RBC1 - The Incans Rise Again

Presenting the first Realms Beyond Conquests Succession Game!

Civilization: Incans
Difficulty: Demigod
Map: Standard, 40% land, continents.
Climate: Arid, temperate, 4 billion.
Normal AI aggression
Barbs: Roaming
Opponents: Mayans, English, the rest random. (Charis, I wanted to give the Iroquois a chance to rest after Epic 36!)
Random seed preserved, cultural link off, respawn off.

This game is currently full, overfull even. However, Charis will be running the conquests as SG's, so there should be plenty of opportunities for more players to participate.

Roster (updated 11/25):
Griselda
Charis
Jester
Kylearan
Sullla
Skyfish

If you have a "?" by your name, please check in so we can get the roster updated if we need to.

RBC1 - The Incans Rise Again

Sorry for the delay, guys. My RL RPG ran very, very late last night, and I was in no condition to post anything after it ended.

(0) 4000 BC - We're pink. A floodplains opening with some desert looks like just the thing, though



We're in the far west on the minimap, a little south of the equator.

Our scout heads north towards the mountain, and sees a hut. I decide to move on to the mountain, and pop it next turn, in hopes of a settler. Cuzco is founded, and we see wheat! There's incense off to the other side. I start a Chasqui. That was a tough choice, on a flood plains start like this. Shields are not easy to come by, and they are an expensive unit. Although they take twice as long to build in the first place, it seems to me that they're likely to make up for it in movement over time, especially with their ability to ignore mountains' and hills' movement penalties. Of course, that's comparing them to a regular warrior. Compared to a regular scout, I'd probably rather have a scout, especially on a flood plains start. We'll see. I hadn't seen the Chasqui discussion thread that Charis linked to today, but I am interested in checking that out.

I want the alphabet, but at this point it would take 43 turns at max science! Ack! Our beaker count is not likely to get better right away, and 50-turn research wouldn't lower the price for us if we did meet an AI who had it for trade. Cermonial burial is only 17 turns at max science. That sounds attainable.

(1) 3950 BC - Pop hut, get maps of the region. There's two more huts in view now.

(2) 3900 BC - Scout heads for the west hut, because I'm thinking prime exploration will be to the east, and we can send a Chasqui that way.

(3) 3850 BC - Pop the hut, get a settler! Did I mention that this start is a little bit too good? The settler is on the coast, in the desert (since when has that been a decent spot?). I can move him NE one and the city will still be coastal, and also have a game in range when the borders expand.

(4) 3800 BC - Tiwanaku founded. So much for the AI's extra settler! Tiwanaku doesn't have great food right now until it's improved, but it does have a forest tile. So, Tiwa can work on a Chasqui, and Cuzco swaps to worker. I don't even think we should build a granary in Cuzco right now. Shields are precious, for the moment. Once the city grows and gets some tiles improved, it can have good food and production. So, we might want to let it get a bit bigger than the average settler factory, when we're ready.

(5) 3750 BC - With the first flood plains improved, Cuzco is at size 1, with +4 food.

(6) 3700 BC -

(7) 3650 BC -

(8) 3600 BC - Pop another hut - maps again.
BT - Cuzco worker - worker

(9) 3550 BC - I see another hut in the jungle to the NW. I don't believe that a Chasqui can move more quickly through the jungle than a regular scout, so the regular scout goes that way.

(10) 3500 BC - Cuzco expands, and I see another hut to the south. I don't have anybody who can head that way right now, though. Cuzco is at +5 food right now, at size 1.

(11) 3450 BC - Pop a hut, gets maps again. There's bananas to the NW. Science to 50%, cb in 2.

(12) 3400 BC -

(13) 3350 BC
BT - CB in. There's no clear research choice anymore. Science off, at least until we meet some neighbors.
Tiwanaku Chasqui - warrior (there's a camp with two warriors in sight just to the NW in the jungle).

(14) 3300 BC - Hmm, maybe we should have a warrior on Cuzco too if barbs are coming this way? Also, we'll need MP to let the city grow.
BT - Cuzco warrior - settler. It's odd to be expansionist and only have two scouts out.

(15) 3250 BC - Warrior stays home for MP.

(16) 3200 BC - We meet the Mongols, to the NW. They have bronze working, alphabet, and warrior code. We have masonry and ceremonial burial. This may be , but I trade both of our techs for alphabet. They didn't have any gold to add to the deal. Alphabet is so hard to research now, and cb *so* cheap by comparison that it doesn't seem like a bad deal. I'm also not sure how much gpt we'll want to have in reserve for lux, or how close they are to other AI who would just trade the techs to them anyway.

(17) 3150 BC - Irrigating the desert now seems to make sense, even in the early game. I start a LOI towards our second city, which can make it much more useful without too much effort.

(18) 3100 BC - Pop a hut, get maps.
BT - Tiwanaku warrior - temple (vetoable, there's many directions we can go with this city, depending upon what the group wants to do).

(19) 3050 BC

(20) 3000 BC - Here's the lay of the land.



I can't believe I didn't get more scouts or settlers built, considering our start.

I saw the Mongols heading towards the barb camp, and they have gold now, so thay *may* have cleared it. I wouldn't count on it, though. I'm also not sure where their homeland is. They just recently got a third city built, and they don't have any new techs.

With two cities and more wonders available, it may be reasonable to start thinking about a wonder in one of them. At any rate, there's more to cascade to now.

I saved over the start file with one from later in the same turn. But I'll post that, if anyone wants to take a look.
RBC1-start

Here's the save:
RBC1-3000 BC

Enjoy!

Griselda - Just played
Charis - Up now!
Jester - On deck
Kylearan
Sulla?
Hotrod?
Ridgelake?

Woohoo! We're "live"
Thanks for getting the ball rolling, Griselda

'Got it' -- speak up if you have any thoughts on our civ or on this position...

Charis

Well, just to say hello here ! I wish you good luck in your 1st C3C SG. I'll be lurking it from time to time, especially because of this UU. You guys (and girl !) will probably make good use of them, but maybe you won't like it a lot... Who knows ? Griselda, I think Charis posted the link to the Chasqui scout discussion, in which I actively took part, maybe too much ? You must make me lie now.

Long live RBCiv !! Clear out the C3C fogs for us ! I don't know if I'll want to play the conquests on my own or not, maybe I could play them in SGs, but then I'd have to play all of them in SGs, or maybe not...

Finally : If anyone wishes to play as Sumer on Deity, well, just look at my poor little thread... There are RBCiv rules there too !...

Well, we'll certainly find out how useful the desert-improving aspect of the Agricultural trait is!

I think we're going to have to make a fairly aggressive land grab in the north, or else we're going to get boxed into our little cul-de-sac. If we can grab the land far away, the land close to home should be fairly safe. Maybe there's some nice land to the east of the desert...

I'm specifically eyeing that floodplain up north for quick settlement. I guess it's kind of a no brainer to grab it, the only question is whether the Mongols will get there first.

I wouldn't worry about the number of settlers. We have a food heavy start, which should pay off nicely, but it does mean we'll be slow on our initial settlers. Not much we can do about it, really.

Jester

Hotrod

Edit: After signing on here Charis opened RBC2 and the roster is not as full yet so rather than being a 6th if not 7th here I will join up with RBC2.

damn, I've been waiting for a game like this. Mine wont start...

Woo-hoo!! Nice to see an RB game back on the street! Good luck folks!

Tis one of those events that's simultaneously a 'woohoo' and a 'ah crud',
popping a very early settler from a hut. Given our very dry start and that
we are expansionist though, it's not over the top. Good scouting in any case!

"Irrigating the desert now seems to make sense, even in the early game. lol"

[ROTFL] omg, what a difference a 'letter' makes (RBD1 vs RBC1)
(inside joke, but a very funny one if you've been around a while )

...

Pacharis Inca Andes came to power after the first millenium of rule by the
wise one, known as "Grisly Bear" to her opponents.

So far so good, with a decent second city. Alas, as it's coastal but not
on a river the agri food bonus does not come into play. Look at all that jungle
too, ouch. Can we get a foothold up there? Can we keep it if we do?

[0] 3000 BC - The temple is not a bad idea as it would bring in the game,
but we remain too ignorant about our land situation and our neighbors.
What is there to the S/SE? What lies East? Where exactly are the Mongols and
do they have room to expand? Are the two of us alone? And vitally important,
is that small water area just south of us coastal or lake? We need more scouting
info! Then I remind myself, it's just 3000BC! Usually turn two wouldn't start for
10-20 more turns, so there's no cause for concern I do like the idea of
one more settler as it stands in the capital, to found one more city very quickly,
especially with the low shield situation. Looking more closely at our second city,
without expansion it's stuck at size 3 due to food, except... irrigation will
provide two food - a brilliant stroke of irrigation genius The science
completely 'off' threw me. Then again I think Gris is adjusting to Conquests
faster than I. 50 turn for min science won't net us much of anything. BUT...
14 turns for Bronze or WC, or 20 for Wheel seems worthwhile. Mongols lack the
latter, so I turn on science at a good clip toward Wheel. (Besides, tis nice to
learn where resources are, especially when they're for your neighbor's UU!)

I swap Tiwanaku from Temple to... Curragh (!) This will make a very nice
exploring unit. I also send the warriors out. Scouting info is far more useful
than 1gpt saved doing MP at home.

[1] 2950 BC - Micromanage food and shields, settler due next turn, move warriors.

[2] 2900 BC - In Cuzco, I queue up a Chasqui scout, taking advantage of our food
bonus to work the forests and get a 5 turn build still with +4 food.
The hut to the SE gives us 25g.

[3] 2850 BC - Machu Picchu is founded, in fishing village style but on the
river, just SW of the capital. It's shields won't be high but will be a solid
source of workers and settlers by trading squares judiciously with Cuzco.
Later on Cuzco will get and keep priority on the good squares.

[4] 2800 BC - Our northern scout sees that the river up yonder is RATHER
long, and meets up with another long one. That area *NEEDS* to be ours
He does however run into one Mongol warrior who may think differently.
Jester's comments seem wise - to boogy up there and asap.

[5] 2750 BC - More Mongols are seen wandering up North, at least four warrs
and an archer. That far from home and with those kind of foes, a farmer's
gambit at long range could be lethal. We may be forced into an early South
and East expansion followed by a pre-Keshek war vs the Mongols to gain the
river area (ie let THEM do the settling, and we'll reap our river-town bonuses
later after capturing them.)

[6] 2710 BC - Curragh finishes in Tiwanaku, and we start a Chasqui. (Why?
Because we can I want to see how we can use them, not just forgoe them
due to cost)

[7] 2670 BC - Our northern scout had ended last turn next to a small barb
camp and I thought he was a goner, but a Mongol archer saved him. Then up
next to both of us comes... a an annoyed Greek warrior. Hrmm... where are THEY
coming from? Does this totally wreck out chance to claim unchallented the northern
floodplains?! Anyway, Greece has Bronze, WC and Wheel. The Mongols must have
bought Wheel from them, and they have Mysticism as well, making Genghis quite
the researcher. Our Wheel is now due in 7, but we're quite a bit behind now.
We're dead even in score and somewhat caught up in power after founding our
third city. All of us have base lvl culture. Their deal on the Wheel is
pretty poor, so we'll finish that up ourselves. We'll buy one tech from each
if that's possible, to improve relations? From Greece we buy WC for 28g+6gpt,
and from Mongols, Bronze 44g+6gpt. Yikes, now we see the Mongols have Iron Working
and Mysticism (and the Wheel). Alex is only up the Wheel, which means our yellow
friend has made far better use of 'plain' scouts than our Chasqui At least
after those trades if we get tech from a hut it will be a better one.
Alas, that much gpt expenditure will slow down our finishing the Wheel.

[8] 2630 BC - I found Karakorum, the Mongol capital. Take a look on map below.
It seems Greece used our cash to buy Mysticism from Mongols. Cuzco finishes
a Chasqui to send SE, and starts a warrior, as our empty cities and lack of
MP are getting to be dangerous. Some good news at least - to our south are some
very nice bonus grasslands and a cattle (which our roving warrior is finding)
The new scout finds that SE is a dead end and will have to divert to NE past
the choke. (Hrmm... or at some point, park *on* the single tile choke.) The

[9] 2590 BC - I couldn't help myself... I irrigate the dessert!
SE scout runs into... a faster Mongol scout! (Darn, he did poach our huts)

[10] 2550 BC - Warrior finishes in capital, time for a settler lest lux cost
kill us. Machu's worker heads to a grass, intending to mine it. Note our
econ is *hurting* temporarily from the tech deals and from lux cost. The
incense road will complete in two turns, easing the burden. Next leader might
want to get Tiwanaku back on a temple, now or after the Chasqui due in 3 or 4.
It will also want a warrior for sure soon, as will Machu.

The key decision is on expansion - early peaceful expansion near capital followed
by a later war to win the Northern river? Or a major gambit to throw settlers up
North into the Mongolian killing fields and hope Genghis Khan has no spine?!?!
My view has shifted firmly from the latter to the former as I see the swirling
of troops of green and yellow up north, and as I see better land to our south.
But that is now for the rest of the team to decide...

IF we didn't have a trade deal going on at the moment (for 17 more turns), there
would be *ONE* more, far more radical option open. I left one Chasqui to the
East unmoved. He's in striking range of the Mongol scout. It would be bold
beyond belief, but we could declare war and kill him, kicking the Mongols out
of expansion mode into war mode - but it would hinge on this - we would have
to use our scout and warrior up north to kill/pillage more than we lose, and
they would have to want to stop the war BEFORE they could physically reach our
totally undefended core. It's likely madness, but I toss the idea out. It would
likely fail, but if it worked... chalk one huge mark next to the Chasqui scout
over the regular scout Anyway, we have a trade ongoing, so that's academic.

Ok, back to reality. That Chasqui, just saw the Mongol scout move up from his SE,
so I would probably move him now W/SW toward the river, since the SE is likely
a dead-end and/or has any huts already taken.
In other upcoming exploration, send our little movement-2 boat up the coast to see what we can see.



RBC1-Incans 2550BC



Jester <-- UP
Kylearan <-- On deck


Good luck,
Charis

(PS to Hotrod, ok, you and Todd are in RBC2 rather than here)

I'm going to play RBC2 since Charis still has openings there. Ridgelake is out of town till the 13th I saw in one of the LK threads so you'll need to give him time to respond that he is in. You might want to pm Skyfish about the game since he told me he usually only reads his suscribed threads now. IF your ?'s all fall through and you do still need somone I'll be happy to play last in the rotation.

Either way I'll be following the game with interest. Looks like a good start so far.

[9] 2590 BC - I couldn't help myself... I irrigate the dessert!
SE scout runs into... a faster Mongol scout! (Darn, he did poach our huts)

Click to expand...

Man, I knew that was coming. Agricultural = revenge of the pungent weed!

Tis one of those events that's simultaneously a 'woohoo' and a 'ah crud',

Click to expand...

Yup, especially since this was the third start I'd generated for this game. I wasn't trying to stack the deck, but I did want something that wouldn't feel like for most of the time, and I did want to be able to test the agricultural trait. The hut situation is balanced to some extent because we are expansionist, and it's all we've gotten from the huts except for maps so far.

I couldn't help myself... I irrigate the dessert!

Click to expand...

Maybe you were just agricultural before agricultural was cool.

Good idea on the Curragh. We might as well try them out!

I'm not adjusting to the Conquests tech tree at all; I am just confused. I keep thinking we'll meet lots more civs any day now, and they'll have all the first-tier techs for cheap. I was thinking that we'd want to have science (and gold) available if we buy writing soonish and want to try for philosophy. I assume the AI would prioritize going for philosophy now (which would mean they'd always beat us there if we buy writing), but they may not. It will be interesting to see how that goes. Researching the wheel, considering we're by the Mongols, was certainly a good choice, though.

I do want to try out Charis' Chasqui-war gambit at some point in the future!

Since we have more land than we'd thought down south, the northern floodplains are less critical. It might make sense to encourage Alex and Genghis to fight it our first without putting target signs on our heads. Still, we can't *fully* enjoy the river unless we're still in despotism!

I am interested in jumping into the ancient age wonder race to learn more about how it plays. I do think Tiwanaku has potential for an early wonder city if it gets a temple and some tile improvements, but maybe that's just thinking.

Thanks for checking in, Hotrod. Good luck to all in RBC2!

Sullla (do you prefer two "L" 's or three?) is in, Ridgelake is still a maybe, and there's a spot for Skyfish if he's interested.

Sulla could jump in after Jester if Kylearan's copy hasn't arrived, but I'm also fine with just waiting, too, especially since the last couple of spots aren't firm just yet.

Oh, and Charis, in looking at your 2550BC.jpg, you may be thinking of
this game . The Incans have already risen, let's see if they can do it again!

-Griselda

I would very gladly join, however being European I do not have a copy of Conquest yet so I do not want to delay everybody while I wait for my copy.

If you dont mind me maybe skipping the first turn and being last in the roster I would love to join though

Hi,

Griselda wrote:

Opponents: Mayans, English, the rest random. (Charis, I wanted to give the Iroquois a chance to rest after Epic 36!)

Click to expand...

You cannot imagine how thankful I am for that, Gris! I really hope the Iros won't be in the game. After Epic 36, the doctor said if I have to see them again in the near future I will need to take my pills again... shudders And *if* they're in, I must excuse myself beforehand - could be that I instantly declare war on them to make sure they will never get over 1100 MIs/MAs again...


That's some very interesting land layout we have here. It's odd to view the desert as not so bad now, but to really try out the agricultural trait, we certainly need to have some cities on that juicy long river to the north! I don't think we will be able to bring our settlers there fast enough, with the Mongols being so near themselves. So I would prefer to settle in our immediate surroundings first, especially the greener lands to the east, and then prepare for some early war.

I'm not sure about the wonder race. On the one hand, like Gris I'd like to experience how the added wonders change the wonder race. On the other hand, I'd like to settle our lands and then prepare for war ASAP, and wonder building would slow us down considerably. A nice compromise would be to go for that unit breeding wonder (Temple of Zeus?): We would participate in the race and, assuming that we get the wonder, help our war efforts as well. What do you think? If we'd take that route, we should beeline to mathematics.

Charis wrote:

[ROTFL] omg, what a difference a 'letter' makes (RBD1 vs RBC1)

Click to expand...

Most probably the developers had followed RBD1 as well, and that's how they got the idea for the agricultural trait in the first place...

If all goes well I should have the game on Tuesday, but I won't feel bad if skipped once - better that than losing momentum, I think.

-Kylearan

I was thinking that we'd want to have science (and gold) available if we buy writing soonish and want to try for philosophy. I assume the AI would prioritize going for philosophy now

Click to expand...

I find this one of the most interesting remarks at that point as I just realized that Firaxis looked into preventing min science gambles (obviously by upping to 50 turns) but also reaching a tech first to deal at monoploy price.
But more importantly by allowing Wonders with Techs that were more often than not bypassed by the AIs, even going at max science might not guarantee monopoly anymore :
- Polytheism : Temple of Artemis
- Mathematics : Statue of Zeus
- Philosophy : Mausoleum
- Chivalry : Templar
Exchanging contacts at Printing Press is also in that vein...

This is a smart way to make the AIs less predictable without having to change the code, so I am sure that now those techs will not be bypassed by the AIs anymore.

Interesting points, though I'm not sure on a key point -- will the AI now go for some techs faster that it previously didn't care for (as you guys suggest), or did in fact the nice-ish wonders get put with those somewhat neglected techs *so that* the human has a better chance to get them, especially at higher diff lvls (how many ancient wonders do we usually get at deity?)

Sulla's input on that issue would be good. But for now I'm thinking the AI will not increase their desire for techs they don't like. Also, in this game, we have a big current issue - shields. I'm not seeing anything approaching a wonder town yet. We'll need to find something like a BG-grass zone with a cattle and iron hills soon, perhaps to our near South? This problem suggests pushing our agri and expansionist nature and trying to found cities like mad, then when ready go and *capture* the Statue of Zeus, Artemis, and Templar!

> I keep thinking we'll meet lots more civs any day now,
> and they'll have all the first-tier techs for cheap.

Of course one of the *dominant* changes in the game is the lack of communication and map trading. So if we don't explore like crazy, this will *never* happen and we'll be left in the dust. That's why I've been building Chasqui and a Curragh to the point of leaving all core cities undefended. Being first to find a new civ or two will make a big difference (as would being last to find the other civs!)

Something to keep in mind -- Chasqui victory over an enemy unit with a defense will spawn our Golden Age (though capturing an unprotected scout or worker, or defeating a barbarian will not)
So we do get to pick when we get our GA within reason by nailing a weak redlined unit later. Let's hope that comes after getting out of Despotism (And as far as the Chasqui War Gambit, we'll need to have a variant game devoted to this sometime )

Charis

A couple thoughts.

The standard games of Conquests that I played were all with earlier beta builds, in which the AI was changing a lot with each new versions. Since I haven't gotten my hands on the final product yet, I'm not able to say just how much weight the AI gives to each tech now. I'm assuming that the new wonders have increased priority for the formerly "min science" techs, but just how much that is I don't know.

We can only build the Statue of Zeus if we get our hands on some ivory. Much as I'd like to get some Ancient Cavalry rolling, I don't see any of that nearby. With this looking to be a largish continent, the Pyramids would probably be the best wonder to go after. The Temple of Artemis is lots of fun, but I'd generally rather capture that wonder than go to all the trouble of building it ourselves.

My initial feeling without looking at the game is to simply focus on expansion for now and deal with what comes later as it happens. We can leave the backlands to the south unsettled for now, but we need to push east and north pretty aggressively to get our share of the land. Good luck sees Temujin and Alex get involved in a little tiff in the near future, leaving us free to settle in peace. Bad luck and the khan looks in our direction. :arrow: At the least, let's make sure to submit to any tribute demands from the pointy-toothed one for the forseeable future!

And keep me at the bottom of the list for now, since I do not have a copy of Conquests as yet.

Got it!

I'll be playing as hard as I can to settle the north. If the Mongols threaten us, we'll cave mightily!

If the Mongols declare on us, we'll... well, we'll probably lose horribly!

No pain, no gain!

YAAAARGH!

Jester

There is a semi-choke spot to the North -- a city there and probably two units on either side should cut off all passage into our southern lands. It's total junk land, mid-jungle, but provides a nice line-in-the-sand. Also, to the east is a single spot choke point that we should part a unit or a city on, which really seals us in nicely. Point defense is much easier than core or zone

Good luck!
Charis

Okay, here's the game!

Okay, here goes!

Turn 1) Jeez, Charis, you really weren’t kidding when you said our econ is hurting!

I take one look at the Chasqui in Tiwanaku and decide to switch it to a temple. That city will be half decent with that game in play, but it will just be worthless until then.

Turn 2) Well, our money crisis is solved for now, but I’m really not at all sure how it’s going to be solved once we get our growth in a couple turns at Cuzco.

Our warrior runs into a hut! It’s like money that walks and talks! Hallelujah! Now if only we can win…

I set our worker to irrigate the plains next to the river, giving us another tile to swap to for production, rather than the crazy amount of food we have.

Chasqui on the right finds a peninsula, and has to backtrack.

Turn 3) Our warrior survives two attacks by barbarians, and becomes veteran. Wait, there’s no camp there!?! There were apparently just two barbarians sitting around, having a smoke, talking about skinning and tanning and whatnot… Damn.

I move our warrior to the south, and THERE is the camp. We may make it yet.

Our irrigated desert completes. I switch the tile, and the shield gets eaten by corruption! There just isn’t any justice in this world. The worker goes to build a road in the forest, since we need the production badly, but can’t sacrifice one iota of trade.

Our scouts in the north spot 3 greek warriors and a settler… maybe this north territory just isn’t in the cards.

The more I look at the bottleneck to the east, the more I think it would be more profitable to seize that beautiful land to the south, and let the Mongols have what we can’t grab in the north. Of course, a true expansionist would go for both… thankfully, this isn’t going to be my decision alone.

Note: This is NOT the one-square bottleneck on the desert, which would be a great spot if we didn't want that land to the south. I think I'm greedier than that. Thoughts?

Turn 4) Scouts find ivory in the north. The greeks are right next to it. I think we can fairly expect them to pop the statue of zeus… uh oh.

Cuzco grows, and I have to rearrange it for maximum trade in order to earn the money necessary to run the extra lux. Hopefully, our warrior wins in the south, and we earn some breathing space. It will likely come too late, though. He needs a turn to heal, and is across a river from the camp. Two turns at best.

Turn 5) Uneventful. The southeast is looking better and better.

Turn 6) Settler pops in Cuzco! Time for the big decisions. He goes… north.

Our warrior loses horribly in the south (4 health to none against barbarians!)

Southeast looks so good I don’t think we can afford to pass it up.

Turn 7) Machu Piccu finishes its mine. I set the worker to road, and the warrior is due in one turn.

Chasqui pops a hut found in the SE, and we get free mysticism. Neither the Greeks nor the Mongols have discovered anything new.

Turn 8) MP warrior finishes in Machu Piccu. Ironically, we don’t need him right this moment; he’ll be our roving MP for whichever city needs him first. We need more MP in the near future, though, so I leave Machu Piccu to build another warrior.

There’s a column of Mongol troops (just a couple warriors and an archer) that’s been marching west. I’ve got a warrior following them… hope they don’t have ambitions!

Turn 9) An advanced Chehalis village has joined us! Uh, wow. This is interesting. Totally out of position, but in exactly the spot I think we should concentrate our settling!

This really might change everything… Oh, well, I’m still going to try for the north, even if we don’t get the river. We might be able to grab some more modest terrain.

Turn 10) I move our MP into Machu, since it will grow next. I was a little wary about what to do with our workers, but I decided we could probably use another developed plains tile by Cuzco. If nothing else, it helps if we need to run lux like we are now.

Ollantaytambo, our little village to the southeast, is producing a warrior.

Our settler, moving north, is not yet so far that we can’t found a more reasonable city with it. I leave the choice about whether to go for it up to the group. There IS a Greek settler moving down, but I think they’ll probably grab a spot further up the river.

I haven’t done any research, figuring we need what little money we have. We could have the wheel coming in 18 turns, though.

The temple in Tiwanaku will greatly increase our productive power, once our radius expands. Then we can really start cranking settlers.

My recommendation from here is to take our two Chasqui warriors from the south, and make a blockade at the choke point below the Mongols, above our southeastern territory. Then, having grabbed what we can in the north, we’ll fill in that area from the top down, blocking off the Mongols as much as possible.

One thing is pretty clear, though. We’re going to be building nothing but settlers for a long time. Building a wonder from this position, IMO, is suicide.

Jester