Nobles' Club CIII: Lincoln of the United States of America

Finally capped Ragnar after taking 10 of his cities. I think I'm gonna go for space since i haven't done that in awhile.

Things went really well for me diplomatically in this game, which made it a lot easier than it could've been. Ragnar stayed focused on Asoka and left me alone, but was never able to do a ton of damage. He only captured 1 or 2 Indian cities over the course of two wars.

The other continent spent the entire game warring. Quite a few hotheads over there. Shaka and Willem were worst enemies as were Napolean and Sury. Shaka and Napolean both finally capped on the same turn sometime in the 1800s, but a handful of turns later Sury declared on Willem despite being "pleased."

As a result, the final 168 years of this game were an uneventful (and rather boring) space "race" in which no one else managed to build even one space ship part.

Fun but can see why it's a challenging map on a higher difficulty. Nothing spectacular about my game TBH managed to cap Ragnar when he declared on me and Asoka soon after giving me the continent. Then all I did was tech up and take over the other continent 1 by 1.

In the end I capped everyone but got a domination victory I thought I should have got Conquest but I'm just happy to have won it, the turns were getting very slow at the end rofl.

Another spoiler for you, but one you'd find out almost immediately. You meet both of the AIs he spoke about very quickly. Still well worth a play.

BW shows that there's copper west, near Asoka, so I send my settler there. Researched the wheel third, AH fourth for the pigs, built a road west and setter arrived just as it was done, worker could start on the copper, then pig once AH done. New York has copper, stone and pigs in the first ring, no need for a monument. Now, the southeast is clearly mine, uncontested, and to the north is uninviting jungle. So the most pressing expansion seems to be to the west, take over Asoka's land (especially since I settled the copper in his face).

Had the opportunity to steal two workers from him, and then never bothered to get peace, New York built a barracks and then looped axemen for hundreds of years. Scouting his land I saw that my future Delhi was on the coast, with lots of coast around, so I decided to whip a lighthouse in Washington and chop out the GL. This slowed down the war, but hopefully was worth it long term. I had a stack of axemen outside Delhi, but he had too many defenders, archers and axemen on hill city, worried I'd have to take peace and focus more on military. But was able to lure several of the axemen out by moving toward Bombay and quickly back.

After getting delhi I take peace, now I should be able to outproduce him for the buildup. Instead of making military he settles a city just east of delhi. Seems its for the iron, but will it get the border pop in time? I settle north of Washington for the gems/clam/corn, not sure how far away Ragnar is but I need that site. First great scientist made an academy in Washington.

Built up axemen and teched toward construction. Asoka asks for open borders, how nice of him to let me monitor his city defenses and know when to strike City next to New York is no problem, but south city is well defended, my stack won't be able to get it so I move toward the barb city first while a few turns away from construction (plan to whip cats everywhere as soon as it's up), but then Asoka moves his axemen out of the city north. Get in position and declare, I take it on the second turn. Then up to Bombay, barely defended, and he's dead. Take the barb city in the south and one north of Bombay, a nice spot.

So now I have 9 cities having only built 2 settlers, lol. There look to be 4 good spots in the southeast, and then what look like 2 islands. I haven't even settled the gold yet because I was all about securing my area. Haven't even scouted the north yet for that matter, except the 2 coasts. Ragnar seems to have settled down into the jungle, from the pink culture lines, has 10 cities to my 9. He probably has more of the island, but my resources are really fantastic, doubt his land is as good as mine. I'm slightly out-teching him, and that was while warring and still yet to hook up gold and floodplain cottages. I think GLH worked out. 2nd great scientist made a golden age, switched into monarchy (trade from Rags) and OR.

Plans: Stay good friends with Ragnar. Spam settlers for the southeast, explore the islands. I often skip metal casting and trade for it, but barbs pillaging my seafood and killing my galleys is really a pain. So I'm teching it for triremes, and forges won't hurt. Then I'm thinking calendar (would love Ragnar to tech it and trade) and aesthetics>literature, NE to synergize my philosophical trait. At this point I'm thinking stay peaceful up until winning lib (and circumnav hopefully, squeeze in optics and find the others) and then do Ragnar with currisairs.

Well, Ragnar's capitulated. It took two wars (one to smash his stack, then a break to build reinforcements, then a definitive one), but my tech lead was significant enough to pull it off. Asoka went much, much easier. The downside is that I'm only now finding out my sole source of oil is offshore. Looks like lots of nukes for the big intercontinental conflict!

I've got Assembly Line and am on the road to Combustion, which I'll probably gift to Asoka and Rags just so I can grab their oil. Then it's on to Industrialism and Flight. I'll probably tech up to Rocketry and Fission for nukes.

The big problem is that my tech lead over Shaka and Sury has shrunk (but they still don't have rifles), and they're still more powerful than me. But I have a huge production advantage and factories and should be able to pull it off.

I had some challenges with this map, but I think I learned some things from it.

Failed attempt number 1: I thought about building the Great Lighthouse, but procrastinated and Asoka beat me to it. I decided to take him down with Horse Archers, since I had no Iron, but I executed the war very poorly and found myself with angry neighbors, no Iron, no army, and not a ton of land.

Failed attempt number 2: Made the Great Lighthouse a priority this time, and happily teched my way up to Liberalism, fully intending to rush out the continent with Cuirassiers. I got all the way to Military Tradition before realizing that *whoops* Cuirassiers need iron too!
I tried to storm the Indian Iron city with Musketeers, but apparently they suck. They all died, and I was in the same situation as before.

Doing things semi-intelligently:

250 AD:


1400 AD:


1575 AD:


1927 AD:


The Aftermath:


My first Monarch Space victory, huzzah!

I'm glad I kept at this game, since it made me explore Iron-less warfare, which was something I hadn't really done much of before. Yeah, I did a little bit of reloading, but whatever. I learned some stuff from this game, and that's the whole point, right?

Jesus tapdancing Christ.

Sury and Shaka mopped the floor with everyone else on their continent; Sury took Napoleon as a vassal, and Shaka wiped the Dutch straight off the map. This was also a problem because the Statue of Zeus was in an inland city, putting me up to a fun -12 war weariness before I could finally capture it. Running the culture slider and losing worked tiles and specialists absolutely wrecked my tech rate, giving Sury time to tech to Rocketry, and thanks to apparently having a ton and a half of settled spies (and the Great Wall) he was able to swipe Assembly Line and some other techs from a captured Dutch city. The war with Shaka was long and miserable even with a tech lead, since Shaka had been warring all game with all and sundry. But I did get to bring SEALs to bear and remembered how much I like shuttling a ton and a half of Marines around.

Thought I'd take a stab at the UN since I didn't feel like having another long lousy war with a massive superpower with a vassal, and hey, look at that.



In hindsight, I should've relied more on whipping and possibly Universal Suffrage. I was so intent on having an extensive military edge over Ragnar to compensate for his superior numbers that I let Asoka handle non-military tech (like Scientific Method). This led to a long, long time before Communism, which I needed more than I'd expected.

Here's my favorite part, though: thanks to centuries of warfare, the only relationship that was Cautious or better was mine with Asoka. Everyone else was at least Annoyed with everyone else. Good enough reason to wrap things up so everyone can chill out and take some Advil.

The Oz-Man said:

...He can very easily block off the land north of the jungle with a few strategic cities, and in my game that's exactly what he did.

I played peacefully, have the cutting edge technologically, and am now building...

Click to expand...

Ragnar had two stacks of about 40 units in Roskilde and a captured Indian city. I turtled and we were friendly until I had the tech edge and superior numbers of rifles, cannons, and currs to decimate both stacks in a lightning war. We went to war ~1750 and it took 100+ years to eliminate him. The other continent was mired in war: Shaka v. Napoleon, Napoleon v. Sury, Sury v. Willem, etc (each of the major players a different religion ) and so they weren't much problem. I didn't feel like invading and just powered out a culture victory; spaceship was a few turns behind that.

Tech: Mining > BW > Wheel > Pottery > Sailing
Buildorder: Workboat, Worker, Workboat, Workboat, Worker

Situation at the end, turn 47.


Settler is just whipped, granary is done, two workers ready.
I lost one warrior to barbs in this trial, so fogbusting is so-so. Probably have to build a bunch of warriors now.


How I did this:

T0->T6: Build workboat while working forested plains hill.
T7: Since workboat is 28/30, you can this turn work a forested grassland, this also puts 2 food into your bin.
T8: Mining and workboat finishes. Put city to build a worker for one turn while workboat moves to the fish.
T9: Improve fish, and work fish while building workboat and grow to pop2.
T13: Pop2, build worker.
T21: Worker finishes, continue with workboat. (Here BW is 3 turns away, but if we work the unimproved clams for one turn, we reaches BW in just two turns. Do this.
Also, the worker has one turns at his leisure. Use this to improve a farm on the open riverside, but just one turn!
T22: Move the worker to a forested grassland hill, not the one which is riverside, but the other one! And stop working unimproved clams, thats just silly. (Work forested grassland, you don't need more hammers, the chop will take care of the workboat)
T23: BW finishes, revolt and continue with the wheel, and get your worker started chopping.
T26: The chop from previous turn finishes the workboat, send it to improve clams and start to work them. Continue to build a third workboat, and move the worker to the forested riverside grassland hill.
T27: Start to chop, since workboat is at 2/30, and chop lands in 3 turns, we need to get 8 hammers these turns. So work the hill which the worker is chopping for two turns, and then the third turn on a forested grassland.
T30: Workboat finishes with zero overflow, improve the third clam. Let the worker start to mine the hill he is standing on. Build warrior to grow.
T31: Pop4, put the fourth citizen on forested grassland. We want to maximize food.
T32: Wheel is done, continue with pottery.
T33: The mine is now done,and we have 23/28 food, work all improved tiles and build a second worker.
T34: Let the worker road the hill he is standing on.
T35: Worker is now at 24/60, 2-pop whip him.
T36: Put overflow into settler, but arrange tiles so total hammers lands at 39. (Clams and mine for maximum commerce), Send both workers into two separate forests.
T37: Leave the settler in the queue, and start to regrow on warriors. Also, draw your research-slider down to 90%, so that you just allmost finishes pottery.
Start chopping with your workers.
T38: Pottery is now at 128/130. Put the slider at 100% again, now you will enjoy multiple-prereq research bonused overflow.
T39: Pottery finishes, put the two chops into granary, continue with sailing.
T40: Whip the granary, and arrange the tiles so that you don't grow this turn.
Let one worker improve the plains-hill he stands on, let the other improve the riverside into a farm. (or possibly cottage)
T41: Granary finishes, 23/24 food in the bin. Now aim for growing to pop6.
T42: 13/26 food after growth. <3 Granaries!!
Have your workers pre-road to your desired second city spot. When you reach pop6, whip out the settler and put the overflow into a lighthouse.

'One sea food earned is better than three sea food stolen.' That was Honest Abe's motto, but three seafood is better than one. Honest Abe settled his first settler in place and ordered the three sea food resources be harvested. Workboats were built and warrior was sent out to check the land out and meet the neighbours.

Asoka was encountered shortly.

Honest Abe liked the guy. He said something about peace and spirituality and what not and sounded like a good person to trade with. Based on the reports of his scouts, Honest Abe ordered the training of another settler and a city well worthy of being a future capital was settled with easy access to two gold resources and surrounded by flood plains.


Based on what he saw, Honest Abe figured they were up against the coast and decided to imbue his people with the spirit of exploration by settling lots of coastal cities rich in trade. The Great Lighthouse was commissioned to make this even more profitable. Until, this gentleman showed up and his joking comment about rich and unprotected coastal cities made Honest Abe nervous.

(He was joking right? Right?)

Just the same, Honest Abe pursued his goal with a grim determination and Washington finished the Great Lighthouse to the specifications he requested.


But it was not an age of peace. Asoka and Ragnar immediately took a disliking to each other and war was brewing. In 150 BC Ragnar sent an embassy demanding Honest Abe help the Vikings in their upcoming war against Asoka.

The diplomat was skillfully and gently turned away by Honest Abe who was always charismatic and had a way with words. Still, there was unease about the whole affair and soon enough, Vikings and Indians were at war. Honest Abe feared for Asoka's survival, but there was nothing he could do. The American people continued to found coastal cities, new islands were discovered and they were colonised to bring in even more wealth. A new form of governance called 'Bureaucracy became available and was adopted with New York as the new capital.

In 600 AD, the Vikings having made no advances decided to call a ceasefire with the Indians. Although Honest Abe welcomed peace in the region, he was nervous about Ragnar's notorious short temper. Boston was ordered to build Macemen, Spearmen and archers on infinite loop as a deterrent to any who might be jealous of America's prosperity. And prosperous it was! A booming ten cities, 8 coastal, two on an island for intercontinental trade.
(I got VERY lucky here. I fully expected Ragnar to roll over Asoka and then come for me. Not having metal until I settled a city way north to capture Copper was worrisome too. Ragnar could have easily settled to the coast and blocked me out completely from the North, meaning no copper and even Iron)

Optics was researched and a few brave souls who didn't hold truck with the superstition that earth was flat and any who venture too far close to the edge will fall off, set out to see what was really out there.

In 860 AD, diplomats to the Vikings returned with worrisome news. Ragnar was once again mobilising for war. Honest Abe consulted his advisors and all but one agreed that he was most likely going back for more with the Indians. Just the same, the number of cities building troops was increased from one to three as a deterrent.

Sure enough, Ragnar declares.

He came huffing and puffing into Honest Abe's tastefully decorated and tranquil office and yelled at the top of his lungs about how he was upset at not being able to defeat the blatantly pacifist Asoka and so will now beat up on Honest Abe to show he was tough. Honest Abe's reasoned arguments about how this was merely bullying and doesn't actually prove Ragnar's toughness were ignored as Ragnar stomped off. The first strike was a complete disaster for the Vikings as they attacked fortified Macemen and Spearmen with Axes and Chariots.

Honest Abe, though shocked by being the target of Ragnar's fury, quickly recovered and all cities were put into war mode. The main military centers switched from defensive archers and spearmen to aggressive War Elephants and Trebuchets. Ragnar may be strong, but he was still technologically behind. Honest Abe wanted a quick end to the war and that meant taking the fight to the Vikings. After two cities were captured by a large force of Trebs, Maces and Elephants, Ragnar agreed to cede a third city and signed a treaty to become a vassal state.


New friends on the other continent were met and open borders were signed with all of them. To enable actual trade between the two continents, Honest Abe's people pursued the philosophy of Liberalism and this gave them the free knowledge of how to trade across oceans.

Strange thing this science business is. One moment people argue over existential questions and philosophy and the next moment, some young hipster in the crowd jumps up and announces he just figured out how to get ships to travel large distances to enable trade over oceans. At least he wasn't running down the street naked screaming "Eureka".

Honest Abe now hoped that reining in the local warmonger would signify lasting peace and a booming commerce through trade. He wanted to pursue the course of science and explore the universe. But alas, Asoka built the Sistine Chapel and was aggressively contesting the border between their empires. Honest Abe wasn't willing to resort to hostilities, hoping instead to resolve the matter by running artists, but when a farm that was feeding the now booming metropolis of Boston was occupied by Indian culture, starving many, Honest Abe said enough is enough and a large force of Cannons with escort descended upon Asoka and made quick work of him, taking 6 cities for America. Ragnar chipped in by picking up the seventh and final Indian city, eliminating Asoka.


(Gameplay and story segregation : Asoka was dead on arrival and Sistine Chapel just expedited it. The only problem was he had Chicen Itza and Statue of Zeus. I had no Iron for cannons, so the attack was delayed while I settled a marginal iceball to capture some.

Ragnar had one source but he breaks away and declares if I demand it and wanted a King's ransom to trade it. I also got everyone on the other continent fighting to keep Asoka from creating peace vassal hassles during the war.

Shaka was already at war with Nappy and had vassaled Willem by this point.)

The War with Asoka brought massive swaths of land under the American rule. Honest Abe was now the leader of 44% of the world's population.

America was a true powerhouse at this point.

Honest Abe had the option to assault the other continent and bring true, lasting peace by sword. But that didn't appeal to him and he instead chose to focus his people's attention towards colonising new worlds. Pacifism was actually adopted as a state policy to reflect the attitude of live and let live Honest Abe preached.


This was a period of cultural boom and several Great People were born who fueled Golden Ages. Glorious monuments were built to display the power of peace and prosperity it brings with it to the other continent, which forever seemed to be embroiled in war.


(I have to make a special note here about the Three Gorges Dam. Ever since my first forum game with Asoka, I have been a fan of this thing. I had 20 + cities on one continent and it provided power to them all in one stroke. My production jumped as much as it would in a golden age and that's before I built factories in all cities.

When pursuing Space Race, this wonder is amazing as it bumps several production heavy cities without causing coal plant unhealthiness.)

Honest Abe was elected as the Secretary General of UN.

He proposed resolutions to improve trade, hoping more prosperity would produce less unrest in the other continent and bring lasting peace. But alas, it wasn't to be. Shaka declared on Suryavaraman II and soon vassalised him. Honest Abe had to step in as the UN General Secretary to stop yet another Shaka started war against Napoleon to keep the peace. (More like prolong the existence of a chew toy for Shaka while I got the heck out of Dodge on my space ship)

Ultimately, Honest Abe's efforts didn't do much. Some people like Shaka would never accept peace. The only language they understand is the one spoken by the edge of a sword. Honest Abe understood this and with a heavy heart, he green lighted the Manhattan Project and a large fleet of ICBMs were deployed.

Before the world came to war though, Honest Abe fulfilled his lifelong dream of finally colonising another planet. Even if this Earth was to be plunged into chaos and Fallout and war, the human species will live on and hopefully learn and follow the values of peace on Alpha Centauri.

With that hope, Honest Abe stepped out of the Space Command center in Houston.


(I hoped Shaka would declare on me. I had ICBMs building up while no one else had the technology and wanted to carpet bomb Shaka, just for kicks. But I won before it came to that and I am happy I didn't have to resort to nukes in the end as I did play this game trying to be as much a pacifist as possible. I would have won much earlier. I set up my cities to be Great People factories. The plan was to chain golden ages to boost research and space ship. But the game glitched out and I couldn't start any golden ages after the third one.)

Had a surprise backstab from Ragner with no wheeohrn warning. Still, probably the best HA rush I've ever done on Immortal. Horses right there, wussy Asoka that close with very strong land, it was meant to be. Took his first three cities by 400BC and his last one 3 or 4 turns later.