[PTW] GOTM 179 Russia, Emperor -- Spoilers

GOTM 179 Russia, Emperor

 

In this game, you will rule over the Russians, who are Scientific and Expansionist and start the game with the knowledge of Pottery and Bronze Working. This is a Emperor-level game. The Russian Unique Unit is the Cossack, a Cavalry unit with a stronger defensive capability and a Zone of Control. Horses and Saltpeter are required to build a Russian Cossack.

Some buildings have been renamed in this game to better fit the Russian culture: The Palace is The Kremlin, the Forbidden Palace is the Winter Palace and the Temple is a Church. They all, however, remain just the same.

Also, you have been given an extra Worker!

Starting Position



Scope of the Game

Large Map
Continents, 80% Water
Wet, Cool Climate
3 Billion Years old world.
Raging Barbarians

The game is released on July 1, 2020.
Submissions are due by September 30, 2020.

PLEASE NOTE THE DATE!

Game Release Page

Game release page

Spoiler Limit

Industrial Times or Game Submitted

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until reaching Industrial Time or having submitted the game. The results of getting and trading bonus technologies at this stage are a permissible topic as well.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

(This limit will be changed as the game progesses.)

 

It looks like a beautiful world, rich and fertile. We thank the creator.
I might have my people build the Kremlin one square NE so that I will have water, wheat, and cattle all in my initial city limits. With that bounty I should be able to expand quickly enough to make my initial ring of cities complete, pulling in the fur, the flood plains, and the hills.
I have yet to win at Emperor level, but this is the time. Careful planning and execution will bring Holy Mother Russia to the fore.

 

Forbidden Palace Available or Size 12

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until being allowed to build the Forbidden Palace or reaching the size 12, in one of your cities, whichever occurs earlier.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

 

The Barbarian Wars:

My people settled by the river and we were soon under constant and violent attack from the barbarians outside our borders. My capital was sacked and even my most experienced warriors failed to come home from their missions. I was eager to meet a civilized neighbor and trade technology, but I soon came to the conclusion that I was alone on my continent and focused my efforts on surviving the repeated barbarous assaults. I began a phase of rapid expansion so the barbarians would have nowhere to spawn, but subjugation of that cold and icy northern peninsula was a long time coming. By 350 B.C. I have settled enough towns that my people want me to build the Winter Palace.

 

Middle Ages

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until reaching the Middle Ages. The results of getting and trading bonus technologies at this stage are a permissible topic as well.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

 

Industrial Times or Game Submitted

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until reaching Industrial Time or having submitted the game. The results of getting and trading bonus technologies at this stage are a permissible topic as well.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

 

Early Recap: My people settled by the river and we were soon under constant and violent attack from the barbarians outside our borders. My capital was sacked and even my most experienced warriors failed to come home from their missions. I was eager to meet a civilized neighbor and trade technology, but I soon came to the conclusion that I was alone on my continent and focused my efforts on surviving the repeated barbarous assaults. I began a phase of rapid expansion so the barbarians would have nowhere to spawn, but subjugation of that cold and icy northern peninsula was a long time coming. By 350 B.C. I have settled enough towns that my people want me to build the Winter Palace.



At this juncture my tribal counselors and I met by the fireside. We had a large continent to ourselves with good resources and no other civilizations demanding their share. With no fear of imminent invasion and a military hardened by the Barbarian Wars I felt confident to authorize a change in national strategy: Let’s go for a 20k victory! My reasoning might not have been sound, but I set out to make my beta city a cultural marvel:

250 B.C. Hanging Gardens
670 B.C. Church (too bad I couldn’t build it from 3,950 B.C.)
260 A.D. *The Kremlin (Palace Jump)
500 A.D. Great Library
530 A.D. Library
830 A.D. Sistine Chapel
1160 A.D. Leonardo’s Workshop

*(To sweeten the pot I abandoned my capital and the Kremlin jumped to Tar Valon. I don’t know if that was wise since I lost the palace pre-build, but that is what I did.)

Lost at Sea:
When I had finally expanded enough that barbarians were not an issue I set out to find my neighbors. I built and lost countless galleys (a dozen or more, some manned with military units and settlers) and soon I could only man my ships with condemned prisoners.



Finally, and after too much waste, I made contact with the Indians to my west and was delighted to discover that I had a technology lead! Their continent had three civs and I soon found the other major landmass eastward. England was alone on her island. In short order I had embassies with all my neighbors and was secure with a strong army and a tech lead. So far the two continents were not in communication with each other.

Part of my eagerness to meet my neighbors was so that my Great Library could bring me all their technological advances. The only advance it actually got me was The Republic. Since I didn’t think I would need a massive army I changed government to Republic and had a four-turn anarchy. Now it was time to prepare an invasion force and establish a strong presence on one or both of the neighboring continents, generate some Great Leaders I hope, and stretch my wings. I researched Navigation and began to build caravels. My oceanic trade routes were open to trading, and my military options were flexible.

The Imperial Wars 1650-1885
I set out to establish a Russian presence on the major continents. I declared war on Japan, the weakest opponent, and landed 32 Cossacks and riflemen on their shores. I took all their cities save one and accepted peace. My intention was to have a secure base from which to attack Carthage. I viewed Hannibal as the real enemy. His civilization was a close second to me, and his attitude was haughty.

To the west I set up a base on the Scandinavian continent of two cities and needed only a brief war to attain peace there. I also attacked an Ottoman city on the Indian continent, but I brought too small an invasion force. I fought the last defender down to redline before my Cossacks were tired out. India came in a swooped the city away from me. Dang.

Once I had my colonies established I fortified them and waited for Replacable Parts. I was the first to get it, I upgraded all my riflemen at ½ cost, and then sent eight transports loaded with Guerillas, Infantry, and Cossacks to gather together for an invasion of Carthage. Together with the units already on the continent I had amassed about 50 units. I thought that would be sufficient to take a city or two, maybe take Carthage itself, and then settle for peace with a weakened Hannibal.

Wrong. My Cossacks were a disappointment and the Cathaginian riflemen were a good match against my Infantry. The blood flowed freely and both sides lost many troops but ultimately Carthage kept pouring outdated units at me until I was worn down and defeated. By the end I was thrown off the continent entirely and Carthage had it whole.



All the other nations joined in and soon I was at war with everyone. My home island was heavily fortified and quite secure, but I lost my other colonies to India and Scandinavia. By the end of the War I was a chastened Czar with cities on my home continent and nowhere else. Finally I settled peacefully with less territory than I began the war with.



Time to reassess the victory path: Cultural or 20k victory was predicted for around the year 2010 and that is probably too late to be achieved; Conquest and Domination are not in the cards for me; a Diplomatic victory requires skills I don’t have. I decided I needed to hunker down and work towards a spaceship victory.


The End Game:
Somehow Carthage kept pulling away from me on the histograph but I was a solid leader in science. I got the HOOVER DAM, I got SETI, I was pretty sure I was way out front in the space race. Then I built the UN. Sometime around then Carthage declared war on me, again, but had no effective punch. The seas were polluted with my battleships and I clustered them together, sought out the Carthaginian navy, and sank it deep. That was satisfying, watching their carriers go under. It also made me realize I know nothing about carriers, but that’s for later.

I traded a tech to Scandinavia and England and they joined me in war against Carthage. Only India was a hold-out. Then the UN asked me if I wanted to call a vote. Hmmm. I was allied with 3 of the 5 nations against Carthage. India was furious with me. I didn’t see how I could lose, so I said yes and was elected Secretary-General!


Victory, my first in the GOTM, but it felt like striking out the pitcher. I never dominated on the battlefield and I never established a great presence off my continent. I also never brought my proposed 20k city to anything like global dominance – I think I started too late for that.


So, lessons learned:
>Invade in absolutely overwhelming force.
>If you are invading by sea you need incredible numbers of transports.
>Naval dominance is a good thing.
>If you’re doing 20k it’s good to decide very early.



Also, I see online that some consider it an exploit (cheating) to call a UN vote when at war if you have most nations allied with you. It unfairly stacks the odds in your favor. The victory didn’t taste good but it didn’t feel like cheating since diplomatic victory was an allowed condition. I’m interested in hearing other’s thoughts on this.

 

Congratulations on your win, Captain Jack!

I didn't start until we got extra time, and I played very quickly (for me).
20k in 1898. I was 4 points short the turn before.

Nothing exciting in my game. I lost the pyramids by 2 turns, and popped Mysticism from a hut the next turn. This was really frustrating. I spent rather a long time at war with Carthage in the late game, but since they didn't have oil this was not scary. Shortly after we made peace, I had a source of oil flip to them, and their power surged as they built modern units. Too bad for them, it was far too late.

The AI were really slow to research in this game. Only Carthage learned anything for me. I got a couple of techs as they went down the lower branch of the middle ages tech tree while I took the other, and I got nationalism/communism/espionage from them eventually. I was surprised that they were so bad, given their relative lack of isolation.

About the UN:
It isn't an exploit to get friends to help you in war, and it isn't an exploit to call for the vote when you are likely to win. Military allies don't automatically vote for you, though they won't vote for someone they are at war with; if they don't like you enough, they'll abstain. Take your win and be happy.