6otM 40 Opening Actions thread.

[Knowtalent]

Welcome to the 6otM 40 Opening Actions thread.
STOP - Please do not continue reading this thread until you have completed at least 80 to 100 turns in your game.
This thread is used to discuss the game once you've started playing through your first 100 turns. Apart from normal decency, the only posting restrictions are to please not post videos until the deadline is finished and to use the spoiler tags for screenshots. Here you can post questions related to the game and share your achievements/anger/frustration/victories while you play. Please remember that we are running a family friendly site, so express anger or frustration with this in mind.
Please use this thread to discuss your goals for the game and your opening moves through the first 100 turns. Anything after that should be posted in the After Actions thread once you have completed your game.
- Where did you settle your city?
- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
- What was your build order?
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
- How did you place your districts?
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
- Were your neighbors peaceful?
- How were the Barbarians?
- Any surprises?
Please use spoiler tags for any surprise details you'd like kept hidden. Thanks.

 

[BarbarianHunter]

- Where did you settle your city? On the 2x2 diamonds. Then on the Cotton to the northwest, then near the wonder for the Great merchant/general points.

Spoiler :

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why? Mining for diamonds, Pottery for granaries and campuses, then Irrigation for wine to sell to the Aztecs.
- What was your build order? Builder/Settler/Buy Slingers…/Then more settlers and builders/Buy more Slingers…
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize? Built the 1st Campus @ Poti around turn 60. Other than the one Holy Site I build off Tbilisi, I prioritized campus districts first, then an entertainment district for the Colosseum. At present (turn 99) I seem to have caught the Theatre Square bug due to adjacency bonuses from all the wonders I have been able to create. I have 1 completed, 1 going up, and plans for a 3rd in Poti.
- How did you place your districts? Optimally for adjacency bonus.
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns? Emphasized peaceful expansion, and had a respectable 6 well built up cities by turn 99. As the Aztecs were the only neighbor I had found early on, I decided it would be best not to tangle with them and instead luxury amenity trade them to death.
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities? +50 settlers / +30% builders / -1 Unit Maintenance Cost.
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side? Met 4 straight off the bat for 1 free envoy each. I am saving my envoys and didn’t cultivate any of them save sending a trade route. The two Militaristic CS's really helped with producing settlers in the capital.

Spoiler :

- Were your neighbors peaceful? The Aztecs had a serious barbarian problem so they were quiet. Once they resolved the problem, they moved to take Yerevan. They then immediately moved toward Poti. I declared on them so as to get the first strike with my 4 or 5 archers. It was a slaughter.
- How were the Barbarians? Cupcakes (ie. easy). Well except for the horde my hapless warrior (RIP) stumbled on while trying to pass through the Aztec lands.

Spoiler :

- Any surprises? Other than the Temple of Artemis still being available even after Poti finished the Pyramids, nothing out of the ordinary.

Note: Due to their close proximity to the Colosseum, I just declared war on both Valetta and Brussels simultaneously. I am thinking I am already on bad terms with the Aztecs and the Japanese have some mighty fine amenities up in that new continent and my army will already be in the area. So what do I have to lose? Well, other than another civ meeting me after I declare on one but not the other and getting the impression I am a warmonger. That I can do without. So I declared both simultaneously.

Spoiler :

Motto: 1 Inquisitor is good, 5 Inquisitors are better. I plan to hold the great prophet I earned until I have appropriated enough Holy Sites from the AI to properly found a religion. Once I do this I’ll theoretically have enough faith banked for an Inquisitor wave to clean up the rest of the area.

PS, thanks to the moderators for the 6otM’s. It’s fun to see how the variables change from one scenario to the next as well as how other people play.

 

[Gregorius il]

Settled the capital one tile below spawn, to get those two gems super tiles asap.

Started with astrology to try snap Stonehenge. Luckily I found a natural wonder that boosted it and managed to complete Stonehenge soon, founded religion by turn 35. Chose faith from holy sites near jungle, cheap missionaries, and %production bonus based on followers.
Build order was slinger-builder-stonehenge-settler-settler-settler-holy site, iirc.
By the time ancient era was over I had already gained enough points to get a golden age, so took the religious bonuses.
Founded 7 cities by turn 100, a settler was stolen by the Aztecs when they declared a surprise war on me. Wiped their army off with a couple archers, now conquering their capital.
Managed to become the surezain of most city states i met.
Built Stonehenge in capital and temple of Artemis in the fourth city.

Spoiler :

 

[CPWimmer]

Been a while since I played a 6otM - I will miss the UI mods I have grown accustomed to using.
I have to turn off:
Australia Colours
Extended Diplomacy Ribbon (a recent addition to my my list that I am still trying out)
Free Camera
Map Tacks
More Lenses
Produciton Queue (my favorite mod, by far!)
Real Great People
Sukritact's Simple UI Adjustments

My goal is to play a mostly peaceful (military wise) game with the exception of the likelihood of killing or at least crippling whatever is the closest civ to me in the early eras, but not with a focused rush. And then follow up with a mid-game consisting of religious expansion using a massive Apostle army for religious combat. And that was even before I met my favorite religious City State!

Where did you settle your city?
I send the warrior 1 SE (jungle/gem/hill) and find desert to the south, Move and Settle 1 SW of starting tile to get 3 high value tiles in first ring and still settle on turn 1. I lock in the banana, to focus on population growth.

What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?

My research has been heavily based on following Eurekas and Inspirations.
Tech:
Mining->Astrology(with partial boost)->Bronze Working(1/2 researched + boost later)->Animal Husbandry->
Archery(boosted)->Pottery->Writing(boosted)->Masonry(boosted)->Iron Working (boosted)->
Wheel(boosted)->HB Riding(boosted)->Construction(1/2 + boost later)->Currency(boosted)->
Engineering(boosted)->Machinery(boosted)->Apprenticeship(boosted)

Civics/Policies
CoL(Survey,Urban Planning)->Foreign Trade(boosted)->Craftmanship(boosted/-Survey+Agoge)->
Early Empire(boosted/Discipline+Colonization)->State Workforce(boosted/Conscription+Urban Planning)->
PP(boosted/Classic Republic+Cha Leader+Ilkum)->Military Tradition(Boosted/-Ilkum+Corvee)->
Mysticism(boosted/-Conscription+Revelation)->Games&Rec(1/2 +boost later)->Drama&Poetry(boosted)->
Theology(boosted/-Corvee+Colonization)->Recorded History(partial boost)->Defensive Tactics->
Feudalism(1/2 + boost later)->Civil Service(boosted)

What was your build order?
City 1 Build Order:
Scout (Usually I go Slinger 1st, but we're on Prince and CS is going to be a big focus of our game, even if it's just to exercise the Civ ability and get the Tamar Achievement - also want to try to trigger the Astronomy boost)
Builder / Monument / Slinger x2
Settler (was going to do holy site, but I can't build on the spot had picked due to lack of bronze tech as I was still waiting on the boost - Settler was probably the better move though)
Warrior / Slinger / Trader / Warrior / Settler / Holy site(+3) / Settler / Builder / Campus(+3)
Pyramids (Again, playing on prince so why not - works out fine but probably a time sink)
Shrine / Library / Granary / Temple / Mosque / Settler / Chariot / Trader

City 2 Build Order:
Monument / Holy Site(+3) / Shrine / Ancient Walls (due to the southern barbarians)
Temple of Artemis (clearly playing too casually here, another time sink that works but could have probably been spent doing better things)
Water Mill / Commercial District / Market / Temple

City 3 Build Oder:
Monument / Ancient Walls / Campus(+3) / Settler / Builder

City 4 build Order:
Granary / Builder / Ancient Walls / Holy Site(+2)

How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
First Holy Site came up on turn 53, which felt late to me. Holy Sites will obviously be my primary focus with Campus and Commercial Hubs as a secondary focus.

How did you place your districts?
The mountain range east of Tiblisi currently hosts 2 Campuses and 1 Holy Site, with 2 more Holy Sites and 1 more Campus planned. All will have +3 adjacency. The other districts that I have built all have +2. I don't have a Govt. Plaza, nor do I have a good planned site for one. I often over think the location for the Plaza, and end up delaying the building of one longer than I should. Looks like I have done it again.

Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
No, I'm playing casually and although I am in a slow/late war of expansion with the Aztec, I currently only have 5 built cities and 1 captured city (the former City State of Antioch from the Aztec). I expect to capture all 4 of Monty's cities in the next 10-20 turns or so, and have at least 1 more city built. That will probably end my expansion phase as I roll over into full faith infrastructure and build a religious army.

What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
T5 met Yerevan (get +1 Envoy) - Choosing Apostle Promotions is the Easy Button for Religious Victories!
T9 met Kabul (get +1 Envoy)
T10 met Valetta (get +1 Envoy) & met Jerusalem (get +1 Envoy) & met Brussels (someone else met them first, so I know some Civ (later found to be Japan) is up there to the north)
T31 met Antioch - who I later captured after Aztecs captured it (T91)
T82 Met Hattusa
I am currently Suzerain with Yerevan, Jerusalem and Kabul. At this time I intend to have 100% peaceful relations with all CS's which is my usual play style - but we shall see if one of them allies with Japan and he decides to go to war with me after I eliminate the Aztec.

Were your neighbors peaceful?
Yes, until that evil Montezuma attacked poor defenseless Antioch! I was then forced to defend/liberate/absorb Antioch into the Glorious Georgian Republic and will now proceed to absorb all of the Aztec lands, to prevent the threat of Monty's horrible, unprovoked, aggression again! Uh... Yeah

Japan has been 100% peaceful, and I haven't met anyone else yet. I plan to keep things that way, unless the AI decides otherwise.

How were the Barbarians?
Mild - they provided a few fun fights, but the only item of note was that it prompted an early wall build in my southern city to fend them off.

Any surprises?
I guess not, again looking back at the first 100 turns, I am clearly playing less aggressively than I could be. I am not abusing Harvesting/Magnus as much as I could/should be. I founded Eastern Orthodoxy on turn 72. And by turn 95 had it fully defined: Goddess of the Harvest Pantheon, Choral Music(culture), Mosque(+1 Spread), Holy Order(-30% cost religious units), Pilgrimage(+2 Faith per CS and foreign city). I have converted 3 of my 6 cities, 3 of the 6 known City States, and just started to move religious units north to Japan (where Buddhism has been founded).

Spoiler Screenshot :

 

[Zedseayou]

So I am pretty new to Civ 6, so glad that there was a Prince game to start!

Where did you settle your city?
On the square above the two diamonds. I figured that it had fresh water so it would be a fine start.
What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
I don't remember the exact order, but think I went Mining -> Astrology to start and get the diamonds and a holy site. Then went for archery, and then writing to get campus and iron working to place it in the rainforest where I wanted to...
What was your build order?
I went for slinger, builder, holy site if I remember correctly. Then filled with more slingers to upgrade.
How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?'
Went holy site -> campus, with the holy site east of the stone and the campus east of the bananas for adjacency. I think I got both of these pretty soon after getting the technologies, but didn't build any others until much later.
Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
I settled one more initial city, out by the western coast for the lux, mountains and fresh water. I've then been waging war on the Aztecs, taking the capital after some slow archer poking. Filled in two more cities, one in the central desert between Tenochtitlan and Tlabisi for iron mostly, and one out on the eastern coast near the natural wonder.
How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
I am not sure how best to play these right now, mostly left on the campus and holy site adjacencies, reduced unit maintenance.
What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Met both Yerevan and Jerusalem first, which was great to get early pantheon. Managed to actually complete some quests and become suzerain of several others.
Were your neighbors peaceful?
Until I attacked, yeah ;D
How were the Barbarians?
Yeah they were ok, I had built slingers after reading some early advice so I was able to fend them off and then kill with archers.
Any surprises?
I am still getting used to the new great people, and wasn't expecting to see one so early since they used to require specialists. And I am getting overrun with Japan religion, since I have been stockpiling faith. I will need to counteract that!