I usually play Immortal nowadays, so this game was relatively straightforward, tho this will be the first botm that Ill be submitting on time.
I began my game extremely pleased to find a second rice recourse and then a gold recourse to the south. I researched straight to animal husbandry first, no forests means no real need for chopping. I then believe I grew to size 2 before building the second worker, and then grew to three in order to get the silver before building my settler (it was something like this).
I settled on a green hill to the south, where it could work the irrigated rice recourse and get the marble and gold. Probably should have researched ironworking prior to alphabet, as the other civs were more or less useless in keeping up in tech with me even remotely. Regardless, I was able to time settling in range of the copper and dear to the east precisely on target with getting ironworking.
After linking up my copper, I had 3 10 - 14 production cities, with a huge economy supported by the silver and gold and two scientists which had almost produced the first gs at this point. So, naturually, I saw hannibals 3 ridiculously food abundant river cities to the south and I got a little giddy.
I scouted his territory, and each of his threenearby cities were guarded by like a single bowman. Regardless, I wanted to play it safe, so I built up a dual task force, one consisting of 5 vultures, the other consisting of 6. Being a normal speed game, I wanted the war to be over before it really started. So, I declared war on hannibal, three turns later with a casuality of a single vulture, my empires size had doubled, I now controlled the Jewish holy city, and a few workers to boot, I was quite pleased. (hannibal did however, have one random hill city far to the south, more trouble than it was worth so i just let him be.)
My next move was to grow my capitol and my third city to the east of my capitol a little bit, due to both of there abundance of food, this was relatively easy to do. my gold city to the south I simply left in equilibrium at pop 5, with 14 production while working a gold mine, so it just kept on producing vultures. (I also built zigarats in the two hannibal cities I conquered).
After maybe 20 turns of regrouping myself and reinforcing the previous armies used to invade hannibal. I had maybe 5 or so catipults in addition to roughly 14 vultures. Again, I split this force into two main attack groups, one coming from the south, and one from the north to invade isabella. I took 4 of her cities within 10 - 15 turns (which is like 300 years in game time, her empire was quite a hike).
So that is essentially where I am right now. Roughly 500 ad, Im going to make Madrid my heroic epic city, debating on which of hannibals ridiculously food abudant cities to make my gp farm (leaning towards the jewish holy city). Im easily double the score of all the other civs, ages ahead of them in tech, and militarily I've got plenty of surviving vultures, no one would attack me so Im free to focus on building up a massive cottage economy.
On a side note, I got two pretty sweet random events, a +free scientist and a +3 health thing in capitol city (beaurcracy anyone?). I also got a quest to build 6 stables, not sure if ill take advantage.
Im basically ignoring diplomacy completly, tho the incans are Jewish and friendly with me, so that will probably prove beneficial. Everyone else is pleased or cautious, but I dont really care. They dont have any techs or recourses to trade for.
I plan on winning a domination victory by 1600 ad, but with normal time speed it will probably end up being more like 1800
I would have liked Portugal to capitulate. I never got that option, though. I assume I needed to have Feudalism to enable him as a Vassal for that option to appear? That was a miscalculation then.
