COTM13: Second Spoiler (end of middle ages)

[solenoozerec]

In such a case I do believe your allowed to reload!

I do not think so. The problem is to draw a line between those cases where it is allowed and those where it is disallowed. Let say Inca would suggest 43gpt instead of 44gpt? And so on untill 1gpt.

Since this line cannot be found, there is a simple rule: no reloads no matter what (I had worse misclicks, anyway).

 

[Jason Fliegel]

As far as I know, reloads are allowed only due to game crashes, and even then, you're on your honor to try to reconstruct what you had done to the best of your ability (down to stupid trades and misclicks).

 

[sanabas]

Didn't play very well over the course of this spoiler. Played far too passively, which means winning will be easy, but getting a competitive score/date probably won't happen.

Entered the MA at 1025 BC, with neither of the govt techs, but a monopoly on Literature. Started researching Engineering, planning to trade for republic when I could.
I met everyone but the Byzantines by 875BC, and traded in 850BC. I picked up Republic, Monarchy, 40gpt, gems & 60 gold, at the cost of giving everyone literature.
Held the revolt off 1 turn to complete a granary, and also pop-rushed a settler in Marseilles and abandoned it. Bad mistake putting it where I did, it was under a volcano and in serious danger of flipping. Drew a 6 turn anarchy, was a republic by 690BC, and picked up another 200 gold selling monarchy to the Inca.

Met the byzantines in 650BC, and they were down all 3 optional AA techs and currency. I gifted them currency, hoping to broker their free tech to the rest of the world. They got engineering, which I'd already half researched, over the next couple of turns I also picked up Feudalism, 2 luxes, 200ish gold and 25ish gpt.

AIs got invention in 370BC, and the price drop meant I was over the limit, so I bought it for 12 gold, sold it for 50gpt & 200 gold.
Same deal for gunpowder in 170BC, bought it for 12 gold, sold it for chivalry & silks
And once again with Chemistry in 10AD, buy it for 12, sell it for theology.
Metallurgy I reserached at the exact same time as 3 AIs, so no trades there.

Egypt were exterminated in 10BC, and in 50AD things got interesting. I spotted a portugese medieval infantry SOD marching through the Arab lands, and with Portugal at peace with everyone, I was the target. Immediately goaded the Arabs into declaring on me, and paid 20gpt to sign Portugal in as well.
Discover a big oops 2 turns into the war when an Arab boat cuts off all my trade routes to the other continent, which is going to hurt later. I got sick of waiting for my GA to trigger, and sent a couple of musketeers into Arab territory, managing to find a longbowman I could attack, starting my GA in 150AD.
Portugal ended our alliance in 230AD, which at least gave me my gpt back. I signed peace the same turn after capturing a couple of cities, getting education & printing press for metallurgy as part of the peace deal.

310AD I get military tradition, again at the same time as portugal and Rome, but paying out some gold lets me pick up Astronomy from the 3rd placed Aztecs.

380AD sees the GA paying off, as I get Physics as a monopoly. Trade it around, I get banking, Navigation, 600 gold, 80 gpt

440AD: Theory of Gravity is also a monopoly despite the GA ending, and it gets me 180gpt from Portugal, which means I can afford to go back to war with the Arabs, and sign in portugal again. Arabs have no saltpetre, portugal and I have cavalry, so this war goes much better than the first.

490AD: I research Magnetism 3rd behind Rome and Portugal, and pick up Democracy and Free Artistry by getting the Inca & Aztecs into the IA. Once again, I gift the Byzantines to the next age, but Democracy and my cash isn't enough to buy Medicine. They won't take gpt for it because of my earlier mistake with the Arab boat.

State of the game at 490AD: Cities: France 30, Portugal 26, Inca 25, Rome & Aztecs 15, Byz 10, Arabs 4 and falling fast. Territory is portugal 19, Inca 18, France 17. All civs have all MA techs and no IA techs, except for the Byzantines who have Medicine, but lack Democracy & Military Tradition. That could hurt soon with the AI-AI trade bonuses, we'll see. Culture: Leaders are at 12k + 170cpt & 9k + 250cpt. Culture should be fairly irrelevant for this game. Firaxis score is 1381.

A diplo win should be easy from here, I'm still tossing up whether I go for peaceful science, or switch to commie, sign in the world against portugal, and then take over the other continent with tanks. Both are feasible, I think I'll be going to war with portugal anyway, and see what happens from there. Fingers are crossed for coal, rubber and oil withing my borders.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Open

After clawing my way into the Middle Ages with my oodles of cash, I proceed to determine the best way to kill the Arabs and get the Great Library which they have built in Baghdad. After a 5-turn revolt to Republic in 450BC I declare on the Arabs and get Portugal in on the act. I needed to balance my war plan very delicately. I felt I had precious little troops at my disposal, even though I was fighting an AI without iron hooked up. I was also conscious of the fact that Portugal could overrun the Arabs, and I did not want the Library to go to them.

Anyway, I managed to capture Baghdad in 190AD, and not a moment too soon. The Portuguese were beelining for Baghdad too, and had a stack of 10 swords just a couple of tiles away. Phew! Next turn, I was given the knowledge of most of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, I'd had a slight altercation with the Aztecs, and paid Caesar to deal with them. I was very aware that civs on the other continent were getting too big for their boots, so I set a few wars in motion over there.

My next target would be Portugal. I barely had time to regroup my forces before Egypt and Portugal signed an alliance against me in 270AD. There were a few close calls within the initial stack of knights and MI that Portugal had left over, but once the lull in the attack appeared i proceeded to take Portugal, triggering my Golden Age in 340AD with a musketeer, and getting a leader in 390AD, which I used to build a knight army. In 560AD i sign a treaty to give myself a chance to regroup. I only sit out 13 turns of the treaty, since cities start flipping back to Portugal, and we can't have that. In 740AD we trade our way into the Industrial Ages.

I originally set out with the intention of playing this as a straight Domination game, since I had a feeling I would probably lose anyway, but I didn't have the stomach or time to fight fat AI with rifles/infantry. So i decided I would just hop on the back of my tech lead and just rush towards a SS victory.