)

Long time player of RB with some great performances especially the last true victory in PB43 with a culture victory. Definitely more of a builder type, who only attacks if enough advantages present. This doesn't mean he will be early food for others as he is a very competent player.

FIN/ORG is most likely the best combo for him and also the best pure eco combo in the game. There's also synergy between UB and ORG. Yes, the UU isn't great, but building a few as medics can't hurt. Overall great combo.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 1
Economy rating: 5
Civ/Leader combo: 5
Please be my neighbor?: Yes, please
Neighbour rating: Peaceful
How likely to go for early religion: 4
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Ramkhamhaeng
Cyrus (IMP/CHA) of Arabia (Madrassa, Camel Archer, Mysticism, The Wheel)

I have to be honest, I don't know much about Ramks play. I know he played in PB51 and it was a solid game by him, but I can't remember how good his play was. Still he knows a lot of the game due to him being the developer of PBmod. By the way it would be very nice if more people support him (and Zulan) financially for the service they provide to our gaming pleasure.

I don't see that much synergy in the combo. I love too see somebody giving Arabia a spin. The Madrassa may be used for an early shrine together with Mysticism. Then again the traits aren't really tailored towards early religion even though they aren't bad.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Yes, please.
Neighbour rating: Peaceful
How likely to go for early religion: 2
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Mjmd
Zara Yacob (ORG/CRE) of Portugal (Feitoria, Carrack, Hunting, Mining)

Ah Mjmd. I remember having a run in in PB52, when he somewhat pinkdotted me. Didn't end well at first for him, but he played a great first game there. He's definitely capable of doing a good game. Not only that he also has the stamina for a longer game and doesn't give up like in PB54. All good things in my book. More important though is that he was a trustworthy ally in PB52 for the most part and that can count a lot.

As for his combo, I think it is very likely that he started on the coast and/or sees more then enough water tiles to justify taking Portugal. Note that the Portuguese UB got a buff via the base buildings reduced cost. ORG will be great on this big map as already said. There's also a bit of synergy. The reduced maintenance by ORG allows you to cash in on the beakers from cheaper CRE libraries more often. But other then that I don't see that much synergy between leader and civ.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 2
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Automated Teller
Justinian (IMP/SPI) of Khmer (Baray, Ballista Elephant, Hunting, Mining)

Automated Teller tends to choose bad targets for his war plans. Attacking me back in PB52 didn't go down so well for him and same can be said for other games. In addition I think his economic skills are in need of improvement. Nonetheless he isn't a total newb either.

As for the combo I don't see that much synergy. IMP no longer has the stable as a bonus, but of course it is still an early bonus. He's one of four SPI players this game, which includes me. Out of all the other SPI players I think he might be able to handle it better, excluding me of course . The Khmer are THE civ to go so far in CtH, but they too got nerfed recently with their UU now also at 7 strength. Overall I think I can handle him as a neighbor (again) and I think if he remembers PB52 he might not attack me again.

Player rating: 2
Aggression rating: 5
Economy rating: 2
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Food
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

General KilCavalry
Julius Caesar (IMP/ORG) of Mongolia (Ger, Khesik, Hunting, The Wheel)

More active as a mapmaker in the recent games, but he has proven that he is capable of a good game. I think he is on a good way to become one of our better players, but time will tell.

Here he will play the combo of expand fast and cheap thanks to traits and then conquer someone with Khesiks. Good thing that IMP lost the stable. I think other player will be more afraid of his UU, but I am not as my UU can handle them quiet well.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

pindicator
Lincoln (PHI/CHA) of Dutch (Dike, East Indiaman, Fishing, Agriculture)

Now this one player is dangerous. He's capable of playing a great game and is able to win a game. The biggest problem is moral, but even in a back-breaking game like PB52 he preservered for a long time.

The combo is interesting and without much synergy. Running big specialist cities is definitely possible with those traits and most likely important as the civ bonuses come a lot later. He's definitely a candidate to go for pyramids, which is worrysome. He could go for Metal Casting and pop an engineer much faster then we could do.

Player rating: 5
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 5
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 4

--

Elkad
San Martin (CRE/CHA) of England (Stock Exchange, Redcoat, Fishing, Mining)

One of our quiet players. I was only able to get a better grasp about his abilities via my tracking tool in PB54. From there I think he's a rather average player with a sleight tendency for aggression.

The combo is rather unappealing. No synergy and even a little bit of anti-synergy between CRE and CHA monuments. England comes in rather late in the game, which can definitely become important as this game most likely will go that late.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

The Black Sword
Catherine (CRE/IMP) of China (Pavillion, Chu-Ko-Nu, Agriculture, Mining)

One of our best players playing a great civ with good traits that even have some synergy to the UB even though it isn't a great UB. Do I need to say more?

Player rating: 5
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 5
Civ/Leader combo: 5
Please be my neighbor?: NO, please
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Superdeath
Charlegmane (PRO/IMP) of Inca (Terrace, Quecha, Agriculture, Mysticism)

Everybody's favorite aggressive player, who actually isn't that aggressive all the time. He's really trying to change overall perception about him, but struggles a lot with that. More important then his ability to wreck other players game is that he also has some fondness for wonders.

I love that someone will try Inca, but the problem here is that there is almost no synergy between leader and civ. Not only that but I think PRO will perform poorly on a big map with that many players. Only upside here is IMP. But in order to get PRO/IMP to get working, he needs to favor trade routes and roads early on, which he has failed in the past. I think I can handle him as a neighbor.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 5
Economy rating: 2
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Lazteuq
Montezuma (AGG/SPI) of Persia (Bazaar, Immortal, Agriculture, Hunting)

One of our new players. So far his games didn't go so well for him and compared to some other new players from PB51 he still has to learn some more (or needs good dedlurkers).

I love that someone tries Persia with the new Bazaar, which actually might be very good on a map with so many foreign trade route potential. I doubt that Lazteuq will be able to play SPI to its fullest, which only leaves AGG as the other factor. Unfortunately for him the Immortal isn't affected by AGG. Overall I am not afraid of him especially because of the UU.

Player rating: 2
Aggression rating: 1
Economy rating: 2
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Yes, please
Neighbour rating: Food
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 2

--

Donovan Zoi
Sitting Bull (PRO/PHI) of Spain (Citadel, Conquistador, Fishing, Mysticism)

Long time RBler and great to see him come back for this game. Although that's a bit unfair to say since he played in the neverending story that is Civforum PB88. He promised to write more in his thread like everytime and I'm pretty sure he will do just that (not)

As for the combo there is some immediate synergy between UB and PRO which is at least one upside of PRO. I already said before that PRO won't perform well in a 25 player game. He's also PHI and therefore a candidate for pyramid, but I think pindicator is in a better position to snipe that from him.

Player rating: 3
Aggression rating: 2
Economy rating: 3
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: Ok
Neighbour rating: Warning
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 3

--

mackoti
Ghengis Khan (AGG/IMP) of Ottomans (Hammam, Janissar, Agriculture, The Wheel)

Strong player with strong opinions. Capable of running circles around you and everything else you expect from a longtime veteran of RB.

Here he is playing a dangerous combo of AGG Janissars, which will start out with an aggressive early expansion. Very dangerous I don't want to be his neighbor when the renaissance starts.

Player rating: 5
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 5
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: NO, please
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Frozen + Dulland
Victoria (FIN/IMP) of Babylonia (Garden, Bowman, Agriculture, The Wheel)

From what I've read in the civforum it seems that Frozen is one of the best civforum players. I can also read his suggestions in civacs PB56 thread back at civforum, which only strengthened my opinion about his veteran status.

Here he plays CtHs favorite leader, which thankfully received some nerfs with this version. I hope they will provide some great feedback about the new Babylonian UB. Unfortunately there isn't that much syngery, but with FIN/IMP you don't need that.

Player rating: 5
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 5
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Piccadilly + Flunky
Willem (FIN/CRE) of Mali (Mint, Skirmisher, Mining, The Wheel)

I don't really no that much about these civforum players. I remember that at least Flunky isn't that bad in civforum PB88, but I could be wrong about that.

No real synergy between civ and leader. But at least FIN will profit from the Mint. Thanks to CRE and Skirmishers they will have a safe early game. Because I do not really know much about them I would rather they start not near me.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 4
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Cornflakes
Pericles (CRE/PHI) of Native America (Totem Pole, Dog Soldier, Hunting, Fishing)

Soon to be veteran of RB or is he already at that level? Capable of great wars (PB43) and also some great economic play (PB53).

Another strong PHI player that might have Pyramids in mind. With Native America I'm at least sure that he won't go for early religion and rather avoids that part of the tech tree like Jowy did in PB55. CRE has a little bit of anti-synergy with Totem Poles, but the synergy between PHI and the library bonus from CRE is strong. We will see some early Great Scientist from him. Because of that I somewhat doubt that he might go down the Metal Casting-pop engineer route.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 4
Civ/Leader combo: 2
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 3

--

Commodore
Lieu-Ye (PRO/ORG) of Rome (Forum, Praetorian, Mining, Fishing)

Best story teller of RB. I also have to confess something here. There's a reason why I checked into this game at position #23 just before Commodore. I wanted to make sure that if I play here, he's playing too. That's because I really like to read a player analysis from him about me. And yes that's one item checked of from my RB-bucket list. Other then that we all know that he's capable of great things in-game.

By now everybody knows my opinion about PRO in this game. ORG will be great too. I'm very glad that he didn't get AGG for Rome. Of course because of the Roman UU he will be a dangerous neighbor.

Player rating: 5
Aggression rating: 4
Economy rating: 4
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Danger
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

Ichabod
Hammurabi (AGG/ORG) of Germany (Assembly Plant, Riesengarde, Mining, Hunting)

I would have to go back to their old games to get a better grasp about their abilities, but I would rather check that if we are neighbors. At least they already scored with their thread title maneuver.
EDIT: I totally forgot about the other team members. I only know something about Serdoa and what I've seen so far is that he's quick to exploit any weaknesses his neighbors are showing. So got to keep this in mind.

Glad that somebody gives Germany a ride in a game, which can actually see them get into action. It's also a great combination with all the synergies locked down. Can't get much better for this civ.

Player rating: 4
Aggression rating: 4 (3 before EDIT)
Economy rating: 5 (3 before EDIT)
Civ/Leader combo: 4
Please be my neighbor?: Rather not
Neighbour rating: Danger (Warning before EDIT)
How likely to go for early religion: 1
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

--

The player formally know joshybravo963 aka vanrober for now
Asoka (SPI/ORG) of America (Immigration Station, Minuteman, Agriculture, Fishing)

The big mystery player of this game. We all know that vanrober doesn't want to be the full time player here. It's always a bit disappointing, when a new player quits like that.

As for the combo. Glad that America gets a run. Not that much synergy though. EXP and PHI would have been nice. Because of the state of this player I don't expect much from them.

Player rating: 1
Aggression rating: 3
Economy rating: 1
Civ/Leader combo: 3
Please be my neighbor?: Yes, please
Neighbour rating: Food
How likely to go for early religion: 3
How likely to build the Pyramids: 1

[Charriu]

Now what to do with our game plan in light of our fellow players. This won't be the last word about it as the final decision will be around T25, when Bronze Working is done and we also know what our land is capable of. For now I only want to focus, which how likely it is to go down for an early religion and/or wonders and which key wonders are in competition:

Going for early religion:

- 3 religions are available.
- I doubt that the CRE players will attempt an early religion, which eliminates 6 players.

Of all the left over players I see two players going down for religion as very likely. Those are:

• civac2 with Sumeria, because the UB is on Priesthood, he will most likely go there via Meditation
  
• Mr. Cairo with Aztec and Mysticism. Although he doesn't need to go for the early religions as there is a religion on CoL, which also holds his UB.
  

Next up would be those players:

Donovan Zoi with Spain Mysticism and PHI for an early shrine
naufragar with India and Mysticism. This mainly due to Mysticism and because he may not need that many worker techs.
AutomatedTeller with SPI. Mainly because it is SPI and having a religion with SPI is nice.
Lazteuq same as above
vanrober same as above

Now I admit that there is no single player that screams early religion outright, so I'm not sure if those fill fall early. I know that other players have a soft spot for religion like Rusten and I think Frozen. But just base on their combos nothing indicates an early religous play. It is also important to note that many of those players aren't necessarily the best players in this game. I also have to remember that getting a religion from a neighbor would also be enough for my purposes.

Going for pyramids:

I see a lot of competition for that wonder. No necessarily from the other IND player Amicalola who will most likely go for Stonehenge and the Great Lighthouse. Rather I suspect the PHI players to go for Pyramid. Here are my opinions about those in order of most likely going for pyramid:

Donovan Zoi: With PRO masonry has some additional value. Thanks to the early commerce bonus from trade routes it will also be easier to tech towards Metal Casting. In addition he also has Mysticism for some tech bonus towards Masonry. I deem him the most likely to go for pyramids.
pindicator: With CHA he will most likely go for Mysticism which gives him a tiny boost towards Masonry. Most likely path is via Metal Casting and a great engineer, which pops in 16 turns for a PHI player. The good thing is that there aren't that many early advantages towards pyramids for him other then PHI engineers.
Cornflakes: He has PHI, but the synergy between that and CRE might lead him to an early library instead of an early Metal Casting. Still pyramid is awesome for every PHI player.

I think if we go for pyramid we will have some serious competition from those very capable players.

Going for Colossus:

I think that if we go for early Metal Casting we will most likely have the best chance of building this thanks to IND. Of course we also need the appropriate land or better water for this. But other then that who else might go for that. There are:

Mjmd: Like on a water start due to Portugal and ORG
pindicator: Also likely near water due to Dutch
Donovan Zoi: Also because of civ in this case Spain
vanrober: Americas UB is a harbor

Now of course it also depends on their territory, but I think compared to those I have the bigger advantage of nailing Colossus.

Going for Great Lighthouse:

I already said that this most likely falls to Amicalola with IND and ORG. If not all the other 6 ORG players might have a shot at it. Or Superdeath because it's one of his favorite wonders. I'd rather not compete with all of those.


There are some more key wonders, but right now I only want to focus on those that give me an immediate and early bonus.

[Coeurva]

I think e.g. civac might be going for Mids, too, since Sumeria has a reason to go down the Monarchy path early.

Only the briefest words on player ranking: Ichabod/Serdoa in the middling tier feels wrong to me, as does Miguelito/Rusten. If you care, my impression of winning chances goes roughly like this:

"25%" mackoti
"15%" TBS
"10% each" pindicator / Miguelito+Rusten / Ichabod+Darrell+Serdoa / civac
"5% each" Commodore / Cornflakes / Frozen+Dulland / Mr. Cairo
"1% each" superdeath / Amicalola

Yeah, I'm filing both of us under no fucking chance against this field and will be happy if we survive to the end on more than an iceball. It's always sunshine on the Coeurva Channel.

Unless vanrober is completely checked out, I doubt we'll find "food" in this game. Piccadilly and Ramkhamhaeng are the two players that I have not the least clue about.

[Charriu]

Yes, that might be true for civac, but he basically has the same potential to go for Masonry as everybody else, who has Mining.

Ah I forgot about Ichabod's team members, I will have to edit my section about them in the next days. I deliberately didn't do a winning chance ranking. Rather I wanted to inspect the players in regards to being dangerous to me.

I'm fine with having no chances. Actually that's good as it alleviates pressure. Personally I think one of the problems some players here at RB have - and especially the very competitive ones - is that winning the game becomes an obstacle to having fun in a game. I remember that some of the best board games I ever played, became so memorably not because of an amazing win, but rather because the players had so much within the system that winning wasn't important anymore.