Need Immortal Culture Help!

[Aaron90495]

Hey guys! Long story short is that I've really been struggling to win culturally on Immortal. I've heard many times that culture victories are now the easiest type, and I can thrash the AI scientifically on Immortal (I even beat post-Fall Patch Deity in G&K), so there's clearly a problem with my culture strategy, not my CiV strategies in general.

My problem seems to be a fairly common one in high-level culture games: there always seems to be one (or sometimes two) runaway culture AI's whose culture I just can't overcome by the end of the game. This past game, it was Indonesia; they were running away earlier in the game (wiped out all of Portugal) and I temporarily put a stop to them, liberating some of Portugal's cities while keeping a few for myself (I captured 4 former Portugese cities total). However, they got a ridiculous spawn - the famous OP Salt start - and I couldn't stop them from spamming wonders (Uffizi, Louvre, all the important ones...). We were neck-and-neck technologically, but we were on different continents and it was simply too difficult to mount an attack without them counterattacking and wiping me out. They kept rolling and wiped out Siam later, which gave them probably 15-20 cities. I got my Tourism pretty high (431 immediately after Internet), but somehow, even after I got an Embargo against them, they still managed to control all but 1-2 CS's on the map and won a diplo victory - I would've been influential with all the other AI's (well, the 3 that were left out of 7) within about 10 turns, but there was just no way to surpass Indonesia's culture. I tried the International Games, but they massively outproduced me.

TL;DR: How on earth can you stop runaway culture AI's? Unless they're playing tall (which, if they're a runaway, they're probably not), taking all of their cities is immensely difficult. So is there anything to do besides switch victory conditions?

 

[MarshalN]

If they are on the other continent and runaway, I've found it is often game over. By the time you get to them they are often too big to take out. Since culture already produced doesn't go away you have to kill them to win, which isn't usually possible, time wise

 

[LastSword]

Culture victory is simply not reliable.
I was thinking about storing faith and buy Musicians just after reaching tourism peak. Well, I was even thinking about not creating any Great Musician before Internet. Never tested though.

I am playing on large crowded maps and I just let it [cultural victory] go. It's not even interesting and extremely blank (some bonuses after reaching influence level [familiar, popular?]). Something more than two numbers.

 

[Aaron90495]

I completely agree on the point of cultural victories being unreliable. I've tried only faith-buying Musicians post-Internet, but either the games were already in bad shape (and hence I didn't win) or the strategy isn't a good one.

I have one question: I've seen a decent number of forum-goers saying they've beaten Deity culturally. Those of you who have, was it just sheer luck that you didn't run into a wonder-spamming Ramesses on the other continent? Or, if there's a way to stop something like that, how did you pull out a win?

 

[Gaussia]

I had that problem in an game yesterday (on Imortal, Austria was the runaway).
I had saved Faith for the entire game so that I could buy 4 Great Musicians, wainted till I had completed the internet, and took Globalisation as well and used my stacked gold to buy city states (they weren't so many thanks to Austria), I had enogh to propose international game and did so (in addition to secure Open Border, Diplomat and Trade route. If She hadn't had so many cities I would send out prophets to make sure to get shared religion).

After I got first place on world game I popped all 4 musicians and it was precisely enough. Also it would be possible to make an ideology switch for + 68% if possible (I was order, she autocracy, to bad I could only switch to freedom :/).