Situation: I am in serious command of the game (prince, Darius, huge, marathon) and I have a border with Sitting Bull. He and I have always had tenuous, but never hostile relations (no wars). Now, I have subjugated the southern half of my continent, only he and his vassal (DeGaulle) remain as rivals on my landmass. I have recently gained control of a tile that will allow me (with the help of sid's sushi, sports leage buffed collisseums, and three super-temples) to culturally capture two or maybe three of his cities. Sure, it will take time, but it will give him something other than building tech and military while I begin taking on overseas opponents with my military. The other option is to invade and force capitulation. (Certainly quicker, but somehow less satisfying to my sensibilities)

So the question: Do I build the city, or invade? Or build the city, expand borders, and capture three of his cities on turn 1 of a war?

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/778/buildorno.th.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/buildorno.jpg/)

Ranked from easiest to hardest

1. Start a new game because you're obviously going to win this one.
2. Capitulate everyone on your continent.
3. Invade another continent.
4. Try to capture a border city with culture.

Capturing the border city should probably be #3 though.

I don't want one border city with culture; I want three. I've never seen such an obvious location to do it as this.

And #1 was obvious at about 0AD when I'd completely settled a secure land area about 3-4X the average with Darius (FIN+ORG+substantial early land lead+not an idiot=win) I fully intend to do #2, as there are only two to go (four are already vassals, two early rivals eliminated altogether) I am also doing #3, just to make Sid's Sushi pop. Am I stroking an astoundingly dominant position? Sure. But it's also fun to be George W Bush, if only by way of a game.

Yes, you are in an outstanding position. :lol:

It's easily the best Prince game I've played, and is making me want to take a crack at Monarch with Darius. But because it's the best Prince game I've played, I want to finish it. Surely understandable, no?

and in case you were curious:

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8408/culturecity.th.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/culturecity.jpg/)

You're not going to capture his cities with a city placed on that spot. Not unless you puled some serious culture tricks. Maybe cathedrals in the city you put down. It would actually try and flip to him repeatedly, I think. I say go ahead and take the cities by force.

Capturing the border city should probably be #3 though.

I find intercontinental invasions far easier than culture flipping border cities like that.

I only can agree to yesod. You might find serious trouble keeping that city in the first place, and you never know, if even one city flips before you win. Plastics is quite close to apollo, right? Anyway if the game offers no other challenge to you...

You'd have had better luck with placing it one south of that tile. Currently it's 3rd-ring to Spiro (but Dariush Kabir can pressure that to), and 4th-ring to Moundville and Snaketown.

Flipping one 4th-ring city will be unlikely before the game's over, but two? Not going to happen. One south would still be 3rd-ring to Spiro, so that'll fall either way, but also would be 3rd-ring to Moundville, so that you'd actually have a modest chance to get that too.