Laser77
Chieftain
1. Continental Challenge
Choice of Civilization
You start the Continental Challenge playing Greek, Babylonian, Mongol or Egyptian Civilization. Unless you start with two settlers and at least two scientific advantages including either bronze working or the wheel, quit and start over again.
The location of your nation on the world map makes it easy to conquer very early in the game.
Your first cities
Remember to change tax to zero before founding your capital
The second settler should move towards the next spot where you can expect enemy encounter.
If the place is free you found your second city but connect your first foundings with roads so you will get the trade bonus, which speeds up your Science.
Build one militia in each city. Move them to the next city spots known by experience. Try to exchange knowledge with your neighbors. Move militia back to fortify.
Build one chariot in each city. Move them in a team.
You can now directly erase your European neighbours, steal some more wisdom and collect villages. Saving before entering villages is not a bad idea, though you can first civilize the area by building cities and roads near villages to minimize the chance of barbarian rendezvous.
Some say it is cheating, I consider this a method in search of perfection.
Two or three chariots are enough to conquer the whole world about 2000 years BC, chasing down every new opponent playing 7 civilizations can take longer. By thousand before Christ you should have surrounded your enemies last city.
You might want to leave a larger area for your enemy to give him chance to develop but the AI players do not share my opinion of a perfect game so my strategy is complete isolation of the last city.
Later in game I leave the enemy a little space to develop because simply I want to take advantage from caravans and trade routes.
Army of Settlers
In this phase you might want to expand building cities all over the world but my advice is to build about 10 cities in the area around Babylon.
These cities should produce as many settlers as they are able to support. Do not spread your settlers. Let them move in a cluster from Spain to Wladiwostok doing nothing else but building roads and irrigation.
Give a job to a settler, remove the job, give the job again and again until it is finished. That way you can cultivate the map very quick.
Same thing you do in Africa and America starting south. In America and Africa you Need 5 cities each to support enough settlers.
Send a trireme with settlers to Australia too. 3 cities are enough here.
Science
Besides you focus your scientists on developing railroad. Now you can start founding real cities, preparing the spot with railroad before.
Choose a spot with only grassland/djungle/swamp in the area of one city 20 square cross, prepare the ground with railroads and build your first megacity in the Congo basin in Africa.
Wonders
This is the city where you start building wonders. Start with the ancient ones :
Colossus for trade bonus
Lighthouse for movement bonus in sea
hanging gardens to calm your growing cities and pyramids
Choosing the following Wonders make sure that your enemy does not get the chance to build them away .
As long as you develop the Country stay in despotism and do not build granaries. The city growth would otherwise bring you in trouble with unhappiness. Instead build caravans to build all wonders in one or two cities on the main landmass Africa/Eurasia
Expanding
Now whenever you found a new city try to keep them in line and avoid overlapping fields.
Get rid of all your prerailroad cities, because they all have one food less than they should have by the railroad bonus. Build new cities on railroaded squares using the same spot like before or take the chance to reorganize your city net.
Do not talk to your enemy. You can now switch your government to democracy. Level out the tax/science/luxuries balance
Make sure you don’t loose money
Keep your people happy
Have discoveries every 6 rounds
Army of caravans
Let every city build 3 caravans for trade routes. Cities with high trade output most far away from the caravan building city bring the best result. Enemy cities bring up to 100 pieces of gold once. In own cities I found routes that bring up to 60 pieces. When you shortcut the distance between America and Asia cross the Pacific Ocean the game considers this as the longest distance and gives you the best income.
Army of taxmen.
Cities which grow larger than 20 will automatically turn the next population growth into an entertainer. Turn as many of them into taxmen. So you can step by step balance the luxuries rate and the tax rate.
Tip
Do Not spray out your settlers if you expand. An army of 40 settlers can optimize one whole city area within one or two turns. That way you do not feel like jumping on the map so you are not in danger of forgetting anything.
If you enjoy playing civ1 the way I do have fun with this little strategy guide. Copy/paste/spread whatever you like. Feel free.
Choice of Civilization
You start the Continental Challenge playing Greek, Babylonian, Mongol or Egyptian Civilization. Unless you start with two settlers and at least two scientific advantages including either bronze working or the wheel, quit and start over again.
The location of your nation on the world map makes it easy to conquer very early in the game.
Your first cities
Remember to change tax to zero before founding your capital
The second settler should move towards the next spot where you can expect enemy encounter.
If the place is free you found your second city but connect your first foundings with roads so you will get the trade bonus, which speeds up your Science.
Build one militia in each city. Move them to the next city spots known by experience. Try to exchange knowledge with your neighbors. Move militia back to fortify.
Build one chariot in each city. Move them in a team.
You can now directly erase your European neighbours, steal some more wisdom and collect villages. Saving before entering villages is not a bad idea, though you can first civilize the area by building cities and roads near villages to minimize the chance of barbarian rendezvous.
Some say it is cheating, I consider this a method in search of perfection.
Two or three chariots are enough to conquer the whole world about 2000 years BC, chasing down every new opponent playing 7 civilizations can take longer. By thousand before Christ you should have surrounded your enemies last city.
You might want to leave a larger area for your enemy to give him chance to develop but the AI players do not share my opinion of a perfect game so my strategy is complete isolation of the last city.
Later in game I leave the enemy a little space to develop because simply I want to take advantage from caravans and trade routes.
Army of Settlers
In this phase you might want to expand building cities all over the world but my advice is to build about 10 cities in the area around Babylon.
These cities should produce as many settlers as they are able to support. Do not spread your settlers. Let them move in a cluster from Spain to Wladiwostok doing nothing else but building roads and irrigation.
Give a job to a settler, remove the job, give the job again and again until it is finished. That way you can cultivate the map very quick.
Same thing you do in Africa and America starting south. In America and Africa you Need 5 cities each to support enough settlers.
Send a trireme with settlers to Australia too. 3 cities are enough here.
Science
Besides you focus your scientists on developing railroad. Now you can start founding real cities, preparing the spot with railroad before.
Choose a spot with only grassland/djungle/swamp in the area of one city 20 square cross, prepare the ground with railroads and build your first megacity in the Congo basin in Africa.
Wonders
This is the city where you start building wonders. Start with the ancient ones :
Colossus for trade bonus
Lighthouse for movement bonus in sea
hanging gardens to calm your growing cities and pyramids
Choosing the following Wonders make sure that your enemy does not get the chance to build them away .
As long as you develop the Country stay in despotism and do not build granaries. The city growth would otherwise bring you in trouble with unhappiness. Instead build caravans to build all wonders in one or two cities on the main landmass Africa/Eurasia
Expanding
Now whenever you found a new city try to keep them in line and avoid overlapping fields.
Get rid of all your prerailroad cities, because they all have one food less than they should have by the railroad bonus. Build new cities on railroaded squares using the same spot like before or take the chance to reorganize your city net.
Do not talk to your enemy. You can now switch your government to democracy. Level out the tax/science/luxuries balance
Make sure you don’t loose money
Keep your people happy
Have discoveries every 6 rounds
Army of caravans
Let every city build 3 caravans for trade routes. Cities with high trade output most far away from the caravan building city bring the best result. Enemy cities bring up to 100 pieces of gold once. In own cities I found routes that bring up to 60 pieces. When you shortcut the distance between America and Asia cross the Pacific Ocean the game considers this as the longest distance and gives you the best income.
Army of taxmen.
Cities which grow larger than 20 will automatically turn the next population growth into an entertainer. Turn as many of them into taxmen. So you can step by step balance the luxuries rate and the tax rate.
Tip
Do Not spray out your settlers if you expand. An army of 40 settlers can optimize one whole city area within one or two turns. That way you do not feel like jumping on the map so you are not in danger of forgetting anything.
If you enjoy playing civ1 the way I do have fun with this little strategy guide. Copy/paste/spread whatever you like. Feel free.
