6otM55 Opening Action

[leif erikson]

Welcome to the 6otM55 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.

 

[Victoria]

Status at T100 is apalling but it has been fun

Spoiler :

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

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
Mining, pottery, Writing, Bronze working... basically getting science first and also early to get legacy Oligarchy card for swords as I have no knights. The plan is to get to Muskets... am 4 turns off. Then its gonna be fun.
- What was your build order?
Builder settler, slinger monument, quite a few warriors then
- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
It is a big old map... I hate pond maps! So much land to traverse, so many barb issues.
- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
Have prioritized Campuses for resorts but seashore is not great so now building theaters.
- Did you try to build any Wonders?
Captured Artemis and Stonehenge, Built Oracle and Great library (because IO lost out on pyramids with 1 chop... goddam!
- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
I'm on 8 lousy cities (did I mention I hate pond maps?)
- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
TRaded with Peter as early as possible as I wanted the faith.
- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Magnus then Amani, then Pingala.
- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
Normal, just gone gold.
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
My scout went anti clockwise, amazingly still alive. Geneva has pretty much been my life since the loss of Hong Kong.
- How were the Barbarians?

- Any surprises?
Someone stole Divine Spark! ... I was forced to take monument of the gods... dammit!
Library science was a bit of a surprise.
I had a Hong Kong Emergency, the barbs destroyed it just before I got there, grrr. Horsemen everywhere.
I have saved the game but do not want to post, here is where I am up to

I must say its a good game, great challenge, quite different from the OTT GOTM games... thank you!

 

[Forster]

You didn't settle until turn 3 and then built builder, settler, monument before any military. You must be incredibly lucky. I was swamped with barbs fairly quickly and then it got worse. I think 5 barb camps in all within 10 - 15 hexes.

 

[Victoria]

You didn't settle until turn 3 and then built builder, settler, monument before any military. You must be incredibly lucky. I was swamped with barbs fairly quickly and then it got worse. I think 5 barb camps in all within 10 - 15 hexes.

I circled my warrior on the left side and they came across a camp at the bottom as it spawned, was probably the camp you got.
Always circle your warrior around you first city to limit risk. Also I used a slinger and warrior to guard against scouts while making my army, they took out 2 scouts and sent a 3rd towards Peter.... lots of barb camps early so you have to stop scouts spotting your city, note the city was settled behind some hills, settling on a hill is called advertising, scouts can see it from 3 tiles.
I could rerun my first 30 turns and record if it helped.

 

[Forster]

No, thanks. I was just surprised you went that long without some kind of combat unit. I might go scout, builder, setter, but my next unit would be a slinger. I have had too many games where barbs slam me.

 

[Victoria]

I have had too many games where barbs slam me.

I settled T2, T1 I went across the river then it was 1 MP to the olives and settle.
Quite a few GOTM’s I have died in and not submitted or played again and said it’s not valid. Using a builder first is a risky business. If I think of it again in this game I stopped building my monument to get out a slinger because a scout spotted me. I have never said I am a good player, I am a risk taker but as stated there is a hell of a difference between settling on a hill and settling behind a hill.
This game I had luck with the earLy barbs but did manage my border, otherwise.... My scout did not find the main culture enemy until late, My feeder civ (Peter) lost 2 cities to barbs including Hong Kong, I lost pyramids on the last chop and I did not even get divine spark as a pantheon... that’s life, does not stop it being a good game. Finally a GOTM that feels normal.

 

[DanQuayle]

It is usually wise to scout nearby tundra first with starting warrior.

 

[Victoria]

It is usually wise to scout nearby tundra first with starting warrior.

Yup, on the minimap from my post above you can see I cleared all the tundra (red box) and checked it every turn for new surprises because the buggers come thick and fast with good weapons on immortal if you do not nip them in the bud.

 

[Darqsat]

Pro tips for barbs on this map - move warrior to the right. You will encounter a first scout. Hit it and move bottom to first encampment right below a river. Kill it. Heal a warrior and go top. You will meet second scout or dead or almost dead from near City State. Move top left near ocean to second encampment and kill it. Than park first warrior on a left side of your territory near horses. There will be a third encampment and very problematic if you won't kill in a 5 turns. Then, you are free for about 50-100 turns from any barbarians on your territory.

This a working strategy because I am trying to win this about 5-10 restarts

So I am a pro barbarian killer on this save.

 

[Victoria]

So I am a pro barbarian killer on this save.

I rotated left then down not going in any rough and I did not get a barb swarm until I got a horseman swarm that had destroyed Hong Kong.

 

[Forster]

You know, I always try to build on hills for defense and visibility. I never thought about that making it easier for barbs to find me.

 

[Victoria]

You know, I always try to build on hills for defense and visibility. I never thought about that making it easier for barbs to find me.

Also meeting a civ on T5 and saying “Hi, let me show you my capital”

 

[arthur486]

Ok so I did not think about 'advertising' before now. For some reason, I always thought that it was enough for them to see your borders, not the city center itself. Reading this just makes me want to give it another go

 

[Victoria]

Ok so I did not think about 'advertising' before now. For some reason, I always thought that it was enough for them to see your borders, not the city center itself. Reading this just makes me want to give it another go

Do It!
It’s a really good game at the start for keeping the scouts away, amd chasing them if they see. Using a scout amd a slinger works. Scout chase the barb scout to the slinger.

 

[MrRadar]

Well, what better way to say goodbye to R&F than to play the last GOTM before GS. I've played a training game, learned something, the start looks very nice, so it will all be all right, right? GOTM staff picks such pleasant maps, after all, most of time

Spoiler :

- Where did you settle your capital city? Your second city?
Considered moving, but finally SIPed. Second up north next to gypsum.

- What did you research and which policies did you choose and why?
Went towards Irrigation and Campus, inserted mining and stupidly forgot that Masonry was needed to remove stone
Got Divine Spark.

- What was your build order?
Opened with two scouts, because in my training game I realized I had too few of them. So I thought to start at least with three of them, but after two I thought that some troops would be in order, urgently. Scouts paid off though, in that one popped a builder very quickly.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? Were they hostile or friendly?
First one met was Peter, of course, who else would be there to foul up your cultured picnic. The sooner he'll die the better. Then Gorgo. Groans and more groans. This game will take eternity, so it seems
Turn 62 my both scouts somehow survived and contacted everyone. Of course there should have been Catherine as well, to complete the trio of "So you're going for a CV? Good luck, but not really."

- How soon did you build a District? Which ones did you prioritize?
Campus in the capital quite soon, then another in the second city, and theater in the third.

- Did you try to build any Wonders?
Managed to get Pyramids, and a Sphinx next to them, both on floodplains, so now I'm walking like an Egyptian
Planned or wanted to get Artemis and Oracle too, but they went faster than I moved.

- Did you emphasize expansion? How many cities have you built/captured in the first 100 turns?
How to put in mildly? I was all about emphasize expansion, but there was a slight barb problem. So all my efforts after t100 netted me three cities and enough surviving troops, I do hope, to take out Peter. He just refuses to build walls, not one in sight. That's good

- How quickly did you get Trade Routes working, who did you trade with?
Everybody's out of reach, only some city states qualifies for international. Only have one CH and one internal trade route.

- How did you play your governance cards, priorities?
Used Agoge a lot.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Magnus, second Liang.

- Was your first age a Dark Age? Did you take any Dark Age cards?
Managed to get normal, then golden med.

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you cultivate to your side?
Met a few, not fabulous results in cultivation so far, Preslav is Peter's vassal, but only by one envoy, I plan to DOW Peter and then shoot one sword of Preslav, then send in an envoy for peace and two era score points.

- How were the Barbarians?
Outright nightmarish. Three camps, and bastards each of them scouted me out ran away and triggered, I was in no position to catch them. First onslaught came from the south. This was bearable, slingers and warriors only. While I was dealing with it, northern camp scouted me and ran away through the hills, no chance to catch with a warrior. Finished the south, troops were coming back and then north's force arrived: warriors and archers. Damn them, now there were casualties. And another scout popped up and ran to the west, I couldn't do anything, was too engaged in the north. Finished north, in the meanwhile got archers myself, was about to lick my wounds, but then horsies came from the western camp. That was a bloodbath, lost probably all my warriors and had to rebuild, but finally archers and fresh troops put an end to those scoundrels. I lived, phew!

- Any surprises?
Yes, how different this game went in comparison with my training game, where I started in the jungle belt. There I could expand, with easy and pleasant early war with England, no big barb problems, I got there EVERY Great Writer. But here, although the start seemed much better, things were just brutal. No chance this will be quick, and it seems, I'll have to engage in much spying and stealing. Might even have to take out Gorgo, but man, she's a world and a half away. Damn those inland sea maps, there's just too much land in them Also, in my training game there were plenty of villages for me to pick up, but here the picking were rather scarce. All this rationale to open up with a lot of scouts was about to rush and get those villages, but results were rather modest.

State of the Struggling Kingdom

Spoiler :

So, I will carry on, of course, but now I am not sure if I can do it before the 14th.