TH5 - Cutthroat Capitalist Competitors

14.07% by my calculations; we'll round that to 14.1%.

Banking's available, eh? I wonder if the next CEO will push to max research on it in an attempt to get some banks done.

SCORE (alphabetically) :
Dark Savant
Rubberjello 16.1
6thGenTexan 14.1
Speaker 5.8
T-hawk 21.7

ROSTER rotation 4:
T-hawk/Rubberjello/6thGenTexan/Speaker/Dark Savant

Not building libraries or Universities, I do not think max research will get it done any sooner than the lone scientist. It will be purchased as soon as it is available.

Got it.

Sorry for the longish delay. Should be able to play tomorrow afternoon.

IT- Someone better check those books because the accountant screwed up! From Cities is back down to 545. Thanks for the healthy treasury 6thGenTexan. Oea swaps to the Forbidden Palace, due in 11, which I should be able to finish by my 9th turn to reap the rewards. I will also be switching back and forth between cathedrals and universities to build banks. Let's just see if I can rebound from my "poor" showing last time.

460AD (1): Perform my worker merge, into Oea. Move several workers coreward.

470AD (2): Nothing of note.

480AD (3): Stockpiling cash. Astronomy is out there but no Banking.

490AD (4): Same stockpiling.

500AD (5): Mine a mountain near Oea and FP is due in 4. Notice that I can get Banking in 4 (with serious MM) at Max Science so I go for it and complete a University in Utica to help it along.

510AD (6): Trade Saltpeter to Korea for 126gold and 65gpt.

520AD (7): Trade for an updated WM.

530AD (8): Nothing much.

540AD (9): FP built in Oea. Banking finished and start lone scientist on Astronomy. Monopoly on Banking goes a long way. Banking to America for Astronomy, Chemistry, and 20gpt. Banking to Korea with 10gpt for Metallurgy. Banking to Greece for Music Theory, Printing Press, and a worker. Sell the worker to Rome for 15 gold and take out a small loan from Korea and have enough money to rush three more banks and a marketplace. Renew the Iron for Ivory deal with Rome. From Cities is at 640 right now. All unfinished banks and marketplaces are swapped over to barracks. We'll need military soon anyways.

550AD (10): Establish our final embassy with Korea and buy Military Tradition from Korea @3rd for 62gpt and 201 gold (this isn't something I would do in a normal game by the way but we will likely need it at some point anyways). Every city building a Cavalry finished a build last turn. That's 15 cities with an empty shield box. I figure I should leave the single scientist on Economics. It just feels right.

Conclusion- I think this may have been the best set of turns I have ever played in a Civ3 Succession Game. Handbuilt FP, full-speed science monopoly, 8 total techs acquired, and our military completely ready to mobilize at the drop of a hat. From Cities is now 765, an increase of 24.188% and well, good luck Dark Savant (I wish Rubberjello was following me this time through the rotation ).

TH5 - 550AD

Drat, I'm not the one who gets to build the FP.

I got it. I should be able to play and post tonight; if that doesn't happen, definitely by tomorrow.

I could not find a good spot for a FP that would complete on my turn. It looks like the "From Cities" will now grow with "More Cities".

Wow, some good results from CEO Speaker. I didn't think that the FP would come before factories other than a GL, but good job and a nice score. Do note that it only increases From Cities income indirectly; corrupted income still counts, but uncorrupted income is subject to the multiplier buildings. And Banks too.

Well, successful capitalists know that once they own their own industry, the next step is to do some hostile takeovers of rivals.

SCORE (alphabetically) :
Dark Savant
Rubberjello 16.1
6thGenTexan 14.1
Speaker 30.0 (rounding this turn to 24.2)
T-hawk 21.7

Dark Savant is up now, then back to roster rotation 1:
1: T-hawk/Speaker/Rubberjello/Dark Savant/6thGenTexan

Yeah, Speaker's in the lead and is coming up again soon. But after that next turn, his turns space out again for awhile while the rest of us build hospitals and stock exchanges.

I am following this and it is going great! I hope you start another for me to join... like a round two.

Ah it feels so good to be in power again!

550 AD (0) Upon taking control of Carthage Inc. I begin to undo some rather questionable micromanagement choices made by my predecessor. It is so inefficient to produce so much all this extra food that is just being thrown away! My predecessor has thankfully actually left movement on multiple workers, which are put to work immediately.

I also swap around a whole bunch of build orders, mostly from cavalry to something else. I do however keep most of our core cities on cavalry.

560 AD (1) Oea barracks -> bank. Swap Utica to settler, rush for 60g, swap back to barracks. I spend money in Cirta on a top-secret military project.

570 AD (2) Utica barracks -> cavalry. Tenochtitlan completes JS Bach's Cathedral. Seoul completes Copernicus's Observatory. I upgrade our lone knight to a cavalry for 20g. Money mysteriously gets spent in Carthage, Hippo, and Leptis Magna.

580 AD (3) Carthage cavalry -> cavalry. Theveste barracks -> cavalry. Cirta cavalry -> bank. A mysterious project receives funding in Utica. Oh, and also in Rusicade. Some of our mercenaries also get equipped with these things called "muskets".

590 AD (4) Leptis Magna cavalry -> cavalry. Hippo cavalry -> cavalry. Secret spending in Carthage and Theveste. A different approach to secret spending -- some would say "non-militaristic" -- breaks ground in Cirta.

600 AD (5) Carthage/Utica/Rusicade cavalry -> cavalry. Sulcis barracks -> marketplace. Tula Numidian -> walls. Some more muskets are seen prancing around Carthage, Inc. Also, one of my underlings has filed paperwork to declare war against America. I don't know how this happened; the underling is summarily fired, so I'll have to deal with it. Spices get sold to Egypt for WM + 18 + 1 worker. Mysterious spending this turn in Hippo, and the same non-militaristic spending takes place in Cirta.

610 AD (6) Theveste cavalry -> cavalry. I pay 12gpt to the Koreans for an alliance against the Americans, and 25gpt to the Egyptians for a similar deal. Some more "muskets" are made, and more money is spent on our secret project, in Leptis Magna. Some underling reveals some of our IP files on our formerly secret project to Greece for only 26g! This underling is fired, although 26g was in fact all that Greece could pay.

620 AD (7) Hippo cavalry -> cannon. It is time for the first test of my secret project. New York is the site of the test; resistance is surprisingly weak as a hostile takeover succeeds without much difficulty. [dance] Philadelphia also provides little resistance to a hostile takeover. More spending on the project takes place in Theveste, Utica, Rusicade, and Carthage. The secrets of Astronomy are sold to the Iroquois for WM + 11g (all they had). I then send Spices and 25gpt to the Aztecs for Furs + 3g

630 AD (8) Carthage cavalry -> cannon. Leptis Magna cavalry -> cannon. Buffalo is the next acquisition of Carthage, Inc. I rush a bank in Sabratha for 372g.

640 AD (9) A deal with the Iroquois for Silks ends. I send the Iroquois Banking and Metallurgy to keep the Silks coming even though Silks are now just out of my grasp; it will be a while before I can keep the silks near New York safe and secure. New York is unhappy with the hostile takeover, and riots. Philadelphia is so unhappy that it revolts back to American control. Utica/Theveste/Rusicade cavalry -> cannon. Sabratha bank -> barracks. Oea bank -> cannon. I successfully launch a hostile takeover of Miami. I rush a marketplace in Hadrumetum for 116g, and in Sulcis for 288g. I send 69gpt to Egypt for the secrets of Physics plus 1 worker. Physics goes to Greece for Navigation + 12g. I take out small loans from Korea and Egypt. I swap Saldae, Leptis Minor, and Nora to libraries; we could use some culture, after all. I swap Rusaddir to a granary, as that city could use the growth capacity. I sell Navigation to the Iroquois for 8g. I rush a granary in Carthago Novo. Cadiz is vulnerable to attack, so I swap it to walls.

650 AD (10) Carthage cannon -> university (we're not the tech leader, after all). Hippo cannon -> Magellan's Voyage (we don't have a single Wonder yet!) Leptis Minor library -> university. Hadrumetum marketplace -> walls. Cadiz walls -> library. Cirta bank -> cathedral. Nora library -> barracks. Rusaddir/Carthago Novo granary -> aqueduct. Sulcis marketplace -> library. Saldae library -> aqueduct. I manage to re-secure Philadelphia. I merge a worker into Leptis Minor. Two more hostile takeovers ensue, in Washington and Baltimore. I capture some workers near Washington, and move many troops to New York to secure it against rebellion.

I need to make some deals to secure my legacy as an excellent CEO. With this in mind, I perform the following trades:

I buy Gems from Korea for 45gpt. I was hoping to prevent starvation in New York, but it appears I miscalculated -- my bad!
I purchase Democracy from Egypt for 88gpt + 12g (miser).
I purchase Magnetism from Korea for 70gpt + 10g (miser).
I purchase Economics from Egypt for 39gpt + 18g (miser).
No one has Free Artistry, and we could use a wonder tech of our very own, so I start lone scientist research on it.
I sell Democracy to Rome for WM + 10g (all Seizure has). It's not like Democracy is that much better than Republic anyway.
I take out a loan from Egypt, getting Cleo's 30g that I gave her for 2gpt.
I get a similar loan from Korea, getting Wang's 121g for 8gpt.
I sell Democracy to the Aztecs for WM + 3gpt + 18g.
I ally with the Iroquois vs. America for 11gpt (lowest gpt they would do it for).
I ally with the Aztecs vs. America for 17gpt (ditto).
I ally with the Greeks vs. America for 11gpt (ditto).
I ally with the Romans vs. America for 20gpt (ditto). This full-scale dogpile will ensure the complete takeover of America as rapidly as possible, lessening the danger of revolt.
The Greeks now have some money, so I sell them Democracy for WM + 13gpt + 2g.
The Aztecs also have money now; they get Economics for 23gpt.
I rush a temple in Miami for 236g; Miami is menaced by Egyptian culture.
I realize that Hadrumetum is pressured by Aztec culture, so I rush a worker there for 80g, then rush a temple there for 200g.
Leptis Magna can finish its cannon 1 turn faster if I rush a settler there (for 16g) and swap back to cannon. I do so.

I think this is a legacy that will be greatly appreciated by my successor, T-hawk. I am graciously ceding control of Carthage, Inc. for his successful prediction of imminent hostile takeover action -- such vision should be properly rewarded!

The final tally:

"From Cities" Income: +918
Treasury: 7g
Net Per-Turn Income: +161gpt

Download the save here!

Your From Cities increase from 765 to 918 is exactly 20 percent. Neat.

The secrets of Astronomy are sold to the Iroquois for WM + 11g
I sell Navigation to the Iroquois for 8g.

Good trading in general, but we might have to have the SEC investigate some of these shady trade deals... Still, if the bottom line increases, that's what our shareholders want to see... (we need a smiley with some $ $ signs on it )

This full-scale dogpile will ensure the complete takeover of America as rapidly as possible, lessening the danger of revolt.

Republic government never involuntarily revolts; that's pretty much the reason I stipulated going to the government and staying there permanently.

And what good is Magellan's going to do us?

Dark Savant 20.0
Rubberjello 16.1
6thGenTexan 14.1
Speaker 30.0
T-hawk 21.7

T-hawk/Speaker/Rubberjello/Dark Savant/6thGenTexan

I see it, and should be able to play tonight. Wonder if I can get a Great Leader, and relocate our Palace farther away? Doing so doesn't help the From Cities until the multiplier buildings get in place, but I might be able to rush a bunch of marketplaces as well...

Good trading in general, but we might have to have the SEC investigate some of these shady trade deals...

Hey, I needed almost every last penny to rush those last-minute granaries. Granaries are good for the future growth of Carthage, Inc.

Republic government never involuntarily revolts; that's pretty much the reason I stipulated going to the government and staying there permanently.

Actually, I meant that I wanted America to be eliminated as soon as possible to block culture flips.

The former CEO of Carthage, Inc. would like to state under oath that he steadfastly denies the rampant rumors that his last-minute trading served solely to deprive his successor of income.

The former CEO of Carthage, Inc. would also like to point to the ... "situation" in Washington, and reminds my successor that all those troops in New York are there to prevent a revolt. It would be a shame if New York revolted back to the Americans, so many troops would be lost.

OK, well, I apologize, but I got busier than expected tonight and I don't want to try to play this one on short shrift and while sleepy. I'm out all day tomorrow (going rafting, which is why I can't stay up late to play now), but can play on Sunday.

I did peek at the save, expecting a large herd of cavalry ready to stomp on some more American cities. We've got about nine cavalry and they're scattered all over the place. I must say I love the challenge of trying to do as much as I can in 10 turns right now, rather than how a typical SG would probably just consolidate and build for a while longer. No way would a normal SG have reached out and captured Washington by now. Certainly an interesting dynamic - I'm loving it!

edit: Whoever gets rails going will certainly get to conduct military operations faster. Not likely to be me. Add one more rule, BTW - no pillaging rails just so the next player can't use them.

Also, I've been playing as if there's a rule that we cannot deliberately sabotage our reputation -- although honestly, it actually doesn't seem like that advantageous a move under our current rules. However, it might be hard for anyone in subsequent turns to declare a war without breaking a deal (Speaker thoughtfully left me without any such obligation to the Americans). I'm not sure how that will work out.

I was expecting tech to crawl once we hit about mid-Middle Ages, but it turns out that's not a problem.

I have to admit, there's a lot of joy to playing a game where you have to be, er, barely legal.

As for the capture of American cities: New York and Philadelphia were both guarded by nothing more than a pike and a spear. Washington wasn't that much better off on defense. I miscalculated and thought I could take Chicago on my last turn as well, but it turned out that I could not even reach it with the four or so cavalry I had left over. This mistake is probably because I've never played with the goal of "capture a city for exactly one turn".

Those cavalry just outside Washington captured workers (hey, we're kind of short on those). They did require all their movement to do so.

Inherited turn:

Change most of the cities back to cavalry. (Including the cannons - why in the world do we want them?) Order a couple marketplaces in outlying cities that haven't gotten them yet.

It's interesting to manage the captured cities here; I want to avoid starving them, since that loses income.

I move a few defensive units from now-interior cities like Theveste towards the front lines. I've never seen an invasion running on such smoke and mirrors. A "situation" at Washington is right - there's one 1-HP cavalry defending the city, with an American warrior in place to attack it that I can't do anything about.

I was trying to upgrade a Numidian in Oea, and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't let me. We've got saltpeter... the city's got a barracks, right? Yeah... Oh, we don't have the money to upgrade it.

==========

Between turns, the Americans recapture Washington.

660 AD: We retake Washington. Fortunately, cavalry from New York can *just* reach the city to defend it.

BT, Korea razes Chicago! I'd love to replace it. Theveste swaps to settler; it can regrow to size 12 before the end of my turn. And Egypt captures San Francisco, and razes another city west of it!

670 AD: Positioning. New York is now starving but I can't do anything about it.

680 AD: Atlanta just dropped in size, thanks to Egyptian units standing on most of its grassland. Fortunately, we've got seven cavalry that can reach it. We capture Atlanta (and six workers, heh) with no losses.

BT, the Iroquois capture Detroit. That's America's last city in the area, but they're not eliminated. Sheesh, they have one city WAY WAY out on a tundra island. I can't possibly reach it on my turn, so I'll leave it for the next leader to take care of that if he wants to eliminate the "Stop the aggression" unhappiness from American citizens.

690 AD: Actually - forget it. I want to recover productivity from the American cities myself. And we're paying out like 200 gold/turn for now-useless alliances. I sign peace with America, breaking a whole bunch of alliance deals. Wow, everybody is furious with us now. Fancy that. [devil]

Production shifts to libraries, cathedrals and colosseums - basically any stuff that'll complete on my turn.

700 AD: Temple rushed in New York, which will expand just in time on my turn to get the silks squares into production. Washington rushes a settler (helped by a disbanded cannon - my one disband) to fill in space there.

710 AD: The Chicago site is replaced by our city, Tingis.

I cancel our Saltpeter sale to Korea for 65 gpt, thinking that we must've sold them a tech along with the resource to get that high a price. But to my major surprise, they are now willing to pay 90 gpt for the saltpeter. We'll take it!

720 AD: Marketplace rushed in New York.

730 AD: The space south of Washington finally gets filled by our city of Iol.

740 AD: Theory of Gravity is around. Time to broker... oh, right, I sort of killed our reputation as far as buying things on credit. Oh well; we could do without everybody paying through the nose for loans from the AIs anyway. May as well spend the cash on buildings instead. New York now has a bank, and also gets my one worker merge, and Calaris has a marketplace.

750 AD: CEO Thunderhawk II makes a great contribution to our corporate culture, completing several cathedrals and colosseums in the last year of his term. (I left the cities on default build orders after that - mostly longbowmen, heh - feel free to change them.)

After optimizing for trade again, From Cities stands at +1076, an increase of 158 which is 17.2%.

Dark Savant 20.0
Rubberjello 16.1
6thGenTexan 14.1
Speaker 30.0
T-hawk 38.9

T-hawk/Speaker/Rubberjello/Dark Savant/6thGenTexan

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads5/th5-750ad.zip

A screenshot for the lurkers, as we haven't had one lately:

I played before seeing Dark Savant's latest post, but here goes:

Also, I've been playing as if there's a rule that we cannot deliberately sabotage our reputation

Well, the deed is done now, so don't worry about that. We actually betrayed every single other civ in one fell swoop.

I was expecting tech to crawl once we hit about mid-Middle Ages, but it turns out that's not a problem.

Korea's mostly been the tech pusher. They've got ToG now, and so are in the Industrial Age with their free tech. Buying techs will be harder with our reputation shot, but I'm sure we'll find a way.

I have to admit, there's a lot of joy to playing a game where you have to be, er, barely legal.

Yeah. I debated a bit over the reputation betrayal. Basically, the guideline is this: if you get short-term gain at the expense of longer-term benefits, do it, as that's exactly what the spirit of the rule is. Doing something just to impose extra difficulty on your successors (like declaring war on every other civ on your last turn) is just backstabbing and doesn't benefit the short-term CEO, so don't do it. We've done quite well handling this so far; let's keep it up.

Got it. Will likely take the full 96 hours.

Hey T-Hawk.

If you ever consider doing this again, I was thinking that playing the Phoenicians (the ultimate mercantile civ!) in either the Ancient Mediterranean Mod or waiting until Conquests comes out. It would add somewhat of an appropriate historic flavor to it.

Just a thought!

Heh. One run through this concept is enough for now, for me. Of course, you could always head up your own game. Or maybe we'll revisit the idea in Conquests.

I was also thinking of doing the competition concept with culture instead of cash income. Might try that once this game ends, and/or save it for Conquests.