6otM35 Opening Action

[leif erikson]

Welcome to the 6otM35 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 capital city? Your second city?
- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
- What was your build order?
- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
- Did you try to build any Wonders?
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
- How were the Barbarians?
- Any surprises?

Please use spoiler tags for any surprise details you'd like kept hidden. Thanks.

 

[Chalcedon]

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
Settled in place, second city south between horses and amber to max out land grabbing by traders (routes capital -> Kabul / 2nd city -> Stockholm).

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
Foreign Trade into Early Empire for Settlers, then to Classical Republic, detour to Feudalism, now going for Reformed Church.

- What was your build order?
UU, Settler,Slinger purchased, Builder, Holy Site.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
Found Spain really early, and had to instigate an early war to protect my 2 Stockholm envoys.

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
Two early Holy Sites for Religion, then Commercial Hubs and Theatre Squares...

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
I wanted the Artemision, which was taken before I did anything for getting it... build the Oracle, but my faith acquisition is rather low by now...
Really want the Kilwa I start producing soon.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
Kind of. Built 8 so far, 2-4 more will follow soon. Took none, not interested in Spain´s land, he kinda is a meatshield between Monty and me.

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Asap. Two first routes went to CSs, now with 5 (?) routes I am trading internally, except for one quest from Mohenjo.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
Urban Planning + Survey, Classical Republic with lots of Colonization and Ilkum, followed by Serfdom.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Magnus, with Provision. -> Settling obv^^
Pingala, Conoisseur + Grants -> +GP points
Moksha (?) -> Haven´t really used this guy ever before, want the +prod for Holy Site buildings as I have some coming up, especially near the crappy Natural Wonders ;P

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
First age was golden (obv with UU+UI), second was normal (forgot to spend envoys for souzerainty and missed by 1 era score).

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Stockholm (mine), Mohenjo (mine), Kabul (do not want to spend envoys there haha, but have 2 somehow), Hattussa (mine), La Venta. There´s a Commercial CS, but was not able to make contact yet, will spend my three left envoys there soonish.

- How were the Barbarians?
Pretty tame, haven´t seen any after turn 50.

- Any surprises?
Spain snatched two of my trade routes with one about 1HP scout who came out of the fog after I declared on him to protect Stockholm. hrhr

 

[leif erikson]

- Any surprises?
Spain snatched two of my trade routes with one about 1HP scout who came out of the fog after I declared on him to protect Stockholm. hrhr

Please go ahead and talk about the bug you found with Alliances that you wrote me about. It is okay in this thread and it would be good to see if it bit anyone else. Thanks.

 

[Chalcedon]

Please go ahead and talk about the bug you found with Alliances that you wrote me about. It is okay in this thread and it would be good to see if it bit anyone else. Thanks.

Diplo Bug

Okay, so there occured a bug to Alliances during my game I will also post in the bug report thread if I´ll find time this weekend... Won´t post any screenshots tho, because they will definetly spoiler as they were post t100.

When our alliance ran out, Monty did not want to renew it, so I gave some gifts to him. In between turns, two things happened:
First, someone from across the ocean made Monty joint war on me as the target (the little red "war sign" next to his icon top right appeared, as well as at the other guy´s icon - and Monty had troops marching in to my territory).
Second, Monty asked me back to renew the alliance, which I accepted.
Since then we are allied and at war at the same time.

This includes the following:
- ALL his units interact with mine as if at war
- only my melee units and cities are able to hit back, ranged units cannot (this includes both land and naval units). Do not know how this works with religious warfare.
- for diplomacy we can trade and interact with each other as normal, alliance can be renewed etc
- no warmonger penalties with other civs as far as I can tell
- for tourism: when allied, we share open borders, but I am not able to send him any trade routes whatsoever

This is really strange and has never happened to me before in my 2k+ hrs of gameplay. Also, it is a little annoying as I have no intention on war in this game but to send him traders. Nevertheless, I will finish it and post in the AAR. Np you exclude me from results, to me it is only a fun playthrough and wasn´t going for ranks anyways.

Has this ever happened to anyone before?

 

[Eliminator_Sr]

Excellent starting location in this one and no immediate neighbors so it will be interesting to see how early the finish times are. I mainly settled into peaceful expansion mode in this one.

Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
I settled in place and lost the forest. I debated on settling over cows but decided to keep them around for the UI. I settled the 2nd city to the North along river above the ivory.

How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
I ran a lot of different policy cards in the opening - much more than usual. +1 production card alternating with Ilkum early on, ran God King later to secure a pantheon since I got zero faith from huts (very late - took Divine Spark) , Strategos for a GG, Agoge and Manuever, and currently running the Great writer card. Settler production card was key for expansion.

What was your build order?
UU, builder, slinger, UU (hut), settler, UU, then monument I think. I wanted to go for hut grab but ended up mainly fighting barbarians in the first 30 turns.

How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
Spain withing the first 20 turns and Aztecs around turn 50. I sent delegations to both and declared friends with both of them. Spain looks pretty weak.

How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
I built an early encampment for State Workforce boost, then a campus in 2nd city. I've been neglecting science since there were two early science CS so prioritized commercial hubs and then theater districts.

Did you try to build any Wonders?
Nope - I thought about building Artemis but ended up prioritizing expansion instead. My faith is way too poor for Oracle and no spot for the pyramids.

Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
Yes - no one was close by and I failed to get an early pantheon so I went with ancestral hall + the settler production card, promoted Magnus right off the bat and started cranking settlers out in my capital. I've settled 8 cities and poached Kabul after letting the Aztecs do most of the damage (took some warmonger penalties) - in retrospect it might have been better to let the Aztecs take it and see if it triggered an emergency. I have one settler roaming.

How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
I tried to max trade routes and build them at the first opportunity. I currently have 4 and should have a few more soon. I sent the first to Stockholm for the quest and then all internal routes.

Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
First two went to Magnus, next three to Pingala, and Amani just went online to Suzerain Hattusa.

Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
Golden age first (took +culture) and it looks like I will miss the second golden by 4 or 5 points - was hoping to go dark after but way overshot it.

What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Cultivated Stockholm, then Mohenjo, and then Hattusa. Captured Kabul.

How were the Barbarians?
Fairly annoying early on - there were a lot of camps and they pillaged my horses, but it was good for gold and Eurekas.

Any surprises?
I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of room for expansion this time. I'm used to being squeezed for space with R&F.

 

[Civ_Gumby]

Played to turn 103, killed off monte and spain, missed medieval golden age by one horseman movement point...
- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city? Crossed the river to so I could chop the forest later. Second city on the grassland hill next to the horses.
- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why? Pol phi and military tradition to start chopping horses.
- What was your build order? Started the UU, got a scout rune so I switch to a builder. Finished the UU, settler then some other stuff that I don't remember.
- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly? Found them pretty fast, monte ran into me I didn't know where he was at the start.
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize? Went for the encampment first, then built 2 campuses the start then a government center with AH. A bunch of districts now.
- Did you try to build any Wonders? No.
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns? Got goddess of the harvest from a turn 4-5 relic. Settled 6 so far, razed one from Spain, then took 7 from the aztecs. BTW the aztecs ran over spain in my game, I was not expecting that. A couple of my settles were to done to sustain loyalty on the battlefield.
- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with? Set up one to stockholm, got pillaged pretty early though, that was a dumb idea. Other than that just internal trade routes.
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities? Went autocracy, took the double pillage yields, unit maintenance, the great general points until I got one and the +50% to cavalry units for a while. Swapped in +100% campus adjacency when I got it. I think as it stands now I have unit maintenance, pillage bonus, campus bonus and maybe +30% worker idk.
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them? magnus, upgraded him twice, pingala and I think I got the builder woman just for loyalty.
- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards? I got a crazy amount of points early, I think I was at like 15 points by turn 10. Ended up with a golden age, just missed the second golden age.
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side? I think im suzerain with kabul because I tried to push for the golden age.
- How were the Barbarians? One spawned a crap ton of units on the east coast, I didn't see the camp and it actually killed an archer and a scout.
- Any surprises? Monte took spain right out of the game, I received the emergency notification but declined because I needed 5 turns to set up my army, should have just accepted it for the gold.

 

[Leyrann]

Not gonna read anything in this thread before having played 100 turns, but I'm just gonna go and give a detailed report of how my game is going.

I'm in turn 11 now, and, well, already at 10 era score. I settled in place, started with producing a UU. Turn 2, discovered Stockholm to the west. Turn 4, discovered Lake Retba to the Northwest, turn 6, killed the barbarian encampment next to it, found two early goody huts already (first one gave me xp on the warrior so I could just roll over the encampment). Got the Astrology boost from Lake Retba, so I figured I'd go for a religion. First sneaking in a Settler though now though. Aim is to get a golden classical era and snowball from that. (also using the trader from Pottery (first tech) to get bonus gold and science with Stockholm)

Turn 15: Just found Mohenjo-Daro, with free envoy, giving me additional culture as well. Also got a builder out of a goody hut (the second one from before actually, which I didn't have yet because I had to protect my trader from a barb scout), so I can get easy Craftmanship boost. First Mekewap at the hill tile SE of the city for 4 era score (DA already avoided) and of course the 3f2p tile.

Turn 23: Met Spain, just settled my second city (on the sheep to the SW next to the mountains). Got era score for settling on a new continent, which made me realize that, apparently, Foreign Trade boost didn't pop despite me knowing two continents. Annoying, but I'm also at 18/24 era score for a Golden Age already, so it's not all bad news. Decided to immediately start on a second holy site.

Turn 31: Met Kabul, Hattusa, was the first for Hattusa. Some barbs coming right now because I didn't realize there was an encampment in the fog to the east, but building a Slinger to upgrade + get 2 envoys (Kabul and Mohenjo-Daro both want me to build an Archer). Almost done with Currency, primarily for the era score but also because Currency, then going to research Archery. Spain declared war on Stockholm but doesn't seem to make it. Went with Pingala for first governor to make use of the 1 envoy bonuses from the city states.

Turn 40: Got a Pantheon (Divine Spark, to stack with Stockholm), drove away the barbs, now going for the encampment. Timer has not yet started and I need only 2 more era score, so the encampment is enough for a GA. On track for a religion (Stonehenge was built, so 4 more religions available and I am third in the race for GP at the moment and just got both a Shrine and Divine Spark so I might even be earlier)

Turn 47: Got the message the Ancient Era will end in 10 turns. Didn't get the encampment yet, but did get an era score for discovering the Cliffs of Dover right next to them. Also miles ahead in the race for a Great Prophet now, with 5 points per turn, so it looks like I will be the second to found a religion. Might delay the encampment until the Ancient Era is over so that I don't waste the era score. Turn 50: Golden Age secured by recruiting the GP. Also spamming Settlers with the Colonization card. Game almost going perfectly imo.

Turn 56: Classical Era starts, I overshot it with 5 and now got 3 more points in one turn for Political Philosophy and tier 2 government, with 3 more waiting just around the corner because of an encampment that just spawned, so I expect to get at least one more Golden Age. Going with the Pen, Brush and Voice dedication and planning to spend the entire Classical Era buliding cities and districts, as well as spreading my religion in my own cities, which I've tailored towards earning culture and great people. Also going to give the Oracle a try even though I'm not sure if that's a good idea (didn't rush the civic) because I got very good production in my capital.

Turn 65: Met the Aztec, two turns later they decided to stroll in and see if they could take Madrid, which is now almost down. Probably gonna get conquered next turn. Scouted Spain and found that's already the western edge of the continent, which I think is going to mean that Spain is going to get pressured in between the Aztec (warlike expansion) and me (peaceful expansion) and is going to go down if they ever get in a Dark Age (normal age right now), so I expect this continent to end as just Aztecs and me. Gonna play very expansive to make sure I grab as much land as possible. Madrid indeed fell turn 66 and I got an emergency, but rejected because I don't feel like fighting hordes of Eagle Warriors when I only have one Horses and one Iron and no Encampments. Also, with Madrid being conquered another Spanish city is already falling in loyalty, and I think I might be able to flip it to my side. Or I might just move my army over there and conquer it...

Turn 78: Juts finished Oracle, the Spanish city is indeed going to flip to me, though I'm keeping watch to make sure Montezuma doesn't sneak in, but he doesn't appear to be going for it. Spain is reduced to 1 city, meanwhile I'm having one of the best games I've ever had.

Turn 101: Not much more happening, just got the message that the Classical Era will end in 10 turns. I'm 5 points short, but I am going to pop both tech and civic medieval very soon, and I can, depending on need, settle my next city next to the Cliffs of Dover or not. Either way, I'm sitting at 9 cities (plus a Settler), gonna get my second Golden Age in a row, and Pingala + Stockholm + Oracle is soon going to grant an absolutely crazy amount of GPP in my capital. I also have several more spots in mind where I want to build cities and do not expect other civs to come. This game is looking very easy at the moment. Continent is a bit bigger than I thought though, so my advantage on Montezuma in empire size is less than expected.

EDIT: Okay, it's turn 110, but I just have to share this. Montezuma declared war on Spain again, and is attacking one of their two cities (the one next to Madrid). Spain had one other city settled quite far away, next to Mohenjo-Daro... Who owed Suzerainity to Montezuma and just destroyed that city. Spain's about to be out, it appears.

 

[Koot Katmandu]

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
I settled in place, Second city a bit north near the ivory and hills
.
- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
I started with mining, animal husbandry, pottery, archery.

- What was your build order?
Scout, slinger, builder, settler, slinger

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
I seen the scout from Spain pretty early near the CS Stockholm. I did not know where their capital was because I did not send him a delegation. I figured I would need to war with him soon. I found Monty after I started the war and sent him a delegation and sold him my luxuries to keep him nice for now.

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
First was a Campus, second a theater. I hate being behind in science.

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
Well I am writing this on turn 98 and I just started the pyramids doubt I will get it. I was focused on getting some territory controlled. I have put down a couple of entertainment zones and hope to build the Colosseum.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
Yes. I have built 6 and captured 4 from Spain. Spain is gone. One of the cities I captured from Spain was CS Stockholm. I though about liberating it, but kept it because of location. I would have had major loyality issues with the rest of Spain cities if I liberated it.

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Right after Pottery, I traded with CS Mohenjo - Daro first since I had a quest for a trade route and no cities of my own. Next were internal to get roads up and open up new tiles.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
15 to barbs and God king until pantheon. Then I went for colonization to get out some settlers.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Mangus and promoted for the settler population effect. Pingala for science
- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
No golden
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Stockholm, Kabul, and Mohenjo - Daro. Mohenjo was suzerain and they helped some with the war with Spain but then just got in the way and kept me from placing my own troops.

- How were the Barbarians?
About average. I did get my 2 of my first 3 improvements pillaged

- Any surprises?
Edit. As I was walking the dog. I remembered no Emergencies. I was expecting one when I seen Spain taking Stockholm. Monty took the Spain Capital and I took 4 other Span cities and no emergency. I though one of those events would drive one.

 

[Half Nelson]

Cree turn 106. I have 11 cities (5 settled, 4 from Spain and 2 from Aztec) and am leading in score and all aspects bar religion. I settled in place and built Okihtcithaw, builder, slinger (barbs circling), settler, Okihtcithaw. City 2 was founded 4W on the river near mountains. I built 2 early campuses and also an encampment to W of city 2. Research started with pottery for the early builder, sent to Stockholm to fulfil quest, then to bronzeworking, horseriding and on to apprenticeship and cartography. Civics push was PP, feudalism and on to exploration (t105) for Merchant Republic.
I met Spain around t20 but no other AI until Aztec at t50, resulting in an immediate joint DoW from the pair of them. I captured 1 Spanish city in this first war and depleted their army with archers. I built up a force of horseman which, with a GG and ram, conquered Spain in a second war of my choosing. I have upgraded to crossbows and swords and am attacking Aztec:- I have just captured their capital and plan to leave them 1 city.
I took God of the Open Sky as pantheon for early culture. I didn’t bother with religion but have “inherited” the Spanish one which, given the Aztec are also non-founders, dominates our continent.
I have built a couple of Mekewap now that the gold bonus has kicked in:- these can be very good if a suitable spot presents itself.
I built the colosseum in fourth city (settled on river to S of capital for amber and horses) and have a circle of cities around it. My third city, built on riverside coast E of capital near White Cliffs, is growing well due to great yields from Cree traders. I have had 2 successive Golden Ages and look set for a third. I am trying to cultivate all CS on my continent.
I now have 2 caravels and have just met most of the AI on the other continent. These seem to be very friendly with one another (although 1 capital has been captured at some point). The next decision is whether to continue warmongering or try to overwhelm them with my culture and tourism. This depends somewhat on the lay of the land being revealed by my explorers (which include 2 well-promoted Okihtcithaw) and will have to wait a couple of weeks as I am off to do some exploring of my own (Petra, here I come!).

 

[Lord Yanaek]

T100 nicely fits with the start of the (global) Medieval Era (actually the world entered the Medieval era on T98).

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
Staring location looked really good. Nice production from hill/plain and some nice spots for the UI and pastures to get good trade routes so i settled in place. Second city went next to the NW Natural Wonder for a 4 faith Holy Site on T37 (a bit late but i've been busy with barbs the early game)

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
I researched Pottery first. I found from some tests with Cree the early Trade Route can be real great if you have a nearby CS and not too terrible if you have a neighbor you don't plan to attack so i went of it first. After that Animal Husbandry, then Archery then Mining, Astrology and the rest of the usual early game techs (Writing, Irrigation, Bronze Working), then going for Apprenticeship (even thought it's less of a priority for Cree but more production is always good) and i followed with the first naval techs, Machinery and i'm currently researching Cartography to try and make contact with the other continent.
For policies i rarely deviate from a pure Political Philosophy beeline, trying to get inspirations whenever possible. With such a starting location right between 2 continents unfortunately the inspiration for foreign trade is a an auto-miss since you "discover" the new continent before you have a culture production and it doesn't register the inspiration so i went there first which gave me more time to improve my land. It also gave me a second trader early. I got Mysticism before PP this time to try and build The Oracle, something i rarely do but i wanted to try and play a taller game than i used to before R&F and Oracle + Pingala seems like a nice way to generate GP with few cities. After PP i went on the religious path and currently going for Divine Right. I don't plan to go Monarchy but i want Mt St-Michel.

- What was your build order?
Capital : Unique Scout*2 -> Slinger*3 -> Builder -> Settler -> Holy Site -> Oracle -> More Settlers -> Government District -> Stuff
First xp : Holy Site -> Shrine -> Temple -> Industrial Zone (in the area between 3 hills) -> Trying to finish Workshop for the time i can start Mt St-Michel as it's the only city with marshes available and it's production wouldn't be so great.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
I met Spain T17 and Philip have been true to him quickly turning hostile but he never declared on me as he was busy trying to tale Stockholm and later got attacked by Monty who took Madrid from him. Soon after he made peace but i declared a surprise war to take a Settler who just moved out of one of his cities with one of my unique scouts. I didn't actually try to take the city but since he had no troops nearby i used it as target practice for a nearby archer until Stockholm moved in, and razed it. Philip actually stayed at war with Stockholm all the time while Monty was beating the crap out of him and the CS, being at war, produced plenty of units and finally moved on him. He almost lost his last city (without me even doing anything as i already made peace with him) but finally figured he should make peace with Stockholm when it was almost at 0 HP
I met Monty on T35 and he was all friendly until i improved coffee (that he didn't have) and despite me selling it to him immediately (i had other copies to improve with the worker i bought thanks to his gold) he started being annoyed by my luxuries. Fortunately he's been busy with Philip and left me alone.

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
Soon as i could afford after building units to defend against barbs, a worker and a settler. I went for a Holy Site to try and secure a Religion.

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
The Oracle as explained above.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
Sort of ... by spacing cities enough to cover a larger territory with few cities. I build 6 cities (including one with a Settler captured from Spain) and didn't capture any. My plan is to go tall with governors in every city (so far 4 have on), Audience Chamber government building (+4 Housing / +1 Amenity in cities with a governor) and enough UI that Housing shouldn't be an issue. Trade Routes should help me grow and put multiple districts in every city. Hopefully my territory should be large enough to accommodate for National Parks to generate tourism thanks to a large faith output (more of that later).

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Very early : Pottery was my first tech, Trade my second policy. I traded with CS before i had my own cities for early gold, production (Kabul) and to grab land with the unique ability. Later i kept sending one of my traders on routes that would grab some tiles while the other 2 are helping my smaller cities grow by going to the capital. I'll try and get more trade routes as soon as the current builders batch is complete as the internal TR are great to grow your cities when you have a bunch of pastures.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
I took the bonus XP for scouts in hop of unlocking some later promotions but even with natural wonders and goody huts i couldn't get past level 2, i guess you have to use them much more aggressively if you want to actually promote them. God King at first to get a pantheon then the +1 production card. Once i unlocked Ancient Republic i took the +1 production, 50% for settlers, faster envoys and Great Prophet card a few turns (to help secure my religion) then replaced it with the +2 gold per trade route. After i was done with the settlers i switched to 30% for builders and that's it. I usually forget to rotate those and only change when i unlock something i really want or a new government.
I choose Ancient Republic for the housing/amenity bonus and the 2 economic slots and plan to go for Theocracy next for cheaper Apostles. I'll avoid Monarchy and it's triple military slots.

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
I wonder if it's even possible to not go Golden Age with Cree. +8 from the double unique is big. A few natural wonders, huts and barbs and i was into a GA without even trying. I took the culture bonus even thought i didn't have a lot of districts because i don't think i would have gained any benefit from the others.
I couldn't get into a DA for medieval (it was originally my plan to get even better trade routes), due to building the Oracle, founding a Religion and settling near a Natural Wonder. I took the religious dedication as i will eventually spread my religion to the rest of my cities (only the 2 cities with an early Holy Site have been converted so far) so why not take some free era points in the process. Also neither Philip nor Monty founded a religion so i might be able to passively convert a CS or two and gain some more free points.

-What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
I started exploring to the south with my Warrior and met Kabul before anyone else, of which i was quite happy since Militaristic CS are really useful as first contacts for a free +2 production on those cheap early units (especially useful when your UU is an expansive scout) and also the Scientific one (Hattusa?). On the other hand to the NW were Stockholm and a Cultural CS so going that direction might have been better, don't really know. I didn't really cultivate any so far but took all the level 1 bonus. I managed to become Suzerain of Stockholm but i expect there will be competition as Monty have 2 envoys and Philip sent Amani after making peace. We'll see if i can keep it, i really like the GP bonus.

- How were the Barbarians?
Surprising ...
After my warrior moved south and met Kabul, my first Scout moved to the north when i finished it on T8, and met a barbarian warrior there! I didn't even saw a scout so not sure why they started pumping military so early but they did. There was a camp close to the pink lake that kept my scouts and slinger busy for some time. On the bright side once my second scout managed to get the village that was lying just a couple tiles away from my capital after the first barb wave was dealt with, he found a relic there.
I've been able to deal with the other camps (one existing to the east and others spawning later) much more easily since my slinger quickly became archers after killing some barbs from the first wave so after that early surprise they were no longer an issue but it was really a surprise and somehow forced me to assemble a quick early army before doing anything else.

- Any surprises?
Apart from the surprising barbarians and Philip being humiliated by a CS? Well, actually yes : having 2 natural wonders more or less reserved for me. Those 2 plus the relic i found in that village after dealing with barbs set the tone of my game. I figured i could place Holy Sites next to those wonders for nice +4 faith in addition to the relic so i could accumulate a lot of faith. Those 2 NW would also make great National Parks (which would require faith) so i would need Holy Sites anyway so why not try to get a religion along the way and go reliquaries (i already had one from the start). Without Yerevan nearby this would require Mt St Michel which is why i'm going for Divine Right. I don't know how i will manage to get my Apostles killed with no religious neighbor which is why i'm trying to get Cartography now. Hopefully i'll find some really strong religious power on the other continent to create some martyrs for me when i get there
I have enough faith generation to get a lot of apostles. If possible i'll try to get St Basil too after Mt St Michel for more tourism and relics slots. I doubt it will be enough but it should help and will also create a lot of faith to later buy Naturalists. Hopefully this will be enough to make up for a limited number of great works with only 6 cities.

 

[Berge20]

Generally new to the game, and never pursued a culture victory....so no clue what to do. Could end vary badly!

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
Settled in place. 2nd city ended up on the coast (smack on the food bonus) next to the wonder.

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
Pottery (for trader), animal husbandry (good tiles at capital to work), mining, astrology. Policy wise pushed for the 2 governors ones, then toward political philosophy asap.

- What was your build order?
UU, Builder, Slinger, Settler, Settler

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
15-20 turns to find Spain. A little gruffy, but no problems until I had to step in to defend Stockholm. Took way longer to connect with the Aztecs. They have been fairly friendly so far, but tide is definitely turning as I connect up more luxuries.

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
Holy district as 1st thing in my 2nd city (+5) around turn 40 (?). Then went basically theatres/commerce with a small smattering of campuses. Good news is that I was able to found a religion as planned. Bad news is that the neighbors didn't, so apostle holy wars didn't materialize early.

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
Got to Chop the Oracle to boost GP points. Also snagged Great Library for the writing slots just before the end of the era.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
No and regretting it (I think). I have only six cities, and while they are all up and running with theatre squares and (mostly) ampitheatres, I have a massive Aztec civilization building in the west licking its chops.

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Immediately with Mojo and then with Stockholm. Rotated them around from there to various internal cities to build out my claimed tiles. Only have two, so maybe poor planning on my part.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
Bonus production early, quick switch to god king, then to settler production bonus.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Mangus (2nd level ASAP) to chop/settle and Pinagala (Lv 3) to basecamp in fully developed capital after Mangus to boost GP points.

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
Golden age no problem. Just missed golden age on round two by one point (and felt silly)....

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Met the four immediately around me. Suz'd Stockholm and am building up a base for the others to just get their 2nd tier bonuses.

- How were the Barbarians?
Very problematic. Took out the camp to the NW and then didn't realize there was one immediately east and NE of the capital. Turns 40-60 were a mess because I got flooded and wasn't prepared. Really took even longer to fully clear out and had to use gold to buy military units when I'd have preferred builders. My own fault though for skipping more military/scouts early. The horse one did a fair bit of damage as I tried to clear it out due to an ill timed spawn.

- Any surprises?
Underestimated badly how weak Spain was when I didn't get involved in the war between him and the Aztecs. I had hoped that he would be a slightly more even match, but they simply are getting rolled and now the writing is on the wall for their demise. Only a matter of time that I'm next. Clearly they tossed more resources toward Stockholm early than they should have.

Also, I was going to try for an early relic strategy and needed religious battles to make that happen....both of my neighbors did not get a religion, so a lot of early energy on that front wasted for me. Could have benefits down the line, but had hoped to get a few early relics to start cranking out points.

 

[tedhebert]

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?

Settled in place, spot was good, 2nd ring was great. Settled 2nd city by lake Retba, bought that settler. 3rd city between Stockholm and Kabul, by the lake, to draw the line of my territory and get access to iron

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

Started with Pottery (because of Cree Civ ability), animal husbandry (because of map) and Astronomy (because I wanted to get a religion, and get relics)

For civics, Foreign trade and early empire, to get colonization et pump out settlers

- What was your build order?

Oki, Oki, Slinger, holy site, prayers

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?

Spain T21, Aztec T43, friends with both as monty is clearing out Phillip, as can be expected, and barbs are annoying me just enough that I can't really intervene ;-( Spain made a bad move by DOWing Stockholm and getting decimated... he then was a ripe target for Monty

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?

holy site quite early, then campus a little later

- Did you try to build any Wonders?

Yeah bad mistake…I tried twice, stonehenge and Hanging gardens, lost twice but both times only after 5-6 turns, so not too crippling… I NEVER go after wonders in early game, dunno why I did this time around ;-(

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?

Am at turn 81, so far 6 cities built, by turn 100 I will have 8…none taken, because of barbs mainly

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?

Turn 10, Hattusa, then around turn 25 mohenjo

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?

100% of the time I go discipline and god king to start (unless I don’t care about religion), but this time I went Survey because of oki… very disappointed, switched back to discipline first chance I had

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?

Went with Liang first for extra builder charge, then Magnus for settler bonus… but I whiffed because I never got to that 3rd governor point ;-( bad call on Liang first I think

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?

No dark ages

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?

Hattusa T7, Kabul T10… a little later on Stockholm, which I Suzed

- How were the Barbarians?

At first very easy as I got a scout from the west and another from the north while having an Oki close to them… so it’s probably the only positive thing I have to say about Okis, they CAN take care of a lone scout… but later on, found out it’s impossible to take a barb camp with a pikeman with only a slinger and an oki by the coast to the east, and that lead to a dreaded horsemen sprawl… still survived that, but spent a LOT of energy on that that should have been aimed at spain ;-(

- Any surprises?

First time playing Cree for me… hate the Oki… cost too much, not strong enough, even with the bonus promotion… doesn’t upgrade, very hard to promote… But I just LOVE the CIV ability that claims tiles by trader… found myself really changing the way I chose those early trade routes… usually it’s very simple 1-look at yield, 2- look at distance, 3- look at danger of getting pillaged… now I chose 1- what tiles will this route get me ;-)


This is a first time for me at GOTM ! This is honestly a very average start game and I don’t think I’ll get very good results for a fast culture victory… I’m really not a type of player who tries to get fast victory and over-analzes everything to max out results, but I DO try to play well, and I’m finding out (again) that I’m a very competitive persone in the end ;-) But I honestly can't foresee this game getting me a CV before turn 225 at best... a little disapointed, but we'll see how it ends

EDIT ADD: I'm getting more and more convinced that I'm wasting my game starts running after a religion... unless going after a RV, I have way more success in my games if I just forget about religion... And when I do go after a religion, my games feel sluggish all the way through and I'm at least 50 turns late on game turn victory... anyone else arriving at this conclusion ?

EDIT ADD 2: forgot about goody huts... was not lucky... first one heal my oki which was already at about 90% health, such a waste, second one gave me +1 pop to capital... and the last one I got was 20 faith... really depressing, especially after reading what other said they got ;-)

 

[Scaramanga]

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
I settled in place, and I think I should have done that before moving the warrior because I did not get the Foreign Trade boost despite being in between two continents.
Second city was beside Dover Cliffs.
- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
I went for Archery and Horseback Riding fairly early.
- What was your build order?
Scout, Settler, Slinger
- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
i Found Spain fairly early. He just plain didn't like me.
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
I tried to do a holy site first.
- Did you try to build any Wonders?
No.
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
I tried to get spread out in the direction of Dover Cliffs and Retba. I had about 4-5 cities.
- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
I sent one immediately after settling a second city.
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
I prioritised Caravansaries and Literary Trad.
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
I choose Liang and Reyna for their builder and commerce boosts.
- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
It was a Golden Age but I choose Evangelists and still missed out on a prophet. whoops
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
I am clinging to Mohenjaro-Daro.
- How were the Barbarians?
There was a horse-camp to the northeast.
- Any surprises?
Not really. I had tried a few games on quick with the same settings and was able to win one against Poland, Georgia, Sumeria, Japan, Rome, Germany and Mapuche so we'll how a real one goes.

 

[Bachelor Panda]

Hi, I usually only play Deity or Immortal games...but I've been away for a while and like the Cree so decided to play this one.

I started the game with the thought of taking out my nearest neighbor, going heavy on science and then spam theaters. After meeting Spain so far away, I rethought my plan. Then Spain attacked Stockholm (I had 2 envoys there) and so it was back to plan A lol. On turn 41 I had just finished defeating the local barbarians and had 1 archer taking pot shots at Spain's warriors and defended Stockholm. Two more archers were near and my other two started west. I was 4 turns from completing horseback riding and already had an encampment up. Off to war it was.

When I got to Spanish territory and saw their 3 cities so close together, my archers, 1 warrior and 1 Oki set about reducing the cities. I wanted to reduce all three cities and then take them all within 2-3 turns of each other so as not to have to worry about loyalty. The Aztec made me speed up my plan. I had already taken one city to zero health and was working on the second when Monte declared war on Spain, took Madrid and was sending eagle warriors towards me. We were declared friends so I had to take the cities sooner...he could have stole them from me. On turn 65 I finished the war, I had 2 of Spain's cities, Monte had Madrid. Cordoba was size 3, and by sending Laing to Valladolid I was able to keep the cities loyal. I did lose a couple builder charges since Laing couldn't make her stop in my capital.

Funny stuff next. The Aztec send her troops and took Stockholm (so much for my envoys) and another city to the north that Spain settled (west of Stockholm...Spain still had one city to the far north). But by that time I had settled Lake Retba and also settled on the south shore of the lake south of Stockholm. I just waited for those two cities that Monte took to turn into free cities and scooped them up


- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
I settled on the first turn by moving one southwest to the cattle. You can see on the start screen that a second city can then be placed on the ivory (elephants). It also got the olive hex into the second ring and left the forest for harvest. My second city was supposed to go on that ivory to the north...but there were too many barbs to the north at the time so it went south, secured a second horse and opened up the map so I could send a trade route to Hattusa (an envoy mission).

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
Animal husbandry, mining, archery, bronze working, pottery, horseback riding. Archers take care of your barb problem. Bronze working is needed to place cities. Horseys cause they are needed early (I would usually get them before pottery but with Cree it seems right to get the trade route started).

- What was your build order?
Slinger (Oki costs too much for 1st build), 1/2 builder (had to switch to another slinger cause of all the barbs), slinger, finish builder, settler (got another builder from goody hut ), finally Oki.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
Found Spain early. They liked me but then they attacked Stockholm so I declared war on them on turn 41. Aztec I met a little later and we have been friends from the start.

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
The encampment is my first build. As soon as possible. Usually right after my army is up and running. Then campus then commercial hub/harbor. The starting position forest I moved from and have since chopped was planned to be a commercial hub...but now it looks like it will be a theater. My Capital's build was encampment, campus, government center and next will probably be theater since I have enough commercial centers/harbors up.

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
Thanks for reminding me lol. Not as of turn 100. But I've already played to turn 142 and was able to pick up the Colosseum. My Capital's build order turned out to be encampment, campus, government center, industry district (workshop then armory in the encampment...Colosseum was still available so with policy card and a chop), entertainment center, Colosseum. Now I'm deciding between commercial center or theater...and its looking theater.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
I always try and pop out an early settler. Then I finish my army. While the army is out I concentrate on expansion. By turn 65 (at the end of the Spanish war) I had 4 cities, 2 of mine and 2 of Spain. Government plaza was just finishing up to give Magnus his promotion, and with Magnus chop by turn 100 I have 10 cities in total with another settler about to build. Also the two Aztec cities build to the north of me are about to go free and I have the army to take them. In 5 more turns I'll have 13 cities. By turn 105 I have built 9 cities, captured 2 and conquered 2 free cities.

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Researched pottery after archery and bronze working for the Cree trade route. Used it to satisfy the envoy missions of trade routes to Stockholm and Hattusa, Then internal trade routes to grow my cities.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
+1 production, +5 vs barbs. Switch to +1faith/+1gold to get a pantheon...I got to switch out early cause I got a goody hut with +20 faith. Then 50% melee build, then -1 army maintenance and back to +1 production per city until ready for Magnus chop with 50% settlers till I had settled my land.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Started with Liang for extra builder charges. Only got 1 extra charge before I had to use her to keep loyalty in a Spanish city. Followed with Magnus with a promotion for the chop, chop, chop and settlers everywhere If I knew how this game would play I might have gone Victor first then Magnus.

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
No Dark Ages yet. Just missed a Golden Classical Age. Got a Golden Medieval Age.

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
I've met Hattusa, Mohenjo-Daro, Kabul and Stockholm. Stockholm has been taken by the Aztec (but it will go free in a couple turns lol) and I don't care much for the Suz. benefits of the others so right now I have 3 envoys in each city for the benefits.

- How were the Barbarians?
Not too bad. Luckily I found the closest barb camp with my warrior early and took it out. The second was not a horse camp so once I got my archers I took care of that one. The third camp was horseys...the war with Spain was coming to an end so I used my first general to convert one horseman and one horse archer to my side First time I've done that one lol. I only had my Government Plaza pillaged with all those horse around (I did have to buy an archer too...the rest of my army was in Spain).

- Any surprises?
How aggressive the Aztec were. Thankfully we have been friends all game. The way Monte kept on the warpath and took cities behind me caught me by surprise. I lost my 2 Stockholm envoys when I could have parked my army around Stockholm to keep that from happening. In the end though, it all works out. I was able to turn Stockholm and the Spanish city Monte took behind me into free cities and then take them.


Very enjoyable game...


Thanks again,


Panda


P.S. I've included saves from turn 41 (I have a move left with my archer and am about to declare war on Spain and protect Stockholm), turn 65 (End of the Spanish war) and turn 100 (post Magnus expansion).