The Deity Challenge Line-up #20 - Spain - Valentine day Resurrected

I went with 2 cities after discovering the 2 wonder close by
Kept Lhasa under my thumb for workers and training ground,friend with all ,nobody gave me any thought about keeping Lhasa in perpetual war.
Around 170 Cathy was just too fast with tech ,I was always 4 tech behind her and Maria was already marring 11 CS so I gave up on science victory and went for war with Cathy first,then Lizzy,Maria with 16k of gold.
I got the last 3 in 2 turn with nukes
I really like playing tall as the happiness was never an issue

After achieving Plastics at t169 I decided on a SV. Cathy was generating around 60 tourism thanks to her reformation belief and her ICSing(in the end she had 33 cities!) so I though I'd better get my cultural socks on. Perhaps I did that too well as I could've won a CV earlier but I said yes to DOW China. You'll see that Cordoba has some land stolen by Cathy and that is all I need to DOW her. I'll play on as shge is offering me a sweet peace deal but I want to see if she'll give all the cities she captured.

Was going for a tourism victory from the start but that was not going well with losing out on key culture wonders. Then Russia and China(culture leaders) decided to hate me for no reason so I couldn't get open borders from them for the modifier, Russia also built the firewall slowing down my tourism even more.

So I decided to switch to a diplomacy victory instead. Couldn't buy anyone's votes so went for the city-states. Austria was fighting China(who had conquered the Celts) so I snaked a celtic city from Austria DoW on China and resurrected them for their vote. Austria having bought up a ton a city-states made the required votes under 30. Turn before the vote Celts got eliminated again by China who thought it was a better idea to attack them then to freaking defend their capital(Cathage and Austria double teamed them and China lost their capital). So I lost the vote.

Russia was down to only 1 SS part and Austria needed 2 so I switched to SV and I had 2 boosters. So I opened commerce and GEed Big Ben, built one booster and bought the rest somehow finishing 4 parts before Russia could finish their last one.

Anyway after China lost their capital, their culture plummeted and I caught them with a GM(natural born). Russia was forced to take Freedom and randomly wanted to be friends after denouncing me 3 consecutive times so I got open borders and bought 2 GM with faith. After both concerts it was still 5 turns away so I launched not wanting to take the chance. For the hell of it I asked around to see if anyone would buy my votes and both Byzantium and England did putting me one vote short for the upcoming vote, then Austria bought another state which knocked down the required votes and gave me enough to win world leader.

Fluphen, GBR is S of Lhasa 5 tiles N of ice. Stormtrooper, FoY is in the NW corner of the New World's islands. I settled Mt Sinai (N central part of New World), plus FoY (perfect time to get +20 happy!) as well as a city midway, 3 SE of the whales to get WLTK and more coal. Which means I have spent a lot of time building food/prod infrastructure there and no science buildings.

I still haven't caught up to Cathy, and she's had planes for a while and just showed up on my border with 2 BB's! She is only 2 techs ahead, BUT she has 5 into Rat!!! Everybody has been signing RA's, I have done none, which is typical. I guess I may learn my lesson here...

I bulbed to Radio, picked Order and now have 7 cities. Austria followed into Order, Cathy then went Autocracy, Liz went Freedom, and China Order. About 8 turns ago the denouncements started, so even civs I have had good relations and who still don't have ideologies denounced me. Even though we all denounced England - I guess Cathy, with her crazy religion spam, is loved by all. Cathy took the first of Liz's 3 cities and will easily wipe her out (lotsa wonders in London).

Meanwhile, Austria has married 5 CSs and has serious cash to buy more. The WC has been a joke, nothing but lux bans the first 2 rounds, and Austria wanting to ban CS trade (failed). Now Cathy proposed her religion and I am Leader, I proposed WF (again, weird timing for denouncements), but I may just vote Cathy down. I have 6 turns to go for Neuschwanstein in my Petra city, but have to start WF in 2. I don't think I can win/build both. I burned several GWs just to get Worker's Facilities early - weird to have WF come so late for me.

I may actually lose this game!

Went honor/commerce/autocracy

Started war with X-Bows around t110. First victim was England, who was downed with the help of Russia, I got London @t127 and made peace. Russia finished England off.

China has lots of troops and I settled pretty much in her face, so I am thinking she will attack me next, but @t134 Carthago asks me team up and go to war with Austria, and I thinking...why not? China does not have a single wonder, so not really attractive and my frontline expo has lots of woods surrounding it, so it will be hard to take even if China DOWs me.

Dido is not helping in the war at all, but oh well, at least some diplo bonus. Took all but two cities from Austria, while she completed LToP and Forbidden Palace (nice, thanks for those). While I was attacking her capital and last expo, Austria made a peace deal with Dido and giving her the last expo...just out of curiosity I reload and ask Austria for the same deal and she denies...Carthago's troop in front of her cities: zero, my troops 10+. Clearly a good choice to give Dido a city, but deny me the same. So, Dido still gets the free city and I take Vienne @t162 by force. Got her Forbidden Palace (so no more happiness issues for now). And since the Carthago expo had a wonder (do not remember if that was LToP or not) I DOW Dido and took it as well (so much for my diplo advantage). Couple of turns later she offered me a peace giving me some gold and lux.

China is still wandering troops up and down the border, and even though we are all red, no DOW from her. So in the end, once I had my troops in place I DOW china @t166 and after a rough start I get the upper hand and finally take all but Shanghai and a tiny expo somewhere else.

My relations with Russia went from best buddies to hostile during my Austria and China war, and @t196 she DoWed me. She is by far the leader in soldiers and almost every other aspect of the game at this point, so it is time to stop her anyways before this gets out of hand. I was expecting the DOW and had allied surrounding CS few turns earlier, and had a few troops in London and Barcelona awaiting attack. I decided to let Shanghai be Shanghai, even though it is almost defenseless, I need my troops elsewhere and it has no wonder anyways. So I take all of China's money in a peace deal @t167.

Russia almost took Barcelona, which is next to the mountain in the desert where a lot have placed there capital in this game (managed to get Petra there @ t85), but due to dumb AI who placed a cannon right in front of the city, I only had to make sure no privateers are coming too close. She had like 4 frigates in front of the City and was bombarding to the ground, while my Frigate without being hit once took down the frigates one by one. /clap, /clap AI.

I fend Russia's troop off and a few turns later I get artilleries so my offense begins, and since I already had two cannons with range promotion it is pretty easy going forward from that point on.

Around the time my offense started I am unable to reload the game, Civ always crashes and I have to reload the whole game. The only way I get my save game started is to restart Civilization. So no more reloads, unless I want to sit around for 5 minutes+

Completed Big Ben at T210, my second self-build wonder after Petra. Edit: Third, forgot Statue of Zeus, which I only build after I realized I was the only civ that took honor.

I got Autocracy at t219. Theodora already had it and Russia had order, since Russia was about to be no longer an issue Autocracy seemed to make more sense and I never had a single unhappiness due to public opinion in this game.

Anyways, I take all main-land cities from Russia and in the peace deal I got like 4 offshore cities as well, that no AI wants to have, so I keep them. Russia had Notre Dame and Chichen Itza + some. Very nice. Made peace @t255

I left Theodora alone at this point, since we have a RA and DOF, so I walk across the whole map to kicks the Celtics' bud.

The rest was a walk in park, Celtics and Carthago did not offer much resistance. I expected more of a fight from Theodora, since she was listed #1 in troops, but all I saw from her was one Lancer and one war infantry...no idea where her troops were, but they were not there to defend her capital. Started the war with her @t286 with most of my troops still on the move back from Carthago, expecting some of her troops to show up, but nada, so I advanced, taking her Capital @t292.

Strangely, Cathy made peace with Liz after only taking one city. Cathy didn't attack me early enough, and when she did (t276), she sent her main forces after my CS allies. So I was able to pick off her coastal home navy with ease, and eventually take one of Theo's coastal cities next to me, and 2 of Cathy's, including St Pete my last turn. The mtn range really helped Lhasa on defense.

Cathy ended up with 39 cities and Austria with 20. Wu took Dido's and the Celtic caps. Couldn't bribe Cathy all game into a fight, and my Order allies Wu and Austria wouldn't fight Cathy or Theo either.

I had some pretty tense naval battles in the islands up N of the new continent - poor LOS, Theo had 2 carriers and some subs and old ships, but I had a Missile Cruiser and a Nuclear Sub along with some DDs and BBs. I lost most of the extras. Big advantage for the bad guys with all those crappy cities up there, they could see me with ease.

The SV would have been a lot quicker if I hadn't been so obsessed with all the NWs. But that element made the game a lot more fun!

ruins: gold, map (realved Jerusalem and Barringer), late culture
Moved my settler west, and settled the beastly desert, silver, Kilimanjaro spot. Used the gold to buy Kilimanjaro, and a gold ruin gave me enough to rush buy a setter few turns later for 2nd city, on coast (Disclaimer: I did restart after 5 or so turns to settle this spot, not something I normally do, but I wanted to see if I could get Petra and make a monstrous Cap. Probably wouldn't have affected my turn time much, as I could've bought a settler and got it anyway)

Stole 2 workers from England, 2 from Russia, and 3 total from Lhasa. Stayed at war with Lhasa, and used an early great general to steal the wheat and flood-plains from the CS. Boot-camped my archers on Lhasa.

3rd City was to NE on river near all the horses, and rush bought a 4th to settle Barringer Crater. Strangely, the Celts settled Dublin in the middle of my lands, so I mark that city as my first target, and send a science caravan there in the meantime.

I finish Petra turn 64, tradition turn 66, and NC turn 75. Got fast Education turn 91, while also building Oracle, HS, CI, MaccPicc. With Petra, I was building wonders in 4-7 turns all game. One of those rare games where I can war and wonder monger

After Edu, I upgrade my archers and take Dublin, turn 98, to solidify my empire.

religion: OWN pantheon, tithe, pagodas, +15% prod, rel texts

tech path: pottery>mining>beeline currency>philosophy>beeline Education>Machinery>Astronomy>Print Press>Indust (bulbed)>Dynamite (oxford)

SP: full tradition>commerce to mercant> secularism>autocracy to militarism>finish commerce

Fast Education got me Machinery turn 101. After taking Dublin, I make peace with the Celts, upgrade my CB to XB, and attack Lizzy. London falls turn 109.

Now everybody hates and denounces me. I'm unsure whether to attack Russia or China first (really wanted to kill them both right then) but I get a message that Wu is secretly marching an army at me, and she builds ND (one of the few wonders I didn't build) so I decide to attack China.

I get bogged down for some turns in the medieval/renaissance (not so bad, since I am suffering for happiness until I get my Ideology). Took a while to take Nanjing (on coast just to south of my Barringer Crater City); had to chop down woods blocking my XB.

Turns 125-145, I get doubled teamed first by China and Austria, and then China and Russia. I kill Austria's army, and make peace for 60 gpt. Turn 140ish, I finally take Nanjing and burn it, clearing the path to Beijing. I then destroy Russia's army, and make peace for like 2K gold and 10 gpt.

The deal with Cathy came at the perfect time (turn 144), since I've got about 10 turns to artillery anyway, and can't take Moscow without it.

I bulbed Secularism turn 126 (after putting 3 in commerce, to Mercantilism), and I bulbed Industrialism turn 133. I build 2 factories and buy 1, while building LTOP, for great engineer to rush Big Ben.

I get my Ideology (autocracy) turn 144, and used Oxford for Dynamite turn 150. Got Navigation 3 turns later. With Merc/BB/Mobil combo, I am buying arty/rifles/frigates for about 300 gpt. My GPT is at 200+ now, and with the money from Cathy, I spam units, and position them for the Final War.

My end-game strategy is a four-pronged attack:

My eastern army takes Beijing (turn 150) with XB/Tercio, and marches south to kill the Celts. Edinburgh falls turn 161. My western army takes and burns St. Petersburg, then proceeds north to Moscow, which falls turn 162, then takes Rostov to open the path to Constantinople.

Meanwhile, I have built/bought two fleets on either coast, which have sailed down and positioned to take Vienna and Carthage. Turns 167-168, I DoW my last three opponents: Vienna and Constantinople fall turn 169. Carthage follows turn 170 (she got Navigation right at the end, otherwise all 3 would have fallen simultaneously).