HOF III December/January Gauntlet

[Tone]

We still have a few days to go with the current gauntlet but I thought that it would be good to get the ball rolling on the next one.

Has anyone got a game in mind that they want to try out? If you wish to lay down the gauntlet for the next competition, please state the level/mapsize/VC that you wish to play and if your challenge is accepted by another player it will become our next gauntlet.

OK, so we play CKS's suggestion.

Level: Warlord
Mapsize: Standard
Victory Condition: Domination

You can even try out the Iberian Challenge idea for added interest if you want to.

Please submit your games by January 15th. Good luck to all competitors.

 

[CKS]

Well, I'm interested in something relatively quick and easy, where there aren't any little things to trip me up at the end. Between GOTM and this, I've played a lot of games above my comfort level recently, and the 2-opponent diplomatic issue was a bummer.

I'm not usually big on military victories, but the Standard Warlord Domination table is full of ridiculously late dates, so I'm thinking of giving it a try. If that is too easy, we could make things more interesting for the gauntlet by restricting the civs used.

 

[del62]

Why not a standard warlord domination with Portugese, you can chose map type etc.

Or even spain and portugal, as neither has a domination victory - call it the iberian challenge.

I also note Korea havent, but I think they have significantly stronger traits, so i would leave them out.

 

[Tone]

I tried this last night playing as Arabia. (I wanted to use a civ that I don't play with often and they seemed to be a fair choice.) My plan was to try and pop my way through the AA, gift my scientific rivals to get Mono and Feud, speed my way to Chivalry and then rush them with Ansars.

Didn't really work out in practice. I didn't get enough techs from the huts and so had to research too much. I only carried on because I got an SGL and built the Pyramids. Ansars came on the scene too late-half the ones I built didn't attack anything. Domination in 290BC.

 

[CKS]

I gave it a go with the Celts, finishing in 260 AD despite zero leaders (of any type). I spent too much time traipsing around, though.

I may give it a try with Spain or Portugal, as del62 suggested.

 

[del62]

I had a game with portugal at 300AD and the Incans at 110AD

Portugal arent to bad for this, I think I could do better with them

 

[CKS]

Clearly my problem is in figuring out the most efficient way to move troops across the map. My first try with Portugal ended in 540 AD. This map was full of rivers and swamp, which really compounded my movement problems, and the AI can't seem to build any roads at Warlord. At least this time I got two military leaders, but they didn't come until after 500 AD, so they were pretty worthless.

 

[Spoonwood]

There's some VERY old thread which has a domination victory at this level and I think size without a single military unit built. Having said that, the fastest way to win this would probably come as to play as Sumeria, get an SGL on Ceremonial Burial or Masonry, rush the Pyramids, then spam settlers at something like a CxxxC spacing. If you got a second SGL, then rush the ToA and go with a CxxxxC spacing, basically ignoring all things like rivers, more going just to get tiles in fast. There's no time to clear jungle or marsh, so either a temperate 5 billion map or a cold temperate 5 billion map, and I'd lean towards cold to minimize marsh and jungle squares. Not sure about humidity. I don't know if there's time for a revolution to Monarchy or Republic. I haven't acquired a taste for settler fests like this myself.

 

[del62]

I think that without any military unit might work on chieftan but not I am not so sure about warlord

 

[Tone]

Tried a PtW attempt with the Aztecs. Thought that I might get a GL from an elite victory early enough to rush the Pyramids. I got one eventually but too late to speed up my victory. I didn't even get a settler from a hut so I set off my GA with just one city. Finished in 250BC, so not as good as my Arabian attempt, and the game keeps crashing straight after I get the victory screens so I won't bother submitting this.

I might try again before the deadline if I can find the time.

 

[Spoonwood]

I think that without any military unit might work on chieftan but not I am not so sure about warlord

I believe you're right that you probably want *some*. Thing is though, you probably don't really need all that much. A handful of horsemen to take a couple of towns maybe. Definitely not as much as playing a few levels up.

 

[CKS]

Well, Spain came in at 300 AD. I did a better job of moving around and building settlers and horses close to the edges of my territory. Again my only leader came within a few turns of the finish. I made a horseman army and it got to attack twice, I think. A SGL for the pyramids would have made a huge difference in this game.

 

[del62]

Just finished a 90BC with the ZUlus, got 3 MGLs an excellent start position

here is the finish

Spoiler :

 

[Tone]

Another attempt. This time I played as Babylon hunting for SGLs. Nothing that special except that I got a couple of late age SGLs which I used for ToA and Pyramids so it was always going to beat my previous date. I should have built more horses though as I could have shaved a few turns off my date with some fast units to get to the furthest AI towns. Finish date: 350BC

 

[Spoonwood]

After not getting a Masonry SGL with some 20+ maps with a river and a cow, I finally got one. I didn't play coastal starts, but in this one I still ended up tucked away in a corner. I went Alphabet-Writing-Code of Laws-Philosophy and got an SGL before I took Republic as my free tech. I didn't revolt, as I thought it would work out faster to whip settlers. I didn't have a "real" war until the very end, and it started two turns before I finished (one to move on in). I did NOT build barracks, as I guessed things would go too fast for that, and I think they did. I did have three "wars" where I gifted the target AI my cities before I started, then took them with a unit, then made peace in 3 or 4 turns and tried to extort as many cities as I could. I didn't use as many cities as I could in the second war, and probably didn't get as many cities as I could have via extortion. I also gave away a city I didn't want to in the first "war". I played against Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the Byzantines.

I finished in 490 BC. I suspect somewhere around Misfit's Chieftain finish of 650 BC comes as possible with the right map. And the Maya might work out best for this. Of course finding such a map and getting the necessary SGLs may come as a time-sink better served by playing other games for the HoF. As if that didn't make for enough of a time-sink already

 

[del62]

Who did you play as, Sumeria?

What map settings?

 

[Spoonwood]

Oh yeah, sorry. I played as Sumeria on a wet/temperate/5 billion map (I tried normal/temperate, but it seemed like I didn't get all that many good maps) with no barbies. In my first few attempts I tried sedentary barbies, but the one time the AI (Portugal I think) met me they had Masonry before I learned it. Maybe that wouldn't happen with a non-expansionist AI though.

 

[Spoonwood]

Does anyone want to play a Sid level game for Jan/Feb? Or would that perhaps come as a little "over the heads" of some of newer HoF players? I've started thinking about a Large or Huge Sid spaceship run. Though maybe something like a Sid Small Diplomatic or Sid Small 20k would come as better for the community, as inter-turn time can get bad for bigger sized Sid maps. Thoughts? Anyone else have something in mind?

 

[Pacioli]

I'll give Sid a try. It will probably be about survival for me as Sid is definitely "over my head".

 

[Tone]

Gauntlet now closed.

Gold: Spoonwood 490BC
Silver: Tone 350BC
Bronze: del62 170BC

Congratulations to all entrants. This gauntlet made the Warlord-Standard-Domination table much stronger, with 6 new entries. Well done guys!

New gauntlet thread will be up shortly with the update hard on its heels.