How to enjoy Norway and without risking losing a game?

[myclan]

I had tried a continent map and there were just too little coastal city to even build my longship, so I think it may be better to try a island plate map?
Berserker seems very weak unless you don't have iron to build a knight so I may only build it for era score.
Stave Church gives +1.5 bonus per forest so 2 forests can give +3 adjancy bonus. Maybe a good combination with the double adjancy policy or +100% faith ouput of the building? I may need to found a religion to utilize it and the faith it produces. But buying units just seems to expensive comapring to building. Should I pursuit for a religion victory with the faith?
Other bonus just encourage you to build your ship and rob from the AI. In my past game I didn't pillage too much for I hate to wait for a builder to repair them. Any experience for pilliging?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Leyrann]

They're indeed best on island plates maps. Worst case you could go down a difficulty level or two and just play a generic game going for whatever victory you feel like. Just because a civilization doesn't have any bonuses to a victory doesn't mean they can't achieve it (though religious victory on the highest difficulty levels gets hard if you don't have bonuses towards founding a religion).

 

[Victoria]

I had tried a continent map and there were just too little coastal city to even build my longship

Much stronger on island plates but should normally get 2-3 coastal cities on a continent early if need be. seems you were unlucky.
Just tried and got this first go, not perfect but usable

 

[Leyrann]

Much stronger on island plates but should normally get 2-3 coastal cities on a continent early if need be. seems you were unlucky.
Just tried and got this first go, not perfect but usable
View attachment 492031

I'd probably settle in place for the plains/hill start plus a 3f2p banana tile in first ring, research Celestial Navigation early and build a harbor either north or south of the amber. Looks like a fine start to me.

(sorry; this forum has corrupted me. Whenever I see a start of game screenshot I have to analyze it)

 

[liv]

The "new" island plate map that creates sort of snaky small continents is really interesting.

(I would not settle in place. How are you going to get out boats without being coastal. Those boats are priority. One stone and one wood is a bit of a bummer. You would want more)

 

[isau]

You could play my modded Norway that gives a free Melee Boat when you settle on the coast and lets Berserkers move after attacking.

Otherwise, I'd say an ideal map is Small map, Continents, add 2 players, Low water. Low water on a small map ends up doing the opposite what you might think, it creates a lot of coastline with some healthy sized continents. Mainly it just eliminates the huge useless ocean.

 

[Leyrann]

The "new" island plate map that creates sort of snaky small continents is really interesting.

(I would not settle in place. How are you going to get out boats without being coastal. Those boats are priority. One stone and one wood is a bit of a bummer. You would want more)

Get a Harbor out as first district. You get an additional free production, more housing (6 instead of 4) and perhaps a better first ring tile (depending on where you'd move) if you settle in place. Also you're going to have trouble growing your city later if you move, as you'll barely be able to get some farms next to one another in city range, and even if you do it's third ring and likely competing with another city, plus it's all plains, which needs farms to just break even in food production. You also won't be able to build a lot of fisheries as it's ocean after one tile of coast.

 

[myclan]

Much stronger on island plates but should normally get 2-3 coastal cities on a continent early if need be. seems you were unlucky.
Just tried and got this first go, not perfect but usable
View attachment 492031

Actually I had got a map similar like this. Capital without fresh water will slow down the start so I build it by the river instead of a coast. After discovering my neighbour I build some inland cities to grasp the land between us and holy site to found my religon. When I finally have a coastal city it was already medieval age. I just wondered whether I should build the longship anymore

The "new" island plate map that creates sort of snaky small continents is really interesting.

(I would not settle in place. How are you going to get out boats without being coastal. Those boats are priority. One stone and one wood is a bit of a bummer. You would want more)

Fresh Water, banana jungle hill, plain hill under the city, just too good to move the settler I think

You could play my modded Norway that gives a free Melee Boat when you settle on the coast and lets Berserkers move after attacking.

Otherwise, I'd say an ideal map is Small map, Continents, add 2 players, Low water. Low water on a small map ends up doing the opposite what you might think, it creates a lot of coastline with some healthy sized continents. Mainly it just eliminates the huge useless ocean.

I regard Berserker as a defense unit inside a city or city-attacking unit, so they can evade being attacked by others, but still only useful when no iron. I used to play small continent map and the continent was in so a good shape that coastal cities were just too few. Also for fresh water and high output tile I just too used to build a inland city instead of a costal city.

 

[liv]

Fresh Water, banana jungle hill, plain hill under the city, just too good to move the settler I think

I would move it. My build order with Norway is to do sailing as a science right of the bat. Build a builder first. Use it to scout ocean tiles with. Build boats as soon as they become available. Try to chop in a boat for a district or a settler. Anything else and I may as well play another nation than Norway. Those boats should be out there plundering and stealing asap.
that is how I enjoy playing Norway

 

[Victoria]

I never even blink if there is no fresh water now. My capital gets extra housing and is so busy building settlers for a while it’s a non issue.

 

[Softly]

OP do you use the chop overflow trick? This is the main strength of Norway, the ability to get that additional +50% from chopping.

 

[Timodelphia]

Would it be worth placing a Holy Site one tile west of city center? Gain +3 faith (+1 at placement and +2 additional with Stave Church) due to woods on either side. Possible addition +1 faith with Government Plaza placement. +1 production to amber tile with Stave Church.

Downside is 1) woods can't be chopped without loss of faith bones and 2) Harbor would be delayed

 

[Victoria]

Would it be worth placing a Holy Site one tile west of city center?

It was a random example of what you could get to play with.... I would settle 1SE because its about the sailing to me.

 

[Temppu]

OP do you use the chop overflow trick? This is the main strength of Norway, the ability to get that additional +50% from chopping.

Surprisingly niche strategies suggested here. After all, Norway is the only current civ with a boost to the already OP production overflow with Magnus chop while having +100% production card (for ships in the case of norway). This boost alone makes Norway strong.