Been playing BTW for a few weeks now, and am still trying to get a grip on certain strategies. Probably my biggest two weaknesses are undermobilizing (not building enough military) and not specializing my cities enough.

Typically, I end up using my capital as both my primary production and wonder city. Sure, it works, but I certainly don't get enough control over my GP.

So, here's the real question...

How do you choose the city to put Moai Statues in?


I have been looking for a city specifically with a lot of water, that can grow big, but is thin on resources.

Thanks for the help!

That sounds about right, I'd avoid putting it in you capital as starting locations ussually have more than enough production.

I save the Moai Statues for a city that has a lot of coastal tiles. It can take a worthless city site and make something useful out of it.

Outside BtS, the best use I've seen propounded for the Moai Statues is in one of Tom Holt's books - wig stands for the gods . . .

I prefer it, as DigitalBoy says, for a city with several coastal tiles, since they'll get 2 commerce instead of 1. Ideally, the city has at least one source of seafood and also has a handful of good production tiles, otherwise the statues take too long to build. And frankly, if you put it in a city with little or no production to begin with, I think you're just making a lousy city into a mediocre one.

I like to combine the Moai Statues with the Heroic Epic, giving me a city that can produce ships or other military units quickly.

best place to put it is between a large lake and an ocean, w/ a lighthouse all of the lake tiles will yield 3 :food: 1 :hammers: and 2 :commerce:. If you have some other good resource tiles in range a good moai statues city can easily become the best in your empire.

I usually play as the Dutch, and always try to build Maoi Statue on a one tile island with one or two seafood resources. Then once I research steam power, I rush build the dyke there. Once built, you get :hammers: :hammers: plus :food: :food: per water tile! Good times.

I usually play as the Dutch, and always try to build Maoi Statue on a one tile island with one or two seafood resources. Then once I research steam power, I rush build the dyke there. Once built, you get :hammers: :hammers: plus :food: :food: per water tile! Good times.

That's a good suggestion. More generally (if you're not playing as the Dutch), what you could do is make sure there are at least 2 or three hills or a production resource in your Statues city since otherwise you'll take forever to build the thing! A city with 2 food/seafood resources and 2 hills nearby would be ideal IMO.

My favourite Statues city ever was a one-tile island with 4 fish resources and 2 ice hills in the radius (everything else water). I had to hop workers from island to island to build the 2 mines but it was worth it to get the Statues built! This city became my primary military producer! I had to keep ferrying new units back to the mainland for my three larger cities which were going for culture victory... One of my more unique games for sure.

island cities are great as they are very hard to capture aswell

So, basically, I using 'em about as good as I could.
I like the idea of using the Statues in a city you'll build the Heroic Epic...

I often choose a city that is on a penninsula,, so I can have a little production first.

I think the most important aspect of their placement is that you have enough food to actually work enough water tiles to make it worthwhile. Other considerations for placement will apply in certain situations. Like in my current game as the Portuguese I had wanted to save it for an island settlement which I had my eye on. But as the game developed and two civs declared war on me, I decided I really needed that extra production in my capital ASAP. I beat down the first wave of assaults and had a solid defense in place and then wanted to quickly build an offense to take advantage of their war declaration. I had Stone and it was a quick build just in time for Macemen. It has made a very big difference in the building of my Army.

i place it in a coastal city that already has a lot of production on the ground tiles(mines/forests) and some food ressources to allow it to work all of them.

i mostly use it as my main shipyard.