aCK-2 Session
Pre-turn: Turn 94, 1650 BC
Gauging our situation. We have three cities, with a fourth on the way (settler due in 4 turns in Kyoto). I could whip the settler . . . but I am certain that expending 2 population points on a 4-turn settler is not worth it. We also have three workers. I aim to expand that workforce by the end of my set, hopefully to five, but ideally to six (we have a lot of land to clear).
Researching on Iron Working, after which it'll go into Mathematics.
Strategy points mentioned:
*Kyoto and Osaka can both use a library--the first for specialists, the second for culture.
*Our new city to the west will be a commerce city.
I plan to squeeze in a scout after the settler and before the library to try and make up whatever ground is left. It probably can't hurt to know more about Brennus and Elizabeth's territory, anyway.
With everything in order to my ill-trained eye, I proceed.
Turn 95, 1625 BC
Snooze turn.
Turn 96, 1600 BC
Zzz . . .
Turn 97, 1575 BC
Brennus comes to us asking for open borders. Considering we have none signed yet, and we are the crazy, isolationist Japanese, I tell him to go eat sushi. Or whatever raw food those barbaric Celt eat.
Osaka: Axeman > Granary. I let it work on granary since it looks like it could use it. Worker also finishes mine on the hill. Liq said that Osaka (I presume it's the former Yellow Dot?) has decent hammer potential, but I don't quite see it. At least, not without many farms and workshops. There are a few trees I could chop to hurry the granary and (later) library, but I leave them for the town to work on the assumption that Liq meant Osaka should work them.
I consider moving the warrior out of Osaka now that there is a axeman there, but there's nothing that warrior could really scout before any other unit got there, so I leave it as garrison.
I decide to send the free worker to Kyoto to prepare to chop in a library.
Turn 98, 1550 BC
Kyoto: Settler > Scout (2 Turns). I hope it's a forgivable diversion. Settler goes to the marked city site for gems and horses.
Not much else to report. Our workers are taking their sweet time with their assignments. Tsk.
Turn 99, 1525 BC
Workers start chopping the forest on a grassy hill north of the capital. Warrior healing on rice has returned to full strength. If there was a plan for him, I unknowingly send it out the window because I decided to send him out west to scout. Why the warrior instead of the coming scout? There's so much foliage, I don't think the scout would make much better time going west.
Whistle while I work.
Turn 100, 1500 BC
This truly must be a Liquidated and S.ilver game! Look who our new neighbor is!
As he is the one that scored the Great Wall, quite ironic. I check the trade screen and he's willing to talk about war on anyone except Monty. Go figure. And he then wants open borders. No, but thanks.
We get word that Montezuma converts to Judaism. So he and Suleiman are likely gonna bond now.
Worker by Tokyo has finished a cottage. I start to chop down trees to speed that Monument along.
Turn 101, 1475 BC
Apparently we are not the poorest civilization out there. I'll see what I can do about that.
Satsuma is founded on the watered hill. I remove the sign and start on a monument.
Other, more boring stuff happens. Oh, and the corn is farmed now. I move Osaka from the copper to the corn, because moving a worker off the ivory cuts a turn into Iron Working. We're at -10 now, by the way. Considering that we lack fresh water to farm any other tiles up there, I think I'll move the worker to Satsuma to get things moving there. Jungle can always be chopped later.
Turn 102, 1450 BC
Tell Liz that we don't want open borders with her. Who knows where those borders have been?
Long trek from Osaka to Satsuma. I figure I'll pasture the horses for, well, horses and some hammers and commerce. In 4 turns when the workers get there.
Turn 104, 1400 BC
Chop finishes in Kyoto. Five more turns on the library.
Turn 105, 1375 BC
We receive word that Buddhism has creeped into our cities. Our mystics ask if we should ring the bells and announce a new state creed. I tell them to take their own lives for even considering the foolish idea of buying into a foreign religion. Besides, we don't want to join Elizabeth on Monty's chopping block.
The good news is that Osaka received the teachings of the Buddha, adding 1 point to its cultural output.
Do some chopping and some pasturing. Dial back science or we will go broke. Well, we'll be broke next turn, but after that I'll have to make sure we break even or gain some money.
Oh, and I've been checking with the foreign advisor. No tech trades available, so no one has alphabet yet.
Turn 106, 1350 BC
Monument finishes in Tokyo, start a granary (that seems to be the formula. Not sure what to do with the worker just now. I'd like to cottage a riverside tile, but I'll have to wait until the borders expand. Decide to cottage the other grassland, and to chop the pig-jungle afterwards in preparation to pasture.
Science at a giddy 50% to break even, putting us back at 10 turns to Iron Working.
Our intrepid warrior out west spies a barbarian village and Khan land, suggesting that we may not get far if we head that way.
Kyoto grew and is at its happy cap. I never whipped the library, with the backwards justification that the guys in charge wanted specialists ASAP.
Turn 108, 1300 BC
I apparently missed a turn? Oh well. Our scouting shows that Khan has horses! Joy!
Osaka grows, putting out decent hammers again.
Turn 109, 1275 BC
Our library has been built in Tokyo. It is very nice. So I put some people to work as scientist specialists. Start on a worker as a forest chop completes. 3 turns to the worker. Correction, 6 turns to the worker, but the two scientists shave 2 turns off of Iron Working, so it's worth it.
Turn 110, 1250 BC
Trying to decide what to do with the workers now. I could chop more forests to get the workers out faster, because I think we'll need 'em. It seems like a better idea than just building roads and Kyoto has plenty of forests. (I probably didn't have enough workers chopping forests for the library, now that I think about it. Only got one chop in.) No, I send him to Satsuma because I just noticed that there are actually forests there to chop, not just jungle. No, I don't, because the worker there is finishing the pasture next turn anyway and can do it himself.
Chopping down trees at Kyoto! And then maybe road the mines for ease of movement.
Check demographics. We're at the bottom for power, Monty's at top. Monty would go to war with anyone if we could give him something for it.
I think we're safe at the moment, though, trusting everyone that Jewish Monty hates Buddhist Lizzy more than us.
Turn 111, 1225 BC
Osaka: Granary > Library
I.W. in 2.
Do some more scouting. Whee.
Turn 112, 1200 BC
The turn I pressed enter.
Turn 113, 1175 BC
Iron Working > Mathematics (23 turns)
Iron pops in Kyoto, as predicted. On an already mined hill, no less. Will start a road as soon as possible.
I move production from a riverside grass-hill mine to the iron mine, with no change in Math's research time.
Scouts reveal that Brennus has iron.
And a quick look inside Kyoto.
Turn 114, 1150 BC
Tokyo's workers should clear the jungle on the pigs a turn before the borders expand. Not quite perfectly time, but . . . Oh, and I move a worker from forested plains to the freshly built cottage. Granary build time plummets, but it shaves a turn off of Math and we're earning a gold now.
Turn 115, 1125 BC
Kyoto: Worker > Worker (8 turns with a chop on the way).
New worker prepares to road the iron. I start another worker to fulfill my "Workers for Japan" program.
Turn 116, 1100 BC
Start the road; send scout east because he's seen all he can see to the south.
Chop finishes in Kyoto, worker in 4.
Turn 117, 1075 BC
Chop finishes at Satsuma as the monument finished, prep a granary, but it can still be changed.
Pacal goes Hindu. Considering that he's Khan's neighbor, the Mongols may follow suit eventually.
I'm gonna end it here 'cuz I've already taken my "twenty-some odd turns" and I don't want to blow us any further off course. A couple workers are active, as are the scouting warrior and scout. Osaka and Satsuma are both about to grow; Osaka should work the mined hill to speed up the library. We need it, as I think we've been losing the culture war there so far.
I was planning to send the scout through the gap between Liz and Suleiman for lack of a better idea. Warrior seeing whatever he can see up north.
Haven't seen a ton of great city sites that we can still nab. We actually might want to grab POS somewhat quickly to block off Brennus a bit. I think there's a potential city 3 tiles NW of Satsuma. Small overlap with Satsuma, but nothing bad. Nets some flood plains and some dry grass, so maybe another commerce town. It's right up next to Pacal's borders, but if it wins its cultural wars, it might gain some silk.
Could also try to grab the stone and spices, but it's not a great spot other than those resources. I imagine that we won't settle more than 2 or 3 more towns before we dig in. I'll post some pictures in a bit.
And a general overview of our settled lands:
(If we really wanted to be gutsy/stupid, would try to slip a settler past Brennus and settle in the ice. Grab the deer, fish, and silver, maybe. I wouldn't do it, probably, but it's an "option.")
Wow. In my awe-inspiring brilliance, I
forgot to save the game! 
:suicide: etc., etc.
Sigh. Fortunately, there was an auto save at 1100 BC, so I'll replay my last turn. At least I remembered about uploading the save this time.
so no point diving for that one since we have a 100% known super dot 2 north of the copper ... exactly where Gobo thought and so left the warrior. 
will go a long ways towards winning the culture war for the gems and ivory with Sulei. So if he could go ahead and build the camp and the mine for us that would be great!
