My book for this round was N. A. M. Rodger's The Command of the Ocean--highly recommended. I got through about fifty pages.
1300 (0): Only an eight-minute interturn--better than I expected.
Hubishna harbour --> marketplace, Ivriz library --> marketplace.
1305 (1): On the Babylonian front we slay three spearmen (3-0). We capture a settler and two workers--not an unmixed blessing, as the relevant animations take about ninety seconds each.
We locate Babylon, and so the Great Wall, which I may try to keep.
Elsewhere we smite eleven units--seven German, three Japanese, and one Sumerian--losing an MDI (14-1).
1310 (2): We ride down two Bab LB landed next to Ugarit (16-1).
Elsewhere we defeat one Port, two Bab, three German, and three Japanese units, losing a knight (25-2).
We found Ivory Coast, gaining access to the eponymous luxury.
We found Merlot in the south, as we begin settling our way towards the wines.
We spot Ashur, and Sun Tzu.
A Carth unit appears--the first?
Our GA ends.
Ugarit harbour --> aqueduct.
1315 (3): We found Grenache, closer to the wines.
Mutawallis forms our ninth army.
We raze Najran, now Sumerian and held by two Enks (27-2). We gain a slave.
We destroy a Port MDI and a Bab LB, both landed near Ugarit (29-2).
We move three armies and supporting units next to Babylon.
Elsewhere we strike down six Sumerian and four Japanese units, gaining the GL Hattusilis (39-2).
We gain Invention from the GLib.
Wonder City marketplace --> library, Karhuyuk aqueduct --> pikeman.
1320 (4): We storm Babylon, held by six spearmen and a longbowman, and keep it for the sake of
the Great Wall (46-2). Metallurgy may be a long way away; and since the Babs lack fast units, managing the starve-down shouldn't be difficult.
On entering Babylon we meet the Aztecs--the beige civ just beyond Babylonia, clearly--and declare war.
Elsewhere we kill eight enemy units, mostly German (54-2).
We see the Spanish fighting the Arabs, and the Babs fighting the Ports.
1325 (5): We found Pinot Noir, claiming wines--our third luxury.
In the Pinot Noir area we raze Spanish Valencia, held by four spearmen and an archer, for the loss of a knight (59-3). We gain a slave and capture a cat.
The Aztecs hold Akkad, so they're at war with the Babs too.
We expunge seventeen assorted enemy units (76-3).
We're able to cut the lux rate to 20%, bringing us to 102 gpt. 10% lux might be possible, with a lot of three-unit garrisons, but we should probably wait for our fourth luxury.
Tyrana library --> knight, Alacacuk marketplace --> pikeman.
1330 (6): We found Shiraz and Cabernet in the wine country, also settling towards Germany's incense. We're seven tiles, or two enemy cities, away from it now.
We form and fill our tenth army.
The Iroquois appear--in the SE, approaching Malatya--and we crush an MDI (77-3).
Elsewhere we trample nine enemy units (86-3).
Washington library --> pikeman, Harran marketplace --> knight, Yalburt courthouse --> marketplace.
1335 (7): We finish merging the seventeen northern workers.
It looks as though the Babs are on an isthmus, and taking their core won't enlarge our front too much. Better still, they have silks--our potential fifth luxury.
We move two knight armies and some supporting knights next to Ashur, overrunning a Bab LB on the way (87-3).
We raze Spanish Murcia, held by three spearmen and an archer (91-3). Between capture and razing we gain five slaves.
Hmm, it turns out that we founded Pinot Noir in the suburbs of Mecca.
Elsewhere we exterminate just an Iroquois knight, an Ir. MDI, and two Japanese MDI (95-3). It's not all bad when the AI sends fewer, more expensive units.
1340 (8): We take Ashur, held by four spearmen, and
capture Sun Tzu (99-3).
We raze Mecca, held by just three pikemen (102-3)--obviously a consequence of the Arabs' other wars. We capture a treb and four slaves (razing plus settler).
We found Alalah, pushing our southeastern border forward.
Elsewhere we liquidate fourteen assorted enemy units and capture a settler, losing a knight (116-4).
Babylon flips--no great surprise. We lose only two pikemen.
More seriously, only one citizen of Ashur comes out of resistance during the safe interturn, through the city was crammed with our units, so we can't begin the starve-down there.
Hattusha library --> pikeman, Wonder City library --> knight.
1345 (9): We re-take Babylon, held only by a spearman (117-4).
We found Chianti to round off our position in the wine country; Bushire to push our borders out in the southeast; and Alaca Huyuk to start filling in the Babylonian lands.
We smash nine assorted enemy units (126-4).
Sixteen elite victories this round produced one Great Leader.
but the lines I read were most wise.
[140-6]
95.33% win rate...
