I've spent countless hours on guantlet games, but I've actually only submitted perhaps one (if that, I don't really remember). The reason for that is that the folks who frequent this here HOF subforum are incredibly good; I don't stand a chance! For example, a pre 1000 AD liberalism seems to be par for the course; I think I've even seen someone claim a pre 100AD liberalism :eek:

I want to learn how people are pulling that off, and besides, a good writeup can be very entertaining to read. There are at least a few good writeups on this site, but they seem to be a bit scattered; to my knowledge there is no centralized repository for things of that sort, making it difficult to find them and sort them. The war academy is useful, but I for one find it easier to learn by example.

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good writeups by seasoned players? I'm specifically curious as to how some folks manage to have a good sized early empire (at 0 AD or so) AND score an early liberalism.

On a slightly related note, I'm wondering if any of the heavy-hitters that frequent the HOF forum will be participating in the "intersite pitboss game" in the announcement at the top of the forum? I intend to lurk the heck out of that thread to learn anything I can from whomever ends up playing turns, and also it would be cool to score a win for team CFC!

The gauntlet threads are the closest we have to game write-ups. Usually if you post questions about tactics etc, most people will respond, it is a good way to learn.

You should enter your games in the gauntlets, see how you fare against the other folk and chart some improvement. I've been enterting gauntlets for the best part of 3 years and haven't come close to winning one yet. :lol:

The gauntlet threads are pretty helpful, I read them and the XOTM threads even when I don't participate. I guess I'm hoping for some information that's a bit more detailed than the average post-game summary in those threads. Another thing which could be very helpful to other players who want to learn from the greats would be periodic game saves, so we can have a closer look at the decisions they made during their game.

You can look at the logs etc. of the games. Just click on the name in the HOF tables.

the start for a HOF game is usually incredibly important. A research game where you don't start out with gems or gold in the fat cross, and often with 2, will be a tough one. generally, I think you'll find that those have fast academies and bureuacracy, as well.

I started a thread for all of my hof games, while I dont really add any writeups there, i did comment heavily about my rain forest map game, though. if I ever get good enough to start handing out advice I plan to add write ups, right now I'm still feeling my way around the game, but i pretty much own emporer level . . . just not to the extent many of the other players own emporer level. I often try things just to see how they will work out for good or bad. You're welcome to look at any of my submissions & if any strike you as being any good i would gladly walk you through parts of the game, i rename every save folder for every HOF game & set autosave to one, which means I have every turn for almost every game saved. The only problem is not many of my games are really any good, lol, but I do take some measure of pride in placing 2nd in G-Major 56, my first ever gauntlet & im tying G-Major 59 with what is prolly a unique approach that will end up failing miserably.

the start for a HOF game is usually incredibly important. A research game where you don't start out with gems or gold in the fat cross, and often with 2, will be a tough one. generally, I think you'll find that those have fast academies and bureuacracy, as well.

i start every game with 2 gold or gems no matter the VC

I guess I'm hoping for some information that's a bit more detailed than the average post-game summary in those threads.

You can ask questions in the gauntlet threads to get this information, most people who take part will happily answer.

To m4gill4,
You have inspired me to create a write-up. I'm doing it one G-Minor 80. Basically, I've outlined my general strategy for the match, and then I've recorded all the major moves I took. I'm writing it mainly as a help for me, to give me focus to my game; hopefully it can be a help to others as well. I should have it posted sometime in the next week or two.