Alternative Methods of Gameplay: A Leaderboard

SaintRiker

Chieftain
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
2
K, so (I-like-cheese), some backstory.

I've played this game religiously for about a year now, having been introduced by roommate, another zealot who also greatly appreciates conquering the world on a video game that is now several years old.

I quickly learned the mechanics, and strategies, and soon began to play exclusively on Deity. Sadly, my roommate nor I have ever had the ambition to figure out multiplayer on the PS3, so between the two of us, we took it upon ourselves to obtain every medallion victory on Deity, the lesser difficulties proving too frivolous.

Yet, the game data can be deleted only so many times before even the repeated completion of the game isn't enough. Yes. It's true: we're addicts, and we needed a new fix.

So we did the impossible.

We broke the game.

Now, we didn't actually break it, and we began our foray into alternative game play quite inadvertently.

A controller malfunctioned, click-defending his initial settlers before he could settle them.

Incidentally, the AI doesn't know how to interact with unmoved settlers. They last millennia, untouched by barbarians or or civilizations alike. Thus began our first alternative type of game: Settler Betting, in which unmoved settlers are defended, and bets are placed as to what year they will finally be taken, or displaced from the map by sheer culture, both of which result in losses. This is a social variant, or I gues you can bet against yourself, but it's really more fun playing with other people in the same room.

The next variant of game play was a a local leaderboard, of each the four types of victories. Between the Culture, Science, and Gold victories, there's still some debate as to the best civilization to play as.

But this, this isn't about that.

This is about The Zulu Blitz.

For the earliest recorded domination victory, our terms were simple.

1- Deity.
2- No saving, to prevent wandering our restarting after a lost army.
3- And most importantly, without any question, inherent to the very premise that is the world's fastest takeover by force, we had to use the Zulu. There was not worthy alternative. Between easier overrun and an additional movement by the warriors, no other Civilization could compete. Not the Aztecs with their 25 gold and a warrior out year 4000 BC (or 2 warriors out, 39 and 38 hundred BC). Not the Arabs, with Fundamentalism. Not the Germans with automatic upgrades. Not the Mongols with their sprawl. For the world's fastest takeover, there is no question: Zulu or bust.

We played several hours worth of games, twenty minutes long or less, passing the controller back and forth as we determined appropriate expectations. Sure, victory by year 0 attainable, most often, but this wasn't about winning the game per the game's rules. This was about winning competitively.

The first few games were rough. Historic strategies had to be left behind, strategies which called for extended game play, with eventual sieges, upgrades, and bonuses. They became unnecessary, and were soon abandoned.

We disregarded all previous claims to victories. We hadn't been competing then. We needed confirmation, if the game wasn't better beat in the other's presence, we needed a picture confirmation of the year.

Luckily, we were just discussing the upper limits on how well the game could possibly be beaten. It takes so many turns just to move across the map, let alone conquer fledgling cities, and an estimate was placed at 2500 BC, with a set of requirements that must have been imposed to secure victory.

I didn't mean to win so gloriously. I wanted to, but I didn't believe it.

I took a step diagonally north, settled, maxed out production, and waited exactly three turns for my first settler to turn up, walked him two spaces, and found myself two spaces away from a barbarian village with a single occupant. Note: all barbarian villages start with one person,upping their population to 2 usually in the year 3500 BC, sometimes a turn earlier in the presence of settlers (wandering) or exceptional proximity to one or two civilizations (unconfirmed).

I killed the first barbarian village, and to my dismay, I only got a boat. Usually, I hate boats, from the first city at least. Sure, it's thirty gold, and at least it's not a tech or worthless maps of the local area, but having to make the choice between selling it immediately, or using it to explore, makes quite a conundrum.

Luckily, as I clicked through the prompts, the defeated village was gracious enough to point me to a nearby wonder, Seven Cities of Gold, exactly two spaces away. I would wait to sell the galley, and at least get enough gold for settlers.

I loaded my settlers onto my boat, figuring I'd cut a corner to the mainland and settle them closer to the action, having purchased several warriors, luckily discovering horsemen from a taken barbarian village and transitioning into horsemen growth. I took the Indian capital with a warrior army, and then used them to build horsemen, sending them north on happenstance, while my warriors head east and south.

The island from which Seven Cities of Gold bothered me, appearing to be much larger than I'd originally anticipated, and I decided to settle there, building up a horseman to take out the barbarian village and go exploring. The Chinese existed to the West, and I was now aware of three of the four AI civilizations. I finished building an army, and simultaneously discovered both the Egyptians to the North, and the Arabians to the Southeast. I took the Egyptians with a horsemen army over the course of two turns, and the Arabs with a second horsemen army with a warrior army to prevent production. I switched to Fundamentalism immediately.

Then I sold them all, buying the remaining horses I needed on the Chinese island.

I took them in two turns with that horsemen army.

The year was 2600 BC.

I entered the last capital, setting a new record, one with which I feel secure holding the throne, at least between my roommate and myself.

To let you on in a secret:

I messed up. Twice. I sailed away from my initial settlers before realizing I could cut a corner to the mainland, which cost me two turns at least, locally.

And I missed placing one of my warriors when attempting to take Delhi, putting my meetup point three away from their capital, costing me a turn.

Sure, I won better than I ever had before in fifteen turns of game play.

But I believe that a better victory can be won.

Remember the rules. Deity. No saving. Zulu.

For now, I reign supreme, with only this to say from the throne that is my spot on the couch: BEST ME; I DARE YOU. :king:


(Who am I kidding? Does anybody even come here anymore? This game is OLD!)
 
Feel free to list any alternative methods of game play you've discovered over the years to make it more interesting or change the dynamics. I've heard of the single city challenge, and not building any units, and I'm interested in all of them. Spruce up an old and dying love life that is Civ Rev.
 
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