Call me a chicken, but I will pursue neither a worker steal / quechua rush nor an early religion / oracle slingshot in this (my first) GOTM. On Emperor and continents, I think both strategies are too much of a gambit and an unnecessary one, in the face of such a strong starting position and trait-combo. Here's why:
1. Agressive starts carry a double risk: For one, things may not go as planned (no worker to grab, cities on hills, bad die rolls, barbs showing up). Obviously, you can just bring a bigger stack, but all those turns spent building Quechuas are ressources not invested in future growth. More importantly though, you´ll make longtime enemies of valuable early trading partners and on this maptype, that`s quite a handicap. You may well dominate your continent, but to win the game, you need be stronger than the guys on the other one as well. And if they are harmoniously researching and trading while you are bashing each other's heads in, you will be locked out of the tech-trading game when the time caravels show up.
2. With religious starts, there's similar concerns. The odds of getting a religion or wonder are highly volatile and not knowable. Ressources invested in failed grabs are largely sunk. As for founding religions, chances are that you make as many friends with them as you make enemies. With gold and wine nearby, I think happiness is not going to be a concern in this game, and as for shrine income, I'd rather conquer one later in the game than go through the pains of building it.
Instead, consider this conservative builder start. Get a worker first. Research Mining. Build an fp-farm, then mine the gold, building Quechuas as you grow to three. Already, you are strong in every department: growth, economy, military. Research BW, chop out a settler (hopefully to settle nearby bronze, if any). Next up: Wheel, pottery and writing. Whip a granary, then a library (great scientist>academy) in your capital, an obelisk in the other city; then get out more workers or Quechuas as needed. Explore and fogbust, connect your cities with a road, get down some cottages and just grow. Sign open borders as soon as you can, trade ressources early, make some friends.
This way, you are insured against almost every risk and flexible enough to (re-)act as the situation dictates. Many civs on your continent? Go for early alphabet and get on top of the trading game. Military opportunity or threat? Get your third city near a strategic ressource and prepare for battle. Room to grow? Grab the key sites with chops and whips and techtrade for economy improvements.
In general, I find I fare much better on emperor / continents by playing it safe until the mid-game. Invest in future growth, stay on top of tech, know as much of the world as possible (early caravels, as Blubmuz said, are a must), use military to keep the strong in check, but stay on good terms with the key AIs. Don't commit to a strategy until you know what victory types are achievable. This is probably not going to win me the tournament, but I hope it will at least keep me from losing the game.
Off to play now. Everyone, good luck!
J.
1. Agressive starts carry a double risk: For one, things may not go as planned (no worker to grab, cities on hills, bad die rolls, barbs showing up). Obviously, you can just bring a bigger stack, but all those turns spent building Quechuas are ressources not invested in future growth. More importantly though, you´ll make longtime enemies of valuable early trading partners and on this maptype, that`s quite a handicap. You may well dominate your continent, but to win the game, you need be stronger than the guys on the other one as well. And if they are harmoniously researching and trading while you are bashing each other's heads in, you will be locked out of the tech-trading game when the time caravels show up.
2. With religious starts, there's similar concerns. The odds of getting a religion or wonder are highly volatile and not knowable. Ressources invested in failed grabs are largely sunk. As for founding religions, chances are that you make as many friends with them as you make enemies. With gold and wine nearby, I think happiness is not going to be a concern in this game, and as for shrine income, I'd rather conquer one later in the game than go through the pains of building it.
Instead, consider this conservative builder start. Get a worker first. Research Mining. Build an fp-farm, then mine the gold, building Quechuas as you grow to three. Already, you are strong in every department: growth, economy, military. Research BW, chop out a settler (hopefully to settle nearby bronze, if any). Next up: Wheel, pottery and writing. Whip a granary, then a library (great scientist>academy) in your capital, an obelisk in the other city; then get out more workers or Quechuas as needed. Explore and fogbust, connect your cities with a road, get down some cottages and just grow. Sign open borders as soon as you can, trade ressources early, make some friends.
This way, you are insured against almost every risk and flexible enough to (re-)act as the situation dictates. Many civs on your continent? Go for early alphabet and get on top of the trading game. Military opportunity or threat? Get your third city near a strategic ressource and prepare for battle. Room to grow? Grab the key sites with chops and whips and techtrade for economy improvements.
In general, I find I fare much better on emperor / continents by playing it safe until the mid-game. Invest in future growth, stay on top of tech, know as much of the world as possible (early caravels, as Blubmuz said, are a must), use military to keep the strong in check, but stay on good terms with the key AIs. Don't commit to a strategy until you know what victory types are achievable. This is probably not going to win me the tournament, but I hope it will at least keep me from losing the game.
Off to play now. Everyone, good luck!
J.
