GOTM88 - Spoiler #2

[civ_steve]

GOTM 88 - second spoiler, The Middle Ages

Reading Requirements:

1. Must have contact with All remaining Civs.
2. Must be able to research an Industrial Age Technology.

Posting restrictions

1. No maps showing Industrial or Modern resources.
2. No discussion of Industrial Age (or later).
3. Absolutely NO Discussion of any other active 'X'OTM contest!

Keshiks generally have a bad reputation; what did you think about their usefulness in this game? How much of a struggle are the Emperor AI giving you? And how is England doing? They had a pretty rough start, so they were the AI I gave some advantages to and I'm interested in seeing how that played out.

 

[Megalou]

I wish I had a more readable spoiler than my rather random notes but I have neither time nor energy to revise them. I've written the capitals in bold at least. I have concealed the win date and score to make it a bit more exciting.

I found the keshiks to be slightly better than knights, and there's nothing like a huge stack of knights going up against those skinny-looking spearmen . Well, the keshik has a weak defense, but on a map like this you could almost always end his turn on a mountain (giving him a defense of 4 compared to 3 for a knight on grassland) and sometimes even fortifying him on a mountain. The second reason why I liked the keshik is that he could take some shortcuts when the workers couldn't keep up. It was actually an extra challenge to see those shortcuts, which I thank you for.

So I don't understand why keshiks' should have a bad reputation. They can give you an almost perfectly timed GA too.

630 BC - Bangalore was lost but is now retaken. Enter MA.
Great Lighthouse in London.

590 - Peace with Egypt.

570 - Delhi flips with units! This is lousy timing.

550 - Dehli retaken. Peace with Iroquois. IT: Met England.

490 - Madras finally captured. Hurried FP in Madras. Madras is in the centre of India so I like it better than Delhi. But saving the leader for so long made me feel uneasy.

430 - Bombay captured.

370 - Russia allied France against us. Peace with Russia.
Embassy in Salamanca (Great Lib.) It is defended by two reg spearmen only.

310 - Our savings reach exactly 1000 gold. Horsemen: only 16.

290 - Peace with India (1 town,) gaining Monarchy and Engineering.
Number of existing elite horsemen who are definitely going to Salamanca: 6.

170 BC - ROP with Iroquois.

110 BC - More than 40 horsemen, more than 2000 gold. 2000 gold is enough for 33 upgrades to Keshik.

70 BC - ROP with most nations. The altruistic Indians actually go from furious to annoyed, when we've eaten them alive!

WAR on Iroquois (ROP rape) capturing Salamanca (Great Lib) and two core towns, losing just one horseman. Queen Isabella of Spain assumes that priceless Something-is-going-on-but-I-can't-quite-tell-what cautious look.

IT: Monotheism, Feudalism.

50 BC - Researching Chivalry at 90% and -85 gold per turn.

10 BC - IT: Egypt declared war.

30 AD - The Iroquois finally get their GA. But they are down to two towns.
Chivalry. 30 upgrades done in 30-50 AD.

50 AD - Our GA begins.
IT - Learn Invention.

130 - IT: Theology.

150 - Iroquois flip on our main highway to Spain. Redeclare on Iroquois.
War on Russia; capture Moscow (incense) and a place called Tblisi.
Peace with Egypt gaining Lisht, an off-shore town.
IT: Gunpowder.

190 AD - 8 luxuries. War on Spain. 2nd leader hurries Hanging Gardens.
Our last horseman dies.

250 AD - Madrid (Oracle) falls. Peace with France for off-shore town.
Preparing new attack on Egypt.

260 - New war on Egypt.

280 - Captured Thebes. Iroquois destroyed by catapult and galley.

290 - Russia destroyed by rushed longbowmen; I now own the eastern islands with 5 towns on them.

300 - Hurried Sun Tzu in Egypt.

310 - Hurried Leo's Workshop in Egypt.

340 - Another war on France (ROP rape.) Paris resists attack of 11 keshiks.

350 - Paris taken...


(There was also a war on England and another one on India, which I didn't write about.)

 

[greatbeyond]

Open Class

Won't be submitting.

As our story begins, a wandering tribe has considered the wisdom of ending it's travels and settling 1W of its current location. The oracle of the spirit world has predicted a leader of the people shall be born and this convinces them of their destiny to someday rule the world. In the manner of their people, the Shaman takes the newborn in his arms and steps outside the yurt, intent on naming the child after the first thing he sees. The Shaman steps outside of the hut, into a fresh dropping of horse manure, and thus Oh Sh*t is named. Unfortunately his name turned out to be very prophetic.

OS grows to manhood and finds that through some defect his brain is only half developed. Realizing that he must keep that fact a secret from the rest of the Mongols, lest they depose him, he speaks in big words and uses vague visions (possibly because he needs glasses) to describe how the Mongols will rule the world.

A Granary is built, while research is started on The Wheel. Because he is half-blind, after finishing the Wheel OS fails to see that Horses are within reach and decides instead of researching HBR, he'll go BW to IW. Only realizing his mistake when starting IW. OS tells his people he did this on purpose "as we'll need Iron for Swordsman long before we'll ever learn how to shoot an arrow off a horse." An Archer is built after the Warrior, then a Settler. The Settler leaves the protection of the town and heads toward Fish, Whales and Wheat. No escort is sent as Barbs have not yet appeared. One turn before Settling a Barb camp magically appears and an enemy Horseman butchers the Settler the same turn. When word of this gets back to OS, he arranges for the messenger to have an "accident" and a legend is created which says the Settler wandered too far and fell off the face of the earth. Now that the Barbs have tasted blood, they spring up all over and in such numbers that Archers can't be built fast enough to eliminate them for many turns. Settlers are produced too, and eventually, the Mongol side of the world is fully settled.
Beyond the mountain passes the wandering drunk , uh I mean Scout, has discovered several other tribes but refuses to trade with the first one hoping to be able to trade with several tribes at once. The other tribes don't like the drunk and trade all the known techs amongst themselves, ensuring the Mongols will have to learn all the techs themselves. However they do give the Scout a nice cone shaped hat to wear.

Archers are built and promoted and plans are made to attack Gandhi who has sent Settlers roaming into Mongol lands. Two Workers are captured, and an Indian city is destroyed. The war becomes a stalemate and peace is agreed too. It is discovered that there isn't any Iron in the Western hemisphere, so plans are made for another army of Archers.

Then a girl, Isabella, that OS has been wooing, demands he buy her a Diamond ring to show he loves her. OS tells her "No, he's just not that into her". Isabella snaps and slaps OS, declaring that if she can't have him no one will. She then takes out a contract on OS with the Indians and English, never even bothering to send one of her own people to the fight. Eventually OS senses a tide has turned when India lands a Warrior next to an unoccupied city (He thought no one knew where he lived). Peace has to be purchased from the Indians, who promptly sell the location of the Mongol cities to the English who show up in force. Peace has to be purchased from the English and eventually Isabella gets her Diamond ring too.

The Army of Archers is readied and sent toward France who has completed the GL. The Mongols are behind everyone else, as OS has been held back in school. Being the brilliant tactician he is, OS decides he'll steal his education. It is a long trek to France and only India will let the army use their roads, after a MA is signed against Egypt. The Army takes twice as long to get there and discovers France has Iron and Pikemen. OS decides to cuddle up to France who has unfortunately heard of his treatment of the beautiful Isabella. She holds out for a long time before allowing OS to move his Archers on to Paris. In the meantime, another force of 40 Archers has been sent to stand near key Indian cities. Delhi has a force of 26 Archers waiting outside the gates and another force of 8 and 6 are outside of two other cities. A few turns before launching the attack, Spearmen in Delhi and one of the other cities become Pikemen. The Pikes in Paris become Muskets and the force of 20 Archers vs 4 Muskets doesn't look very capable. OS launches the attack against India and takes Delhi, losing about 10 Archers. The other cities resist the first several Archers and they are told to regroup. After a couple of turns the force of about 20 Archers attacks an Indian city to the north and all but 3 are wiped out against a Pike and a Spearman. The survivors are eliminated by huge lumbering beasts that appear out of the mists. One small Indian city is taken, but again the tide is turning. OS takes his last gamble and launches the attack against Paris. The last Archer dies seeing the lone red-lined defender laughing at him.

OS, who has not yet been told the attacks have failed, is invited to a "running of the horses". In some kind of new tradition, ropes are tied to each of his extremities and then each to a separate horse. OS remembers thinking to himself, " I can't possibly ride 4 horses at once, .... unless.....ahhhhhhhhhhh!

All of this before the middle of the "Middle Ages"