TSG119 Opening Actions

Welcome to the TSG119 Opening Actions thread.

STOP - Please do not continue reading this thread until you have completed at least 80 to 100 turns in your game.

This thread is used to discuss the game once you've started playing through your first 100 turns. Apart from normal decency, the only posting restrictions are to please not post videos until the deadline is finished and to use the spoiler tags for screenshots. Here you can post questions related to the game and share your achievements/anger/frustration/victories while you play. Please remember that we are running a family friendly site, so express anger or frustration with this in mind.

Please use this thread to discuss your goals for the game and your opening moves through the first 100 turns. Anything after that should be posted in the After Action thread once you have completed your game.

- What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
- Did you spend much time doing reconnaissance before settling?
- Where did you settle and what did you build first?
- How did the terrain and map settings affect your early decisions?
- What were your initial priorities?
- What tech path did you follow and why?
- What Social Policies did you choose and why?
- What Wonders did you try to get and did you get them?
- Did you go for early Faith? How did you use faith?
- What have you done with Gandhi?
- Any surprises?

Empire, Turn 106:

My National College is coming a little late, but I wanted a 5 city start and war against Gandhi.




-What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
No real pre-planning really

-Did you spend much time doing reconnaissance before settling?
Nope

- Where did you settle and what did you build first?
I settled in place after moving warrior SE. Built Scout-->Scout-->shrine-->worker-->granary-->settler-->settler

- What were your initial priorities?
scout the area, decide whether to early war or turtle

- What tech path did you follow and why?
Pottery-->Mining-->Masonry-->(Archery from ruins)-->Horseback Riding-->Calendar-->Bronze Working-->Writing-->Construction-->Philosophy

- What Social Policies did you choose and why?
5 Tradition, 1 Patronage, for the win.

- What Wonders did you try to get and did you get them?
Only tried for, and did get, Oracle while waiting for final library in Breda.

- Did you go for early Faith? How did you use faith?
shrine only in capital at first, stone circles pantheon + friendly with Kathmandu for faith generation. I got the 3rd or 4th religion, I can't remember

- What have you done with Gandhi?
Gandhi sent a settler south, I utilized my two scouts (one now an archer) and a worker to box him out for hundreds of years, limiting him to one city for quite a while. I then Forward settled him, and boxed out his 2nd settler as well with units until I claimed the land I wanted. We became friends, I sold my luxuries and horse/iron for many monies. Eventually I grew tiresome of that nasty green color on the mini map, so I DoW'd him with 20 turns to go on our Declaration of Friendship. It's a dog-eat-dog world my friends. My city state allies and I are currently wiping him out of existence.

- Any surprises?

Had to retire in turn 37 because I missed the Great Library by 2 turns..

I feel it's nearly impossible to get the GL? I will retry it for my own

It is difficult to get GL on immortal, and near impossible on deity.

- What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
4-5 city peaceful tradition

- Did you spend much time doing reconnaissance before settling?
no

- Where did you settle and what did you build first?
In place, scout x2, shrine, worker, settler, Temple of Artemis, settler, granary, caravan, library, NC, settler x2

- How did the terrain and map settings affect your early decisions?
continent meant coastal capital better than mountain, also jungles need clearing with early iron working.

- What were your initial priorities?
scout, steal workers, forward settle India without triggering war, while aiming for ToA

- What tech path did you follow and why?
pottery, mining, archery, calendar, masonry, AH, BW, writing -> Philosophy
mining to enable forest chop, archery needed for ToA, and rest for luxury until library and NC

- What Social Policies did you choose and why?
Tradition x5 into commerce for standard freedom SV

- What Wonders did you try to get and did you get them?
Temple of Artemis and Mausoleum of H, before NC, then Oracle. Did not attempt HG, capital doesn't have enough hammers for that many wonders.

- Did you go for early Faith? How did you use faith?
Got faith from CS and early shrine, took sun god pantheon, did not bother with religion afterwards. India gave me a mediocre one with monastery.

- What have you done with Gandhi?
Forward settle him so he's stuck with 2 cities, also bought his tiles to limit his growth and steal his luxury, sent first caravan to him to leech science and became friends so that I can sell him back his luxury and take his money. Did not steal workers from him.

- Any surprises?
Did not find last 2 civs until much later since my first scout got destroyed on a barbarian island.

I'm terrible at timing things and generally don't think I time things correctly so I'm definitely learning a trick or two from reading the posts on here.

I am super anal about initial placement of my capital, so I scouted to the southeast and found lake victoria, and since I found it before settling, I HAD TO SETTLE THERE.
Then I was able to box Gandhi in like you guys are describing here above which was very fortunate (though he managed a 2nd city he didn't get a 3rd one till super late in the game). I'm now finally at war with him in turn 250 as I wanted to do naval battle against him with my newly found and OPed 2 attacks per turn Sea Beggars!

-What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
No thought given lol. Usually go diplomatic or tourism so just trying this out.

-Did you spend much time doing reconnaissance before settling?
Yes, and settled by lake Victoria. Failed to get right next to it for the mountain bonus though.

- Where did you settle and what did you build first?
SE 2 tiles NW of Lake Victoria.

- What were your initial priorities?
scout the area, get ruin goodies, meet city states.

- What tech path did you follow and why?
Honestly can't remember. Did mostly religion, lux techs, then beelining for the science techs (NC and universities).

- What Social Policies did you choose and why?
5 tradition, exploration opener plus one, then into rationalism.

- What Wonders did you try to get and did you get them?
Surprisingly was able to wonder whore quite a bit so far. Mausoleum, Louvre, Hanging Gardens, Forbidden PAlace, Colossus and Eiffel Tower.

- Did you go for early Faith? How did you use faith?
Shrine in capital plus goodies from the religious city state to the nw and friends with them. did stone circles but got unlucky and didn't spawn a great prophet for like 12 turns that I had above 200 so didn't get a religion. Been using the religion to build a bunch of religious buildings from other religions so far though so hasn't been to bad at all!


- What have you done with Gandhi?
Being an not letting him settle, being great friends with him until I trolled him and DOW that I am now easily winning, around turn 240.

- Any surprises?
Nothing much really. This game is going super well for my standards.

I hate passing up a the Observatory in Capital and having citrus/stone in starting ring convinced me to settle on Marble near mountain. I rushed masonry and planned on buying Ghandi's love early. Ghandi was a dead fish he didn't show any love and went piety without getting religion. My biggest regret is in not removing this sad sack early from the game. Not sure I ever got an RA from him and I showed him love the whole game other than forward setteling.

I didn't get a religion built shrine early but got sun gods and generated no faith but lots of food out of the gate. Didn't get religion until late game but got lots of extra food early.

Went with four city start only one mountain city, planted next to lake victoria with idea to use great general from war with India to get natural wonder never happened. Ran into china too soon.

Tried the bulb technique of writers until after world fair. Not convinced that one writer shouldn't be used early to get science from specialist.

First 100 turns?

Settled the river grassland next to the mountain. Lower production, but faster growth due to being next to citrus and bananas. I don't regret that decision.

Settled four cities reasonably quickly and made lots of CS Allies due to returning workers the barbarians stole and clearing encampments. Kathmandu's faith was particularly helpful in terms of getting a reasonably early religion. Possibly should have taken the food boost instead of stone circles due to Kathmandu's faith, but I didn't.

Setting up to fight Ghandi and take advantage of those CS allies to slow him down.

- What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
I set my personal goal to a sub 300 sv. Decided to settle at coast an build at least 2 coastal expansions to feed my capital.

- Did you spend much time doing reconnaissance before settling?
Send warrior south, but decided to settle in place.

- Where did you settle and what did you build first?
Settled on the starting location. 2 Scouts, Shrine, granary, settler, settler. In retrospect I should not build the grannary before the settlers.

- How did the terrain and map settings affect your early decisions?
Because of the difficulty I didn't try for any ancient era wonders.

- What were your initial priorities?
Scouting, Religion, taking land.

- What tech path did you follow and why?
Pottery, Mining, Mathematics for hanging gardens. Construction for Composite bowmens, because I want to get rid of gandhi.

- What Social Policies did you choose and why?
Tradition.

- What Wonders did you try to get and did you get them?
HG, Oracle. Yes got both.

- Did you go for early Faith? How did you use faith?
Shrine in capital. Got stone circles. And used it to get 3rd Religion.

- What have you done with Gandhi?
DOW and plan to get him of the map.

- Any surprises?
No swamps on the continent, no use for polders.