[BNW] Enjoyable Deity Games

EDGE#136 - T219 Culture Victory

Spoiler Maximum Greed Game :

I settled on the desert hill on t1 and was immediately thinking this needs to be a Petra cap.

On t11, my Spearman found GBR and my scout found Mt. Sinai. Nothing like having >1500 gold that early. I would be the first to find FoY a few turns later. That's a bit OP.


I bought a Settler, then Worker, then another Settler to grab the decent land between Sweden and my Cap. I timed that really well and was able to plant the city and shoot Sweden's Warrior who was escorting a Settler and my Spearman finished him off for another free Worker. I had already stolen one Worker from Sweden and got another 2 from a CS, so my tiles are up and running. Sweden would shortly thereafter become my lifelong friend.

Cap's BO was Scout - Scout - Shrine - Settler - Settler - Granary - Library - Watermill - Lighthouse. I had found a Sailing Ruin and purchased a Work Boat to get the Whales online.

The massive Science boost from 2 GBR tiles was almost comical. Techs were going in a fraction of the normal time, but going 5-city Tradition meant I had to delay growth in my expos for several turns. I was able to grab a lot of techs like Optics and Bronze Working that I normally have to delay, so now the Cap is cranking out some good growth and production.

I got 1st and 2nd Profits from OWN and took Pagodas and Monasteries to make those Wine tiles more useful (although I wasn't able to work them until later than I had hoped). Tithe, Defender, and Sacred Sites for a near perfect religion. I would end up planting 6 Holy Sites.

I was heading towards Currency for my Petra build and noticed on t46 that Temple of Artemis was still around, so I decided to get greedy and had it built on t54. Max Greed Petra came next, then Oracle, NC on t82 and Great Mosque, Universities on t92, and we're off to the races......or so I thought.

Here's my empire on t100:


Hiawatha had an unusually strong early game and even though I was on pace to hit Printing Press on t117, he beat me there on t114 and GE'd LToP. I was furious, but since I had Sweden as an ally, my Great Person generation was still good. I had an Engineer laying around for Globe and then hard-built Sistine. At least I was able to propose World's Fair. but having it so early meant it was going to be very challenging to get to Radio before the 2nd Conference.


Thankfully, Hiawatha's neighbors took turns fighting him with no prompting from me. I had very good relationships the whole game, including an enduring friendship with the other game leaders Hiawatha and William.

At this point, my cities started stalling out due to a lack of good tiles to work. The whole mid-game seemed like a struggle, but part of that was because my tech was so badly outperforming my production.

The rest of the game was pretty routine. Beeline to Radio. Use some of my massive FPT to buy Engineers for those Wonders. Freedom, get the Archeologists out, and then just wait for IG. Production picked back up in my expos after Freedom, Chemistry, and Fertilizer so IG was a breeze.


Several turns later, I bought 3 finishing Musicians and sent them to the nearby Dutch lands.


This game was clearly dominated by Spain's UA and the massive Faith and Science. I didn't do much else particularly well, but that fast start was all I needed.


Due to the mediocre lands, this game was both overpowered and underpowered at the same time, and I think the biggest challenge is adjusting to the faster tech time. I did consider a 6th city on the desert/river/mountain area to the West, but I decided the slower Culture and Tech times weren't worth the upside.

Have fun guys, this is a wild ride.

 

Here is a recap of all games in the Enjoyable Deity Games Experience (EDGE) series so far:

1. Korea (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 1
2. the Shoshone (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with Really Advanced Setup (RAS)), Page 1
3. America (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 3
4. Denmark (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 3
5. Byzantium (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS). Page 3
6. Germany (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 3
7. Polynesia (Small Continents Plus, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 4
8. Brazil (Continents, Standard speed, Large size, Modded with RAS), Page 4
9. Mongolia (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 4
10. Spain (Terra, Standard speed, Large size, Modded with RAS), Page 5
11. Carthage (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 5
12. the Aztecs (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 5
13. England (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 6
14. Korea 2 (Small Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 6
15. Venice (Fractal, Epic speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 6
16. Egypt (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 6
17. the Huns (Oval, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 6
18. Japan (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script), Page 6
19. China (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 7
20. Babylon (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script), Page 7
21. Polynesia 2 (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script), Page 7
22. Korea 3 (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script), Page 7
23. Russia (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script), Page 7
24. Portugal (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 7
25. France (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 7
26. Germany 2 (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 7
27. England 2 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 7
28. Sweden (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 7
29. Arabia (Sandstorm, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
30. the Mayans (Tectonics map, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with both RAS and the Tectonics map template), Page 8
31. Ethiopia (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
32. Assyria (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
33. Poland (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS), Page 8
34. India (Pangaea, Standard speed, Small size, Modded with RAS), Page 8
35. the Aztecs 2 (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with Hellblazers map script), Page 8
36. Morocco (Sandstorm, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
37. Babylon 2 (Large Islands, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
38. Spain 2 (Inland Sea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
39. Greece (Fractal, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
40. Carthage 2 (Fractal, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
41. Indonesia (Archipelago, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 8
42. the Mayans 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Piety challenge, Page 9
43. Siam (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Patronage partial challenge, Page 9
44. the Shoshone 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 9
45. Poland 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Honor challenge, Page 9
46. the Netherlands (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Liberty challenge, Page 10
47. the Aztecs 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 10
48. the Celts (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 10
49. the Zulus (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Aesthetics challenge, Page 11
50. Austria (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
51. Persia (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
52. the Ottomans (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Religion challenge, Page 11
53. Rome (Fractal, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
54. Songhai (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
55. the Incas (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
56. Russia 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
57. India 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), CV challenge, Page 11
58. Germany 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 11
59. Byzantium 2 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Religion challenge, Page 11
60. the Iroquois (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Aesthetics challenge, Page 12
61. America 2 (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 12
62. Sweden 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Petra challenge, Page 12
63. Morocco 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), partial Commerce challenge, Page 12
64. England 3 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), partial UN challenge, Page 12
65. Portugal 2 (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), partial elimination challenge, Page 12
66. Egypt 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 12
67. Polynesia 3 (Archipelago, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 13
68. Sweden 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 13
69. Germany 4 (Pangaea, Epic speed, Large size, Unmodded), War academy, part 1, DomV challenge, Page 13
70. the Huns 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), War academy, part 2, Page 13
71. Spain 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Huge size, Unmodded), Page 13
72. Denmark 2 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Otherwise unmodded but Rotate Starting Position was used), Page 13
73. Venice 2 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DipV challenge, Page 13
74. Carthage 3 (Hellblazer´s Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with Hellblazer´s map script), CV challenge, Page 13
75. China 2 (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), War academy, part 3, DomV challenge, Page 14
76. Mongolia 2 (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), War academy, part 4, Page 14
77. Brazil 2 (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 15
78. the Shoshone 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 15
79. Assyria 2 (Terra Incognita, Standard speed, Standard size, Otherwise unmodded but Rotate Starting Position was used), Page 15
80. Indonesia 2 (Small Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), No Liberty challenge, Page 16
81. Portugal 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 16
82. Japan 2 (Ice Age, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), No Order challenge, Page 16
83. Persia 2 (Random map, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 16
84. the Netherlands 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 17
85. Denmark 3 (Tiny Islands, Standard speed, Large size, Raging Barbarians, Otherwise unmodded but Rotate Starting Position was used), Page 17
86. America 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Large size, Unmodded), No Tradition challenge, Page 18
87. the Incas 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 18
88. Korea 4 (Pangaea, Quick speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 19
89. the Ottomans 2 (Continents, Standard speed, Large size, Unmodded), Page 20
90. Arabia 2 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 20
91. Ethiopia 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Pantheon challenge, Page 21
92. Greece 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 21
93. France 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), CV challenge, Page 21
94. Siam 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded),Incense challenge, Page 22
95. Byzantium 3 (Continents, Epic speed, Large size, Unmodded), Page 22
96. England 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 23
97. Sweden 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 24
98. Babylon 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 24
99. the Zulus 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Large size, Unmodded), Page 24
100. Germany 5 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), CV challenge, Page 25
101. Brazil 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 25
102. Austria 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 26
103. England 5 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, modded with RAS and Acken´s balance mod), Page 27
104. the Celts 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 27
105. Rome 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Large size, Unmodded), Page 28
106. Songhai 2 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 28
107. Poland 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 29
108. Russia 3 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 29
109. China 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 30
110. the Aztecs 4 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 30
111. the Shoshone 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 32
112. Korea 5 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 32
113. the Mayans 3 (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 32
114. Assyria 3 (Continents, Standard speed, Huge size, Unmodded), Partial domination challenge, Page 33
115. Japan 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 33
116. Egypt 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 33
117. India 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Religion challenge, Page 33
118. Germany 6 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 34
119. the Zulus 3 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 34
120. Carthage 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 34
121. Ethiopia 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Piety and CV challenge, Page 34
122. the Mayans 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), CV challenge, Page 35
123. the Ottomans 3 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 37
124. the Aztecs 5 (Lakes, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), CV challenge, Page 38
125. Mongolia 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 39
126. Spain 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 40
127. America 4 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), SV challenge, Page 40
128. Egypt 4 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 40
129. Morocco 3 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 40
130. the Huns 3 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 42
131. Indonesia 3 (Tiny Islands, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 45
132. the Incas 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded, Raging Barbarians), Page 46
133. Siam 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 46
134. Arabia 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 47
135. Persia 3 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), DomV challenge, Page 47
136. Spain 5 (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded), Page 48

The subseries MIDGE consists of:
1. Finland (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size. Otherwise unmodded but the civ to play is Finland), Page 26
2. The Papal States (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size. Otherwise unmodded but the civ to play is The Papal States. You also need Austria-Hungary.), Page 27
3. Phoenisia (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size. Otherwise unmodded but the civ to play is the Phoenician civilization.), Page 27
4. Norway (Ice Age, Standard speed, Standard size. Otherwise unmodded but the civ to play is Norway. You also need the modded civs Finland, Iceland and Scotland.), Page 29
5. Belgium (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Otherwise unmodded but the civ to play is Belgium), Page 30

 

I've started #136. A great game indeed. [edit: there was no mention of Raging Barbarians in the presentation of this game! I only found out in turn 45, this didn't affect much of my decisions but if I knew it from the start I could have considered Honor opener and my warrior almost died because of unexpected spawn. I think it's best to mention non-standard settings beforehand.

Spoiler my turn 25 :

I moved on the hill and worked the sheep to produce faster scouts. My warrior found a ruin and also a swedish scout and I Dowed for ZOC, which earned me 1 population. He then continued to the W and I found Mt.Sinai for 500 gold. I bought 3 scouts with the gold, a gambit which would pay off in the end. I built the Shrine ASAP and with the 8 faith from Geneva I took Desert Folklore. Doing a rough estimation, I expect DF to be better than OWN by the end of this game, but I also taking it to deny it to others.

My second scout went to the North coast and he found a ruin with a crude map that showed me 1 tile of GBR. Best crude map ruin ever. I found the other tile next turn and with the gold I bough 2 settlers.
I remained at war with Sweden and stole 2 workers and I am killing his units. My plan is to cripple Sweden and capture their good cities and then befriend them for the rest of the game. I am having Petra in mind in Barcelona but I know it is very unlikely. Still I will tech for it just in case.

I was not sure my 3-scout gambit will pay off in the end but I found FOY in turn 25 for 500 gold so I can say I am very much content now. I traded 1 scout for 1 worker from china.
Before this last 500 gold, I was desperate for gold to buy the tiles so I Dowed Netherlands for 1 caravan and France in hopes of selling a Wine soon.
This should proceed well now.

Spoiler turn 64 Petra! :

I had a choice of building Temple of Artemis my favourite wonder, or Hanging Gardens. Since there was one more civ I had not met, I decided not to risk it and built Hanging Gardens. I was right, as ToA went shortly after. I have met Theodora since then.

Turn 64 Petra, but in my capital. It would have been impossible to build it in Barcelona, no forests. It felt good to beat the Iroqouis to it, they have started it at the same time but I had Representation and Artistocracy. England and China capitulated their gold to me. I will now attempt the impossible and try to build Chichen Itza. Normally I would go for the Oracle but if there is a game where I can build Chichen Itza and maybe Alhambra, it is this game. We will see. Hopefully I can also catch Machu Picchu in time. I will have to find the right moment to deal with Sweden. I have around 8 chariots now, I will build as many as I find horses for.

 

I finished #136 with a T195 Order culture victory, but I think I should've just gone for Futurism.

Spoiler :

Strange and kind of disappointing ending. I had Airports and the Internet by T190, and then I won on turn 195... just as I completed International Games. You can see the free policy icon on the victory screenshot:

Spoiler T195 :

So IG was completely unnecessary here. I think Futurism might've been good because only William had high culture (13k in the end), so I could send all Musicians to him and the rest of the AIs would probably fall to passive pressure and Futurism.

The expansion and development phase was the real highlight of the game. I settled in place, found GBR quickly, bought a settler and a scout with GBR gold. The initial plan was to get Petra in the capital and Colossus in Barcelona; but then I found Sinai for another 500 gold. I bought another settler and planted it in a somewhat unconventional spot with 3 mountains in its first ring:

Spoiler T50 :

I stole two workers from Sweden, and Gustavus lost some units by slamming them into Seville, so he offered me 100 gold and 6 gpt for peace, which I gladly accepted. I finished Petra on turn 69 in Seville, stagnating the city on 4 pop by working 2 sheep and 2 mined hills. I got Colossus on the same turn in the capital. I kept Cordoba and Toledo at 1 pop for a while, so that they'd flip to my religion quickly and start pressuring cities around them. OwN / Tithe / Pagodas / 15% production / IP.

I was pleased with the city spots I chose, but buying tiles in Seville and Cordoba (riverside plains next to Geneva) was really expensive. T97 Education with detours for Iron Working, Engineering and Optics.

Spoiler T100 :

Madrid and Seville shared the wonder-building duty while other cities were busy catching up to the big two. T148 Radio, adopted Order, researched Chemistry and took Five-Year Plan for massive production as World's Fair was just a few turns away. Teched towards Archaeology while building World's Fair, then spammed Archaeologists.

Spoiler T150 :

Diplo wasn't hard to manage. I had DoFs with William, Theodora and Gustavus. Elizabeth didn't do anything, and the other three kept fighting each other.

Plastics after Archaeology, then Radar and Internet. I didn't pay much attention to this part of the game and made some mistakes that probably cost me a couple of turns.

Overall a fun game, especially the first 100 turns that force you to think about how to make the most of your mediocre land and fantastic NWs. It's an interesting puzzle.

 

Nicely done again.

Spoiler :

If anyone wants to know why Vadalaz finished 25 turns faster than me with a very similar approach, check out how much more Pop he has than me at t100. And I beat him to education (probably because he was smart enough to think to detour for Colossus).

What's with Hiawatha owning Cordoba?

 

Needed one more concert tour on someone, it didn't really matter who, so I randomly chose Hiawatha and gifted him Cordoba. Earlier I had faith-bought musicians in Seville and sent them to William, but this last one was a natural musician that spawned in the capital.

 

EDGE#134 - Not sure I'm going to finish this one.

Spoiler Really Annoying Game :

As I said earlier, this game has some of the most annoying neighbors ever.

Venice MoV'd 2 early CS allies from me.

Shoshone is forward settling everyone and stealing tiles with his UA. They are also OP and have double my hammers leading up to WF.

Nobody will war Shoshone, and I can't get horses to do it myself. None of my CS allies have any, and nobody will trade them. I was in the mood for some Cameling but this map has rendered that impossible.

My Petra cap is nice, but everything else is blah. Just not enjoying this one.

 

Finished #136 Spain with a T 186 domination.

Spoiler :

After Petra I built Maccu Picchu, Chichen Itza and Alhambra. This was the first time I build these last two, and I have to say, Chichen Itza was really strong, as from around T 110 I was in a long golden age of 70 turns. Took Artist from Liberty finish too.

Sweden attacked me with Swordsmen around T85 but I had my archers ready and I pillaged his Iron supply with a scout and a chariot. So he was easily defeated, but I didn't capture his capital as he had Oligarchy and archers couldn't take shots from the city. I upgraded the chariots to conquistadors and they were very strong, they even captured a few small cities by themselves.

Religion: Desert Folklore, Tithe, pagoda, mosque, IP. It was true that DF was better than OwN eventually but I had no use for faith.
Policies: Tradition 2 / Liberty 6 / Honor 3 / Patronage 1 / Rationalism 2
158 education / 165 NC/ Oxford ~180 for Dynamite

order and time of city captured: Netherlands 150 / Paris 165 / Stockholm 175 / Beijing - 180 / Onondaga 185 / London 186 / Constantinopole 186.

I took hold of FOY in turn 100:


In Turn 121 everybody capitulated except Hiawatha. I didn't want to make peace with William, but I did after he sent a Caravel and he was about to pillage my sea routes. I captured him after the 10 turns passed.
I had 8 chariots and I upgraded to Conquistadors. They were very powerful all game and work well with ranged units like archers or composite bowmen to shield them while they shoot.



Final empire: