GOTM 157 Spoiler

I know one friend (hello haleewud) has not quite finished 156 but it is now August and some time since the July game was set so in the spirit of the "Game of the Month" name let's open this spoiler.

Having said that I am not sure how much to write just now. I decided to play for an early conquest. If I had any doubt it was cleared by some black clicking that showed the idea of a large continent.

<<
This is a quick dream game for early conquest with only 2 rivals on a normal map and no restarts.
The challenge here is going to be the technology. No one has a key civ and thus tech costs are going to be high.
>>

I have reduced the opposition to a single city and I am playing a few turns just for points.

We have three very nice techs to start. I guess everyone will go to Monarchy - this way?

4000- Found Babylon, this site will do. Work fish to get 2 science.
3950- Start on Monarchy.
3900-
3850- Worker to forest.
3800-
3750- RB 1 shield.
3700-
3650- Discover Monarchy -> MM. Become Monarchy.

And then:

...
3250- Size-1 settler completes.
3150- Babylon=2.
3100-
3050- Found Ur(91,37).
3000- Warrior completes.

I too started playing last night.

Did a map analysis and decided to stick with Babylon at the starting location despite a 4 special site 2 tiles north. I later built my second city there. I too am aiming for conquest.

Went first for Monarchy but got it one oedo turn later than inkerman in -3450.

I expected tech to be slow because of the lack of a key civ but there is another factor slowing techs which I did not expect. A lot of early techs come from exchanges with rivals. Having only 2 rivals instead of the typical 6 reduces tech exchange possibilities significantly.

-4000 Babylon founded. Warrior started. Size 1 settler would be next.
-3950 -> Monarchy
-3450 Monarchy -> Bronze. Monarchy established. T7L0S3. Resource seed is 55. Horseback riding from first hut.
-3250 Chariot from hut.
-3100 Size 1 settler produced.
-3000 Ur founded at the 4 specials site 2 tiles north.

Status at -3000
Population: 0.04M; Cities: 2; Techs: 5; Government: Monarchy
Gold: 7; Cost: 0; Trade routes: 0D0F;
Wonders:
Units: 1 warrior, 1 Chariot
Goals: Trade, map making, and Marco
Russian: no contact
Viking: no contact

-2750 Bronze -> Currency.
-2500 Currency from hut.
-2450 -> Trade.
-2150 Trade -> Mapmaking. Warrior code from hut.
-2100 50g from hut
-2000 Nineveh founded.

Status at -2000
Population: 0.05M; Cities: 3; Techs: 9; Government: Monarchy
Gold: 57; Cost: 0; Trade routes: 0D0F;
Wonders:
Units: 1 settler, 1 warrior, 1 Chariot
Goals: Map making and Marco
Russian: no contact
Viking: no contact

-1950 None Archer from hut.
-1650 Ashur founded. Barbarian horseman from hut.
-1600 Barbarian horseman kills my chariot. Ellipi founded.
-1400 Russian warrior meets mine. Warrior Code, Monarchy -> Russian (4) -> Mapmaking, Wheel, peace, no tribute. -> Writing. T7L0S3
-1250 50g from hut. Akkad founded.
-1150 Icy Russians put a chariot near Ashur; warrior steps on hill to block; Ashur rushes chariot.
-1100 Russians back off.
-1000 Marco built. Russians have no new techs, Vikings only have Masonry.
Mapmaking, Burial, Trade, -> Viking (5) -> peace, maps, 0g
Code of Laws, Trade -> Russian (4) -> 50g. I ran out of techs to gift Russians. Even I had traded for Masonry, I could not get them to Cordial.
Advanced tribe founds Uruk.

Status at -1000
Population: 0.17M; Cities: 7; Techs: 11; Government: Monarchy
Gold: 9; Cost: 0; Trade routes: 0D0F;
Wonders: Marco
Units: 1 settler, 4 warriors, 1 None Archer, 1 Chariot
Goals: Expansion to island 11; canal city at 72,38; Russian map
Russian: 2 cities, 11 techs;
Viking: 5 cities, 9 techs;

Inkerman said:

Looks like it might be a choice between a quick early conquest or a possibly long haul to spaceship.

Click to expand...

I chose the second option. After some exploration, it seemed like a waste of good settling ground to go for EC, despite the disadvantages (no key civ and not much research assistance).

My log until -1000:

Map analysis show the seed is 39 or 55. Either way, there is a 4-special site two tiles north

-4000 Walking north
-3900 Could settle now, but decide to reveal the special before, it is silk, so seed is 55
-3800 Babylon founded, work silk for s1-settler
-3750 Research Monarchy(10)
-3450 Monarchy(est.)->Writing(for fast exploring units)
-3150 Settler built
-2950 Writ.->Bronze; Ur founded at starting location
-2800 Babylon dip
-2500 Bronze->Currency; 50g from hut
-2350 Nomads from hut
-2250 Niniveh founded; should we found another city with nomad or keep him for roads? Decide for the latter
-2200 Horse from hut
-2150 Pottery from hut, horse is near Moskau
-2100 Horse goes north and is near Niniveh again => Russians must be in south-west direction
(Russian horse approaches, demands 50g, denied, they kill our horse)
-2050 Spend gold, hail Russians, they send us away
-2000 Hail Russians again, give CB, peace, get Mapmaking; get Literacy from hut

Stats at -2000:
pop.: 50k; Cities: 3; techs: 9; gold: 40; Gov.: Mon; wonders: -; TR: 0D/0F
units: 2 settler, 2 dip
Plan: Explore and expand

-1850 Barb horse from hut, we only have 32 gold, so it cannot be bribed
(Barbs move away and don't attack our dip)
-1750 Ashur founded
-1650 Currency from hut
-1600 Research trade
-1500 Discover St. Petersburg at 63,51, too expensive to bribe (561); 50g from hut
-1450 Discover Moskau, walk away via river
-1400 Discover Minsk, don't think we can escape, so we establish embassy with Russia
-1300 Trade -> Mystic.; Ellipi founded
-1200 Get Mysticism from Russia, gift some techs, but they are still neutral, so no map exchange
-1150 Akkad founded; 1st van produced for HG in Babylon
-1100 Vikings begin Pyramids
-1050 Archer from hut (supported)

Stats at -1000:
pop.: 140k; Cities: 6; techs: 12; gold: 45; Gov.: Mon; wonders: -; TR: 0D/0F
units: 3 settler, 1 army, 0 boat, 2 dip, 1 van
Plan: Explore and expand; build a boat to uncover Babylon's ocean specials and reach cont. 3 & 4

Major Advantage said:

there is a 4-special site two tiles north
-3800 Babylon founded, work silk for s1-settler
-2950 Writ.->Bronze; Ur founded at starting location

Click to expand...

Would it not have been more efficient to build Babylon at the starting location and Ur two tiles north at the 4 special site?

Ali Ardavan said:

Would it not have been more efficient to build Babylon at the starting location and Ur two tiles north at the 4 special site?

Click to expand...

Let's see: Your settler was built one turn after mine, you founded your second city one turn earlier, but my cities were already road-connected. So I would say, there is not that much of a difference.

But I built a warrior before I built my size 1 settler. That takes 4 turns.

OK, to -1000 as a time to see how things compare. Like others we meet the Russians before then and do not get a map swap. City+Settler and Tech numbers are similar. I have popped huts a bit later than others.

2950- Discover MM -> BW.
2900-
2850- Ur warrior.
2800-
2750-
2700-
2650- Discover BW -> Currency.
2600-
2550-
2500-

2450-
2400-
2350- Ur Trireme completes and exposes fish and whales.
2300-
2250- Discover Currency -> Trade. Babylon settler.
2200- Found Nineveh(86,34). Trireme enters lake and exposes fish, maybe useful in future.
2150-
2100-
2050-
2000- Warrior Nineveh.

-2000 Stats.
Cities: 3. Pop: 6. Techs:7. Govt: Monarchy.
4 warriors, 1 trireme.

1950- Barb ship appears.
1900- Discover Trade -> Pottery. Babylon completes phalanx because of barbs.
Hut (by Nineveh): chariot.
1850- Ur settlers. We put a unit to prevent barbs from landing.
1800-
1750- Found Ashur(90,26)#11.
1700- Unexpectedly, meet Russians(4) at StPetersburg - I should have been checking nearest city info, but did not expect them to be so close. They offer HBR for Monarchy. We decline. War! We are Supreme.
1650-
1600-
1550- Discover Pottery -> Seafaring. What a lot of internal lakes.
1500- Hut(81.57): Barbs - just a horse next to my chariot in trees.

Barbs by chariot disappear.
1450-
1400-
1350-
1300- Found Akkad(86,42). Chariot is &#8220;near Kiev&#8221;.
Warrior killed by Russian horse.
1250- Hut: AT Uruk(76,66).
1200-
1150- Discover Seafaring -> HBR. Russians now power 5.
1100- Chariot kills Russian horse.
1050- Explorer pops hut at (83,51): WC.
1000- Found Eridu(75,37).

-1000 Stats.
Cities: 8. Pop: 15 (0.25m). Techs:11. Govt: Monarchy.
1 settler, 4 warrior, 2 phalanx, 1 chariot, 1 trireme, 1 explorer.

At 1000 BC Ali has built one wonder - MPE - which has been used to obtain the Viking map. It will be some time before I find the Vikings, and I never swap maps. With us both playing for early conquest that may make quite a difference to how quickly the conquest proceeds.

I finish a wonder just before 500 BC, and choose HG. I wanted the happiness benefits. With only two other civs (and no restarts) I thought MPE was less valuable. When I meet the civs, and I have already met the Russians at 1000 BC, dips can be used to establish embassies.

Here is what happened next.

975- Hut(87,57): archers.
950- Hut(70,64): nomads. Hut(76,38): Writing.
925- Found Samarra(73,65). Hut(88,68): horse.
900- Found Lagash(86,50).
875- Found Kish(75,29).

850- Peace with Russia. Give Seafaring to get HBR.
825- Discover Polytheism -> Mysticism. Hut(70,38): Feudalism.
Vikings start HG.
800- Prioritise money.
775- Hut: AT Nippur(68,44) near Russians.
750- At last, the barb ship just off Ur goes.

725- Hut(62,42): archers.
700-
675- Hut: AT Shuruppak(64,36).
650- Hut: Wheel.
625-

600-
575- Hut: AT Zariqum(54,74).
550-
525-
Russians start HG.
500- Ur builds HG. Russians change to Colossus. Vikings change to Pyramids.
Hut(74,72): archers.

Stats.
Cities: 14. Pop: 28 (0.47m). Techs:16. Gold:90. Govt: Monarchy. Wonder: HG
8 settler, 5 warrior, 3 phalanx, 3 archer, 4 pikemen, 1 horse, 1 chariot, 2 trireme, 3 van, 2 explorer.

Finished and submitted.

The next bit of log, more of the same. Main choice was taking Sun Tzu as second wonder. This seemed to be consistent with the accidental discovery of feudalism that happened in the previous section of log.

475-
450- Exploring trireme gets a barb leader for 100g.
425-
400- Found Sippar(86,56). Find Kiev.
Vikings nearly done Pyramids.
375- Disc Mysticism -> Chivalry. Found Izibia(63,71).
Hladir builds Pyramids.

350- Found Larsa(91.59)#18.
325-
300-
275- Found Nimrud(75,73).
250- Ur completes Sun Tzu.

225-
200- An explorer is near the Udal - first mention of Viking name in nearest city info.
175-
Age of Philosophy begins in Trondheim; they start GL.
150- Get 100g from Russians.
125-

100- Disc Chivalry -> Iron. Hut:50g. Hut(49,57): Nomads.
75- Found Zamua(78,14)#4. We withdraw an ele from nr Kiev.
50- Hut(nr Zamua): Iron.
25- Found Khorsabad(68,8)#4.
1AD - Establish embassy with Russians. 8 cities. 12 techs. Hut(nr Khorsabad): Literacy.

Stats.
Cities: 20. Pop: 58. Techs:20. Gold:390. Govt: Monarchy. 1 x temple.
Wonders: HG, Sun Tzu.
6 settler, 5 warrior, 3 phalanx, 3 archer, 10 pikemen, 1 horse, 1 chariot, 8 elephant, 9 knights, 7 trireme, 1 dip, 3 van, 2 explorer.

I have seen a lot of Russian city names and have a rough idea where they are. I am less sure about the Vikings, but it seems continent 2 is the place. I am not sure how much help the two cities on continent 4 are going to be with that campaign, but I felt it was good to get something nearer the Vikings rather than wait hopefully for something better.

Inkerman said:

I finish a wonder ..., and choose HG. I wanted the happiness benefits. With only two other civs (and no restarts) I thought MPE was less valuable. When I meet the civs, and I have already met the Russians at 1000 BC, dips can be used to establish embassies.

Click to expand...

Same here. Russians were met before the first wonder, so only the Vikings remained who I tried to pinpoint with nearest-city info, so MPE seemed like a waste.

My log until 1 AD:

-975 Uruk, Eridu founded
-900 50g from hut
-850 Boat built, Samarra founded, another 50g from hut
-800 Philo->Seafaring->Republic;
-775 Lagash founded; none-Archer from hut
-750 Babylon completes HG; I think we will go for spaceship since the terrain is just too great to grow a huge empire
(Vikings move their capital)
-675 25g from hut
-625 Republic from hut; We might have an SSC on island 11, lots of ocean, 3 specials...
-600 Get hailed by Russians, give Republic; research Medicine; Kish founded
-575 Nippur founded
-500 Medicine-> HBR; Dip on cont. 4, apparently it is empty; get HBR from Russia
-475 Research Polytheism; Archer from hut on cont. 4
-450 Shuruppak, Zariqum founded; Revolution, high time for republic
-425 Become republic; Sippar, Izibia founded
-400 Larsa founded on island 11
-375 Advanced tribe on island 4: Nimrud
-350 Dip on cont.2 is near Viborg
-325 Zamua, Khorsabad founded; Finally we are supreme; We are about to discover polytheism, cancel science until we meet Vikings
(Russians raze Sippar, two turns before a phalanx was built)
-275 50g from hut on cont. 2
-250 Meet Russians, sign peace (they did not even ask for gold, we have 157), Now we are near Kaupang instead of Viborg
-225 Meet Viking horse+Warrior on cont.2, they demand gold, no, war, bribe horse for 79g, kill warrior with it, open embassy, no poly, resume science
(Vikings kill our horse)
-200 Poly->Wheel; Hindana founded; Vikings refuse to talk
-175 Vikings demand gold
-150 Tell Wilaya, Umma founded; spend gold, hail vikings, give some techs, peace, get math, change maps; we begin to have unhappiness problems
(Barbs on our southern border)
-125 Adab, Telloh founded
-75 Nina founded
+1 Wheel->Mono; Two vans on trireme to Vikings; We really need Michelangelo; give wheel to Vikings, all techs make Russians enthusiastic and we finally get their map

Stats at 1 AD:
pop.: 800k; Cities: 25; techs: 20; gold: 46; Gov.: Rep; wonders: HG; TR: 0D/0F
units: 3 settler, 1 army, 0 boat, 2 dip, 1 van
Plan: Expand some more; get trade going; Michelangelo, than build up SSC

-0975 Writing -> Pottery.
-0900 Eridu founded.
-0875 First Trireme produced; Ur's fish and whale revealed.
-0825 T3L0S7
-0800 Kish founded as the first offshore city on island 11.
-0775 Chariot runs into barbarian horseman in the wild and kills it. 50g from hut.
-0700 Samarra and Lagash founded. Russian -> 100g; Vikings declare war rather than pay tribute.
-0675 Barbarian archer kills my warrior. Horseman from hut.
-0650 Pottery -> Literacy.
-0625 Hanging Gardens built.
-0600 Russian -> 150g.
-0550 Barbarians kill a warrior. Wounded barbarian archer bribed for 61g to protect my city.
-0525 Nippur founded. Nomad from hut.
-0500 Wounded Archer survives wounded barbarian horseman. Barbarian leader for 100g. None archer from hut. None settler founds Shuruppak.

Status at -0500
Population: 0.46M; Cities: 13; Techs: 13; Government: Monarchy
Gold: 12; Cost: 0; Trade routes: 0D0F;
Wonders: Marco, Hanging Gardens
Units: 4 settler, 8 warriors, 1 Phalanx, 3 (2 None) Archers, 1 Horseman, 1 Chariot, 2 Trireme, 1 diplomat
Goals: canal city at 72,38; Russian map; Trade to expedite research
Russian: 3 cities, 12 techs;
Viking: 7 cities, 11 techs; nominal war with me

Is it only the three of us?

I have still a lot of turns to play and each turn takes ~20 minutes, but the end (or at least space flight) is in sight.

haleewud could not finish 156 in time and asked for an extension that was granted. I suppose he is either still busy with that or in the early stages of this one.

Then there are others, who play but do not bother with the spoiler. Chief among them is mercusious who participates in most GOTMs but I do not recall any forum participation from him ever.

We just launched our ship. One other aspect of the little number of rivals was that there were still 300s wonders left that are very helpful to build modules.

Until 500 AD:

20 Ebla founded
40 Portugal 4-0 founded (out of Babylonian city names)
(Barb trireme on lake 16)
60 Unload van on viking island; Rush elephant to hunt barbs, put dip next to Moskau so he gets teleported home
(Dip back to Babylon)
80 Ghana 2-2 founded; gems(d)>Kaupang 288g; kill barb archer with elli, bribe trireme for 82g
100 Mono->Astro; Get Construction from Russia; hides (d) Babylon>Trondheim 432g; USA 1-0 founded
120 Coal(u)>Russia 38
160 Astro->University; Beads(u) 90; Algeria 2-1 founded
180 Michelangelo completed, time for some celebrations, 50g from hut
(Phalanx in Hindana fails miserably at defending the city against a barb archer, Hindana destroyed, should not have built a settler there the turn before
200 Vikings about to build colossus and we can't do anything about it; Warrior kills barb Archer & leader; delivery 88; France 1-0 founded
220 Vikings build colossus, Russians build Sun Tzu; if we still want an SSC, it might rather be somehwhere else
260 Brazil 1-0 founded (that match deserves a city for every goal); Decide to make Nippur (65,33) SSC
280 Brazil 2-0 founded
300 University->Masonry; get Masonry from Russia
320 Research engineering; Pyramids built, Brazil 3-0 founded; delivery for 384
340 Brazil 4-0, 5-0, 6-0 founded; Shurupak should be working as station city for Nippur
380 Engin.->Chemisty; deliveries for 240, 144
400 Russians are researching Nav instead of IW as I hoped; Brazil 7-0, 7-1, Really,it's 7-1 founded hides(d) for 360g
420 Chem.->Banking; Get WC from Vikings (so we can go for IW and BB)
440 Deliveries 120, 500
(Vikings get Navigation and physics)
460 Banking->Economics; Salvador, Fortaleza (cont.14) founded, delivery 14
(Russians GL)
480 Shakespeare built
500 100g from hut (Would have preferred a city there); deliveries 48, 32; Recife founded; Vikings are researching Invention, but that might take a while

Stats at 500 AD:
pop.: 3.36M; Cities: 42; techs: 29; gold: 337; Gov.: Rep; wonders: HG, Pyr, Michelangelo, Shakespeare; TR: 4D/12F
units: 14 settler, 10 army, 4 boat, 4 dip, 20 van, 1 explorer
Plan: Expand, trade, grow, bridges, railroad network

-0475 Literacy -> Polytheism.
-0400 Zariqum founded as a canal city at 72,38.
-0375 Sippar founded.
-0350 Warrior runs into St. Petersburg. Russians refuse knowledge exchange but pay 100g.
-0325 Barbarians land an archer near my heartland but not too close to any city. Polytheism -> Seafaring.
-0300 Barbarians disappear. Russian -> 50g.
-0275 Elephant from hut.
-0250 Russian -> 25g.
-0225 First barracks built. Offshore domestic Hides for 56 establishes the first trade route. Russian -> 25g.
-0200 Seafaring -> Iron working. Russian -> 25g
-0175 Russian -> 50g. Minsk bribed for 166g. Russians declare war. Got Mysticism, a Phalanx, and a barracks.
-0150 50g from hut. Warrior discovers Kiev. Only Moscow is still unknown.
-0125 Russians develop Feudalism. 50g from hut.
-0100 Literacy -> Vikings -> peace to allow deliveries.
-0075 Moscow discovered.
-0050 Vikings build Pyramids.
-0025 Iron Working -> Philosophy. Beads to Uppsala for 234.

Status at +0001
Population: 0.82M; Cities: 16; Techs: 18; Government: Monarchy
Gold: 127; Cost: 5; Trade routes: 2D1F;
Wonders: Marco, Hanging Gardens
Units: 11 settlers, 16 warriors, 4 Phalanx, 3 (2 None) Archers, 1 Horseman, 1 Chariot, 4 Trireme, 3 diplomats, 6 vans, 1 explorer
Goals: Monotheism (next turn), conquest of Russians, settling island 18 (in a few turns)
Russian: 4 cities, 13 techs;
Viking: 8 cities, 13 techs; Pyramids

Ali and Inkerman playing for conquest, Major for spaceship.

I am a little ahead of Ali's game at AD1. I have more ships and already have some attack units - ele's and knights; Ali's forces - crusaders are just about to start building. But I have less map info.

The basic numbers, some less relevant for a conquest than for a spaceship,

Cities: 20/16. Techs: 20/18. Cost: 1/5. Wonders: HG/HG+MPE.
Settlers: 6/11. 2-move units: 19/2. Triremes: 7/4.

My game continued as follows.

20- Start on Republic. Found Hindana(59,35).
Van, Ashur-Kiev(Russian), Beads, for 176g.
Russians nearly done Colossus.
40- Find The Udal at (57,5)#2. Hut(53,17)#2: Masonry.
Moscow builds Colossus. We withdraw an explorer.
60- Van, Babylon-Zariqum, Hides, for 32g. Russians declare war.
80- Plunder StPetersburg, taking 17g. Sign ceasefire for 350g.
Vikings abandon GL. Vikings start GL.
100- Find Uppsala with van, give Iron to Icy Vikings. Peace. No tribute. Establish Embassy using accompanying dip - they have 11 cities. Russians have 7.

120-
140- Found Tewil(79,55).
160- Attack Russians. Raze Odessa.
Russian counterattacks kill an elephant.
180- Raze Smolensk.
Russian counterattacks kill 2 units.
200- Capture Moscow + Colossus. Vikings declare war. Hut(Polar): Nomads.
Vikings land near Ashur! Barbs capture Viking Hladir (where the Pyramids are.)
Unexpected help, and welcome.

220- Discover Republic -> Construction. Ur builds Lighthouse. Found Umma(58,22).
C Now 25 cities may need some lux. Vikings start GL.
240- Possibly unwise attack on Trondheim, when we see it is only size 2. Ele lost.
Found Adab(44,66).
260-
280- Trondheim destroyed in attacks. Vikings have no capital. Hut(nr Trondheim site): AT Telloh.
Van,Nippur-Roskilde(Viking), Hides(und), for 32g. Capture Kiev.
300- Found Nina(63,23). Capture Minsk.

320- Bribe The Udal for 348g, getting 75g + Construction.
Vikings acquire Republic.
340- Start on Engineering. Bribe Jarrow for 83g, taking 18g + Philosophy. Capture Roskilde.
360-
380- Attack Viborg, Vikings abandon GL. Capture Viborg.
Viking ship attacks us - we win. Viking warrior attacks ele in City - we lose.
400-

420-
440- Explorer razes Sverdlovsk. Van, Larsa-Hindana, Beads, for 64g.
460-
480- Capture Kaupang. Found Ebla(70,56). Van, Ur-Hladir(Barb), Hides, for 192g.
Bribe Hladir + Pyramids for 208g.
Bribe Tblisi for 122g. Capture Sevastopol, Russians out.
Found Mottal.
500- Bribe Uppsala for 370g, getting 103g, and Aarhus for 272g, getting 62g.

Stats.
Cities: 41. Pop: 2.55m. Techs:24. Gold:178. Govt: Monarchy. 11 x temple, 1 x market.
13 settler, 8 warrior, 7 phalanx, 3 archer, 4 legion, 23 pikemen, 1 horse, 3 elephant, 16 knights, 11 trireme, 3 dip, 10 van, 3 explorer.

Russians are out. Vikings have 4 cities. Somewhat surprisingly for this stage of this sort of game our reputation is excellent.

Ali Ardavan said:

haleewud could not finish 156 in time and asked for an extension that was granted. I suppose he is either still busy with that or in the early stages of this one.

Then there are others, who play but do not bother with the spoiler. Chief among them is mercusious who participates in most GOTMs but I do not recall any forum participation from him ever.

Click to expand...

Splendidly I see the extension for GotM 156 has had the effect of attracting a game from grigor, a member since 2001 and third in the hall of fame.

I recall some useful and interesting posts by our friend mercurios, also a member for over a decade. Looking up the number I see there have been 18 posts. Each blue star takes a lot of time you know, and there have been 50 up to GotM 148.

I finally finished GOTM 156 on August 10. I was able to start this on August 12.

I decided to go for conquest. I wanted a short game and was looking forward to GOTM 158. I finished last night. Unfortunately, I play on CIV II classic, so I won't be able to participate in GOTM 158.

Anyway, on to the log. I decided to build Babylon on the starting spot and decided I would go for Warrior then Size 1 settler. I did decide to have the settler build roads on the shielded grasslands near Babylon before moving on to found a new city.

-4000 Babylon Founded
-3950 Start Monarchy
-3800 Warrior
-3600 Monarchy -> Writing
-3500 Hut -> Map Making, Revolution
-3450 Monarchy established
-3100 Settler (size 1)
-3050 Size 2

stats at -3000:
pop.: .03; cities: 1; techs: 5, gov: Monarchy, gold: 3; trade routes: 0D0F; cost/turn:0
units: 1 Settler, 1 Warrior
wonders: None

Russians: No Contact
Vikings: No Contact

-2750 Hut -> Adv Tribe -> Ur (77,49)
-2600 Nineveh founded (90,36)
-2550 Writing -> Bronze Working
-2500 Ur Warrior
-2450 Hut -> Nomads
-2400 Babylon Settler
-2350 RB Ur 1sh
-2300 Nomad founds Ashur (84,56), Hut -> Horse
-2200 100K
-2150 BW -> Currency, Hut -> 50
-2100 Hut -> Masonry
-2050 Hut -> HBR
-2000 Ellipi founded (85,43)

stats at -2000:
pop.: .13; cities: 5; techs: 9, gov: Monarchy, gold: 102; trade routes: 0D0F; cost/turn:0
units: 3 Warrior, 1 Horseman
wonders: None

Russians: No Contact
Vikings: No Contact

-1950 Hut -> Archer
-1900 Ur Settler
-1800 Nineveh Settlers, Akkad founded (79,45)
-1750 Ashur Settlers
-1700 Babylon Settlers
-1600 Hut -> 50, Hut -> Polytheism, RB Nineveh 4sh
-1500 Currency -> Mysticism
-1450 Barbs land south of Ashur, Uruk founded (85,35), RB Ashur 2sh
-1400 Barbs move away from Ashur, Russians appear near Ur (uncooperative, Ur undefended), Give them CB, Peace, Eridu founded (86,50), Hut (64,36) -> 8 Barb Horse
-1350 'exploring unit' killed by Barb horse, Ur Settlers, Hut -> Elephant(NON)
-1300 Hut -> Trade
-1250 Akkad Diplomat, Ellipi Settlers
-1200 More Barbs near Ashur, Bribe barb horse 41, Find St. Petersburg, Kill Barb Archer(+Leader)
-1150 Bribe Barb Horse 41, Kill Barb Horse, Hut -> 25, RB Ashur 2sh
-1100 Kill Barb Leader 100, RB Nineveh 5sh
-1050 RB Nineveh 5sh
-1000 Mytiscism -> Literacy, Samarra founded (79,55), RB Nineveh 5sh

stats at -1000:
pop.: .28; cities: 9; techs: 13, gov: Monarchy, gold: 291; trade routes: 0D0F; cost/turn:0
units: 2 Settler, 8 Warrior, 1 Archer, 3 Horsemen, 2 Elephant, 1 Trireme, 1 Diplomat
Wonders: None

Russians: No Embassy, Peace
Vikings: No Contact

Near the end of the last segment, I had started to build Elephants and move them toward the Russians. This continued in this segment. The war finally 'started' in 875 BC when I wouldn't withdraw from Minsk. There were a few skirmishes over the next few turns. The real fighting started in 575 BC when I attacked and captured St. Petersburg. It was interesting that even though St. Pete had a barracks (which survived the Elephant attack), there was only a single warrior in St. Pete.

-975 Babylon Settlers
-950 Nineveh Settlers
-925 Ashur Settlers, Lagash founded (90,26,11)
-900 Hut -> Mathematics, RB Nineveh 1sh
-875 Barbs land near Lagash, Russians demand withdrawal from Minsk, no, WAR, Akkad Settlers, RB Eridu 2sh
-850 Elephant and Horse killed by Russians
-825 Uruk Settlers, Kill Russian Horse (1 warrior dies), RB Ashur 2sh
-775 Ashur Diplomat
-750 Archer survives one attack from Moscow and then dies, Literacy -> Philosophy, Kish founded (91,59,18), Horse dies attacking phalanx in Moscow
-700 RB Uruk 1sh
-650 Nippur founded (75,37)
-600 Horse survives Warrior attack
-575 Kill Warrior in St. Petersburg (52+IW+Barracks), Russians demand 200, no WAR, Kill Russian Chariot(+Warrior)
-550 Lagash Settlers, 500K, RB Babylon 1sh
-525 RB St.Pete 6sh+10sh
-500 Barb uprising near Ashur, Bribe Russian Phalanx (next to Moscow) 351

stats at -500:
pop.: .54; cities: 13; techs: 16, gov: Monarchy, gold: 185; trade routes: 0D0F; cost/turn:1
units: 5 Settler, 13 Warrior, 2 Phalanx, 1 Horsemen, 14 Elephant, 1 Trireme, 2 Diplomat
Wonders: None

Russians: No Embassy, War
Vikings: No Contact

-475 Philosophy -> Monotheism -> Astronomy, Kill Legion,Archer,Legion and Warrior in Moscow(destroyed), Bribe Russian Warrior 29
-450 600K, Kill Archer in Kiev (Ele dies), Bribe size 2 Kiev 68 (size 3 was 204, only had 185)(76+Pottery+Phalanx), Kill Russian Horse, RB Akkad 2sh, Eridu 2sh
-425 Bribe Minsk 128 (90+Wheel+Legion+Chariot)
-400 Russians offer WC for CF, no, 100, yes, no Peace, Shuruppak founded (72,38), Zariqum founded (70,56), RB Eridu 2sh
-375 700K
-350 T/L/S = 0/4/6, Sippar founded (75,29)
-325 Ur Food, 800K, Bribe Smolensk 108 (26+WC+Legion+Archer) Russians destroyed
-300 Akkad Food, RB Nineveh 3sh
-275 Nippur Settlers, Uruk Food, Ashur Food, RB Nineveh 6sh+10sh, Samarra 2sh
-250 Nineveh Food, Babylon Food, 900K, Hut -> Legion, RB Ur 2sh
-225 Vikings start Pyramids, Smolensk Diplomat, Akkad disorder, Babylon builds MPE, 1 million
Vikings are on Continent 2, 6 cities, 474 gold, despotism, No extra techs
RB Samarra 2sh, Sippar 5sh
-200 Lagash Settlers, order restored Akkad, Hut -> Construction, Hut -> University, RB Nineveh 4sh
-175 Kish Settlers (Disorder), Samarra Food, RB Zariqum 1sh
-150 Vikings Mysticism, order restored Kish, Minsk Diplomat, RB Zariqum 6sh+10sh, Ashur 3sh
-125 Barbs land near Kiev, Zariqum settlers, Ur Food, Hut -> Advanced Tribe -> Izibia (36,70), RB Samarra 2sh, Babylon 5sh
-100 RB Babylon 6sh, Lagash 4sh, Samarra 6sh, St.Pete 2sh, Ur 4sh
-75 Eridu Food, Ashur Food, Hut -> Republic, RB St.Pete 6sh
-50 Ellipi Food, RB Lagash 2sh, Kish 2sh
-25 Nippur Settlers, Uruk Food, Ellipi HG, WLTKD in Ellipi, Nineveh, RB Ur 2sh, Larsa founded, Hut -> Nomads, RB Eridu 4sh, Smolensk 7sh+10sh, St. Pete 2sh
+1 Smolensk Settlers, Nineveh Food, RB Ashur 2sh

stats at +1:
pop.: 1.24; cities: 21; techs: 24, gov: Monarchy, gold: 85; trade routes: 0D0F; cost/turn:1
units: 8 Settler, 26 Warrior, 3 Phalanx, 1 Archer, 2 Legion, Horseman, 1 Chariot, 10 Elephant, 1 Crusader, 2 Trireme, 2 Diplomat, 5 Caravan
Wonders: HG, MPE

Russians: Destroyed
Vikings: 6 Cities, 11 Tech, 488 Gold, Despotism, Peace

haleewud said:

Unfortunately, I play on CIV II classic, so I won't be able to participate in GOTM 158.

Click to expand...

There is a patch in the download section that lets you transform your classic version into MGE. I don't know it it works, but it seems worth a try.


As for my own game, I finally finished and submitted. Even though I went for landing, only two viking cities were left. I wanted to keep it peaceful, but Russians took an undefended city of mine, so they had to be punished and were wiped out. Viking cities were subverted in the final turn for more points.

Next 500 years of my log:

520 Deliveries 154, 58; Porto Alegre founded; cancel celebrations, more science, BB is a little urgent
540 Rio founded
560 Econ.->Iron work.; Deliveries 690, 34
(Russians discover chivalry)
580 IW->Bridge Build.; Deliv. 200, 352, 88; Belo Horizonte founded
600 BB->San.; None-Legion from hut; Lux to 40% for some celebrations
640 Get physics from Russia
660 Vikingsport founded; silk for 806g, delay other deliveries until next turn
680 Sanitation->Magnetism; Deliveries for 392, 592
700 Magnet.->Gravity; Barb caravel near Babylon, block landing spots, dip and elli standing by; Toronto founded; deliveries 304
720 Advanced Tribe (Melbourne) on cont. 14; Sydney founded
740 Accidentally build a Legion in Nippur ; delivery for 224
760 delivery 18; New Babylon founded
780 Grav.->Feudalism; Copernicus built; Fonte Nova, Castelao, Pernambuco founded; deliveries 260; get feudalism from Russia
800 Research Theology; Nomads on cont. 3, crusader on cont. 14; deliveries 14, 600
820 Theo->Invention (no point in delaying it any longer, we need engineers, railroads and trucks); deliveries 804, 712; Beira-Rio founded; fregate sinks barb caravel on our shore
(That sucks! My beaker box is full and they tell me vikings develop invention... What a waste; Russians build Marco Polo, as if they knew how to use it)
840 Invention->Gunpowder (for explosives); Bach Cathedral; Deliveries 168 (This ended Colossus city Uppsala's hides demand), 126, 108, 124
860 Delivery 14
880 Gunpowder->Explosives; Leonardo built, we learn: if you skip Navigation, your triremes don't update; Get Nav. from Russia, now our triremes are caravels; deliveries for 360, 235; Mineirao founded on cont. 3
900 Delivery for 404
920 Expl.->Steam Eng.; Deliveries 272, 14, 145, 128, 164, 246; Island 18 founded
940 Steam->Railroad; Deliveries 310, 268
960 Adelaide founded
980 Railroad->Industry; Blue River, Pantanal founded; T0L2S8 to speed up corporation
1000 Newton College built; Beaker-box only half full, would love to build Darwin after discovery of Ind, getting Demo and Corporation...; deliveries for 380, 268, 38, looking good, 50g from hut
1020 Ind.->Demo (Darwin completed) Demo(Revolution)->Corporation->Atomic Theory; become Democracy; deliveries 304, 420, 324, 35 ; Alphaville @ 19, Batida de Coco(6) founded

Stats at 1020 AD:
pop.: 17.12M; Cities: 62; techs: 47; gold: 1656; Gov.: Dem; wonders: HG, Pyr, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Copernicus, Leonardo, Bach, Newton, Darwin; TR: ?D/?F
units: 41 engineers, 17 army, 8 boat, 6 dip, 16 van, 1 explorer
Plan: Complete railroad network, get PD going