Recent content by Mudcrab

Be mindful of your early city size. Do not be afraid to limit growth until you acquire more happiness. Shop arround and trade you extra happiness resources for another.

I always scout scout monument warrior. After that the situation dictates the build order 2 x scouts is great because: 1- You send them E and W, exploring both directions. 2- The starting warrior is used to circle the capital. Upon completion of the circuit, the 2 Scouts are...

Keep checking your diplomacy screen. Some guys vassal easy, some don't. Some make vassaling a priority, if not to you, them to someone els. I have noticed that the civ to vassal 1st is not fussy, they go to anyone that offers. Once a couple of civs are vassaled, then they tend to hold out...

Whip for a reason, otherwise limit the city growth by selecting specialists and/or asigning hammer tiles over food tiles eg mines. Be careful of your economy, as too much whipping can cause you to over REX, crippling your early economy. I whip early only to secure city positions or to build...

Hunting and Mining. Hunting specifically for the scout, with 2 moves, is essential to get the jump on rival civs popping goddie huts, and for scouting around the capital to determine early strategy. If you build a worker straight away, then you are stuck with the one exploring unit until the...

I opt for academy 1st, because you usually pop him by running scientists in you science city. This makes the scientists more effective. I consider and acedemy in a second city, say GP farm or high commerce city. After that, settle, settle settle in the science city.

I settle in my production city and opt to spit out 3 promo units as the core of the infranty - CR3 for attack and various stack defense combos, as well as some CR3 seige for sacrificial city attack. Other cities can produce horses, siege and city defenders.

Upgrade your CR units, the experience is hard to recreate. Probably no need to upgrade defenders, unless for rule 3. You can opt to upgrade horse units, but look at their promotions. It is sometimes useful to sacrifice old obsolete horse units with critical improvement raids on your enemey...

Toku has fishing, and your cities have fish. So no need to worry over food/whipping. You could have tried whipping out an axe rush army, and take 2 of the closer englich cities. I say 2 because by that time you can opt for peace if you wish, otherwise go for more, depending on the strength of...

GMs are good for smashing resources when at war, but only if the resources are within strike range. eg near the borders or from the sea. After that, spies are useful, and fast pillagers in stacks 3 strong. The idea is to destroy all the resources to build decent units. If possible, use the...

Choice 1 - Don't wait to settle that settler. Make a cottage city with him, and produce a third to settle on your iron resource. 3 cities is not too bad a strain on your finances. Your cottage city should help to finance your early rush warfare. And try to get a library going, a scientist or 2...

yes, leverage any "resource tile" you can get by avoiding the whip. every 3 gold tile is useful in the early game.

1N2E of the wheat to provide food for a decent cottage/production city leave the cow to help supply food to a gold/cow/oasis city sited in the desert 1W of oasis. This allows good use of cottages on the grass tiles but also gives the food needed to run mines on the hills. This leaves a...

I favour multiple stacks unless it's an early rush. If you try for more than 1 on an early rush, you eat too much time, and you lose advantage of the rush. Minumum standard for multi stacks is dependent on diplomacy : A - if you got your target to fight another war with an AI, then 2 stacks...

When you are about to Vassal and AI, but they jump to your friend 1st, thus opening a war with a fresh SoD or two on lightly defended flanks. For example... Small map size, fractal, was 3 landmasses. Happily kicking Toke's rear end and wanting to take another city to open a strategic pathway...