Snatch and Sell

[sir_schwick]

This is a tactic I'm trying out in my most recent game. Now be aware that I'm still using one of the early patches of Vanilla Civ III. I've heard that C3C changed the way AI values cities.

I did it first during the middle of the middle ages. I loaded 12 knights into Caravels( i had researched teh culture side) and had Navigation. I proceded to conquer 4 cities half-way across the Medium sized map. Of course corruption was horrendous, but i defended and kept the city till early Industrial age. Then I sold all four cities at various prices to anyone who could pay a lot(including original owner). This total was at least `800 gold and 210 gpt. Although it cost me to rush the knights and caravels, i ended up getting a 3 tech lead cause i didn't have to worry aout expenses.

Does anyone have comments, suggestions, cons and pros?

You'd probably be better off keeping them and going on to a win conquest victory --- this is assuming they're not in the middle of a cultural hotspot or you have a large force.
But anyways, with the latest patch for Vanilla Civ, the AI will not sell or buy cities at any price. So it kinda blows any tactic out the window

[Jawz II]

i tried to sell a city once for 1 gold,AI woúld not have it

someone else mentioned u can give them away for some goodwill,i wonder how much its really worth to the AI if they wont even give 1 gold for it,the minimum 1 city on each continent is by the way great or invasions,but i disable culture flip so...

[Gengis Khan]

I'm assuming your playing Civ3 unpatched.

Do to the exploit of people selling core cities in a culture rich empire for ungodly amounts of cash/techs, then waiting a few turns for the cities to flip back to them, rinse & repeating ad infintium, this was rightly removed in the first patch. Now cities can only be given away, or traded during peace negotiations.

[Xerol]

But you can still exploit it for free defenders.

Build 9 cities specifically for this purpose, in an arrangement like this:

X| |X| |X
----------
 | | | |
----------
X| |O| |X
----------
 | | | |
----------
X| |X| |X

City "O" is your "culture bomb". Rush temples, libraries, cathedrals, and universities in them. All of them. Once culture reaches 100, just give the center city away to someone. It'll be down to one square and should flip back in one or two turns(especially if you gave it to the weakest civ culturally). You now have a new defender. Move him out and give the city away again.

Although I hear the AI can refuse even gifts in conquests. But in vanilla and PTW(1.04 at least) it works.

[Gengis Khan]

So you paid like 1000+g for a couple free conscript defenders that still require upkeep, and could be produced in a turn or so in any one of your core cities?

Not worth the time or effort IMHO.

[Xerol]

well, it also helps with 100k culture victory. 8 cities producing 14cpt adds up pretty fast, especially if you do it early enough to catch culture doubling. i'll actually do it if i'm doing an ICS game and i've got a 'missing' square(i dont give away an established city due to the fact that most/all improvements are destroyed)

[Jawz II]

just disable culture flip


i can be bothered with crap like that,hate the whole idea

i hope civ4 also has the option to disable culture flip,or im not getting it

i usually am busy enough with not getting killed/killing someone

i think librarys add science/tempels make ppl happy,is good enough,they should not work as military buildings,as in getting u new cities

[Denarr]

Originally posted by sir_schwick
This is a tactic I'm trying out in my most recent game. Now be aware that I'm still using one of the early patches of Vanilla Civ III. I've heard that C3C changed the way AI values cities.

I did it first during the middle of the middle ages. I loaded 12 knights into Caravels( I had researched the culture side) and had Navigation. I proceded to conquer 4 cities half-way across the Medium sized map. Of course corruption was horrendous, but I defended and kept the cities till early Industrial age. Then I sold all four cities at various prices to anyone who could pay a lot(including original owner). This total was at least '800 gold and 210 gpt'. Although it cost me to rush the knights and caravels, I ended up getting a 3 tech lead cause I didn't have to worry aout expenses.

Does anyone have comments, suggestions, cons and pros?

This looks like a pretty good way to get ahead in the Tech game.
You can't pull that off on the later versions of Civ (as has already been mentioned), so I think that you should stick with it, until you're ready to switch to the fancier versions with all the 'bells and whistles'.

Turning off the culture flip may be a good thing for the war mongerers, but I feel that it reduces reality of the game. Plus the fact that I grew tired of the war mongering before I quit Civ I and found the culture flipping a pleasant change from the space race.
I did end up turning off the United Nations vote, though, because it seemed too easy to win when it was active.