Attack the capital?

[DSN]

Also station units on as many of the city's squares as possible so that you can stop enemy partisans appearing out of nowhere.

Yeah, I do that as well, it's very useful as:
1) if the ai attacks your units on one tile, less will die if they're spread out
2) no partisans.

 

[General Rommel]

I don't care about thier captial in the beggining. I like to scout them out with spies, then have some objectives to capture. You know what good is capturing the capital if thier 2 main trading cites are still working. Or what if you capture it but used so much of your army to capture it you can't hold on to it, or are surroned by the enemy. I say go for a easy city close to the coast or to the roads then big, trade cities and if the capital is on the list go for it. Thats just me though. :-D

 

[Fundamentality]

Attacking their capital is hard but fun .The thing I like about it is that I like their cities under so much corruption so less gold and science for them

 

[Marlos]

Typically, it seems that capturing an opponent's capital should be easier than it ends up to be. Is it just in the games that I have played, or have you also noticed that the AI does not build its cities in a 'circular' fashion around its capital?

For defense reasons, I do this, figuring that the enemy will have to go through other cities before reaching my capital. Then, I joined CFC and learned more about the government types and their effects. Building in circles around the capital also provides more trade arrows under Monarchy because of a city's proximity to the capital.

Like you, Old n Slow, I start a campaign with good intentions of getting the capital. Generally, though, it seems that it isn't logistically practical to capture the capital first.

 

[Terrapin]

I am so poor at organizing my troops that I really do not conquer much unless I hold a substantial edge in technology. Like OldnSlow, I occasionally grab a city which is too close to my 'mainland.' Unless I am running muskets & cannons against ancient units or tanks against renaissance units, I am pretty much incapable of large scale attacks. By the time I get far enough ahead in tech to do any serious damage my accumulated advantage (tech+$$$+production) is so large that singling out the capitol makes no appreciable difference. If another Civ reaches the nuke/howie/mech inf level of developement, my days of conquest are basically over. For these reasons, I have never won a game above Prince by conquest. Blessed be the spaceship!

 

[The Person]

When I go to war against a civ, it's to exterminate them, so I need to take the capital sooner or later. My strat is usually to just bribe their cities, and taking their capital is vital in that matter, but it has to be taken by force, since you can't bribe a capital city.

 

[Fundamentality]

Typically, it seems that capturing an opponent's capital should be easier than it ends up to be.

Yup,just two riflemen defending the capital.....

 

[Prof. Garfield]

... and four or five Alpine Troops defending some city far from the front.

 

[Quilty]

I don't really care when I take the capital, but I do find it extremely amusing to cause civil wars when I take one.

I almost always attack the capital first for that very reason -- it's nice to see that when it happens, although it's all too rare an occurrence.

Does anyone know what factors the game takes into account before showing the civil war screen?

 

[Marlos]

Does anyone know what factors the game takes into account before showing the civil war screen?

Let me see if I remember this correctly.

First, there have to be less than seven civs. Second, there has to be a civ "more powerful" than you, although I do not recall how this is measured. When you capture the capital of the most powerful civ, a civil war will erupt and split this civ into two empires.

 

[temurleng]

I only pay attention to whether I'm attacking the capital if the civ is huge. If they are, I'll wage long intermittent wars, capture about ten cities, make it clear to their people that their rulers can't protect them, thus sowing dissent, then SMASH! I try not to take out the capital first off, but try not to do it too late, to the point where the civ is too small to form a rebel civ. I've had few times to use this strategy, but the times I do, it seems to work quite well.

 

[Stardimple]

Let me see if I remember this correctly.

First, there have to be less than seven civs. Second, there has to be a civ "more powerful" than you, although I do not recall how this is measured. When you capture the capital of the most powerful civ, a civil war will erupt and split this civ into two empires.

Just a question - if all of the above criteria is in place then do other civs ALWAYS go into civil war or is there a random element to it? I've only ever managed to do this once and I've always wondered how it happened. The other reason that it probably doesn't happen in my games is because it's very rare that there is a more powerful civ than me.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Many scenarios have an "event" that doesn't allow civs to split, weather it is all the civs, or just certain ones. I don't know if it hapens every time the criteria match, though.

 

[nsomniyak]

I'll go after the capital first if it is accessible and I have money to capitalize (pun intended!) on the resulting civil disorder in other cities. Or I will go after a capital if it has a key wonder in it.

More importantly--I go for the opponent's PORT cities first. Take their ports and they are bottled up. They are no longer a player in expanding to new islands or continents. They also are far less able to make contact with, and trade with, and gain science from, the civs on other continents. Their economy takes a double hit--lost cities AND they are limited to only overland trade--that means none of the big bonuses for inter-continental trade routes. I also get another bonus--I can sail subsequent transport vessels right into town, and get the full movement for units they carry, rather than having to use a movement point to have the unit make landfall. This is a tremendous help in reinforcing my attack force and quickly getting those reinforcements to where they can help out. Any civ that loses its ports before Flight is discovered (and most even then) is doomed. They will eventually strangle and be out-produced, unless the map is a very large landmass.

If you can't take their ports, blockade 'em with ironclads.

When all ports are gone, even my old triremes can putt about undefended. I can sell all my "offensive" naval units (ironclads, destroyers, etc.) for a huge cash infusion.

 

[Dark Ascendant]

More importantly--I go for the opponent's PORT cities first. Take their ports and they are bottled up. They are no longer a player in expanding to new islands or continents.

If you can't take their ports, blockade 'em with ironclads.

When all ports are gone, even my old triremes can putt about undefended. I can sell all my "offensive" naval units (ironclads, destroyers, etc.) for a huge cash infusion.

I'm with you 100%. Cut them off from the sea, and they're doomed. It's super important, since I love to play on big maps with small island continents.

 

[harperbruce]

Like many things in Civ2, it's a stylistic thing, as you may have noticed. Myself, since you can't bribe out a capital city, I'd first send in waves of spies to keep my intelligence up to date on the place and sabotage them out of their gourds. Investing the city is also good; but have a lot of reserves on hand to fill in as the AI counterattacks to relieve the starvation of the siege. Going Fundy and producing hordes of Fanatics from your nearest cities might be a good tactic. Get Engineers in and fortify, and lay comm. lines (railroads, or at least roads) up to one or two points of the place, so that your heavy ground-pounders can get in without tiring out.

And be prepared for the long haul.

 

[Blanco-PL]

I usually wait for moment when my opponent is in early weak republic and i attack him capitol, he hasnt got any chances to win...

 

[EquinoxOmega]

It depends on the game. In a normal game I don't care about the capital. If the enemy is very strong, I will make a kind of commando strike against his capital so that a civil war will split his country.

 

[The Mass Leader]

I never "jump" any city on way to capital. I usually attack some cities in the way to the capital. Most often my attacks are focused in the enemy country´s side in which the way to the capital is shorter and less defended.

Onde I take the capital, I just start attacking the AI from anywhere I can. It´s a Rocky Balboa style of war: without the capital, the AI gets short of resources and supplies, while I have my factories, farms and economy working smoothly. (by the way, remember Stallone´s Rocky Balboa, a boxer who made his enemies tired befor he could win).

The AI will eventually be short of money/units and I will overpower him.

The capital city is always important. If the enemy is under communism or fundamentalism, this city´s importance will lower a little, but I still do attack it.

 

[Konstabel Bach]

take the capitol and cause civil war! I would hate it if i heppend to me, therefor i do it to others