Goz-1, I left my wallet at home, but...

[SomeoneLikeHim]

I think we should try to get the GL. If we get it we can get free philosophy and instantly start the national collage (if we want to).

[JoanK]

Hmmm. Yes, Calendar seems a good choice for now. But we should go for Masonry, The Wheel and Trapping later (preferably in this order ) What's being produced is ok with me, in fact is what I would build. We should go on with the GL and monument.
Oh, and we need more units.Military units to be precise. Having a barb besides Tombouctou doesn't feel comfortable.

[gozpel]

I settled on the blue spot and forgot to upload the pic for it, sorry.

Ok, masonry is good, but calendar can give us happyness which we need. Still maybe masonry is better first, just to get some extra production. So, I favor Masonry in this case, as we're going for the GL. Take Philo from it and NC with 2 cities, we're not in a rush to finish this game in record time, are we?

jeffah and Sparthage hasn't said anything, so you might just as well play on JK. If you like to wait for another comment from mentioned players, you can play tomorrow. If you want your turns out of the way, then just play. It will be pretty straightforward.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

Is this going somewhere?

[JoanK]

Ugh, I havent played yet. Sorry, but I had exams. Today or tomorrow I will play and update. So... Do I research Calendar or Masonry? I am continuing the building orders, but we need a stronger military with those barbs near Tombouctou.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

That's okay, school is always a priority .

As for research I would suggest calendar. We need happiness.

[gozpel]

This is going as well as I expected!

I give you another day, JK.

Calendar -> Masonry -> 10 turns. It's not impossible to do in 20 minutes. Not expecting screenshots, that is.

[Sparthage]

Hey everyone. Sorry 'bout my absence, but I've had some insane school work going on for a while now and will probably continue to have it until the end of March. So until then, put me down as a skip for any turns.

[JoanK]

Turn 31 (1): Barbs get in sight of Tombouctou.
Turn 32: Barbs approach the worker in Tombouctou. I pull an archer back to defend it.
Turn 33: Nothing happens, just the barb there.
Turn 34: We hit unhappiness. Cathy wants Open Borders. I say NAY. Archer gets promotion (Rough terrain)
Turn 35: Barb killed and, oh, spearman heals so I make him explore around Genoa. Rome discovered.
Turn 36: Nothing happens, more exploring, and attacking the barb camp near Tombouctou.
Turn 37: Calendar researched, starting Masonry. Scout gets locked by Antium, settled right now between Mountains and sea. I leave him there, for now.
Turn 38: Alex hit Classic Era, Barb camp has no barbs, I just spotted a Russian scout (will clear the camp ) Gold worked, we're at +3 happiness. Archer sent West to scout, spotted a barb camp, heavily wounded barb in sight.
Turn 39: New Social Policy, Citizenship (lots of tiles to work). Killed wounded barb. Hiawatha's land spotted.
And Turn 40: Nothing worth telling.

Goz1Askia_0040 BC-2400.Civ5Save

[SomeoneLikeHim]

For research, I would suggest trapping followed by the wheel.

However, if we don't get the GL, we need to go for philosophy and build a library.

[JoanK]

Agreed. But after finishing Masonry

And well, we do need more units. And get our scout free from the Romans. The settlement of Antium was quite unexpected.

[gozpel]

Good turns JK, I have nothing to complain about. Just one thing, will Rome give open borders? I'll check the save later.

Masonry, Trapping and Wheel, in that order.

Before I've checked the save, I don't really know where to go. But I'm on it right now,

[JoanK]

Nah, Rome demands OB + 65 gold

[gozpel]

Fot the next player, just sort out the micro in the two cities, Gao can afford to starve for two turns and give the horses to second city for 2 turns, so monument there finish quicker.

Just check back after those 2 turns and set Gao on proper diet.

Masonry is due in 5 turns, so after that is Trapping and Wheel as SLH indicated.

roster:

JK -> Just played
SLH -> UP
jeffah -> stillhere? but next!
gozpel
Sparthage being busy atm, but might pick up later

[SomeoneLikeHim]

Also, shouldn't we sell open borders to Cathy for 50 gold? What are your thoughts on that? I don't see any way it can harm us.

EDIT: I will play tomorrow to give everyone a chance to discuss.

[gozpel]

Sell OB if you can, but TAKE equal OB if you can't get through their country.

Some simple set, NC is built in about 8 turns, maybe in 7 with micro...but I say 8.

After that we need some troops. I'ts looking ok.

[JoanK]

Meh, I never sell OB, except if I really need the money or has a weaker military.

[Sparthage]

I see no reason not to sell OB unless we really need to go through their territory and there is no way around them.

[jeffah3539]

Ok, I am back. Sorry for my absence. My mom was in the hospital this week and I wasn't able to use my computer. All is good now though.

Looking at the save, things look pretty good. We aren't generating much gold so I vote in favor of selling OB asap. We will need it if we want to buy a Library in Tombouctu or to upgrade Horsemen to Mandus later. We also need to start clearing barb camps for that gold.

I say we finish Masonry and then go Trapping, Wheel, Horseback Riding (using the GL free tech for Philosophy). Might want to fit Bronze Working in there somewhere for Barracks.

Are we going to continue expanding or wait until we finish NC? I ask because we will get Mud Pyramid Mosques at Philosophy but it is best to have 4 cities before burning Legalism. If we expand then Representation will be good while Republic will be better if we stay at 2 cities.

[gozpel]

We happily sell borders in this game, the AI has a huge advantage already so we just take a little bit back. And out main city doesn't even have a river, of course we have to use what we have to get a few coins.

We can starting building a settler, IF we really need one? We have 2 good spots and what else do we need?

Research: Finish Masonry, then Trapping Wheel. After that I think HBR is ok.