#1 Sampsa - When I first saw our resident environmentalist's save several days ago my eyes popped out. I was very surprised that he completed Stonehenge (and the GW!) much less attempted it. Interesting ploy on chopping Henge in Bombay for faster border pop for fish. In some ways his game and Lain's, and mine (their's are better for the record) for that matter, have similarities. Sampsa and Lain are so close it was hard to decide. GW/Stonehenge is a big gamble that could pay off in some ways, while Lain clearly has a line on Mids. Question is..how valuable is Mids here? Oh..we know its value..but so limited food. And regardless, I would not say Mids is completely out of the questions in Sir Sampsa's game. Barb city is not much of a problem with GW in place and could be a boon if we can nab it..not a bad spot really...well, relative to the crap land.
Sampsa also somehow did all that and has 2 workers! He also depleted the ozone layer
My one small complaint is building the mine there that can't be used for some time, when a border pop is imminent such that the forest just N could be choppin'
2 cities. Stonehenge and GW! Lots of choppin'. 2nd settler in progress (1/3). Question mine over forest chop 1N with border pop. Not sure if barb city is good or bad.
bw>masonry>fish
3pop
#2 Lain - Lain is a juggernaut and knows tough Deity maps better than most. As mentioned, I really had a tough call on rating this one compared to Sampsa's. The line on Mids could be huge or somewhat irrelevant for quite some years. I think what really decided it for me was the mistake on not heading straight to sailing which I think is really the right call here with not only low food but Org LHs. Lain does have the most techs...early Hunting/furs probably helped with that..just not sure they were the right techs. Great start none-the-less.
2 cities. Progress on Mids. Pre-chops. Teching starts well, but question no Sailing. Question worker build in Bombay but may be nothing better for now. Good spawnbusting.
bw>fish>hunt>masonry>ag
4pop
1 worker
#3 Sword - I really like Sword's game in many ways. I think his game and Gumbo's represent a bit of an alternative to the approaches sampsa, lain, and myself pursued. For one, Sword settled Bombay N on a spot I would settle next, and honestly I wonder if it is not really the better spot for the first city as opposed to fish city. Nicer synergy with Delhi and more early production with copper. I guess the debate for me on these spots was that getting Bombay near fish meant eventually getting fish running sooner, but the city does little else early. (ha..although Sampsa built Stonehenge there!) Anyway, I think there is strong logic to settling Bombay 3N of Delhi.
In addtion, in lieu of GW, Sword has some very fine spawnbusting setup and a settler 1 turn from birth, which is very strong.
What really dropped Sword's game for me is the tech decisions. Settling on stone demands an earlier masonry and low/food org an early sailing. However, on the other hand, it is a different approach eschewing the wonders or fail gold for straight expansion and economics, so his game provides a solid alternative here for those wishing to pursue it.
Hunt may not be the best next choice here given the route already taken.
bw>fish>tw>pot
4pop
2 workers
Honorable Mention: Gumbo - Lot's of similarities to Sword's game with the advantage of actually having the 2nd settler out the door. I thought Gumbo's worth mentioning as it was extremely close to the 3rd choice for me. Like Sword I questioned the tech decision here, but it is a strong play regardless. Even though Gumbo has a 1t advantage on the 2nd settler to Sword, I rate Sword a little higher in terms of ...relative..tech decisions and the great spawnbusting. For this "alternate" approach I think Sword has a slight edge in the moves already made, such as the cottage in progress.
- Like Bombay/Delhi. 2nd settler is out. Really question Hunt>TW>POT over Sailing/Masonry. Decent spawnbust but could be better.
BW>Fish>Hunt>TW
3pop
2 workers