Diplomacy with City-States

[Ogrelord]

This thread is about how to interact with city-states and deciding the best outcome.



Okay, here's a scenario.

You're Siam with 4 cities, 1 fledgling town (2pop city), and a continent all to yourself (India being conquered after it completed its 4th Wonder...). These are the city-states you share this heavy tundra southern hemisphere continent: Florence, Almaty, Kuala Lumpur, Copenhagen, and Budapest. You have the entire Piety SP, and Patronage with Aesthetics and Philantropy. All the cities and c-s are coastal except for your little iron town.

Copenhagen, and Budapest wants Kuala Lumpur destroyed. Kuala wants Copenhagen obliterated. Go for who? break one stone and gain 2 birds? or hit one bird and gain one stone?
This is my game at my friend's house so take your time.

Kuala Lumpur

• Culture
• Irrational
• horse and sugar

Copenhagen

• Maritime
• Hostile
• silver (you have 1 already)

Budapest

• Militaristic
• Irrational
• gold (you have 1 already)

 

[KrikkitTwo]

I'd say neither, just woo both with Gold.

 

[Deckhand]

I've only played part of two games, but I say conquer Kuala Lumpur. It makes two CSs happy. You get to keep its resources (as city or as puppet). You want Copenhagen as an ally so that you can get his maritime food.

OTOH, If you are going for culture, then you want Kuala Lumpur as your ally.

 

[stormerne]

I'd say neither, just woo both with Gold.

Exactly. They are worth much more to you alive, as city states, than dead/annexed/puppeted. Spend your gold and keep them all allied. Also you must pledge to protect every one of them (so that no one else tries to eradicate them).

 

[Kraddy]

Exactly. They are worth much more to you alive, as city states, than dead/annexed/puppeted. Spend your gold and keep them all allied. Also you must pledge to protect every one of them (so that no one else tries to eradicate them).

I actually prefer not to pledge protection on city-states that border other civs. This way, they get attacked and I can gift them many powerful units to weaken my enemies. If you give them a strong enough force, they'll even start to take cities (they raze most of them but will occasionally puppet good ones). Of course all of this is paid for by trade with the other civilizations, who are all buddy buddy with me, none the wiser that I'm funding the war against them.

 

[Ogrelord]

I don't produce that much gold to fund all five city-states. If I go for Kuala, I get 2 resources without the need to fund the Malaysians. However I don't know how long the friendly status will last with a "hostile" Copenhagen. If I go for Copenhagen, I just gain 1 friendly.

Trying to patronage all five city-states will take too long, takes to long to get an economic going, even if you have all the continent. I want to take advantage of Siam UA early.