Unusual tips!

[JeSuisNapoleon]

Don't settle on wheat, you'll lost it.
I excepted it works like luxs or cattle. It doesn't. My tile became a poor plain.

Yes, however some bonus tiles make great locations for Great person tiles.
academy on cattle results in a rather good science/food tile.
It really depends on whether or not you are planning on getting some bonus from the bonus tile (granary, stables, religion bonus etc).

 

[chazzycat]

It really depends on whether or not you are planning on getting some bonus from the bonus tile (granary, stables, religion bonus etc).

Improvement would be more accurate. For instance, granaries provide the extra food regardless of whether there is a farm or not. Some bonuses are tied to the actual tile, whereas some are tied to the improvement.

 

[Vitruvius]

Basically GP improvements are great on wheat, deer (unless your pantheon gives +1 food for camp), cow/horse/sheep (unless you have pasture +1 culture pantheon, save one pasture if you want stable).

 

[Cromagnus]

It's possible this way already mentioned in the thread, but I find examining the AI's score to be EXTREMELY USEFUL. If you hover over their score in the Diplomacy drop-down, you can see exactly who's in what position on many factors. Unlike Demographics, which only tells you #1 and last place, this shows you the exact order of:

1) Tech.
2) Population.
3) Land.
etc.

Very useful when you haven't fully explored the map or if you're deciding where to put a spy. For example, if the #1 civ is your friend, this might show you that someone else is actually *tied* for #1. Also, the population and land score is a giveaway. Civs with less land are a better choice, given a tie, because that usually means they're getting their tech from fewer cities, hence each one has more potential. Of course, sometimes land is from Wonder culture, so keep that in mind too...

 

[Txurce]

It's possible this way already mentioned in the thread, but I find examining the AI's score to be EXTREMELY USEFUL. If you hover over their score in the Diplomacy drop-down, you can see exactly who's in what position on many factors. Unlike Demographics, which only tells you #1 and last place, this shows you the exact order of:

1) Tech.
2) Population.
3) Land.
etc.

Very useful when you haven't fully explored the map or if you're deciding where to put a spy. For example, if the #1 civ is your friend, this might show you that someone else is actually *tied* for #1. Also, the population and land score is a giveaway. Civs with less land are a better choice, given a tie, because that usually means they're getting their tech from fewer cities, hence each one has more potential. Of course, sometimes land is from Wonder culture, so keep that in mind too...

That's really useful. InfoAddict gives you all this and more, but lately I've ben playing some games without mods (they play faster) and missed having this information.

 

[Firesmacker]

That is really great info, Cromagnus. I had no idea about that even after all this time playing. Thanks!

 

[chazzycat]

the trade route screen is also great for judging who has more techs than you.

 

[RaidandTrade]

Hovering over a city state's ally logo shows how much influence you need to buy/earn to replace them. This might be old news to some, but I only just found it a game too late (i.e., after I chucked three lots of 1,000 at a CS to only be friends!).

 

[Firesmacker]

the trade route screen is also great for judging who has more techs than you.

This is also true but you can't use it for info if they are too far away for a TR. Unless there is another thing I have missed(it wouldn't surprise me).

 

[beetle]

Basically GP improvements are great on wheat, deer (unless your pantheon gives +1 food for camp), cow/horse/sheep (unless you have pasture +1 culture pantheon, save one pasture if you want stable).

Won't I loose out on the granary bonus if the GP is on wheat? I tend not to settle GP at all unless I have non-riverside grassland for them. But that is often too limiting.

 

[Browd]

No. The granary bonus applies to the wheat itself, not the farm. Losing the farm is the only loss.

 

[S.O.T MAHak]

I agree with OP. Another trick to go by is, when you are at war with a continental foe, then have some mobile units (horsemen, knights cavalry) run around their flanks and wreck havoc in their homeland. Basically just pillage all their improvements, if possible their strategic resources, to fock up their war effort, if you pillage their 9 iron mine, its very much possible to get the strategic res. 50% combat debuff on their iron units. If your mounted units come across some exposed units, like caravans, missionaries or worker. Don't fill shy to let loose your inner marauder.
I you used this tip on Deity and it worked well. The AI produce caravans all the the time and the are just there to be plundered by your mounted units. This maneuver becomes obsolete when air units can destroy your intruding units easily.

 

[szcott]

Don't think I saw this mentioned, but when first starting scouting and find a CS first, declare war on it before meeting anyone else. You will get no diplo hit and can farm it for workers and xp. Just don't conquer it.

Also get to know how los works, ranged units on a hill can see over an adjacent hill / forest / jungle (but not both) to a flat tile, but the opposite isn't true.

 

[slowcar]

Something on the borderline of AI exploit:
If you want to sell strategic resources and a friendly/neutral AI wants them they will pay 2g/turn for a single one.
Depending on their need you can sell them maybe 10, each for 2g/t for a total of 20g/t -> 600g on normal, while they would offer you 450g on direct cash.

 

[tommynt]

want a pro tip?

Build 2 more warriors in early game as you think you should and every bo you read out there suggests.
Demand tribute on lower difficultis or catch workers on higher difficulties with them.
After that.
Send your units all around world and let em kill barbs for CS influence and camp kill quests.

Much more imporant as granny out 5-10 turns more early.

 

[Teproc]

Something on the borderline of AI exploit:
If you want to sell strategic resources and a friendly/neutral AI wants them they will pay 2g/turn for a single one.
Depending on their need you can sell them maybe 10, each for 2g/t for a total of 20g/t -> 600g on normal, while they would offer you 450g on direct cash.

I don't see how that's an exploit. Money right now is more valuable than money in the next 30 turns.

 

[fjordan]

I found this quite unusual: when at war, send your trade routes to city states that have a trade route quest through enemy territory. They will get pillaged and you can rebuild them to internal routes immediately and still get 40 influence. Not always a good idea but it worked fine for me.

Another hover-trick: when you build a world congress project hover over one of your cities builing it IBT and see the percentage rise real time. You can now 1) estimate the total from your own investment (last rise) and 2) see if there is one big contributor (and who it is) or a lot of small ones.

 

[Winsling]

I don't see how that's an exploit. Money right now is more valuable than money in the next 30 turns.

It's a bit garbled. His point is that if you sell 10 iron 1 at a time, you'll get 20gpt. If you sell the lot of 10 iron together, you'll get about 15gpt. Basically, the AI thinks an iron is worth 1.5gpt, so if it buys one it rounds up and doesn't remember that you owe it half a gpt.

 

[guven]

If you improve a landmark in foreign territory instead of collecting an artifact, you'll get a diplomatic bonus, which is influence when done in a CS' lands.

 

[phillipwyllie]

A captured holy city that you've used an inquisitor(to implant your religion) on will still influence other cities via trade the same amount as if it were still a holy city(assuming it has your religion as a majority religion).