The Immortal Challenge Lineup - Game #26 China

Yes, check my Washington cap pic and you can see a purple splodge on the mini map, I had him scouted.

I wasn't even going to start this game, and now I wish I hadn't. Only one ruin, but at least it was Mining. Lost 2 Scouts getting trapped, one behind Kyoto and one next to Washington. Oh, those early hammers! Saw what was what pretty quick with neighbors, and since I just finished a long DomV, I decided to try a Tall SV. Khan took out 2 CSs before I even had my 2nd city up.

He DOW'd Ur, so I thought I was OK - nope! T61 DOW. Beat them back alright, then Oda DOWS t71, beat on him a while and made peace with Khan and bribed him vs Oda. Nothing happened for 20-30 turns there, but suddenly Oda's expo is gone (the one that potshotted both my Warriors). Having just built a Settler to slam in the middle of the map, I decide to go for the Japanese spot, and build another. One turn before settling I get a t128 DOW from Khan, with Trebs and Pikes and Swords. Except his movements are horrid, and they are all toast. (I had gotten a little cocky with him, buying tiles and telling him to screw himself (I never do that).) Now Alex DOW'd Khan, looks like he's hitting his cap, but not sure how he can manage the chokepoint.

So what was going to be defensive should probably be offensive. I just liberated Sidon. Just don't care much, this game doesn't really have anything I'm interested in right now. Plus I have a Settler with nowhere to go...

My BO and tech orders were horrible. Heading for Machinery, but have been very short on gold. Still no Edu, I don't think I did NC until like 115. Built HG and GW and just now HS. You can't send any TRs because the psychos are loose, but now that I have one CS I guess I can start.

Now I wish I had kept the war machine turning, to make use of the Cho-Ko-Nus! I finally got some Knights exploring the E side of the map - Greece got Attila down to just his cap, and the Celts are toast. Oda is stuck in his corner with my religion, and USA is pretty strong, challenging Greece (and he eliminated Khan's last city I left). USA went Patronage and has 4 early votes, so that does not bode well for late game WC.

After full Trad I went full Piety, just to be different, taking Jesuit Ed. I didn't realize how low the faith requirements are to buy science bldgs in early eras. I enhanced with Holy Order and Rel Comm, but hadn't noticed USA had finally got a religion, so I converted a city accidentally. I had considered Evangelism, and being That Guy, and just trying to convert everybody's cities, I have never done that. Anyway, he has been teetering fake Friendly - I assume there will be blood when he picks an ideology, and I don't look forward to the GW expiring.

Food has been my biggest problem, so my science has been bad, but I just now went Freedom and the cash is rolling in with Theocracy. Got 2 into Rat very late, and now have 4 in Freedom (dominated WF, as usual on Immortal). I am everybody's TR buddy, and I lead in Tourism. I am somewhat playing a culture game but planning to go SV. I was able to get 2 extra lux with citadels. I still have an extra Settler, which may have to be used for Coal or Oil.

USA has tons of wonders, but I have done well with LToP, Djenne, Globe, Sistine since last post. May have to hard-build the Radio ones. I got Machu very late, mainly because I don't think anyone else has a mtn. I have been gifted a crazy number of units...

Interesting map, thanks Gustavus Rex!

Such an unfocused game. Sort of wish I'd stayed at war, I was gifted so many units! I was #1 in military, which never happens for me unless DomV. I teched as if for SV, getting Satellites and Hubble, but ended up just beelining Internet after that. I also had extra votes for DV in 8 turns. Burned all GWs and all but 2 GAs for Sistine. Permanent GoldAge after Ideologies.

USA and Alex stayed pretty hostile to each other the whole game. USA went Autocracy, and very strangely, Alex went Freedom with me. By the end I had everybody else in Rev Wave, but nobody flipped. Oda never got his footing after Khan took out his 3rd city and I resettled the area. Rome and Atilla swapped some small cities. Once I started rolling up the CS, Alex was barely an issue with them, weird. I think I lost 5 spies in a row on Monaco!

This was one of my best policy games - Full Trad, Full Piety, Full Aesthetics, 3/6 Patronage, 2 in Rat and 2 in Commerce, 9 in Freedom.

As usual, I am way behind in the series again, urgh!

I opened tradition and just finished honour. I'v never played with honour and I'm having a great time. I am certainly learning a lot. I am just trying to press less "Next turn" and think longer about the consequences of my choices. I went for Attila first after he forward settled one me (note the ruins next to my far-right horses). That was turn 98. Late for all you folks, but pretty fast for me.

I took Osaka with CBs still and then Kyoto with Chu-Ko-Nus, by which point most of my ranged had double attack anyway- I am nor sure, but as China, should you select March instead and then upgrade to Chu-Ko-Nus?

Washington is wonderspamming (just as much as Alex is) but he has the wall and I think I need to eliminate his threat from my side of the continent first. I'm not sure I can win the game, but I will do my best. Current screenshot:


Personal notes, what I copied from LPs:
> More ruthless worker stealing
> went for 2 cities instead of 3, stops me from turtling
> try more passive warfare to avoid losing units all the time
> Use GG's for land stealing
> building roads preemptively to assist my troop movement (usually one of my biggest problems)

What I completely screwed up so far:
> I forgot that NC needs a tech...
> Once I researched philosophy, I forgot to build the NC...
> lost a few good units earlier on due to bad positioning
> I still don't understand ranged unit in-range-sight, I keep misjudging

I was unsure about scouting. I thought about walking past Alex' territory to meet the remaining civ's, but I worry that whilst that gives me trade options, it will just lead to the usual chain-DOWing and denunciations.

//Update
Washington fell t176. He had no military to speak of and no chance against my CKN army with logistics, march and now a few +1 ranged as well. Alex predictably denounced me. I have now sent my caravels around and discovered Attila and Caesar, now I am a bit in a tricky situation. Because my science is so low, I need to carry on warring. But Rome&Attila are oceans away. I might go for Greece, as he is unfriendly with the far-away bunch, should make me some friends.


I'm gonna sleep over it. Fun map.

Celts

The Huns

barbs come out of nowhere and pillage my luxes while I was farming XP from Mongolia

Mongolia sends out an escorted settler which I can't kill because I only have one archer and starting warrior. He manages to settle an absolutely crap city on a hill right in my face

George decides to hike a lone settler across the map, I spot him too late and he settles a crap city right between me and Japan, just to spite me

As I'm farming Mongolia, Japan blindside me as I have left my homeland undefended

Not allowing America to build the Great Wall to slow me down.