[BTS] News: BOTM 153 - Mansa, Emperor - Starts 15 April

[DynamicSpirit]

BOTM 153: Mansa Musa of Mali.

Mansa Musa on an unedited fractal map. Enjoy!
Game settings:
Playing as: Mansa Musa of Mali
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Emperor
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: No goody huts, no random events
Victory Conditions: All enabled
Map settings:
Map: Fractal
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Medium
Mansa Musa is Spiritual and Financial, and you start with The Wheel and Mining.
The Spiritual trait gives no anarchy and double production speed of Temple and Cristo Redentor
The Financial trait gives +1 commerce on any plot that already has at least 2 commerce
Unique unit: Skirmisher (replaces Archer)
The Skirmisher benefits from: base strength = 4, and 1-2 first strikes. This compares with the Archer which has: base strength = 3, and 1 first strike.
Unique Building: Mint (replaces Forge)
Besides the extra production, and happiness (with gold, silver or gems) of the forge, the mint gives you an extra 10% gold in the city. Nice!
Starting screenshot
This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):


Note that in this game, any espionage-culture victories will be counted as cultural victories.
To Enter the Competition:
This competition will open at 00:01 am on 15 Apr 2018, server local time (UTC-6:00). From that date and time, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save >>>here<<<.
Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 15 May 2018.
Here is a link to a list of the differences between Vanilla, Warlords and BtS.
Software Versions
Windows: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the BUFFY mod here. Players using Windows Vista or Windows 7 are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.
Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the Mac BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the Mac BUFFY mod here.
While playing...
Remember - for your entry to be accepted, it MUST be your first attempt to play this game, and you MUST NOT replay any turns. If you make a mistake while playing, you have to live with it, learn from it, and carry on the game without replaying.
We will open 'spoiler' threads during the month for players to discuss what happens in their games. Do not discuss any details of your game outside those threads.

 

[Xcalibrator]

Not at all sure what to do. Move warrior NE or SW? Settling N of pigs would give a lot of food and production, but the local land isn't very cottage friendly. Settling on the floodplain seems a waste. Choking a neighbor or two with skirmishers might be tempting.

 

[babybluepants]

Warrior 1SW for me.

 

[lymond]

Warrior 1SW for me.

ibid...my first thought is seeing if that PH is worth settling...otherwise, kinda tricky placement of tiles around settler. certainly not on FP and don't really like settling on the GH, but that may be the play. If seafood or something below PH then most def on that.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Spoiler threads are now up!

 

[Pangaea]

For once I have a game that's not horribly far away from completion, but then Pillars of Eternity II released yesterday... Still a few days to go on this one, so hopefully I find time for the last stretch. If not, I'll try to remember to submit the incomplete game.