Lost on Legacy Points / Score ... yes, it happened

[vorlon_mi]

As I noted in my posts over in "Tell us the story of your current game" https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/tell-us-the-story-of-your-current-game.698498/post-16839206 I fell behind some Distant Lands AI. Screenshots are included. Ibn Battuta had super large cultural yields. Both Ibn and Hattie started racking up Railroad Tycoon points. I was trying for Science by suz'ing lots of IP at the start of the age, so it helped me catch up.

Here's the interesting part:
I've read some posts that suggest the AI doesn't push hard, late in Modern, to actually achieve victory. I believe that was true in my game.

• Culture: Ibn had more than enough artifacts (18 of 15). I spent the last 30 turns expecting him to build the Worlds Fair. But he didn't.
• Military: Everyone chose an ideology, conquered settlements, but no one got close to 20 points.
• Economic: Ibn had more than enough RR points, but didn't send around the Great Banker. Not that I could see
• Science: Everyone was getting to milestones at a walking pace.

As the 3rd age hit 90%, I got 500 points of my own and tried sending around the GB. I also finished the "Launch a Satellite" third science milestone, but building the final project would require 20+ turns which I didn't have. I had only 2 cities to go when the game ended, showing the defeat screen. I lost on score, because other leaders had more legacy points. Had I been more aggressive in purchasing factories just a few turns earlier, I might have pulled it out.