Captain Pugwash
Warlord
Maybe its due to my normal playing style but I recently noticed that in 5 months or so playing Civ3 I have had all the victory types except conquest. On further deliberation I realised that I had also been nowhere near a conquest victory. So I decided to rectify that situation and do some experimenting.
I gave myself the easiest option..chieftain on tiny pangea..disabled all victory conditions except conquest and set about the task. I wont relate all the details of what happened because thats not the purpose of my post. Suffice to say I got a conquest victory in AD170 using only swordsmen to do it.
But it was a revelation to me. No change of govt type, no building aquaducts, no fannying about with cathedrals and happiness, no building wonders. The first city I took with 3 swordsmen; the rest with an ever increasing marauding band of finally about 10 swordsmen. Nice and clean, nice and simple, a huge contrast to all my previous games. I finished the game in about 2-3 hours where it normally takes me a week to finish a game because I am one of those who micromanage everything.
The purpose of my post is to encourage anybody in the same position to try this experiment. It was a real eye-opener for me and I see the game differently now. I am sure conquest victories get a lot more difficult when the settings are not as simple as the ones I chose. I will certainly be doing more experimenting..maybe same on continents, archpelago...larger maps..higher difficulty levels etc. I did have to build a couple of galleys even though it was a pangea.
One question for those who are a lot more experienced than me at conquest victory....can it be achieved by waiting until later ages before you start the attack ? In this game I attacked every tribe as soon as I met them and speed seemed to be an essential part.
I gave myself the easiest option..chieftain on tiny pangea..disabled all victory conditions except conquest and set about the task. I wont relate all the details of what happened because thats not the purpose of my post. Suffice to say I got a conquest victory in AD170 using only swordsmen to do it.
But it was a revelation to me. No change of govt type, no building aquaducts, no fannying about with cathedrals and happiness, no building wonders. The first city I took with 3 swordsmen; the rest with an ever increasing marauding band of finally about 10 swordsmen. Nice and clean, nice and simple, a huge contrast to all my previous games. I finished the game in about 2-3 hours where it normally takes me a week to finish a game because I am one of those who micromanage everything.
The purpose of my post is to encourage anybody in the same position to try this experiment. It was a real eye-opener for me and I see the game differently now. I am sure conquest victories get a lot more difficult when the settings are not as simple as the ones I chose. I will certainly be doing more experimenting..maybe same on continents, archpelago...larger maps..higher difficulty levels etc. I did have to build a couple of galleys even though it was a pangea.
One question for those who are a lot more experienced than me at conquest victory....can it be achieved by waiting until later ages before you start the attack ? In this game I attacked every tribe as soon as I met them and speed seemed to be an essential part.
). Mainly because while the AI is excellent at playing a builders game (especially at high levels with a production bonus), it can still be conquered with concentrated force. Not to mention using exploits to help your cause, if you feel ok about that.
