[Spoilers] Elkad thinks catchy thread titles are silly.

[Elkad]

Especially since I can't read the threads to see if the title is actually applicable.

[Old Harry]

Your start. The fog is made of mist and mirage.

[Elkad]

Terrible at sims, just don't have the patience.

Looks like my best bet is worker, workboat, worker, warriors to 5.
At T42 I should have 2 workers, 4 warriors, 2 settlers without whipping, but with all my BFC trees gone.
Still need to look at whipping early, I've been revolting to slavery after the first settler is out.
Map discovery changes city placements of course, but 1E of the corn or crab looks a decent first spot. Lots of food, might as well share it.

[Elkad]

Well, early turns are boring. haven't bothered to update.

Joey stuck his scout in my capital and peeked early, I let him have a ceasefire, since I couldn't kill it anyway.
My Scout (on a forest hill) died to a lion fairly early, only got to scout north half of my land (I'm against the north edge of the map)

Now with half my power, Joey runs a single Impi (and a scout) into my land? (SW of the sheep) Is he TRYING to make us both lose with a choke? Or can he not read a power graph?
Anyway, revolted early (settler was 2t out, intended to revolt while it moved), so I can pay the brutal price to whip a 0-hammer Axe next turn if needed. His Impi can take the forest hill next to my capital next turn (which I was chopping, worker had to run). Or I guess he can pray to the RNG gods and hope an Agg Impi can beat a fully fortified agg spear on a hill and take my capital.

[Elkad]

And Joey ran away. Didn't even take the hill, just 2-moved back out of view with the Impi and Scout both. He couldn't see any of my units from where he was standing, and since I can't see his units, he didn't peek and move back.

He offered Peace. I declined it to look around, and then re-offered. Net loss, 1t delay on my 1st settler (due to early revolt), and several lost worker turns (3 I think, due to re-routing my hill jumping).

Since I don't have time to build anything but settlers/defenders/workers right now, techs are kinda irrelevant for the next several turns. Hindu is still technically available, but functionally out of reach. I don't even have mysticism yet, so the likelyhood is one of the Oracle racers will double back for Poly about now and beat me. Which means either I head for Writing directly, or try for Great Wall maybe. I do have potential stone, but it's over the water, so I need a galley. Masonry+Sailing both, and then sending a settler over the water too. Seems unlikely.

I also have gold, silver and furs in easy range, plus 2 later resources. Gems are visible, but far away (and likely someone else is closer). That's a lot of early happiness.
As aggressive as Joey is playing, I feel I need to settle to the south first, just to contest the space and buffer my capital. Not ideal from a resource standpoint, but manageable.

[Elkad]

World is getting crowded. Still land to my east, but Commodore has a foothold there. Big island has competition from Joey, but he's in a war now, maybe that will slow him down. It's with HAK, so unless it's some silliness, it almost has to be at the south end of the island.

Internal debate whether I settle to block Joey on the island, or give up land to Joey to secure the Ivory in the NE corner, which Commodore may be targeting. Asked HAK for another map trade to try to get info on the war.

In other news, I'm still at the bottom of the board. DZ showed 4 chariots and a galley near me (plus the axe that's been camping my border forever). No reason for them to be up there, other than he's got plans for my cities. So instead of the 5 more settlers I'd like to be building, I think I have more critical issues.

Caught between the 3 score leaders. Yay. No horses, so I have to defend multiple fronts with slow troops. And if I don't keep expanding, none of that matters anyway.

Do I continue hiding my reserve forces from DZ, or hope a show of power will dissuade him from even attempting an invasion?

[Elkad]

At least I'm closer on score than I am on postcount :0

[Old Harry]

Any chance of a map of the empire?

[Elkad]

Yes, the scouts are placeholders. Institutional paranoia.

[Elkad]

On T94 I built my academy in The Hague. Only about 2 beakers difference vs my capital, and puts the +4 culture on DZs border to steal the pig tile. Plus steal the mountain giving him good visibility into my land.
This turn (T96) I finished CoL and founded Confuzedism in the same city 2 turns later. +5 more culture. I'd rather have had it on a different city, but oh well. I guess eventually it will put pressure on his gold tile, but that is a long way away. 30 turns to even start, and I won't be able to use it.

DZ spotted the culture coming and pillaged the pig tile I'll steal next turn. I won't have worker access for a long time without 2 forts to lake-hop. 20+ worker turns...
3rd ring pop also covered the horse tile. Guards in place, workers next turn to hook it up.

Commodore has settled a 2nd city on my peninsula. On the plains hill under the clock in the top screenshot, claiming the rice+horse). In 2t my capital will start on a settler to claim the sheep tile.
If I save the free missionary for that, do I get the culture without adopting a state religion? I seem to remember it's no, but not sure.

Next tech. Construction? Calendar? Asthetics for SoZ is tempting, but probably not.
I need calendar for the food and silk commerce/happiness. MoM is also a goal, especially if I can find someone to trade marble.
But I need construction to not die. Considering my current list of things my workers need to do anyway before building plantations, I think it's Construction first.

Oddly, Agg+Org is so good, I don't really need the courthouses immediately. Only saves me about 1gpt per city. 60t payoff in hammers (vs building wealth), more like 45t with a whip in there. Plus the opportunity cost, minus whatever value I put on EP points (some, but not a lot with the massive mission price increase). Guess I should have thought of that before I researched it. More reason why I need to quit playing by the seat of my pants and sim stuff occasionally.