I was really hoping to get some feedback on my query before playing my turns. The diplomacy side of the game is definitely a weakness of mine. However, since our military is so weak (pathetic actually), it probably behooves us to not irritate any civ.
Here is how our demographics look at this point. We are dead last in soldiers and population, and significantly below the average. In land area, we are tied for last. We are also trailing in GNP output.
Needless to say, but we have got to improve these numbers if we are going to have a chance in this game. We have got to start churning out cottages to get our commerce up enough to compete in the tech race. And, if we don't start building troops, we are going to lose what little land that we have.
On the land front, it looks like we should be able to claim the corn island for ourselves. And it looks like it may be big enough to hold at least three cities, albeit cramped. I think we will need at least one more Settler to be trained. Hopefully, we have enough troops already trained to capture the barb city on the corn island.
If we can get the free Great Artist that comes with researching Music, I think we would have a good shot at flipping the former barb city of Scythian. The city has a religion that has spread to it, but it does not have a border expansion, yet. A culture bomb in Philadelphia would most likely flip the city.
It will be a big risk, though. In order to research Music, we will need either Literature or Drama. Mao already has Literature and is unwilling to trade it. He may already have Music or be researching it currently. Since he is the GNP leader, we will not get the free Artist if he is researching it. It will take us 5 turns to research Literature and find out if Mao already has Music or not.
Turn 0 - 375AD: We currently have 15 gold in the bank and are spending it at -13gpt with 80% on the research slider. I dial the slider down to 70%, but we are still spending at -7gpt. Since Montezuma is the only civ that is pleased with us, I dial him up and ask for a free handout of 50 gold (all he has). He was very happy to give it to us. With 65 gold, we can stay at 70% research for 9 turns (or at least until we found a new city).
I change our research from Metal Casting to Literature.
Washington has a Lighthouse in the build queue with no hammers invested. I change it to a Spearman. Boston has a Courthouse in the build queue, also with no hammers, that I change to an Axeman. While Lighthouses and Courthouses are certainly necessary builds, we need more troops at the moment. Of our 7 cities, only Washington, Boston, and New York are productive at the moment.
I
the Library in Philadelphia at the cost of 1 population.
IBT: Mansa Musa completes the Parthenon.
Turn 1 - 400AD: New York completes a Worker and begins another Settler. Philadelphia completes its Library and begins a Granary.
I
the Spearman in Washington and the Axeman in Boston at a cost of 1 population each.
Turn 2 - 425AD: Washington completes the Spearman and starts another one. Boston completes the Axeman and starts another one. Meanwhile, we get a border expansion in Philadelphia.
Turn 3 - 450AD:
IBT: Mao's Settler galley is sailing around our coast. Mao is now aware that the city of Chicago has no troops to defend it.
Turn 4 - 475AD: Evidently Mao had the same idea that I had. A culture bomb has just gone off in Scythian. Philadelphia is now 18% American and has a 6.5% chance of revolt. I think it is safe to say that we are going to lose this city.
We only have 1 turn left on Literature. I'm going to leave it alone, but I am pretty sure that Mao has already discovered Music.
Turn 5 - 500AD: Literature is complete. And as I expected, Mao has already discovered Music. I resume our research on Metal Casting.
An Axeman is trained in Boston and another one is started. I
the Library builds in Chicago and Atlanta.
I cancel open borders with Mao. His Settler galley is now trapped between the unexpanded borders of Chicago and Atlanta. Unfortunately, our Scout is also trapped on the far side of the continent.
IBT: On the corn island, our Axeman is attacked by a barb Archer. After a Cover promotion, our axe will need 2 turns to heal.
Turn 6 - 520AD: Washington completes a Spearman and begins training an Axeman. Atlanta completes its Library and starts a Granary.
IBT: The war horns sound. After changing my underwear, it appears that Montezuma has declared war on Mao.
Turn 7 - 540AD: New York completes its Settler and begins a Swordsman.
San Francisco is founded due south of Atlanta, just east of the stone tile. It immediately begins work on a Granary.
The city maintenance costs are starting to add up now. Along with the costs for troop support. I am forced to lower the research slider to 50%.
The situation in Philadelphia is showing some improvement. I decide to preempt the Granary build for a Christian Monastery (+2cpt). It should probably be whipped at some point.
While cropping the above picture, I notice that I apparently clicked on the wrong building! I seem to have selected a Temple rather than a Monastery.
IBT: Monty asks us to join the war with him and Mao. I decline, but he is still pleased with us.
Turn 8 - 560AD: Boston completes an Axeman and starts another one.
Turn 9 - 580AD: New York completes a Swordsman and starts an Axeman. Boston completes an Axeman and starts another one.
We also get a border expansion in Atlanta. This pushes Mao's Settler Galley further east. He still cannot reach the corn island, though, because of San Francisco.
Turn 10 - 600AD: A Chinese revolt begins in Philadelphia. The city is up to 30% American, now. Curiously, it has also caused a big hit to the finances. We are now spending at -7gpt with no money in the bank. The next person will need to drop the research slider.
After 10 turns, here is what our empire looks like:
Here is what the demographics look like after my turns:
I built a ton of troops during my set, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the demographics. Our last place ranking in GNP happened after the Philly revolt. The turn before showed we had dropped to 6th place (from 5th), but now we are in last place. Before the revolt, we were in 3rd place, IIRC, in land area.
The power graph is rather interesting. Monty and Cyrus have definitely been building troops during my turns.
As for corn island, there is a Settler in a Galley that can be offloaded next turn. Refer to Maquis' dot map for the placement. There are also two (count 'em 2) barb cities on the island. We have 3 Axemen and 2 Archers. The Archers will be needed for our cities, though. We also have a lone Swordsman enroute to Boston. It will be 3 or 4 turns before he can be put onto a Galley, though.
I managed to build quite a few cottages on my turns. And I even chopped down a couple of forest to make room for more cottages. I totally ignored hooking up any resources. We don't have a pressing need for more resources and I was too afraid to trade any of them without a better understanding of our diplomatic situation. Besides, we have got to increase our GNP output if we are going to have any chance in this game.
, but the isle has another surprise... we have some barb friends! I have sent the galley back tot the mainland, to pick up a couple of axes... next player can check out the barb city, not sure if it would be worth keeping...
