A deity game with barbs on and no huts, sounds fun
Since it's hard already, downloaded challenger, don't need no stinking cows. Exlpored south and east, found Sitting Bull with his protectionist archers. Jungle offered no immediate advantages, first city went north where the gold was. Teched Agriculture, Bronze, and Hunting for early holkins.
Then my worst nightmare showed up, Monty in the jungle on a hill
Well, at least I knew my fate before 3000BC came and went, extermination.
I had no buffer city between M-man and my capitol. He founded buddism on that hilltop city, to make it even harder to rush.
I thew down a bunch more cities to block off SB and monty while I set up my empire. I also took care to build a bunch of military to keep SB in line and to prepare for Montys assault. Then divine intervention showed up, the INCA who followed Hinduism!
As my economy flatlined and I watched helplessly as Montys power rating skyrocketed, my game was a question of Monty attacking me or the Incans first. My heart stopped when I heard the horns of war, and the verdict was....
Monty vs. Capac woot
That religous war dragged on the entire game.
Once I got going, I made giant armies and chipped a city from Monty every go, first to get a buffer city, then to kill him off. My grand army made it all the way to his capitol following Huanya Capac's trebuchets, but was then obliterated.
I used +3 shared war and Hereditary Rule to keep HC happy. Sitting Bull was my main trading partner. I was so far behind, bulbing was my only salvation this game. When I found the other continent, they were light years ahead, and all at peace with each other.
Isabella was building every wonder in the game and cruising to a culture victory.
Since the Dom limit was 64%, even taking my whole continent wouldn't be enough. Religious was out of the question. Conquest no way. My one chance was diplomatic victory. I took a great deal of time making trebuchets, upgraded them to artillery, and took a great deal of SBs cities with infantry. His fleet of destroyers mauled me and kept his power rating far too high for him to capitulate. I ended the war as the game was nearing an end. His land and cities were enough to get me the UN secretary general.
I had no techs to trade, but huge chunks of gold got Jao and Lizzy nice and buttered up with +4 trade relations. Had to bribe Jao a bunch more gold to get him back into hereditary rule after he dropped it, and I won the game in
1695AD-Diplo. HC had some of his spaceship built and Isabelle was 9 turns from Culture Victory, so it was in the nick of time too.
I will pat anyone on the back who manages to win this one in some other way than diplomacy.
