I started playing this map last week-end and finally reached 1 AD after what has felt like an excrutiating voyage
I hope to find the will and energy to complete this map, because it's been forever since I've brought a game to completion and the "harder part" has been done (maybe, perhaps, allegedly...).
On T0, I decided to settle the spot that I felt was the least
replaceable : 2N2N has rivers for Bureaucracy and looks like a coastal site with strong Production. It also leads inland, which is very nice.
Upon initial exploration, I decided to play towards The Great Lighthouse and a following Horse Archer rush, as it was apparent that England did not have metal.
The GLH is nice in the sense that the resource specials we have do not require us to deviate from Bronze -> Sailing. However, it is certainly a delay towards a HA rush, as it becomes more difficult to settle early cities and set them up properly.
Generally speaking, I feel that I have not been decisive enough with my plays and had a harder time than necessary because I was chasing several rabbits at the same time...
So, T47, I finally have the techs for the GLH and am preparing to increase my worker count to speed up the wonder.
The first difficulty appears...
Victoria steals my coveted spot by one turn... First, this put a huge target on her back. We cannot forgive !!!
Then... I decided to still claim land with this settler and went to the Replacement city spot... Which was very useless for a long time, since left unattended and without even knowledge of Agriculture... I feel like it would have been more decisive to walk back to the ivory spot and abandon the land grab entirely. The third city had to be able to contribute at least a worker, or something. But nevermind...
Victoria, as often, got a very early Alphabet and I was able to trade Bronze and Masonry to her, to speed up a combination of Pottery/Writing/AH. It might be the case that it is unwise to advance one's war target but those were techs that I, too, needed very dearly. One downside of the GLH usually is a very delayed Writing.
Anyway, since city 3 was just completing its monument at the time and I did not manage to whip a settler, it was only with 3 cities that I completed the GLH, T58 :
And we can see some problems, already. I can start working on HBR but :
- Jolly Junction is tied working on a Library and then hiring 2 scientists (no production)
- Mrs Santa's Grotto has 0 infrastruture and needs to build two settlers
- The Fish city will need a border pop before it can do anything
This is a real imbalance that was made more manifest by my city 3 location. (I don't really blame myself, I blame Victoria
)
So I did research HBR without a Library... and was fortunate enough to land a 1280 BC trade for Alphabet with Bismark.
Not really in war preps, there. Mrs Santa's Grotto still has no infrastructure and is barely completing the last settler. Jolly Junction is soon to be done with its Library. Elven City is not functionnal, yet.
On the upside, we have 4 workers and a very decent GNP, between the 2 gems and the GLH. We can start to cottage the land and still have quite a bit of production stored in the form of forests.
While I had been dilly-dallying about the Pyramids, this is now a long lost thought. The French will happen to build it.
As far as research goes, my tech objective is Civil Service and I will self-tech Currency, Meditation (for trade value) and Code of Laws on the way.
The first Horse Arche is ready on T81, approximately 14 turns after HBR was researched
and 3 cities are "ready" to contribute to the war effort, although only 2 have Barracks
No Library in Mrs Santa's Grotto because hammers. No Barracks in Jolly Junction because gpp. Snow City finally ready to contribute something...
Elven City gets its border pop with a Library (so slightly delayed compared with a Monument). Toy Town looks great but was settled so late it will be very useless in the first phase.
Fortunately, the capital is a hammer powerhouse, Victoria still doesn't have metal and Horse Archers are OP
The Spanish have a huge stack but America could be a secondary target if things were to change.
9 turns later, Toy Town decides to start on a Library before Horse Archers but we have a decent number going and a modest mix of melee units near Snow City.
The Great Scientist has popped out of Jolly Junction, so the city is ready to use its double deer to pump units :
... And a very convenient invasion route :
Now, remember about the potential drawbacks of advancing your war target ?
First, the diplo is a mess and Victoria immediately bribes Roosevelt on me. Fortunately, Roosevelt was one of the softest AIs and will never do anything in the war.
Second, no-metal Victoria has had Monarchy for a while, now, and gets Feudalism (+ 1 Longbow) 4 turns into the war... Just as my reinforcements were gathering around Hamleys...
This is a situation were even a couple of turns difference would be huge.
To add to my troubles, my advance force of 7 HAs was a little too weak to threaten her capital without Hamleys being cleared, first, and had to settle for easier pickings.
Suddenly, this is a very tense situation :
So I sniped the size 8 city but, most important, Hamleys does not fall.
Next turn it whips a Longbow and Victoria counter attacks, killing 2 of my HAs.
I can clear her stray units (including one with a HA that I retreated from the North, leaving 2 by Victorian Yuletide Emporium) but the turn after there are now 3 Longbows in Hamleys
A catastrophy is at hand and this requires extremely careful consideration.
1 Longbow is wounded, 2 are full health, Victoria also has 2 wounded chariots in Hamleys.
My cities are now contributing HAs as much as possible but half of my healthy units are stuck in the north. My melee support units are not healing well in ennemy territory... We need to wait and bind our time.
We need to wait at least one turn.
But we do not want to wait for too long because of the wounded Longbow. Also it would be bad if there would appear a 4th.
So, you know how it goes in stack combat... sometimes you test your luck a little.
Now up to 4 healthy HAs, we do have numeric superiority, after all...
So you risk an attacker, can it wound the top defender ?
But I got the MoM (425), Parthenon (350), and Great Lib (100); Moai nearly done, too. Buddhism is dominant, founded by Spain--I'm following that. The Dutch, French, and Germans are Hindu. I'm thinking about (eventually) attacking the Vikings and then go after the Dutch from both sides, or possibly directly for the Dutch. I'll want Engineering/trebs and elephants for that.
Went Mine-BW etc, 2nd city at the deer+2nd gems. Decided now that marble north was more contested than the center and settled on it 3rd city. Then of all people WvO showed up settling the center of the central area (+/- 2000BC). With his Cre nastyness everything was ruined there now, including the deer of my marble city. On the positive I was shielded from everybody else in the region.
but indeed I joined several SGOTMs back in the (Plastic Ducks) days. Vibrant memories 
