1100 (1): We don't seem to have added any new enemies in the last round, so settling the tundra may be working.
In the west we mostly take a healing turn for our armies, but expunge eight enemy units (8-0).
We auto-raze the last enemy town in the tundra, Inca Arequipa (garrison of one swordsman and a galley in port; 10-0).
In the east we ride down ten enemy units, including a Jumbo and a Japanese Crusader (20-0).
We build our first fortification in the east, outside Nile.
We abandon Karana in the east--a classic case of an isolated town held only by an army, so it had to be done.
The surviving elephants retreat for no obvious reason--mating season?
A large Roman stack also moves backward, simply because it's in an immense traffic jam of other AI units.
1110 (2): We get the tilerow from Bunyan to Altin Tepe fully roaded, including the iron mountain. That should help a lot.
In the east we smash 19 enemy units and a settler, gradually clearing the woods between Istak and Boston (39-0).
In the west we batter nine enemies, predominantly Korean, and a settler (48-0).
The last elephant in sight finds a clever route to Istak, but we turn it into four umbrella stands (49-0).
We also unhorse a yellowlined German knight trying its luck at Istak, where we're defending behind rushed walls (50-0).
1120 (3): In the west we push forward and take Chalcedon, held by a garrison of three. On the way we overrun a Greek archer and
gain our first Leader/army of the round (54-0).
We mop up six enemy units, mostly Greek, around Chalcedon (60-0).
Elsewhere in the west we slay seven foes, mostly Aztec, and two settlers. We lose an Immortal (67-1).
We seem to be getting the Romans' initial rush in the east. They have a stack of fourteen slow units approaching Istak.
In the east we dispose of nine enemy units and a settler, while healing most of our armies (76-1).
We root out one spearman of Boston's garrison (77-1).
We found Screwtape between Istak and French-held Washington, which brings us
silks as our fourth luxury.
Four Mayan knights and four Jumbos appear near Screwtape.
We isolate False Alarm by pillaging, and get our first warrior there with a forest chop.
The Indians build Sistine Chapel.
1130 (4): Metallurgy due in one turn, but we can't cut the science rate. I took some scientists off duty to let towns grow, so we got the benefit another way.
We take Boston from its remaining garrison of two spearmen and
eliminate the "Fledgling Americans" (79-1). We capture two workers.
We now have an even line in the east again, one step forward:
We found Toadpipe and Scabtree in the south. That should end AI attempts to settle the tundra.
On the eastern front we expunge twelve enemy units, including all four Mayan knights and three of the four Jumbos (91-1).
In the west we extirpate eight enemies and two settlers (99-1).
The Indians send another herd of elephants--five this time, heading for Boston now that we hold it.
Metallurgy --> MilTrad, due in a somewhat disappointing fifteen turns (but this improves later).
Goodness, the MA tech tree looks naked after one's been playing CCM.
Salzburg in the far SE flips on us. It was empty.
1140 (5): The Romans have a stack of 29 AA units near Screwtape--pretty good for monarch.
We take Thessalonica, just four tiles across the bay from our capital (garrison of two Hoplites; 101-1). We capture three workers,
Elsewhere in the west we smite twelve enemies hip and thigh (113-1).
On the eastern front we bludgeon thirteen enemies, including three Jumbos, but bad RNG runs by our armies compromise our plans a bit and we have to allow some elephant attacks (126-1).
Two Jumbos fall attacking Boston, though it's a near thing (128-1).
A Mayan knight perishes attacking one of our new fortifications, outside South Akkad (129-1).
The AI really likes Boston as a target. Six Samurai are approaching now.
1150 (6): In the east we disembowel eleven enemies, getting to work on the Roman SoD (140-1).
In the west we defenestrate eight foes and set up our attack on Sapporo (148-1).
The Carthaginians want peace. I take a look at their city list and they only have six.
We redline an unexpected Jumbo attack outside Boston.
Our fortification outside South Akkad is now a barricade, but even so a Mayan knight defeats our spearman there (148-2).
1160 (7): We re-take flipped Salzburg, held by one spearman (149-2).
In the east we liquidate sixteen enemies including seven Samurai, a Japanese Crusader, and two Jumbos (165-2).
We storm Sapporo, another town just across the bay from our capital (held by two musketmen and an LB; 168-2). The Japanese are sitting on quite a hoard, since this distant minor city yields 346 gold. We take a slave.
In the west we batter seven enemies, all Korean, and move next to Tequixquiac (175-2).
On the eastern front Mayan knights seize the barricade in front of New South Akkad, defeating a musketman and a pikeman (175-4). Some bad RNG luck was clearly involved, but if the AI will attack units in barricades this freely the value of fortified lines is reduced.
1170 (8): In the east we bullyrag sixteen enemy units, including a Samurai, two Jumbos, and a Japanese Crusader (191-4).
We abandon South Akkad and replace it with New South Akkad one tile back, so that (our barricades having failed) we can close off this peninsula with one army rather than two.
On the western front we seize Tequixquiac, held by two spearmen (193-4).
We obliterate eleven other enemies in the west (204-4).
We get our first amphibious landing of the round, a German knight and maceman coming ashore two tiles NE of Merv in the far SE. Fortunately this is the area to which the flip of Salzburg drew our units.
1180 (9): In the east we storm French Washington, held by three pikemen (207-4).
Near Merv we ride down the landed German knight (208-4). Well have to accept an attack from the MDI, though.
We push on beyond Sapporo in the northwest, discover Nora, and rout one Numidian there (209-4).
We spot a Korean border, too. If we can get started against their core our position will improve enormously.
More centrally on the western front we approach an Aztec desert town, unhorsing two Az knights on the way (211-4).
Elsewhere in the west we blot out five adversaries from the book of life (216-4).
In the east we liquidate nine enemies, including two Samurai and a J-Crusader, and finally
gain our second Leader/army of the round, on our fortieth elite victory (225-4).
We abandon Washington, which we held just for easier movement.
We survive the attack of the German MDI near Merv by retreating.
What looks like the Mongol initial rush shows up in the northwestsixteen AA units so far.
1190 (10): On the eastern front we terminate sixteen enemies, including two Samurai, and
gain our third Leader/army of the round (241-4).
We form a complete wall of armies in the east, in the style of GR23, with eleven armies blocking an eleven-tile front:
We finish off the German maceman landed near Merv (242-4).
In the west we raze Nora, held by a remaining garrison of two Numidians (244-4). I had some thought of holding the town, but with the Mongols having appeared in this area in force its not practical. We gain two slaves.
We auto-raze Rhodes, held by two Hoplites, in the centre of the western front (246-4). We take two slaves.
Elsewhere in the west we harrow eleven enemy units, including three Aztec knights (257-4).
In the east the AI starts retreating, as happens when its confronted by an impenetrable wall.
1200 (11): In the east our wall of armies grinds forward one tile, crushing thirteen enemy units, all Roman (270-4). We also auto-raze Babylonian Telloh, held by one pikeman (271-4).
We found Wormwood on the ruins of Rhodes in the west.
In the west we cudgel fifteen enemy units, including three Aztec knights. We lose an Immortal attacking a longbowman (286-5).
Brilliantour enemies in the east, still frustrated by our wall of armies, fall back again, and theyre all on roads now. We may be able to jump forward three tiles.
1210 (12): Our eastern wall rumbles forward three tiles, reducing three Roman units to mummy (289-5). We thus move adjacent to French Philadelphia and Babylonian San Francisco. One of those makes perfect sense.
We found Slubgob and Glubose in the lands newly cleared in the east.
In the west enemy units have become thin on the ground except in the northern sector, and here we badly need a healing turn. I also want to leave the next player a clean slate, and for that reason I heal some other armies rather than committing them. Thus we move an army next to Rusaddir and winkle out a first Numidian of the garrison, but otherwise abstain from combat (290-5).
Our experiment with building fortifications and barricades in the east had mixed results. It was a disappointment that the AI will use units of attack X to attack barricades (at least in clear terrain) held by units of defense X, since that meant that we couldnt use barricades and ordinary units to block the enemy completely the way armies can. On the other hand, operating with armies from short lines of barricades against the usual hordes of enemy units was very useful, since there was less need to worry about how depleted the armies might become as they attacked. I think it was certainly the right use of our workers in this particular situation, since they didnt have much else to do, and Id like to try it again in similar circumstances.
Counting the upcoming interturn, we completed nine libraries, six aqueducts, three barracks, and a courthouse this round. Were still building plenty of infra, libraries in particular.
We gained eight warriors for MP duty by lumberjacking isolated tundra towns this round, and two by ordinary means.
For the second round in a row we met no new enemiesa good sign.
Fifty-one elite victories this round, four of them defensive, produced three Great Leaders.