BOTM 52 Final Spoiler - Game Submitted or Abandoned

[Nicol.Bolas]

My first game after about 1 year hiatus... I completely forgot about cottages and GP´s.
My most advanced technology was iron working and swordsman. I only managed to build 4 cities in the southwestern corner...

I did manage to Sword rush most of england....
however I was falling behing in technology extremely so I decide to start blackmailing them...
This was a mistake, since they vassalled to holland.

I build more stacks of swordsman (my technology rate at zero, they already had Maces and knights) - and I DID have enough to surprise attack holland and england and take the rest of subcontinent for myself)

However suddenly Hammurabi attacked me with huge stacks of maces, catapults and other....
My swords stacks did manage to outmanuever first two attacks, but it was a losing game.

After I lost Constantinople, I gave up, since I still was light-years from new units, my sword army was scattered, Hammurabi wouldn't talk, his stacks mostly unharmed, and my remaining cities only guarded by lone sword each.


Biggest mistakes were not cattaging faster, underestimating research... and probaby some early game decisions.
Also blackmailing england was a istake...... since they vassaled...... this was a very big mistake, since I could have had finished them and THEN reconsolidate

and yes

I did lose a settler at start to lion

 

[socralynnek]

I did better than I thought after seeing, that there are 3 neighbors...

I settled 7 cities and missed being first to Aesthetics. If I was first, maybe I could kept up with techs, but this way I didn't exchange enough of them.

I was able to catch up a little after meeting Aztecs and Ottomans and I even managed to fight of Isabella when she attacked.

But when the Dutch and English declared at the same turn, it was soon game over. They had Cavs + Artillery + Rifles against my Cataphracts and Muskets...

Conquest loss in 1680 AD.

I should have tried rushing England, but I didn't find the right moment (first I wanted to wait for catapults, but it took very long until I got it)

 

[DynamicSpirit]

First ever non-neutered Deity win. (DS, if you did neuter this game, don't tell me. ).

Well now you mention it...

No, seriously, the the map was almost unaltered. The only change I made was a couple of adjustments in the starting area (removing a forest and making the settler starting spot a hill) - that was solely to make sure you could actually see that the corn was there (which you couldn't in the original map), so people could make better informed decisions where to settle.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to these spoilers - I've enjoyed reading them to see how you guys got on. And I'd say the level of informed discussion and advice for this game has been amazing.