[BNW] Enjoyable Deity Games

EDGE#49: The one-trick pony that learned something new: Aesthetics challenge
This is something else! I have always considered the Zulus to be quite a singleminded civ and I remember watching a video where filthyrobot called it a one-trick pony (albeit for MP games) but here I decided to do something totally out-of-the-box with them. We play on an unmodded Pangaea map with Standard size and speed. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. The self-imposed rule is that we have to finish Aesthetics before the game ends. The map turned out to be one of the craziest Pangaea maps I have ever played. It makes DomV very tricky indeed and even if the starting location is fantastic, you will soon realize its limitations. This is, in my book, a lot tougher than many other games in this series but there are also hidden possibilities. Be bald and do something unusual!

I played my own game in accordance to HOF rules and also submitted my win. There is a short recap in the spoiler.

Spoiler :

I started out with settling on t1 two tiles to the N along the river and then Scoutx2-Shrine-Granary-Settler-Archer. The ruins were: Unit upgrade-Culture-Gold-Barbs-Map. First expand to the S on the Gems and the second to the NE on the coastal hill. Third or fourth religion with Tithe/Pagodas. Three city Tradition and NC on t82 and Education on t111. I built the Oracle before NC and continued by building HG and GMoD (everything hard built). Average start because Ulundi is fantastic but the expands are mediocre.

In the midgame I continued my crazy wonderwhoring spree: I hard built Sistine, LToP and Machu Pichu and used the GE for Uffizi. I was first to Archeology and managed about 10 ruins. Then I continued with PT and Eiffel. Mind you, that Egypt was in the game and they were very strong! Both of us went Freedom and that kind of made the other Ideologies impossible to sustain. With just three cities it took forever to get the techs needed for a win though.

The endgame was about ensuring a CV. I built SoL, SOH, CNTower and Neuschwanstein, I settled two more cities in the late game, one for another Museum and one that I sold to Ramesses. I had to use FOUR GMus to secure the win on t302. SP: full Tradition, Piety opener, full Aesthetics, full Rationalism and Freedom 7. This was one of my most satisfying wins ever!

 

Here is a recap of the games in the Enjoyable Deity Games Experience (EDGE) series so far this year, (games from last year are listed on page 9 of this thread):
42. the Mayans 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Piety challenge
43. Siam (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Patronage partial challenge
44. the Shoshone 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
45. Poland 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Honor challenge
46. the Netherlands (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Liberty challenge
47. the Aztecs 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
48. the Celts (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
49. the Zulus (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Aesthetics challenge

 

EDGE#50: Fifty shades of red
I usually have problems when I play as Austria. As long as you have a good income, you have many possibilities, but it seems to me that I am making a lot of poor choices. In this game, the start is so fantastic that I just had to try it out. You play on an unmodded Pangaea map with Standard size and Epic speed. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. There are no self-imposed rules regarding social policies but there are many CS nearby so you have to annex at least one of them through the UA. The starting location is quite central and therefore it could be interesting to try a DomV here.

I played my own game in accordance to HOF rules and also submitted my win. There is a short recap in the spoiler.

Spoiler :

I started out with settling on t1 two tiles to the SW along the river next to the mountain and then Scoutx2-Shrine-Granary-Archer-Settlerx2. First expand five tiles to the N of Milan to hook up the Wine and the second to the NE on a hill four tiles S of La Venta. Pantheon on t6! I took Earth Mother and got the second religion on t93 with Tithe/Mosques. Oracle on t119 and 3 city NC on t135. I also built the Borobudur on t164 and Machu Picchu on t182. Education on t156.

In the midgame I used the UA to annex Ife and Kabul. I also built Sisitne (t205), PT (t254), Louvre (t270) and Big Ben (t282), so you can see where I was going with this. However, England was developing really fast and made it really difficult to go for a CV. I also had to watch out for attacks from Dido, Genghis and Washington. The surprise of the game was Venice, who ended the game on 6 cities, including Stockholm. I took Order as my Ideology and thankfully England also picked it. Venice (!) was the only one to go Authocracy.

The endgame was about ensuring a SV and fighting pointless defensive wars. I conquered La Venta and built Kremlin and HST. At the very end I was engaged in a nuclear war with Venice (we both had nukes) and they nuked Salzburg. I launched on t434 and would have needed two more turns to conquer Venice. So it was very eventful to the very end. Enjoyable game all in all. SP: full Tradition, Aesthetics 2, Commerce opener, Exploration opener, full Rationalism and Order 6.

 

EDGE#51: Darius in Wonderland
Welcome to Persia. This is so smooth, that I would consider stating that this game is a suitable challenge for gamers, who would like to take on their first Deity game. The start is among the best ever seen and most strategic resources are handily close by. There is room for several expands, but only 3-4 that are appealing enough to bother. Hurry up with the first settler though! If you want more land (not really necessary), you can take cities from your neighbours because you will rapidly overtake the AIs in techs. As an example I was second to Renaissance and first to Industrial. You play on an unmodded Pangaea map with Standard size and Standard speed. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. There are no self-imposed rules at all, only that you have to enjoy the ride.

I played my own game in accordance to HOF rules and also submitted my win. There is a short recap in the spoiler.

Spoiler :

I started out with settling on t1 on the hill to the N and then Scoutx2-Shrine-Settler-Granary-Archer-Settler. First expand five tiles to the NE on the Silver and the second to the SW on the coast to hook up the Furs. Fifth religion, not very strong but my neighbours had decent religions so no problem. Oracle on (about) t70 and 3 city NC on t80. I reached Education on t99. Fourth cith to the NW in the desert.

In the midgame I built Sisitne (t130), LToP (t142) and PT. I also built Big Ben and Eiffel. Dido and Theodora went down and for the rest of the game we were down to 5 AIs and for a while it looked like Washington and Suleiman would become dangerous. However they started a war between themselves and drifted furher behind. I was first to Ideologies and picked Order but only Ethiopia followed. Babylon went Freedom and the rest of the pack took Authocracy. Already here I was so far ahead that a SV was almost certain.

The endgame was about ensuring a SV and getting enough science for bulbing the scientists. With only four cities it took (as usual) a loooong time. However, on t280 I finally won. Smooth game all in all. SP: full Tradition, Commerce 2, full Rationalism and Order 8.

 

Thanks again for these @Nizef. I tried this once since the GotM beat me up so bad!

 

EDGE#52: The house of cards
As with a deck of cards this one is a gamble and maybe a house of cards. Here the task is to play as the Ottomans on an unmodded Pangaea map with Standard size and Standard speed. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. The self-imposed rule is to found a religion! Given the mix of AIs, this will most certainly mean that you have to open up Piety and maybe even take Organized Religion quite early because there are no helpful NWs nearby nor is the land very well suited for pantheons. My thinking behind this was, that even though the Ottomans were successful on the battlefield for centuries, the core of the empire was turning to religion and piety for guidence.

I have also been spoiling myself (and you) with Salt starts lately, so this time I wanted a "normal" start. Combined with the need to take 1-2 points in Piety, this game is far more of a challenge than most games in this series. Actually this is quite rough. You will need to play the cards you got with great care! Doom is only one step away for much of the game! Enjoy it if you can...

I played my own game in accordance to HOF rules and also submitted my win. There is a short recap in the spoiler.

Spoiler :

For once I started with SIP and then Scoutx2-Shrine-Settler-Archer-Settler. First expand five tiles to the SE along the coast on the Spices, second to the SW to hook up the Copper and third to the W for more Spices&Truffles. Two Workers from Austria and one from a CS. Fifth religion, (just barely!) and not a very strong one (Tithe/Happiness from Gardens) and the southern neighbour had a good religion and I actually let her religion stay in the first expand but converted the rest of my cities later on. 4 city NC on t94 and I reached Education on t120! Not very impressive. I founded a fifth city to hook up Mt Sinai after NC. I did not settle the Crabs to the N though, maybe that was a mistake? Thankfully I managed to hard build both HG and GMoD. The only thing this start had going for it, was the size of the land I could claim.

The midgame was all about catching up and I was last to Renaissance, third or fourth to Industrial, second to Modern and also second to Atomic! Actually the next wonder I managed was CR (the +8 cpt is not that great for all the hammers I had to put in but I was having a hard time getting enough Culture). Babylon was teching fast and their Tourism output was huge. The distribution of SRs were strange: I had four sources of Coal but NO Aluminium NOR Oil. Thankfully I could ally myself with Bucharest for the Aluminium. The Oil had to be bought though.

The endgame was about ensuring a SV and making sure that my buddy Byzantium stayed in the game, because Babylons Tourism was 724 per turn and only Theodora could hold against it. Half of the AIs and myself went Order but we had Revolutionary Waves (-30 happiness for me) thanks to Babylons stupid Freedom. I needed most of the happiness tenets in Order + all the normal stuff + Zoos in three cities + 4 Gardens + a lot of trading with luxuries + a few Stadiums to stay in the positives. It took me until t322 to win. A poor result, but funnily enough, compared to the Netherlands game which I threw away with my mistakes, I did not feel that I could have played much better in this game. Probably I made a truck load of bad decisions early on here as well, but I think this one is just that much more of a challenge. Rough game all in all. SP: Piety 2, full Tradition, full Rationalism and Order 7.