Help me win Immortal more consistently!

Spoiler :

I opt to continue with BW. I think I'll just farm floodplains for food right now. Not great, but usable for right now. I improve and road the corn because my worker has the time to do that and road to the stone city. I get out another warrior and now this is the situation:



Some okay land to the northeast that will most likely be grabbed by Justin before I can do much about it (though I'm still not seeing his borders). My warrior just came out and I'm thinking I'll sit him on the forested hill 1W of the stone to fogbust for my settler. I've been thinking of settling on the PH 1SW of the stone. Minimizes maintenance, and can share the oasis and the floodplains with the already food-rich Mecca.

Also, to my eye, this seems like a scenario where I want to build a settler at size two (ignore the warrior queued, will fix that!) because I don't have any spectacular tiles to grow onto aside from what I'm already working.

 

A city SW of stone looks somewhat nice and unloading also the oasis from Mecca is good reasoning I think. However once you reach masonry saving the worker turns not having to quarry is counting for quite alot.

Since you choose the BW path, there is less time to farm floodplains imho, I would prioritize farming the one NE of oasis, as that would be reachable from a possible fourth city 1N of silk. (One that could juggle pigs back and fourth with a third city that I would probably place NE of the pigs/SE of rice (that spot is so nice that it's worth risking pyramids for.)

I would chop the two grassland hills as they can be prepared with mines, but not much more than that.
At least 3 workers at "home" and a fourth one that is stationed up at pigs/floodplains city.

Perhaps settler (for stone city)->worker->worker->settler (leaves for pig city together with a worker, bringing down the total to 2 at home again)->worker.

Forward warrior should turn back NW and fogbust there. The warrior at home should move NE somewhere and take up post to help sequre pig/rice area.
I would delay settler to get a third warrior too, I see no urgency to get the second city extremly early (Really, what is stone city going to contribute with..? Claiming stone, building a worker for pyramids chopping and later help mature cottages), but I do see an urgency getting the second settler early (for that pig/floodplain spot!) and growing more first and getting another spawnbuster seems good imho.

Would be nice to know more about the southern region, but spawnbusting and securing what we do know would take priority if I played.

 

Do you mean SW, krik? I think that guy can continue around to the SW a bust down there somewhere. I think the new warrior can head up to near the pigs. Based on lighted tiles, 1E of pigs seems good. It's not defensible but busts that area well. Old warrior can head back to maybe 1SE of Stone for now, after clearing fog in the SE region. When Mecca pops again this can be adjusted.

The desert hill 1NE of pigs look like a good spot..nice cottage town. Rice could be shared later with maybe city on the coast to the West. So far options are limited based on what we see, although I'm sure the warrior will reveal something in the SE. Copper reveal may change things.

I might grow to growth to 3 before starting settler, although you could also do a 4>2 whip after bronze working, but they might I think is to much of a delay.

 

Okay, another turnset...

Spoiler :

I opted to just start the settler at size 2 while my warrior comes down to scout and finish BW:


The site by the rice becomes even stronger, but no copper that could be grabbed quickly. Also, WvO founds Hinduism, which was pretty unexpected but nice! Justin will be pissed off about that and not trade with him (in theory anyways)



My scout reveals more mediocre land and gives us a peek at Justin's borders. Can't tell if that's his cap or second city. I'm thinking I go Masonry next and then finally AH? But that delays Pottery and Granaries quite a bit...

 

Why roads over FP farm? you don't need a road on the stone.

I think Stone city needs only 1 road anyway...probably 1 NW of stone should connect.

Pigs city looking even better since it grabs the copper but will need border pop.

S area not looking great indeed. Mecca cows can be used for another city. 2 at least around pigs/rice copper.

Sheep down there is lame but maybe used as part of city just north there with FP. And you always have an island city to share clams with Mecca.

 

If you pick BW, your worker really should be ready to chop on that same turn.
Otherwise doing so with a size 2 city (no whips) makes no sense sowy, no gain so far from expensive mining + BW beakers.

 

I would go AH before masonry.
3 cities and 4 workers before starting to chop pyramids.