The "unwinnable" game ???

[joespaniel]

Cast your vote! What would you do?

Im going to play it out, but this may be my first ever loss to the AI, we'll see...

I started a new SP game, with 12 civs on a large map.

Continents, 70% water, temperate, Regent level.

Initialy, the starting positon looked rough, with so many mountains. But with rivers and grassland, it was workable.

I built lots of warriors to explore, and after awhile it started to dawn on me I was alone on an island! The horror!

I feel like a castaway!

Now, here's the best part: NO LUXURIES!

[joespaniel]

Here it is! My fabulous island, all to myself!

[Pggar]

Your main goal is to discover Map Making as soon as possibble. Also, you'll probably need The Great lighthouse to get out of this island. You didn't say at what level you are playing. If you're at regent, I believe a win is possible.

[Charis]

joespaniel

I thought to myself when I saw that map "Oh man you got it GREAT!!!! What a gorgeous island! You should mop up the opponents"

(If you wonder why I think that, look down one post on this thread to see the rock we're stuck on in a Emperor game with the added restriction, you can't leave your home continent:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...threadid=15332
)

Seriously, you're in very fine shape. You can take the path of a builder's paradise, or you can become a colony hound. For this game where the foes MAY get hooked up and trade alot though, you certainly do want to get mapmaking and make contact just as soon as you can. Oh, and by the way, don't let boredom at the beginning fool you. You may have hundreds of years of "next turn" ahead with not much to do, but once contact comes you're going to feel like you're in a race for your life.

Good luck, should be fun!
Charis

[joespaniel]

I will post updates as I progress. Or digress...

According to the latest advisor report:

The Most Advanced Civs in the World (top 8 out of 12)

Im not on the list!

Im probably dead last! No one to trade with or extort!!!

Here's the save game, if anyone wants to try it themselves.
[SARCASM]Good luck.[/SARCASM]

[joespaniel]

Here's the German heartland as of now.

[joespaniel]

Konigsberg founded. Look at all that gold!

[joespaniel]

Great. Now I have Pyramids and no way of keeping people happy except raising the luxury rate.

*Grrr* Ceremonial Burial after map making, then literature.

If by some miracle, I get the Great Library, and get off this rock, and meet some civs, then maybe this could be pretty good.

God help the coastal civ with luxuries.

[Ohwell]

ACK! All the more fun on an island... very challenging. As all hgave said, get map making. But I suggest also getting the great lighthouse. Sounds like a naval game, my FAVORITE

SUrely there will be surrounding small islands with at least one luxury.

Think of it this way- You are bound to have lots of rescources to kill the AI with

[LKendter]

Hmmmm....

Well since I won a SP game isolated before, guess which way I voted.

[OneInTen]

Erm, I won a game on a huge map, monarch difficulty, completely issolated (never left my island or traded maps), while building every single great wonder.

I had no luxuries either - and my source of iron ran out before I could get to railroads.

And that was easy. Easier than if I wasn't issolated I've decided. Being issolated is great because it means you have no reason to spend on military except for police value.

I got so far ahead that by the time I met some of the other civs I was a full age ahead of them (I reached modern before some of them finished middle ages). I ended up trading techs with them just to get iron and also some luxuries to pump up my final score.

On regent it should be a cakewalk.

[damunzy]

10 out of 10 say you can pull it off joe! Do you have the 4000BC.sav? I would try playing it from there.

[Smiley]

Man, that island looks exactly like the island I started on as Russia in a recent game. I didn't find any luxuries until two mini-continents away -- the Americas didn't have any either. And then, I had to fight for them -- and I still need Magnetism or Navigation to utilize them!

Oh, and it's been my experience that the enemy rarely builds wonders if you haven't met him. Once, in German Australia, I built a whole slew of wonders, only to go out into the world and find everyone was much more advanced than me. Then they started building wonders first.

BTW, that Russian game I talked about? I'm well in the lead.

[joespaniel]

Thanks for all the encouragement! Im more confident now.

16 to 0 voted for a win! Im flattered...

Im going ahead with this one, til the end. Map making in 3 turns!

To Palehorse76 - Sorry, but the only save is the one I posted earlier. 1950BC.

Wish me luck, more screenshots as stuff happens.

[Knight-Dragon]

The only unwinnable game you'll ever play is when you play against me. J/k.

Now stop feeling sorry for yourself, heave your @$$ to work and take to the seas! For all you know, the whole world may be islands. You'll never know till you find out.

[Sirian]

Definitely not as bad off as you seem to think. Let us all know how it goes.

[Dark Sheer]

That reminds me of my second Civ3 game (before the patch) where I played as Iroquis. Stucked on an island all by myself, no resources, and also without horse and iron!!

I played on and at the end I manage to set up town all over the world and have at least one of each of the 8 luxury to myself.

And starting from saltpetre, I have loads of them on the island all to myself! That was the only game todate where I have no war to the end and win by UN too.

[joespaniel]

Eastward expansion.

[joespaniel]

Notice the green civ, the Persians! They are an advanced people, with many technologies that Germany does not have. They also have contact with England, Rome and Zululand.

A German galley spotted a Persian warrior on a mountain, before it sank in rough seas. We established contact, and sent an Ambassador.

The Persians would not trade contact for anything less than our knowledge of literature. I dont think so...

12 turns til Lighthouse! 16 turns til Great Library!

Hurry up!!!

[joespaniel]

Northward expansion.