BOTM 97: Frederick of Germany.
[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm97civ.jpg[/img]Christmas? Peace and goodwill? Nah, you won't have space for that. Not on a map this crowded! The only concession to the time of year is that you just might find a nice Christmassy area somewhere near the North Pole. But on a map this crowded, you'll probably have to take it by force if you want it...
Game settings:
Playing as: Frederick of Germany
Rivals: 8 AIs
Difficulty: Monarch
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: None
Victory Conditions: All enabled
Map settings:
Map: Ice age
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Small
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Medium
Frederick is Philosophical and Organized, and you start with Hunting and Mining.
The Philosophical trait gives +100% great people birth rate and double production speed of University
The Organized trait gives -50% civic upkeep and double production speed of Courthouse, Factory and Lighthouse
Unique unit: Panzer (replaces Tank)
The Panzer benefits from: 50% combat bonus against armor units. This compares with the Tank which has: no directly comparable benefits.
Unique Building: Assembly Plant (replaces Factory)
The difference between a factory and an assembly plant is that the assembly plant can turn 4 citizens into engineers - as against 2 for the factory.
Starting screenshot
This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):

Note that in this game, any espionage-culture victories will be counted as cultural victories. There are no adventurer or challenger saves.
To Enter the Competition:
This competition will open at 00:01 am on 20 Dec 2015, server local time (UTC-6:00). From that date and time, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save >>>here<<<.
Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 20 Jan 2016.
Here is a link to a list of the differences between Vanilla, Warlords and BtS.
Software Versions
Windows: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the BUFFY mod here. Players using Windows Vista or Windows 7 are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.
Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the Mac BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the Mac BUFFY mod here.
While playing...
Remember - for your entry to be accepted, it MUST be your first attempt to play this game, and you MUST NOT replay any turns. If you make a mistake while playing, you have to live with it, learn from it, and carry on the game without replaying.
We will open 'spoiler' threads during the month for players to discuss what happens in their games. Do not discuss any details of your game outside those threads.