Get them before it's too late!

[HamaticBabylon]

I had to learn this the hard way. I was playing as the Carthaginians and Greece, Rome and china were my neighbours (I’m playing on huge Archipelago, wet,16 civs including me, warm and 5 billion, Monarch level.

Anyway the geeks thought it would be funny to go to war with Carthage (me). I assume they thought i had a weak military because you don't attack with only 4 units and expect to take my city with 3 medieval infantry and 4 numadian machineries.

I’m on the process exterminating the Greeks and I will go to war with Rome soon (10 turns later). Has anybody had to "get them before they get you?"

 

[Turner]

I generally try to build my infrastructure, letting the AI attack me first. I usually have enough units to keep defending my cities until I can mass attack and start taking their cities. Not always, but it usually works out.

But 'Getting them before the get me' is probably a good way to go in most situations.

 

[Quasar1011]

Yes, in my current game, I had to get Germany before they got me. We share a long border, and both of us have access to horses and saltpeter. I built lots of cavalry, and even have one army full of cavalry. I notice Bismarck has riflemen and I don't, but he skipped researching military tradition! So I notice Hamburg has both saltpeter and horses nearby, and I mass my cavalry (+ army) on his border. Troops in place, I invade Germany, taking Hamburg in the first turn, and Berlin in the 2nd. He has only one rifleman in each city, 2 musketmen, and a couple of spearmen. War is ongoing, he has 4 cities left (I have about 18), and he has just signed a MPP with the Aztecs, who declared war on me. Hot fun in the summertime!

 

[HamaticBabylon]

Japan Nuked china

 

[dgfred]

In my current Monarch game w/ 12 AIs- I have been attacked non-stop
from the start by either the Aztecs, Arabs, Persians, Mongols and Zulu . The Greeks also declared one time though they are far away.
I have beaten away all attacks, now have 1Gallic Army, 1 Ancient Cav Army
and 1 Reg Cav Army . I also have been able to build the FP with another
leader . It is now 900AD and I have the most land area but way behind
in tech-I am still at war with Aztecs and Zulu and had to give in to Arabs for
51g to protect my flank. The AI have finally started attacking each other
and the Mongols are being dogpiled by ALL of them . My style is more
like Turner 727 but some cases call for an early strike .

 

[philippe]

I always declare a VERY early war to take one or two cities and a settler or so . In the beginning. It can crumble an entire civ

 

[The Last Conformist]

In CivII. I almost never declared war on anyone. I just waited till they declared, and then took them out.

In CivIII, the AI is smart enough to usually attack when you don't want it. Still, I've had nummerous instance of a civ I was planning to annex suddenly attack me, almost invariably with fatal results for themselves.

 

[HalfBadger]

Yeah I frequently use the get them before they get me strategy, especially against Civs with offensive UU.

Funny thing is though in a few games, I've gotten my units lined up to attack one Civ and then suddenly another Civ attacks me. Not sure if they notice my units not patrolling a section of my territory or just thought since I'm stock piling, they'd attack me before I can wipe them out .