[Mjmd #60] Why even buy toys for kids?

[Mjmd]

T38 & T39

#*#&#&  

Sometimes its not your game.....

Someone landed Buddhism T38. Come on people. Its like they are trying to screw me specifically. This is why I generally go for the good stuff combos and not try to do something fun. 6 player game I thought sure though. Sigh.

I mean I was doing binary science, so just lost overflow, sid beakers, and 1 turn of research, but now I'm going to run out of gold before I finish Hinduism..... People do realize they should research worker techs right!!! (as I don't research worker techs).

Settled 'Boxes'. Leading food, last in GNP. My cities not being connected via trade is hurting a lot. 8 turns to grow is just blargh; will probably be 9. I stopped doing micro but I'm still doing math. Work cow 6 turns for 18 food, 2 turns working silver for 2 food, and then 1 turn working cow again. Along with the gold working silver gets me the monument sooner. If I'm desperate for gold maybe I'll keep working it / shrug.

I have to decide if capital is building a worker or settler in 4 turns. Water will be unhealthy at size 3, and again stopped doing micro so unsure when its first 2 pop whip will be.

Thrawn any last questions before I go curl up in a corner?

[Mjmd]

 Therefore stonehenge does help providing a free 30h worth monument. Some games you don't need culture as much as others, just depends on map, but usually it still easily worth the value the wonder. The great person points provided are also very valuable. If i do end up with a religion Stonehenge and or Oracle are some of the easier ways of getting a shrine going, which helps spread rate and also provides a gold per city.

The short answer is this map the culture is more important than normal. 

The next big one is Oracle for me. Races can be important, but it depends what overall game plan is. I choose industrious as my economic trait, so it is pretty important I get value from it. 

On this map with the large rush distances I would expect the only early action to be if SD wants to get spicy and of course the most likely target is me......   

In games news SD did switch to slavery a couple turns back. Monitoring power graph constantly and have scout headed back that way. 

GKC warrior is fortifying 3 south of my capital it looks like? GKC also knows AH, so maybe also chariots? Forgot to check while I was just in, but wasn't in slavery last I knew. The way the jungles are set up it is easier for 2 movers to go between SD and me though.

[Mjmd]

T42

I owe pictures. I know I know get out of your funk Mjmd and do stuff.



I'm assuming GKC is going to try to war his way through to continue scouting, problem is I um have a city and am improving my city over there. This has caused me to work the plains mine for 2 turns to get another warrior out. The only upside is that along with Waters growing is that Poly will only have a smidge left when I run out of gold and I should be able to complete in 3 still. No I haven't done simming of what that will do to my next 2 pop whip, but probably slow by a turn. I'm hoping he just turns around this turn. He saw my warrior on forested hill last turn. 

GKC has also delayed the scout I still have in queue, which I would dearly like to the north looking out for SD war chariots atm. My other scout has a nice hill perch atm in the east. Power graph continues to show nothing.

I wanted to note why I'm focusing on SD so much early and not just because his UU is the earliest. GCK could also chariot rush me or someone I haven't met NW yet. I took a zoomed out screenshot. In order for GKC to attack me he would have to 1 move chariots at least twice. For SD to get from his capital to mine 2 movers can exactly get on the 1 jungle tile along the way, basically making the 19 tiles from his capital to either of my cities a 10 turn attack instead of GKC 12 (assuming same distance). GKC can instead choose to go after Jowy for the same 10 turns. Mind you 10 turns is a long time, which I am very thankful of......

[Mjmd]

T44 & T45

The odds were in my favor but I specifically haven't called out how much I would hate Hinduism popping up in boxes (especially after dedicating a chop to monument there). Luckily I got it where I wanted (religion favors older founded cities and higher pop cities, but it wasn't a lock).



What I wasn't expecting was that it would have 5 culture already the turn it was founded. Never noticed / cared before I guess.

Other things:
-Working silver I'm now 2nd in last in GNP. I'm now 2nd in food though with soon to be two slow cities.
-You can see I've selected sailing before AH / pottery. I can't say I've ever done this before....... However, my gnp is soooo bad that I think I just need the upgraded trade routes. That and working two sea resources. It won't time well for water, but I'll probably chop forest in into 1 pop whip the galley. Capital will contribute that settler for city #5. Probably settle 10 or 11 turns from now. Will mean I have to work that silver constantly. Although trade routes should help.
-Hopefully I can meet two remaining people for known tech bonuses on the actual important techs as well.

[Mjmd]

T47

Rocks founded. Finally have some trade routes! SD declared war to delay mining of copper for a turn. Power still shows no War Chariots (I believe). I have 3 warriors there thanks to GKC /shrug.



Since Water didn't have a unit in it I put a turn into worker at size 3 and will whip next turn. I gave it the farm this turn to grow just for max food since it has 3 good tiles to work long term soon and a 1 pop whip to do soonish.

Rocks isn't the most spectacular city, but will be farming another floodplains, so it will have 2 four food resources, which seems to be about average for this map.

Edit: changed Rocks to work boat. I should have a fairly early masonry, so should wait. I'll need 2 work boats for Rocks and the Pig fish city, so might as well start on them now while I don't get extra modifiers.

[Tarkeel]

We're getting closer to T50, could I ask for an overview shot and your thoughts on the map so far?

[Mjmd]

T48

I messed up settling Rocks last turn. I should have waited until this turn as SD likely would have given peace facing down 3 warriors. He choose to move warrior to hill sheep. Now I can either move multiple warriors towards Rocks and give him a 25% chance on deleting a worker (bad), I can keep 2 warriors on worker and send 1 warrior to Rocks (10-12%, but also bad), or I could have moved 2 warriors to marble hill and moved worker to waste a turn.

I should have done option 3 and moved two warriors to marble hill and moved worker to waste a turn. It would have forced him to move probably 1 E where I could continue to force him out. 

I did option 2. Put 2 warriors on floodplain and another turn into farm. Put other warrior 1W on that floodplain so it can go into city next turn. He will then have a low % chance to raze. 

Quick morning turns bad for thinking. Lets see if I get punished. 

Tarkeel will do.

[Mjmd]

T50

I was not punished and am now at peace with SD. Its 1 AM so all you get is crappy demos:



I was fast to 4 cities, but now am slowing down for the fishing city to you know actually afford things....... I believe city #5 will be turn 60. Luckily my 2nd and 3rd city are soooo slow that they don't put pressure on me to keep expanding. Sailing besides getting me 2c trade city will also actually connect Boxes, which isn't nothing. Capital culture pop should connect Water in 2 turns.

Jowy is insane GNP and good food on 2 ciites. Early sailing for working those org lighthouses for fin tiles. Smooth play. Needs more cities. The only good thing is I think GKCs pick was also awesome so hopefully GKC and Jowy duke it out. Superdeath is also close / ahead on food, but with creative and actually having AH, I'm not surprised.

Edit: as a result of not doing micro I accidentally finished my work boat in boxes costing me 1gpt for next 7 turns...... DOH!.

[Mjmd]

2 part post. 1st map stuffs. 2nd replying to Thrawn

Map stuffs. I wasn't going to mention map stuff more, but Tarkeel requested so /shrug.

I like the idea of small spokes leading into contested areas (A LOT, like please would do again). I wish the spokes had been shorter and the contested areas larger.

7 games in and I have no clue if I prefer mirrored or near mirrored starts. That being said, if you are going to mostly mirrior and then deviate be careful. There is no excuse for giving 2 golds vs 2 silvers. I could really use that 4 extra commerce a turn..... Also jungled golds for people to fight over in the middle give it some extra umph.

There are A LOT of 2nd ring fish..... The long spokes really hurt this as well as you don't have a lot of option on order of settling. If you aren't creative / stonehenge its such a feel bad. I didn't fully realize how many there were early and now stonehenge being stolen makes a lot more sense.


Edit: also still think the starting settling decision was a feel bad decision, which is meh going into a game.

[Mjmd]

So this just isn't your game

Well I lost Stonehenge, but luckily none of the aggressive action against me has been that damaging. I'm still thinking on how to overcome issues. My biggest issue is that I didn't push enough for monarch and these emperor costs are killer. I also spent a lot beakers on a religion I didn't end up founding..... but at least I can use those later.

Solutions:
1) Skip Hunting and AH. Luckily cows mainly get buffed production and all I'm really losing is a pig plant atm.
2) I decided to go for early sailing. This lets me keep expanding while boosting said miserable GNP. For the record thrawn usually you go worker techs (including AH) > pottery > sailing.
3) Keep skipping AH
4) I think I'm going wheel pottery next.
5) Finally go to priesthood. I thought about switching 4 and 5, but my workers are running out of things to do.
6) keep skipping AH and go masonry?

I did realize I should have finished the floodplains farm instead of working on copper, so I switched this last turn and have copper 1 turn from completing if I need. Unsure if I want to build another cheap hammer warrior (common reason for not connecting copper). I don't really feel like paying for it......

Strengths:
I have 4 cities an am imperialistic, so if I can get an economy going I should be set. My main competitor with how map is set up is SD, who has the key 'creative' trait for this map, but literally 0 economic traits, so hopefully can land Oracle.......