1250 (0): I dont much like offensives by single, unsupported armies, which involve too much risk of losing them. So Im going to combine our two Gallic armies in Inca territory for use against the more vulnerable Japanese, while our knight army in the Inca lands explores and looks for a city without terrain or population bonuses which it might attack safely.
I begin rationalizing the deployment of the MP units in our core.
We lose a pikeman and a redlined knight to counterattacks (0-2).
Lapurdum cathedral --> pikeman.
1255 (1): We crush one pikeman from Yaxchilan's garrison (1-2).
We defeat the last three Mayan pikemen in Tikal and raze the city (4-2). Between razing and captures we gain eight slaves.
We found Malagate in the north centre of our front.
West of Fort Furthest we dispose of seven Russian units--a pikeman, two spearmen, and four MDI (11-2).
Elsewhere we smite a Japanese spearman, a Japanese archer, an Inca pikeman, an Inca MDI, a JT, a Mayan LB, and a Russian spearman, losing a knight (18-3).
A fog bandit picks off one of our pikemen, though the pike was on a mountain (18-4). The combination of roads and fog actually makes enemy longbowmen dangerous.
Burdigala cathedral --> university (a long build, but with limited land tiles this might as well be a research town).
1260 (2): Didn't we have some discussion in GR13 about armies occasionally failing to regain hit points? One of our armies facing the Maya, which spent last turn motionless in neutral territory, has just done this.
We slay the three remaining pikemen of Yaxchilan's garrison and raze the city (21-4). Between razing and captures we gain six slaves and two trebs.
We found Hekkus, which will be a real city almost in our core, not a science camp.
Elsewhere we shatter only a Mayan pikeman, a Mayan LB, and a CS (24-4). As Greebley said, on some turns there aren't many targets.
Eboracum cathedral --> university, Brundisium courthouse --> marketplace.
The Maya, though down to five cities, are building Copernicus.
1265 (3): We grind down a Japanese force of three pikemen and an archer along the east coast (28-4).
Northwest of Fort Furthest we strike down five Inca MDI and an Inca archer (34-4). That seems to be the whole force, though.
The Maya make a fairly clever landing next to Twixtseas, with a knight and an MDI, and dealing with it costs us a knight (36-5).
Elsewhere we ride down a Mayan pikeman and a Mayan LB (38-5).
1270 (4): We raze Calakmul, held by three pikemen and an LB, and gain five slaves and a treb (42-5).
We found Falushe in a gap in the SW grasslands.
We dispose of two pikemen of Copan's garrison (44-5).
Elsewhere we account for a Japanese archer, a Russian MDI, and an Inca MDI (47-5).
We repel three enemy attacks (50-5).
Lezoux library --> knight.
1275 (5): We raze Copan, held for some reason only by two pikemen (52-5). We gain five slaves and 112 gold.
As we advance on Ise we trample a Japanese stack of an archer, a spearman, and two MDI, but lose a knight (56-6).
NW of Fort Furthest on the eastern shores of the inland sea, where the Russians are making a considerable push, we eliminate eleven of their MDI, a spearman, and two pikemen (70-6).
We found Larque on the recent battleground by the NW inland sea.
We liquidate one pikeman of Chichen Itza's garrison (71-6).
In minor skirmishing we rout a Russian knight and a Mayan knight (73-6), generating a Great Leader and so forming our thirteenth army.
Glevum temple --> pikeman, Agedincum university --> worker, Cornish Hen aqueduct --> settler, Ratae C. marketplace --> cathedral, Irish Pennant courthouse --> aqueduct, Axima cathedral --> library.
1280 (6): We raze Lazapa, held by three pikemen and an LB (77-6). We gain 144 gold and five slaves.
We locate the Incas' silks, about thirty tiles north of any of our cities.
We raze (Japanese) Ise, held by three pikemen and two archers (82-6). We gain six slaves.
For once the AI seems interested in reinforcing a threatened city, so we have to break off our attack on Chichen Itza to thrash three Mayan pikemen approaching the town (85-6).
Along the northern shore of the northern inland sea we overrun three Russian unitstwo MDI and a spearman (88-6).
We found Treesong and Gersen in the north, both on excellent science-camp sites.
Twelve elite victories this round produced one Great Leader.
But I think we've gone too far in that direction. We have good towns at less than 50% corruption, such as Welsh Rabbit and Ravenna, written off as science farms building settlers. There's a lot of the game ahead of us, and such promising places should be allowed to develop normally (aqueduct in WR, marketplace in Ravenna).
