A great way for you beginners to start-up and get to higher difficulty levels is practicing with archipelago in the easier difficulties. Not only does this teach you how to effectively maneuver a navy force(as i know most newbies are generally pangea addicts) but it also helps you by removing the desperate wonder fixiation most of you are suffering from. In archipelago, pretty much all useful ancient age wonders excl. GL(i dont understand why its so useful) and The lighthouse, see their effects almost nullfied. Of course you'll still have to practice some limiting on yourself but i personally found this a great boost on regent and skipped straight to emperor after only 2 monarch games. Hope this helps :nuke:

BtW, Ision, if you consider me stealing on some of your ideas, let me know.

"BtW, Ision, if you consider me stealing on some of your ideas, let me know."

You dirty rotten thief!!! -lol-

Just Kidding - feel free to quote me at any time or to use any links to my articles. I wish I could take credit for the substance of those articles but for the most part they are the product of many expert players to whom I am indebted.

Ision

" GL(i dont understand why its so useful) "

saintly,

Okay, once you get passed wonder fixation - it's time to play WITH different wonder strategies - The Great Library is in my opinion one of the best (arguably THE best) wonders in the game.

Here's a suggestion:

Try out a -Pang or Cont- game with the Greeks or Koreans - do a a beeline for literature and nail the GL with your Palace pre-build. After that just sit back on minimum research until Education, or once in the Middle Ages - beeline to Military Tradition while the GL works the top row for you. In the first case you will have amassed enough gold to hurry buildings and/or troops by the ton, in the second case you may be able to win a record time dom/conquest victory with a Greek Cavalry rush vs outdated pikes. If Korean, try a 'stack of doom' Hwacha attack - then tell me if you still think the GL is no big deal!

I do not know what level your playing on, but if it's Cheif to Monarch - the info I gave you above is golden. If your an Emp/Deity player, the value of the GL manifest itself differently. But thats another story.

Never forget, always have a back up plan- never count on getting the GL as a given. Once you nail a couple of games with the GL you will see why it can be addicting for many players (and a crutch for others).

Ision

gr8 i'm going to try it out now, thx Izio, holiday cheers