ok, this one i'm gonna try and actually submit.
last (and 1st time) i started a gotm was the byzantine game with the tundra / whales start on deity difficulty but after an ok-ish start persia began to kick my ass and i just lost any interest in playing it after the 1st evening but this time on emperor will be different.
guess i'm gonna try and exploit the sacred sites reformation belief.
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€dit: looks like i'm not gonna submit a game after all. everything was going fine, i expanded like crazy, had no major happiness, gold or faith problems, bought mosques like crazy and was on a real good way to finish before turn 150 when on turn 118 - exactly 2 turns before i would get my reformation belief - indonesia was the 1st nation to pick one and guess what they took? sacred sites! bastards. could still finish it normally and submit but at this point i'm too frustrated to continue the game. guess i should have built the oracle to make sure i get it...