Do you Poprush (if not playing for 100k)?

[Spoonwood]

Someone recently asked about when/what to poprush. I said in response: "Don't poprush, unless you're playing for 100k and you have almost all cities already settled." A discussion ensued, so I thought it might be interesting to ask here.

When playing GOTM or COTM, do you poprush? Has your opinion about poprushing changed over time?

 

[Lanzelot]

No and no.

Population is too valuable, at least in the early stages of the game -- and in the later stages I am a Republic and can no longer poprush...

Of course 100K changes this. However, in my last 100K games, I tried something different. (Should still be in the write-up of that game. Yes, here it is: https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...-discussion-and-spoilers.674666/post-16231580)

My first thought was: "going Feudalism and using the whip for rushing culture is all fine, but wouldn't it be nice to have railways for faster growth and therefore faster poprushing?" And then I thought, "well, if I research all the way to Steam, why not do Nationalism as well (or get it from the scientific tribes, they tend to get it as freebee quite often)? Then I don't even need to switch to Feudalism and can poprush in Republic! Meaning, I can use the gold for cashrushing culture and the food for poprushing!"

No idea, though, how effective this strategy was in the end compared to the standard Feudalism+Poprushing strategy. After all, it needs an extra era of research!?

 

[Più Freddo]

Population is valuable, but so is territory. I sometimes pop-rush Temples in peripheral cities when playing a Religious tribe.