Island strategy

[bechtka]

Question for the great strategists that frequent these forums....

How do you compete when placed on a small island by yourself?

I was pretty good at CivII and loved playing archipelago with small land masses and large oceans. I can hold my own on CivIII when placed on a large land mass where I can make contacts, trade technology, engage in wars, and expand to encompass resources...but if I am placed on a relatively small island I might as well start the game over.

It seems to take forever to master the technology (map making) for building triremes even if I go straight for it. By the time I have my first contact the rest of the world can be fully occupied and well ahead of me in technology. Even if I do manage to get cities on another continent, the corruption is so overwhelming that it is nearly impossible to compete.

Has anyone found a good strategy for this situation without modifying the rules (I don't like to modify the rules)?

 

[BillChin]

Islands are ideal for the dense build, with cities one to three spaces apart. Think of modern Japan with half the population of the U. S. in an area the size of California. Build double the number of cities that you are comfortable with and see a major production and research boost with relatively little corruption.

On lower difficulties (Warlord, Chieftain, Regent) you can get ahead on tech and build a fleet and army to invade the outer reaches of other empires. On higher difficulties, planning for a Space Victory may be the way to go. A successful invasion with long supply lines and few reinforcements against a superior opponent (numbers and tech) takes military genius. This means that it will be hard for anyone to invade, but it is almost as hard to invade someone else.

If you do get a foothold on another continent is is essential to get a great leader through combat to rush build a Forbidden City.

 

[bechtka]

Thanks for the hints!

I will give it a try. The only thing I wonder is what happens when you need to have a couple big cities with high production. The other question will be resources.

I will have to get those Marines and transports out looking for prey....

 

[-proletarian-]

I agree, the dense build strategy is good for the ancient and early medievil eras, however, once cities begin to grow past size 6, this becomes a major handicap. You will not have any large, successful cities as there will be too much competition for bonus resources and good terrain. Lately I have been spacing my cities 4 squares apart, so that each city has a radius all to itself. Trust me, this may make things inconvenient early on as there will be many gaps not yet filled by your culture, however, come the industrial era, you will be glad you did......

 

[BillChin]

This is myth. A dense build does not translate into all pygmy cities (unless you plan it that way). After the first age, I can selectively trim cities to pop 1 to 3 and let the neighbors have 9 to 12. Even those pop 2 cities near the capital can produce more units or more research than a pop 12 city fifteen squares away from the capital.

My current game is Emperor difficulty, random civ, standard map. I am Iroquois and to my dismay the Chinese capital is ten squares from my own. By the time I build my third settler all the good land is taken and I am boxed in to an 8x8 square. I am tempted to quit at this point, but stick it out. I build as dense as I ever do, one space between most cities to get to the point where I can build an offensive army. My mounted warriors rampage over the Chinese and I gain all their land. I later defeat the Romans and then sail over and crush the Persians.

How is my original pea patch of dense cities doing? Fine. The capital is pop 9, several other cities are pop 6 or 8. Once I get railroads, I can support a couple of pop 15 cities on my original postage stamp of land. A couple of cities are pop 2 or 3, but so what? As I said, those little suburbs produce as much as a pop 12 city that is far from the capital. I built a Forbidden City in the middle of the old China empire. That city can outproduce my capital, but again so what?

Again, for those reading along, I highly recommend the dense build for any situation (especially islands).

 

[Salvor]

Also if you can find a few squares of flood plains without too much desert nearby, they're worth their weight in gold. If there's wheat there, it's heaven. And if you've got hills and mountains nearby where iron and coal can pop up, it just keeps getting better.

 

[DB_Terror]

I've played a few island games so far, and what makes it also different to continental games is the fairly low amount of resources you get. It's essential to get mapmaking, and ideally make the great lighthouse, and then colonise every little speck of land you can grab. Even on the tiniest of islands you might find coal, iron or rubber later in the game which you might not have on your main island. Make sure to have at least one harbor on your main island so you can trade with other cultures, and make a harbor on every extra island you occupy so they can benefit from your resources and luxuries, too.