[SPOILERS] Roland and Suboptimal Team Up

[roland of gilead]

Looking tough for you down under Sub.

3 turns i will have square rigging and can start upgrading.

[suboptimal]

Yep...navy's mostly gone but I think one jong will be able to run away, take the long way around and fight another day.

Turn 122

How many jong are left? Two, along with the embarked chariot, though that one is badly injured.




It’s also trapped by the Russian chariot since I can’t use sea tiles yet.

The gift waiting for me is chocolate from Roland. I accept and then look elsewhere to take care of things first. Shuffle units around and see two naval movements to pay attention to:




Well, that trader will be toast in a couple of turns, if not next turn. I do move my galley north. I don’t have a second screenshot (thought I did) but an Aussie galley showed up at the southern extend of Mother & Child Reunion’s borders. If it comes north into The Slot it will die. I do move the jong around to the north, just out of sight of the galley if it moved its max range. I’ll let the cities sink it next turn then move the jong back in. Minor attempt at deception.

So, Australia. Well, not that it’ll help but I disembark the chariot and shoot the Russian one. My eastern jong moves south, staying out of sight of Australian borders. There’s a clear path to the east down here and I’ll take it. I might get stuck at Norway when I get there but I’ll deal with that then (might very well have Cartography). The knight moves inland, across the river. I take the promotion vs. ranged attacks now instead of holding it to heal. That might make the difference between survival and death next turn. The swordsman moves southwest next to the Holy Site. Next turn I’ll shuffle units to get north of Fantasy and see what I can do with the Russian units. Confucius wanders south and finds another Aussie crossbow:




I’ve got a new government available but don’t want Merchant Republic. Ordinarily that’d be the go-to but since they swapped the slot distribution with Monarchy I am going to stay in the latter. Time for a policy change, though:




The slightly added growth will help build population a little faster on Big Island. Press Gangs is for the soon-to-start naval rebuild at Al. That city’s trebuchet finishes the turn after next and then I think I’ll start cranking out galleys for a caravel fleet. The time for the man-at-arms at Obvious Child is all jacked up:




I’ll see how many it has in it next turn. There’s something fishy going on here.

Roland, I’ll be able to complete Cartography seven turns after you finish Square Rigging. However, I’m likely to hold it until I get 5-6 galleys out, at which point I’ll complete it and come begging for some .

Archduke’s milpower just jumped by 300 – he most certainly has frigates in the water.

[roland of gilead]

Gold is a bit finite so we will need to put a plan together. I can get you the eureka for medieval faires in 5 or 6 turns btw

[roland of gilead]

Turn 123

CMF is still trying to play a game he can't win. Up to him I suppose.



I add a 3rd Turtles and happiness spreads.



Start building galleys



library in 3 at capital. My science is almost competitive now and growing.



I am moving some quads up towards big island.

[suboptimal]

Turn 123

Injured jong is dead, CMF attacked my knight with his courser and a trade route was pillaged by Russia.

Reposition some units; archer comes ashore at Fifty and the one at Fifty heads for Under African Skies (where Liang established this past turn). Galley situation at Mother & Child:




I keep the jong in position to the north. TO the east my Galley moves west and left one of the Russian galleys only to encounter another.




The fogged galley is 3SE of my galley. I might escape, I might not.

Down in Australia:




Confucius goes west to the lumbermill. Chariot moves inland, swordsman moves west and the knight crosses the river. As for my remaining jong, well, I could head west and try to take Fantasy but with Russian units on the way that’s not likely. I also can’t move past Flower Boy due to ZoC – it’d take me three turns to get there. For the land units this is now a pillaging game. I send the jong east, carefully. CMF would be able to catch me via the direct route if he guesses correctly. Hopefully by then I’m far enough east to outrun him.

Obvious Child definitely has an issue with its unit build:




That man-at-arms only added 6 last turn when it should have added 13. I abandon that build and start a crossbow. Fifty Ways will complete its Holy Site and start the shrine next turn – it’s got a paltry 6 per turn so is a slow builder. I may buy the Commercial Hub tile if the city doesn’t take it in four turns. Campus at Proof will complete and it’ll start its (slow going) Commercial Hub. I buy a trader at Proof this turn – it’ll be sent to Graceland for a 21 route. I’ll need to replace the trader that was pillaged, but not immediately. My next buy will be a 6-charge builder but that’s not quite urgent – I’m going to get Magnus with Medieval Faires and park him in Fifity Ways. The builder will be doing a bit of lumberjacking and I want him around for the bonuses.

[roland of gilead]

Turn 124

Couple of points what do we do about diplomacy with the Bruise Brothers?

My next civc ids Medieval Faires Sub i will get you the eureka and let you save some culture. That will let me get victor in place with the free promotion at the same time i can faith buy units out of my encampment city.

lock in a campus at Fil



This is taking forever to convert which is annoying don't want to buy a missionary but may have to.



recruited victor a few turns ago and forgot to say.



Bought a worker for the great library.



Start work on the encampment.



Eventually i will produce armys out of here with promotions and all sorts of fun.

[suboptimal]

You've already boosted Medieval Faires - I've got the inspiration for it already. I think diplomatically we go "neutral" on Bruise -- if they feel we're a threat they may try to offer a new DoF. I don't know that they can pivot in our direction without leaving their backside exposed to Red/White. Perhaps see how that plays out before making any moves on our own?

[suboptimal]

Turn 124

CMF was excited to play the turn. What did he do? He sank my galley. That’s OK, its replacement at Have a Good Time has completed and the city starts another.

At home the trebuchet in Al has completed and I start a galley. Obvious Child has put the correct amount of into the crossbowman so it seems only the man-at-arms is borked. Builder at the city puts in a tundra lumbermill. Down on Big Island the unit shuffle continues. Trader at Proof heads to Graceland. That city has completed its Campus and starts the Commercial Hub. Under African Skies has grown and the citizen has nowhere to work. I’ve also got a bit of a tile picker dilemma up here:




I want the city to take the spot marked for the Commercial Hub but it’s been fixated on that forest. If it was going to take a forest I’d prefer it to take the one to the SW so I could swap it over to Skies. I’ll likely buy that tile after city expansion, chop out the jungle and start the Commercial Hub there. Magnus is eight turns away so I start a granary, which completes in eleven. I’ll use the first Magnuschop to complete that and overflow into the district. Speaking of Techs I start Buttress. At Hearts & Bones I put the jong into the city and on alert. If the Aussie ship ventures close enough to be seen by the city the ship should activate.

On the Aussie mainland:




There was an Aussie unit that attacked the sword so there might be a crossbow in the city. Sword and knight swap places and the knight attacks. I’ll find about about that crossbow next turn, I suppose. Confucius finds The College Dropout, 1SW of where I marked it:




It’s a canal city based on the city center graphics, so would have been gettable from the west coast. I’d embark to be a pain in the ass but the galley could get me. Perhaps I’ll do that at Lake Mackay once I’m done exploring. My remaining jong continues east but gets sighted on its last tile move – Marcopolo has also been using his great prophet to explore. Hopefully I’ve got enough of a head start where the Russians can’t track me down.

I need 360 (three turns more) to buy a settler. I may do that to get Midway Island going.

[roland of gilead]

Had my stag night last night and am very very rough today. Agree on the Bruise brothers keep our options open. would be nice to get the turn tonight as I have a busy day at work tomorrow.

[suboptimal]

On my many trips to Scotland I've heard of two solutions for a rough night. Scotch and Buck Fizz. Not taken together, mind you, unless it was really rough.