Mansa Musa's Gold Rush

[Wilhelmus]

I just had this idea of using the gold rush-buy option from early on in the game by building the pyramids.

1) As it may not be wise at this stage of the game to be permanently in the universal suffrage civic, a spiritual civ leader is very useful for switching civics.

2) Financial is the obvious second leader trait.

3) There is also synergy between the cottages and universal suffrage. One extra hammer after they grow into towns.

4) Mansa Musa of mali is spiritual, financial. His special building is the mint, yielding another extra 10% . It is available after metal casting and the prerequired pottery (cottages). This tech is on the path to the guild and banking.

5) Mining and the wheel as starting techs. Good for gold mines, and teching to cottages.

6) If possible, founding an early religion yields even more

With this strategy, I hope to develop quickly, and large, by optimising the newly found cities asap. My only worry is the tech rate, when using the slider at a low %. Do the AI's sell techs at a fair price, or will they rip you off? Maybe some spying could help? Or what about using the production power for building a large army, and extorting the techs?

Anyway, I just thought it out, and I can't try is right now. Does anyone know if this is a known strat? Can anyone add some extra pointers?

Edit: 7) Metal casting opens up the option of building the Colossus wonder.

 

[Refar]

There was a game in the Successions forums named "The Power of Rush-Buy" where people tried somethin similar... I am not sure how it ended, but perhaps there is some know-how to be found...

Found 2 threads. The first one is the one i meant, but perhaps the otehr one is not that bad too.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=239470

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=231658

 

[DaveMcW]

You would have to be on a massively hammer-poor map for this to be worthwhile.

 

[Cookie Crumbs]

Indeed. Gold in sufficient quantities is not only hard to acquire early in the game but you will often be using it to deficit research. I forget, is the conversion rate 3 gold per hammer for rush-buying (without the Kremlin)?

 

[Wilhelmus]

I've started a testing game, now I'm at turn 28. It looks like the map generator made exactly what I had in mind for this strat, and no regenerating was done.


This were the settings: Standard rules, using random climate and random sea level.


As leader, I picked Mansa Musa, of course.


This is what I was hoping for. This starting land has a high commercial potential. The mountain fur will be camped, while I might cottage the plains fur later on, especially after its effect obsoletes. Many flood plains are also present just waiting to be cottaged. The trees can be chopped for pyramids. If I can find a source of stone close, this might definitely be the right way to start. A source of silver is visible in the icy mountains. I think i will wait for the border pops to hook that one up.

I settled in place and revealed sheep. I started the construction of a warrior, while working the flood plains. By changing once a flood plains tile for the plains fur, I finished the warrior the moment Timbuktu reached size 3.
After that the queued build orders were worker and settler.

I got 54 from a cottage just north after my first border pop. My warrior opened a hut to the east and received a map.
Soon after:


I made contact with the Incas to the northeast.

And then shortly after:

Monty found me.

The tech path followed was:
Hunting > Agriculture > Pottery > Animal Husbandry.

 

[Wilhelmus]

After some more exploring, I found a source of STONE! I quickly scouted the surrounding area, and this is really a good land for a second city.


It is connected to the capital by river, and also had many floodplains. Except for the stone, it has also spices, sheep and wines. I think I will settle on the western spice. I also considdered the spot 1N of that spice, but netto, it trades a grassland river for a dessert hill and spices for plains.
If I settle on the spice, I can have its benefit, while building a cottage on the plains, and a cottage on the other spice.
Furthermore, there will be space to the north for another decent city between this one and Monty's capital.


Yes, that's right. Montezuma is separated only 11 squares from me. I'm planning to rush him early. The new city will be on the way to monty. I hope he will found hinduism for me. Buddhism has already been founded in a distant land. He has marble just outside his BFC. I might build some wonders with stone and marble online.
Normally archery is a backfill tech for me, as I prefer horses and metal units. Now I might research it earlyer. I'm almost done with AH. it might pop a horse, but I doubt it, in this dessert. Skirmishers are my unique 4 archers.

They are also a nice unique unit to have vs Huayna's Quechas.The industrious Huayna might be a problem as wonder competitor. As Monty will be gone soon (hopefully), I adjusted my all my espionage to the Incan Empire. I hope to monitor his potential wonder construction, or steal some of his tech.


In the capital, the worker just finnished the first cottage, and will move on to the next one. settler will be ready in 13 turns.

The saves:
View attachment Mansa Musa Gold Rush BC-4000.CivBeyondSwordSave
View attachment Mansa Musa Gold Rush BC-2880.CivBeyondSwordSave

 

[Wilhelmus]

I've played 30 more turns.

Domestic:
Djenne was founded on the spice plains. I've whipped a monument, and soon a skirmisher. Overflow is going into a granary (now 15/60 hammers complete).

I finished the last turns of animal husbandry, then researched bronze working, archery, writing, mysticism, and iron working. Now researching masonry, to hook up the stone when the borders of Djenne expand after four turns.

Diplomacy:
I've started a war with Montezuma when I entered his territory with my two warriors. What they found was a charriot factory that just recently opened.
Two cows and one horse resource are pastured in his capital

I pillaged the horse pasture, while he only had one chariot, in his northern (second) city. Then I fortified my warriors in the woodlands around his capital. He rebuilt his pasture after some turns, and defeated my warriors before they could pillage it again.



My army now consists of: 1 skirmisher. Not a big army, indeed, but on my next turn, I will whip one more skirmisher in Djenne, and i'm also producing them in Timbuktu. I'm planning to defend myself with skirmishers for now...



I don't have any metal in my cities, so I will need to found a third city to get it. Waiting for a border pop in Timbuktu still takes 192 turns, or 70-80 turns with library and monument. That's too long.



The best spot I think, would be around the Iron to the northwest, with acces to the sea. I definitely want to keep Montezuma away from there, as I think he doesn't have metal either.

Wonders and religions:
Buddhism (3440 BC) and hinduism (2880 BC) have been founded, both in distant lands. Stonehenge has been built (2200 BC) far away.
Judaism is not founded yet. I might have a shot at it.
Great wall would be very nice. I'm fighting a defensive war for now, and it's nice to keep the Barbarians out. For the sake of this thread, the Pyramids are a must.

View attachment Mansa Musa Gold Rush BC-1680.CivBeyondSwordSave

 

[Guardian_PL]

Good luck Wilhelmus, that's a really nice map You have there. If he's so close I'd simply Skirmishrush him. 4 plus first strikes can do, and they are cheaper than axes.

Ah, and with Your UU I wouldn't be afraid of barbs too much, at least not until Monty is finished