Player Guide

Autumn Leaf · Mar 11, 2023

RFC GW 2.1 - 900 BC - Nubians - Monarch - Historical Victory in 404 AD - Score 2510, Dan Quayle

UHV 1: Control 3 gold resources in 542 BC
UHV 2: Make sure that at least one of every great person type is settled in Meroe by 350 AD
UHV 3: Be 1st in score in 400 AD

Egypt and Assyria declared war on me as soon as my little band of colonists appeared in 788 BC. It's usually nice to be acknowledged when you enter a room, but I could have done without this!

I knew from past games that there were four sources of Gold in Africa. One was way off in Mauretania, west of Carthage, one in Wasit's BFC, one just out of my starting position's BFC to the NW, and one off in Abyssinia to my E. There were also two in southern Arabia, just across the Red Sea, that could both be nabbed by founding just one city on the coast. That city would be a litte food poor, but eventually envelop Clam, Horse, two Incense, and Sheep as well as the two Gold in its BFC. Assyria was a long way off, so apart from the little matter of getting Egypt off my back, UHV #1 should present little difficulty.

Nubia was so isolated that once Egypt was neutralised, I should be able to focus on UHV #2. If I could manage that, UHV #3 should be within easy reach, though I knew from experience that I might need to nobble Phoenicia or Assyria if either went on a Wonders kick.

My starting spot (Nuri) would give me Iron, Salt and seven Flood Plains (+1 green face), plus two Hills. However, by moving 1 W (Gebtu) I could swap the Iron and Salt for Gold and Gems, an Oasis, and twelve Flood Plains (+2 green faces), plus three Hills. By going SE, SE, E I could reach a river bend (Meroe) that would give me the Iron and the Salt, plus the Abyssinian Gold, two hills, only one Flood Plain but five Grassland and one Plains.

I checked the Info Screen. Only Luxor, the Hanging Gardens and the Temple of Solomon had been built so far. And - oho, ohoho! Luxor was in 4-pop Independent Waset! There's luck. I had spawned with seven Swordsmen, four Medjays, and two Settlers. A five-turn march across the desert with a detachment could secure UHV #1. All my military units had the Commando badge, but it wasn't useful yet as there were no enemy roads in sight ...

It looked like I would be building a lot of Wonders in a city with skimpy production. That meant I would be using the whip. I would be needing a lot of food. That decided it. I moved one Settler W and the other SE, each accompanied by a Swordman and a Medjay. I sent five Swordsmen and two Medjays towards Waset, which was indeed Independent. My two Workers started building a Road to kill a couple of turns till they could start building Farms. Gebtu, Meroe and Wasit were all on the Nile, so I set my initial Research to Boat Building, so as to connect them by trade along the river.

I checked my Civics. Monarchy (+1 per military in city), Slavery (the whip) and Deification (+1 happy from Monument). I could switch from Redistribution (+25% Food in Capital) to Isolatonism (+1 Food from Farms), but though that could be handy later, for now I didn't see any benefit in switching.

Next turn, 782 BC, I founded Gebtu. I set it to building a Vaulted Granary, the Nubian Unique Building (stores 75% instead of 50%, but, key issue, NO HEALTH BONUS from Corn, Rice or Wheat). I queued up a Forge and a Monument behind that. I expected to whip the Granary and overflow some hammers into the other buildings. I was taking in 6 Food, a surplus of 3. Eight turns to 2 pop, 60 to the Granary. Boat Building was 21 turns away.

I checked my Wonders options. The Pyramids (free Monument), Stonehenge (all Labor Civics), Lion Gate (+10% defense), and - Great Bath! +2 Health, new cities +2 pop. That was the one for me, if I could get it. I didn't queue it up yet, as I suspect the AI starts trying to beat the human player to any Wonder they commence.

In 776 BC, my Settler moved onto the site for Meroe, my Workers started a Farm for Gebtu, and my military expedition climbed a Hill to get their first sight of Waset - defended by one Archer and three Town Guards. That looked easy enough.

In 770 BC, my Swords reached the walls of Waset. I Settled Meroe, and started a Vaulted Granary. I figured Meroe would be my knowledge city and destination for my Great People. It didn't have Gebtu's potential for explosive population growth, but the Grasslands would support Cottages or Farms (probably the latter early on) and a Farm on the Flood Plain would give enough excess Food to let the city eventually utilise all of its productive BFC. Seven of its BFC tiles were bare Desert, one was Jungle, and one was a Desert Hill that Gebtu would take. Once I had Education and switched to Apprenticeship, it would support a lot of Specialists, helping with some types of Great People - Merchants, Scientists and Artists.

In 764 BC, Waset now had an extra Town Guard. My first Swordsman died against the Archer, but the other four each killed a Town Guard and then a Medjay killed the wounded Archer to storm the town. Waset was mine! It had a Brewery and, of course, Luxor, with its free Priest and Engineer and +2 GP bonus. That would be handy for Great People for UHV #2. Just The Great Spy and Great General to find.

I looked at the free GP some techs give. The Wheel (G Scientist), Warrior Code (G General) and Celestial Navigation (G Merchant) were gone, while Tyranny (G Spy), Machinery (G Engineer) and Music (G Artist) were far off for me and may be snaffled; it was too early to plan. However, the Tyranny path contained useful techs to have, so I decided to work towards it.

I could see a red border on a Hill north of Waset and now I had to decide whether I wanted to add that city to my empire. My Stability was 30 (Solid), of which Expansion was 11, so I could afford to grow a little more. If I didn't nab it, Egypt or Assyria would.

In 752 BC, the red border expanded towards me, pressing against Waset's walls. Decision made. I sent three Swordsmen and the spare Medjay NW!

In 746 BC, my expedition climbed a Hill and looked down on Barbarian Memphis 1N of the Stone, defended by a single Archer. To the NE of Memphis was a yellow territory - looked like Ramesses controlled Tanis. Barb red went up the W side of the yellow border, so Zau was either rubble, Barb, or in disorder.

I checked my Diplomacy - Ramesses was now willing to talk. I called him up. No cities showed in his trade list, so it looked like he only controlled Tanis. I also spoke to Ashurbanipal. He owned Babylon. Harran wasn't listed, even though it showed up as his in the Top 5 Cities, so Harran must be his capital. What had happened to Nievah? Ashy was obviously struggling. Fascinatingly, both Ashy and Rammy accused me of declaring war on them (-3 relations) - and in addition, Ashurbanipal complained that I had declared war on his friend (-1 relations)! He and Ramesses were, ahem, at war with each other. The AI is weird.

There was an opportunity here. Both had techs I wanted. I could make peace with one but stay at war with the other. I had no techs Ashurbanipal wanted, but Egypt lacked Metal Casting. Cuddling up to Rammy was risky but might be worth it. So we made peace. Then I offered Metal Casting for Boat building, Spokes and Herbalism. He wouldn't accept that, but offfered Mythology (309) in place of Herbalism (327). I tried again with Herbalism, but this time added 18 Gold to my offer. Deal! Now we Opened Borders. We were up to Cautious, modified by -3 for declaring war on him, +2 for our mutual struggle. Good enough.

He now showed me he also had Trade and Iron Working, both of which I wanted, but now I had nothing to trade. Oh, well. The way into Asia was open. When I had some spare hammers I could train a Scout and send him off.

I hadn't used any free Barb wins yet, so capturing Memphis on the next turn was a walk-in. I could now see a dim red border NW of Memphis - There was another Barb city up that way. It could be Zau, or it could be west of Zau. Either way it was a desirable property! I checked my Stabilty - 24, with 10 Expansion. Looked like I was not yet done conquering.

Inter-turn, a Swordsman I'd sent N onto a Hill giving a better view toward Tanis was attacked by a Barb Libyan Camel Archer. Another free win.

Next turn the red border had expanded my way. Looked like it was Zau, E of the Wheat. Two of my Swordsmen were now requesting Promotion: the one who had captured Memphis double-promoted to City Raider I & II, while the one who killed the camel got City Raider I. I renamed the lead Swordsman "Prince Nes-Anhuret" and marked him to become a Great General someday - if he survived long enough. Lower Egypt was proving to be a rough neighbourhood.

I advanced, and Zau appeared out of the fog - defended by a single Archer. But inter-turn, Prince Nes-Anhuret was attacked by two camels and the Archer. He killed one camel and the Archer; the injured Camel was licking its wound in Zau. Prince Nes-Anhuret was down to 1.6/5 Strength, but the camel was down to 0.9/6 and the Prince's odds were 98.2%. So I let him capture Zau, which put him on 10 Experience and a City Raider III promotion next turn. Hiram of Phoenicia popped up and took Metal Casting for ... I forget what. I didn't note it down.

I checked my Stability: 23, of which Expansion was 13. Good enough. All my cities were on stable plots (Settler Value 300 or 400) and, as they controlled three Gold resources between them in their BFCs, I didn't need to expand into Arabia or Mauretania - although, of course, I could if I wanted to. But I now had all the territory I needed. With UHV #1 on target, it was time to focus on making UHV #2 happen.

In 698 BC, Pericles of Athens popped up and I traded my perennial Metal Casting, plus 35 Gold, for Mythology and Fortification (I was 4 turns from Trade). I now switched to Vassalage and Client Kingdoms.

I was almost out of money, so I started tweaking my research rate. In 662 BC, I finally discovered Trade and instantly revolted to Trade Economy and Organized Religion. While in Anarchy, I turned my Research to 0% so I wouldn't go broke next turn. I also noticed that Meroe was not growing Culture. I needed Psedjet to spread there!

In 656 BC, Gebtu had 4 pop and I spent two points to whip its Vaulted Granary. The whipping would continue until morale improved!

In 650 BC, Dido of Carthage popped up. We Opened Borders but had nothing else to give each other. The Great Engineer Imhotep appeared in Waset, and i made my first GP decision. I sent him to Gebtu, to build the Great Bath, if nobody snaffled that before he finished his 3-turn journey. Never mind the +2 pop in new cities; with all the Flood Plains about, Gebtu needed all the Health it could get!

Inter-turn to 638 BC, a camel withdrew from an attack on Zau. Prince Nes-Anhuret took the brunt, but having 10 Exp he gained nothing except bruises from the encounter. I used the other Swordsman in Zau to kill the camel, which duly gave him City Raider II. Imhotep arrived in Gebtu and rushed the Great Bath.

In 632 BC, Solomon popped up to say hello. We couldn't design a good deal for Metal Casting, so I waited, and in 620 BC he gave me Priesthood and Storytelling for Metal Casting and 95 Gold. Then I called Dido and gave her Pottery, Masonry and Metal Casting for Cuneiform and Celestial Navigation - a relatively poor trade but useful to me. I instantly revolted to Oligarchy. Next turn, with a free Merchant Specialist in every city, I dialled Research from 0% back up to 70%. My track was now Alphabet > Writing > Code of laws > Tyranny. After that I would play it by ear.

UHV #1 ticked off in 536 BC. Getting the Mines dug in time had been a hassle, but now I had till 350 AD to complete UHV #2.

In 524 BC, Waset popped the GP Nayana Guru. Waset was the Pesedjet Holy City. I made a judgement call and instead of sending him to Meroe, I had him build the Sphinx.

In 422 BC, St. Paul was born in Waset and so a few turns later, Meroe finally got its first settled GP! Unfortunately, UHV #2 was bugged and my GP ticked it off. I was now forced to track the UHV myself to ensure that I could win it legitimately.

In 272 BC, Gebtu popped a GE. I sent him to Memphis, which was feeling a Cultural squeeze from Tanis after losing the race for Yazilkaya to that city; he rushed Naqsh-e Rustam in 260 BC.

I added a GS to Meroe in 194 BC. Two down, five to go.

In 188 BC, Julius Caesar declared war on me. Waited for the Conquerers event on Zau ... None.

I added a GM to Meroe in 144 BC. Three down, Four to go.

In 86 BC, I discovered Apprenticeship. Revolted, then turned up the pressure cooker on a GA.

In 50 BC, Alexander popped up to say hello.

I added a GA to Meroe in 28 AD. Four down, three to go. It looked like I'd have to declare war on someone to get the GG. Jules was too far away and we eventually made Peace without a blow being struck (except he'd blockaded Zau for the whole war).

I added a GE to Meroe in 76 AD. Just a Great Spy and a Great general required. I was now building an army for an invasion ... somewhere ...

... And in 112 AD, Hiram, my nearest competitor in Score (I was 2200 to his 1900), volunteered to be the target! My Stability was 88. I could well afford a war to get a GG. Over the next few turns my army gathered at Memphis, then moved into the Levant. As a distraction for Hiram, I contacted Solomon of Israel and persuaded him, for a suitable recognizance, to declare war on Phoenicia. Phoenicia and Egypt must have had a pact, because next thing I knew Solomon was asking me to join his war against Egypt. Uh, no.

In 154 AD, my army drew up outside Hiram's capital, Tyre, just as Israel collapsed. Jerusalem went Independent and its cultural boundary collapsed back to the city walls. Well, so long, Solomon. I hardly knew you.

Next turn I bombarded, then suicided five Catapults against Tyre (probably overkill, as most of the defenders were ground down by the first couple of kamikazes, but somehow Hiram's Heavy Swordsman was unscathed until the last couple of suicides). My Heavy Swordsmen then marched into the city without loss, grinding the reeling defenders beneath their hobnails. I also founded the city of Kerma in Arabia. Not sure why I did that now; I didn't need it. Because I could? It came in handy, once, much later.

In 172 AD, my campaign rolled over Byblos, the new Phoenician capital. I bombarded, but decided not to suicide any Catapults against the Heavy Axeman, Swordsman and Archer defending. My Heavy Swordsmen stormed the city without loss.

I added a GG to Meroe in 184 AD. Now I just needed a Great Spy! Beyond setting one Spy Specialist in every city, there seemed no way to improve my chances; I just had to avoid creating too geat a probability of anything else in some cities, and hope for a lucky Great Spy!

In 190 AD, Phoenicia suddenly collapsed. Now that I had my GG, I had been thinking of making peace and giving Hiram back his cities. Oh, well. I went and took Yerushalayim to console my soldiers.

I finally added a Great Spy to Meroe in 208 AD - and officially ticked off UHV #2. Zau did the GP deed - my only city with no Wonders and a relatively low population (due to cultural pressure from Tanis stealing tiles), so often a Spy was its only Specialist. It was the only GP Zau produced in the whole game. [ETA: Just now remembered Kerma, which was also small and without Wonders; but it was also relatively new and still developing. It was a long way from popping any GP.]

There were just 89 turns left in the game. My Score was 2580 to Rome's 1810. It was not even a contest any more, just a long grind to 400 AD.

My Stability was down to 35. The Levantine cities, though crammed with Great Wonders, were a drag on my empire. I gave Damascus to Darius I of Persia, ruler of the ... Seleucid Empire? Oh well, it's no business of mine what these queer foreigners want to call themselves. His attitude went from Cautious to Pleased. Megido and Yerushalayim I gave to a grateful, Friendly, Ramesses, who promply built a huge temple in Tanis and decorated it with enormous murals proclaiming his heroic victory over the Hebrews and Phoenicians. Somehow there was no room left on the walls to mention his true benefactor. Whatever floats your boat, dude. He's hoping to be remembered as "the Great"; I'm satisfied just being great.

In 226 AD, I unwound my Specialists, putting some back on the land and converting the rest to Merchants. Some of my cities were starving and a few Great Merchants here and there would be the perfect remedy. My Stability had rebounded to Very Solid, 72.

My last veterans arrived home from the Levant in 244 AD. Memphis turned out to cheer the heroes of the Levantine War.

In 256 AD, bored, I had a look around the world. Rome dominated the north, including Spain and Britain, while Macedon had the centre, including Anatolia. Rome and Macedon were engaged all through the Balkans. Rome had captured "Scupi"; Alexander's new capital was at Tegea. I had hoped to see Byzantium spawn in this game, but the AI had built Philippi instead, 1 square W of Constantinople's site. Arguably a superior city, as it gathered in the Thracian Copper that Byzantion missed, but even if Jules took Philippi off Alex, there would be no Byzantium. In the east, Persia sprawled from Tyre to Kul-Oba. Delhi was Barbarian - India had collapsed. In the west, Numidia controlled the northern coast of Africa from Rusadir to a nameless city that had once been Carthage. Far away on the shore of the Baltic, the Goths had their sole city and capital, Celtic Homeland. A huge Gothic army - 4 Germanic Swordsmen and 13 Heavy Axemen - was probing the Roman border near Sarmizgetusa. Finally, a buffer state between Nubia and Persia, Egypt controlled from Tanis to Megido.

In 262 AD, Macedon collapsed. Whoa.

In 268 AD, I discovered Standing Army and revolted to Empire and Aristocracy. A few turns later, I checked my Civics. My Stability was down to 30, down from 50 thirty years earlier. I thought Empire and Aristocracy would help, but they did not. Perhaps my 6-city empire was too small? My Score was 2483 to Rome's 1989. I expected Rome to gain on me as it absorbed the Macedonian fragments, but perhaps that would also destabilise and collapse them. It required watching.

In 316 AD, Ramesses renewed his periodic offer of vassalising to me, and finally I accepted. It boosted my score to 2555, ahead of Rome's 2047.

In 320 AD, Darius captured Delhi.

In 328 AD, I discovered Theology - and Christianity appeared in Kerma. Well, better there than in a major city. For the first and final time, Kerma justified its existence! I revolted to Persecution to ensure Christianity didn't spread to my other cities. Let it go out into the alien lands where it belonged.

In 344 AD, Meroe built the King's School. Gebtu was working on Hagia Sophia.

In 348 AD, my Stability was 20. Then, in 352 AD, it was 16. I checked my options for giving Kerma away. Nobody wanted it! My Score was 2684 to Rome's 2158.

In 368 AD, Attila of the Hunnic Peoples popped up to declare war on me. I didn't feel singled out; he was also at war with Rome, Egypt and Parthia. For some reason the Numideans were omitted. At any rate, his massive army was a long way off in the north and hardly likely to ever come near me. In other news, I completed Hagia Sophia.

In 396 AD, after a bellicose demand for money a couple of turns earlier, Rome blandly Opened Borders with me. Also, a random event gave me the opportunity to inflict pain on the Numideans, so I did - to the max. My Stability was 28, and Score 2815 to Rome's 2331.

In 400 AD, my Stabilty was suddenly down to 11, my Score 2815 to Rome's 2340, but the long-awaited Historical Victory arrived in 404 AD. Stability 11 (28, 2, 23, -7, -35); Score 2824 to Rome's 2354.

Nubia was only the 3rd largest empire in the world, but that was by choice. Every time we had stepped outside our core, our Stability took a hammering. So instead, I had worked on making Nubia into a paradise for my people. I now celebrated our victory with a grand procession down a Nile lined by cheering faces; starting in Meroe, where the assembled Great People bowed as I went by, through mighty Gebtu, ancient Waset, martial Memphis, to Zau where the river met the Mediterranean. Finally, I went overland via Egypt to Kerma, where an unruly mob of schismatic Christians pelted my caravan with filth. Well, you can't please everyone.

Autumn Leaf · Mar 11, 2023

Sigh. Having completed Nubia, I wound the clock back to 256 AD, used the WB to move Philippi over to the Byzantion site, and changed it to a Roman city. Played forward from 256 AD to 304 AD, just to see what would happen.

Alas, no Byzantium! :crazyeye:

bluepotato · Mar 14, 2023

Autumn Leaf said:
Alas, no Byzantium!

Sounds like a bug

The Byzantines should spawn if Rome owns Constantinople's plot and has less than 40 stability points (i.e. not Very Solid), regardless of the city actually being settled.
Do you still have a save file?

Autumn Leaf · Mar 14, 2023

bluepotato said:
Sounds like a bug The Byzantines should spawn if Rome owns Constantinople's plot and has less than 40 stability points (i.e. not Very Solid), regardless of the city actually being settled.
Do you still have a save file?

It was the stability. I have just repeated the test, but this time I added a 262 AD Barbarian sacking of Rome to put a crimp in Augustus' Stability. Rome temporarily flatlined, and although it was clearly recovering by 286, this time I got my Byzantines! :thumbsup:

I have a case to plead for the Byzantines, but I'll go post it in a more appropriate thread.

Autumn Leaf · Mar 14, 2023

RFC GW 2.1 - 900 BC - Persians - Monarch - Historical Victory in 248 BC - Score 2253, Dan quayle

UHV 1: Control 2 cities in Lydia, Anatolia, and Media, and 1 city in Akkad in 330 BC
UHV 2: Have 2 cities with great engineers in 275 BC
UHV 3: Be 1st in score in 250 BC

Lydia in western Anatolia has Troy, Gordion and Sfard. Anatolia in central Anatolia has Phoenicus and Myriandrus. Media north of Persia has Hasanlu and Taxila, which flip to Persia. Akkad in Mesopotamia has Larsa and Babylon. This assumes that these cities have not been razed and new ones built. The two western provinces are separated from Perisa by Armenia and Subartu; you are probably going to have to make Peace with or destroy Assyria to secure access to them. Also, you get no UHV credit for any cities in Persia Province. Think carefuly before using up your starting Settlers! While you are creating your empire, your core cities will be small, and Settlers will be very expensive to build in them. You are counting on capturing cities. Some of the captured cities may be large enough to build a Settler relatively quickly.

With no Elam and no Harappa, Persia Province is an emptiness set in a void. The starting spot looks good, but in fact it is a trap. The site has Copper, 2 Iron, 2 Incense, and a Sheep in its BFC, plus an Elephant you can't see yet. But the Incense Resources eventually consume two of the four fresh water Plains tiles, and the Elephant Resource uses a dry Plains tile. The Sheep are on a Desert Hill and only produce 2 Food with a pasture. The city maxes out at about 6 pop (a little more early on when you can farm all the plains tiles). Time, and the patient accumulation of Windmills and Great Merchants, can make this site into a productive metropolis, but for Cyrus' UHVs, time is of the essence. You might be better off moving 1SW and building on the desert tile by the sea - there's Clam in the water there. 1S gives you a Hill site with the all the flat Plains tiles and the Clam, but you lose the Copper and Sheep and you can't build a Harbour to make proper use of the Coastal tiles. Both are right next door to the Sassanid spawn. (A small Persepolis is completely historical - the Persian capital was never more than a ceremonial city. Nearby Shiraz, modern Iran's 5th largest city, was only founded in the Sassanian era.)

Obvious second city sites in Persia are in the north, Nad-i Ali on the Stone, and in the east the unnamed Hills E and SE of the Cows, or on the Copper Hill overlooking the mouth of the Indus. (Some otherwise good sites can't be settled because they are Desert tiles with no Fresh Water.)

Speaking of expensive, you will find that if you get greedy and grab too many cities, too early, your budget will bleed out. Pick your early cities, and your wars, carefully.

I started in 674 BC, with a mighty host gathered at Persepolis: 3 Settlers, 3 Archers, 2 Chariots, 2 Light Cavalry, 8 Immortals, 6 War Elephants, 5 Catapults, 1 Magus, and 3 Workers. Since I started with Tyranny rather than discovering it, I did not get the free Great Spy.

Despite all my warnings above about the starting site, I founded Persepolis on the spot. My Magus made Persepolis the Zoroastrian holy city. I set it to build a Granary, then a Forge. Culture from Zoroastrism and the Palace would eventually pop my borders, so a Monument was not required. Only the Oracle was available to me for Wonders. I checked the Info Screen. So many Wonders already built! Speaking of which, I noticed that top-of-the-list 6-pop Babylon had both the Hanging Gardens and Yazilikaya. Akkad was on my shopping list. I now knew my first target! 8-pop Nievah, north of Babylon, had Stonehenge and Ashurbanipal's Library. It would be nice to capture the Library, but the Middle Assyrian Empire was the most powerful of the Civilizations at war with me. It would be a tough gig to wrench Nievah from Ashurbanipal's cold dead hands. Tough, but very satisfying. Babylon and Nievah would put my economy on its feet. Far-off 6-pop Sparte had the Bath, but it was too far away and was not in a Province I needed.

I queued up Animal Domestication > Elephant Domestication for my initial Research. The ability to replace lost War Elephants was a priority; the jumbos were my military spearpoint, as the Immortals and Catapults were the shaft! I already had Iron Working, so I could replace lost Immortals. I would have to be careful with my Catapults, as I did not yet have Mathematics. Whoops. I added Mathematics to the end of the research queue.

One Archer stayed. My Settlers I sent, one N, one NE, guarded by Archers. Two Workers went into the Forest, ready to chop it; the remaining Worker went E, ready to Farm the Plain. The city, built on the flat, passed irrigation to that tile.

To my south was the sea, the east was empty, and the north was in Persia's flipzone. War, danger, and the richest pickings, lay to the west; and thence went my army. Towards Babylon, its direction indicated by a green border, and then north through Assyria - with friendship, if the Assyrians were wise, with fire and sword otherwise. Since everyone was already at war with me, I ordered my Immortals to carry lit torches and naked swords, just in case.

In 662 BC, 1-pop Taxila flipped to me, bringing with it a Light Cavalry. I set the city to building an Archer. But why did I not get Hasanlu? It must have been razed. If so, I must either build a Settler to replace it, or else swap Nad-i Ali for Ganzak in the river bend N of the Incense. I sent my Light cavalry N to check the situation, though I already knew the answer. I was confident enough so that rather than descending NE onto the Stone this turn, my Settler continued north.

In other news, my War Elephants climbed up to a Sheep Pasture on a Hill, and looked down on 5-pop Babylonian Larsa on the other side, defended by 2 Bowmen and an Archer. Larsa looked like it would be a good place to build a Settler - once I cleared it of Babylonian units. Since it did not have to fight Elam for the Sheep, it would be a useful city. My Elephants waited for the slower units of my army to catch up. I needed the Catapults to break down its Walls before I stormed it; I didn't want to risk losing as-yet non-Veteran major units this early!

I realised that at 100% Research, I was losing 27 Gold per turn (GPT). My Treasury was already down to 199 Gold. I turned the rate down - and down - and down. At 0% Research I was still losing 14 GPT. I left it at 0%. I would get Gold from capturing cities, which would stave off the day of bankrupcy, but sooner or later I needed to get my economy balanced.

In 650 BC, a Bowmen rushed out of Babylon, headed for Larsa. Too late! I bombarded Larsa from the Sheep Hill, then my Elephants attacked from the Stone. 4-pop Larsa, with a Granary, was mine! I set it to building an Archer, then a Monument to pop its borders, then a Settler.

My Light Cavalry saw Hasanlu - or rather, saw a pile of rubble. It was embedded in Assyrian Culture, probably coming from Nineveh, across Lake Urmia.

In 644 BC, My army did not rest in Larsa; they pivoted to threaten Babylon, though it would take a couple of turns to bring all my Catapults to bear. I also founded Ganzak, in Media. Ganzak and Taxila, if I could hold them, secured Media as my first Province for UHV #1. In the east, I founded Moen-jo-daro (a no-name tile, I should have called it Herat), in Persia, on the nameless Grassland Hill 1W of the Copper. It would eventually encompass Sheep, Cow, Incense, Spice, Dye and Copper. By building on the Copper I would have lost the Sheep but gained Gems and a port city with 3 Coast tiles, at the price of cramping the future city of Delhi. I decided not to be greedy.

In 638 BC, Babylon fell and Hammurabi was ahes and dust. His 5-pop city, fabled for its buildings, walls and gates, was empty save for the Yasilikaya and the Hanging Gardens. Since the Wonders would take care of growing its Culture, I queued up an Archer and a Settler. I now controlled Akkad, my second UHV #1 Province. My Treasury was 331 Gold, and I was losing 16 GPT at 0% Research. In other news, the Great General Geronimo was born in Ganzak. I started him on his way towards Babylon.

I had a decision to make. Ashurbanipal was now willing to make Peace, and even to throw in Fishing to sweeten the deal. If he was that keen for Peace, he would probably Open Borders too. (If he was feeling confident he'd instead be demanding Babylon from me as part of the deal.) So far my army had not lost a unit. Crushing Assyria would be time-consuming, difficult and probably expensive in irreplaceable units, but the Assyrian cities - Nievah in particular - would eventually put my empire on a sound footing, and I still had three centuries in which to win my western Provinces. A DoW by Assyria when my army was busy in the west and my core was weakly defended could be disastrous!

So be it. Assyria delenda est.

However, some of my units were badly injured. A couple of turns of R&R in Babylon seemed advisable. I told my soldiers the Hanging Gardens had some pleasant eateries and drinkeries, amongst pleasant green surrounds, and that the gorgeous frescoes in the Yazilikaya were a millennium ahead of their time and not to be missed. I warned them that anyone caught chipping souvenirs off the sights would be flogged. That should keep them in line. Just to be sure, I sent the uninjured units to protect some captured Workers that were building a road north towards Nievah.

In 608 BC, Geronimo merged with my best Immortal, and my army camped below the walls of Nievah. Next turn, I attacked! Nievah was defended by a Swordsman, two Spearmen, an Axeman, and an Archer. There was also a Settler in there, but he would simply become a Worker for me when the city fell. My catapults dropped the Walls. A Catapult that had not used its attack charged the breach - and escaped alive, having inflicted damage on all defending units! My jumbos held back and Geronimo led the attack, killing the Axeman. Four more Immortals followed him into the breach, and 9-pop Arbela was mine. Stonehenge, Ashurbanipal's Library, a Bakery, a Brewery, and a Workshop. Oh, this city would be the jewel of my empire - when it emerged from disorder, seven turns from now.

My army gathered in Arbela while I assessed the situation. I could see an Auxillia and a Javelineer on a Cow Hill NW. I could also see 5-pop Harran to the west and 2-pop Nineveh to the north. Far to the west, my Light Calary detachment climbed a Hill, and hiding in the Stone on top, saw 2-pop Independent Gordion on the Grassland below, defended by two Archers and a Town Guard. A couple of barb units, a Spearman and a Town Guard, were visible in the distance. There was no chance of my two horsies capturing the town, alas, unless the barbs attacked it and weakened the defenders.

I checked the Demographics. Pretty much unchanged, despite Ashurbanipal's losses. I was still #2 in military strength, behind some power that was now even larger and so was not Assyria and was probably Phoenicia. I did the diplomatic rounds of Egypt, Athens and Sparta. Everyone was now talking to me, but they all wanted Arbela for Peace. Nuh uh, not happening. I called up Ashurbanipal. No demands here, but no concessions either. He still thought he had a chance. Hiram wanted Babylon, but even if he hadn't, Myriandrus and Phoenicus were in the list of his cities. I needed to control or destroy and rebuild those cities to control Anatolia for UHV #1.

On impulse, I sent a couple of jumbos to clear the Cow Hill. Now I could see that Harran had two Archer defenders, and Nineveh one. There were two Workers mining the Copper N of Nineveh. That was all I could see. Was that all Ashy had left? Doubtful. I sent the rest of my jumbos up the Hill. It looked like a good place to control to stop him from moving units between his cities or threatening Arbela. I began to consider splitting my army and taking out both Assyrian cities simultaneously.

I noticed Babylon was out of disorder but not building Culture. Oh. Captured Wonders do not grant Culture! OK, FINE. I queued up Monuments in each of Babylon and Arbela. I had 342 Gold and I was losing 12 GPT at 0%.

In 590 BC, I ordered my army to divide. The larger portion went west toward Harran, the smaller north toward Nineveh. In the west, my horsies cantered down from the Stone Hill, crossed a Grassland, and clobbered a barb Spearman threatening Gordion. It was time to check out Sfard - or the site of it, as the case may be. My army would "take care" of Gordion in due course, as long as I didn't dawdle and let Phoenicia meddle with it.

My horsies found Independent 1-pop Sfard - defended by a single Town Guard. They could probably capture it, but to what effect? It would just auto-raze. The Wheat SW of the town was covered by Phoenician Culture, probably from Phoenicus. Sfard was never going to grow as an Independent town. If I wanted to avoid spending a Settler here, I must capture Gordion and Phoenicus, and let their combined Culture flip Sfard in due course. Then I could help it grow. Would that happen before 330 BC? I couldn't tell. If Sfard and Phoenicus couldn't be captured, I could use a Settler to build a good city S of the Wheat, in the southern tile of Lydia. But I would then need another Settler for the Black Sea Coast, to complete Anatolia.

In 578 BC, with one quick bombardment and two Immortal strikes, Nisibis was mine. With ovewhelming force at his walls, I called up Ashurbanipal to see what he would offer for me to let him survive in Nineveh. The answer, after a bit of give and take, was Fishing, Animal Husbandry, and adopting all my Civics. He then accepted Open Borders (presumably because he was also at war with Hiram) but wouldn't trade any other techs. It meant that Arbela's territory was a little constricted by Nineveh's Culture, but my army's way west was now open and Ashurbanipal was no longer a threat. He would probably collapse soon.

In 572 three jumbos headed for Gordion found themselves bracketed by a Phoenician Swordsman and Spearman. They abated the nuisance, but one jumbo was badly injured. That would complicate things. My main army headed for Myriandrus, which had been reinforced by sea.

Inter-turn, Assyria collapsed. Pity, I had hoped to trade more techs with them. A Phoenician Archer foolishly moved onto the Forest next to Myriandrus. Geronimo shouted his war cry, and now my army was up to the walls. Further east, a Phoenician Swordsman threatened a Worker. The Worker ran, hoping to lure the Sword down onto the flat where Babylon's Immortal garrison could take it out, but instead the Swordsman moved north onto Forest, and next turn two Workers were running in front of it.

In 560 BC, I bombarded Myriandrus, then my Immortals stormed into Tarsos. In the north, Gordion was now defended by one Archer and two Warriors - oh well. The Archer and a Warrior went down cheaply, but I didn't want to risk the 1.9 health jumbo against the 2 health Warrior. It would be another turn before I could take the town. Meanwhile I saw that Phoenicus had finally reached 2 population. I could capture it, unless the AI let it lose that point. In other news, my Chariots, after a long journey, were now at the walls of Ur, whose Culture had been pressing on Babylon. The town was defended by a single Town Guard; next turn, the Chariots should make hay of him.

Next turn, in the south, my Chariots took Ur. The irritating Independent Culture vanished from around Babylon. There being no spare units nearby, the Chariots garrisoned their prize. They could see off barbs and weaker units; If someone came for it in force, they were fast enough to run away.

My budget deficit, which had been down to just -1 GPT, ballooned to -7. But I had 555 in the bank from all my conquests; I had stopped worrying about money. Soon, I would be able to raise the Research rate from 0%.

In 548 BC, I bombarded and stormed and captured Telmessos. Now I controlled Anatolia, I called Hiram and we made Peace in exchange for Masonry and a bunch of Gold. In the north, a jumbo trampled the Warrior into mush, and Sardis was mine.

I still needed a second city in Lydia. Sfard would never grow on its own, and would auto-raze if captured, but if I focussed on building Culture in Sardis and Telmessos, it would eventually flip to me. By 330 BC? That was the question. It was in Sardis' BFC; perhaps I should just raze it and build a better city?

My great hope for the West was in Armenia, at a site known as Subasa to the Hittites, Neocaesarea to the Romans and Byzantines. Sheep, Pig, 2 Horse, Stone, Iron, Copper, and one end of a freshwater lake. Armenia wasn't a UHV Province, but Neocaesarea would eventually dominate the area, using some Anatolian tiles. It was Food challenged, max about 12 pop with 40 hammers, but by switching between Food and Production, it was an astonishingly powerful site. It was even stable (Settler value 300) for the Persians! Useless for my UHV, of course, but the Persians are a mighty Civ with a huge historical area, worth playing on past the UHV. I would need a Settler for that. I could sideline Sfard by settling Ilion, which could grow using the Bosphorus' Pig. The alternative site in Lydia, Smyrna, would be squeezed by Athens' Culture from across the Aegean.

I traded with Hiram for Masonry, then Solomon popped up and gave me Mythology, Monotheism, Archery and Boat Building for Priesthood and Tyranny, then I went back to Hiram for Storytelling and Celestial Navigation in exchange for Priesthood and half my Treasury. Hiram would probably now build the Oracle, but I was unlikely to be able to build it myself. I again tried to make Peace with Egypt, Athens and Sparta, but they were all fixated on getting a city for it. So be it. They would all feel the Persian lash in due course. In other news, I sent a jumbo to give quietus to Sfard, whose Culture had now expanded to squeeze Sardis and Telmessos. Once they came out of disorder it would be pushed back, but it was offensive. Magnesia was milked dry and the annoying Culture vanished.

I was now the largest, most populous and powerful nation in the world. (Phoenicia had been, but was no longer, #1 militarily.) It was time to think about incorporating Independent Nineveh into my empire.

In 526 BC, Larsa trained an Archer and the Immortal who had been rusting away on its walls was free to rejoin the army. But where was the army? Scattered across Asia! I decide to collect it together in Arbela. The military conquest of my UHV areas was complete. The Egyptians were far away, and Sparta and Athens would soon faces enemies much closer than me. UHV #2 required engineers, not swords.

Arbela had 8 pop and one unhappy face, and had almost finished an Archer, with a Forge to follow. I whipped the Archer; the excess would rush the Forge. 5 pop Nisibis, the same.

A jumbo persuaded Nineveh to join the empire. An Egyptian Auxillia protected by Phoenician Culture threatened a Worker near Babylon. The Worker fled. Arbela and Nisibis trained Archers. An Archer threatened Ur and a Chariot fixed the problem. And in 518 BC, my economy was finally in balance at 0%! I made +1 Gold this turn. I turned Research up to 10%, which put me back at -10 GPT but changed Elephant Domestication from 631 turns to 49 turns. My Treasury was 438 Gold.

Hiram built the Oracle, as predicted. The pesky Egyptian Auxillia crossed into my Culture, onto Ur's Wheat. My first Chariot attacked but withdrew; the second clobbered the insolent invader. I called up Ramesses. No mention of cities now; it was Peace for Peace and he gave me 30 Gold into the bargain. I Opened Borders with Solomon. On a venture, I called up the Greeks. Peace for Peace and 10 Gold with Sparta, Peace for Peace and 25 Gold with Athens. Arbela built its Forge, and I set an Engineer specialist there.

488 BC. Babylon rushed an Archer, and popped the Great Engineer Sinan, courtesy of the Hanging Gardens! I sent him to Persepolis. When he got there, I would be halfway to UHV #2. Pericles popped up begging me for Tyranny. I refused, but traded it to him for Horse Domestication. Hiram gave me Sailing and 10 Gold for Tyranny. Horses appeared everywhere!

In 476 BC, Alexander of Macedon popped up to declare war. Well OK, man, if that's the way you want it! I sent orders for my army to head for Sardis, except for the Chariots and Light Cavalry, who were needed as Happy Police in Arbela for the time being. Looking at Arbela, I realised that the Wonders in that city made a Great Engineer unlikely there. I'd need to step up my efforts elsewhere. Also in the news, Larsa popped a Settler. I sent him toward Ilion.

In 470 BC, Leonidas of Sparta Opened Borders. Amazing what a mutual enemy can do! Arbela popped a Settler. This one went to found Neocaesarea. I Opened Borders with Egypt and Phoenicia.

In 446 BC, my main army arrived in Sardis, along with Troy's Settler. Six jumbos, six Immortals, five Catapults. Alex's Companion Cavalry were pretty much a match for the jumbos - faster but hopefully less experienced. But the Immortals would be chewed up by Phalanxes. I needed to be able to put a cork in the bottle if I got chewed up and had to pull out. I redirected Neocaesarea's Settler to found Byzantion. Neocaesarea would have to wait. Hundreds of years from now, Byzantion might flip to a Roman successor state, but until then, it would put a cork in the Hellespont. Hmm, better send some Workers along, too. I founded Ilion. As long as I still held all these cities and nobody else got one in, my 330 BC UHV #1 was now assured. Meanwhile, my jumbos were advancing through Thrace. My Immortals and Catapults were paused at the Bosphorus.

In 410 BC, I founded Constantinople. In the same turn, my jumbos climbed a hill into Alex's Culture. In Babylon, I put my thumb on the GP rate by stacking on three Merchants.

In 404 BC, my jumbos reached Argos Orestikon, defended by two Archers. If they'd got there one turn earlier it could have been "404 - Alexander not found". Oh, well. Meanwhile, Arbela popped the Great Prophet, Mohammed Shah. I sent him to Persepolis to make himself useful by building something or other.

398 BC. I snaffled two Macedonian Workers, then Argos Orestikon. Julius Caesar instantly popped up to offer me salad. We Opened Borders. He was at war with Leonidas, Pericles and Hiram. But after all our blokey chaffing, he wouldn't trade me Mathematics or Professional Soldiers. Pity. Afterwards, I decided to keep Argos Orestikon as an advanced base. I had been intending to raze it and withdraw, but those two captured Workers made keeping it a viable option. I ordered two Immortals and two Catapults sent out from Constantinople.

And then I realised my error. Alexander was still alive! Somewhere out there in the fog, he still had a city. If I wanted to keep Argos Orestikon, I was gonna need more than a couple of Immortals. SO. I called Alex on the King-phone and we made Peace. I tried to get him to throw Horse Domestication into the bargain, but he wouldn't budge. Then I called him up again and made him an offer he couldn't refuse! Suddenly my jumbos were nearly halfway back to Constantinople, Alexander was Pleased with me, and we Opened Borders. Next turn I detached a couple of jumbos led by a guy by the name of Pausanius, to explore Greece and bring me back a Description.

Look, I know what they are saying there now, guys. They're saying we cruelly invaded Greece, and lost, and then the Macedonians counter-invaded, and we lost again. I'm giving you the straight story here, guys. Those dorks, Alexander, Pericles, and Leonidas didn't have a gonad between them. Yeah, we invaded Greece, but only because those blockheads wouldn't make Peace. Yeah, we captured Argos Orestikon, but we didn't burn it, much, and then we gave it back and withdrew in good order. As for a counter-invasion, let's see who's left in there after the Romans get through with them. Don't you know false news when you hear it?

My Prophet reached Persepolis and burned himself out building some shack called Adur Farnbag. I turned my Research up another notch. My economy was heating up. Oh, hello, Atheas. Open Borders? Sure.

374 BC. Elephant Domestication at last! And up popped Solomon, offering Mathematics for Elephants and 100 Gold for it. Oh well, it was nice to be able to replace broken Catapults at last.

Arbela popped another Settler. Neocaesarea for sure, this time. Taharqa of Nubia had Professional Soldiers for me, and all for the low, low price of Herbalism, Priesthood and 20 Gold. He actually wanted Writing, but still being illiterate he couldn't read the contract and I switched the terms, ho ho ho.

Oh look, "Argos Orestikon captured by the Phoenicians"! But when I checked, Hiram didn't have it in his city list, Jules did. Either way, Alex was in trouble. Last I saw, he was down to two Phalanxes, four Hoplites, two Swordsmen, and an Archer. The only good thing about it was that Pericles and Leonidas had nothing better than Swordsmen and Spearmen. But Jules had half a dozen legions and half a dozen Catapults just in the Balkans. I guessed those untis were now in Macedonia - in Argos Orestikon, to be precise.

Now that I had Elephants, Horses and Maths, and Rome was so close, I decided it was time to start building more offensive units, just in case.

In 350 BC, Atheas offered fealty. My first vassal! Immediately after that, Brennus popped up to say hello and offered to build me a big stone circle. Yeah nah, dude, thanks but I already had one, outside Arbela. Overrated. Opened Borders anyway.

In 338 BC, I finally settled Neocaesarea. A Worker started building a Pasture on the sheep.

326 BC arrived, and UHV #1 was complete! I checked my progress on UHV #2. Babylon had a probable GE due in 8 turns. I had been playing razzle-dazzle with its Specialists to keep a GE the most likely result, but of course, there was no certainty. No other city was likely to pop a GE before 275 BC. I left Babylon and Taxila (next best, 27 turns, no point switching away) working on GEs; my other GE cities switched their Specialists to Merchants. My hopes for UHV #2 rested solely on Babylon. I'm not sure what I could have done differently.

In 320 BC, Asoka of Maurya popped up to prove Indian pacifism by declaring war on me! I was caught flat-footed; my army was in Arbela, in the centre of my empire! I set it moving eastward at once, but depending on his flipzone and starting army, Asoka could cause me some pain before it reached India and squelched him. Soon his army was briefly visible on the other side of the Indus. Three War Elephants, three Horse Archers. He probably had some footsoldiers in the fog, but he didn't seem much of a threat to an army that had already conquered half the world. Independent Pattala, sandwiched between Taxila and Moen-jo-daro, flipped to Asoka. I had been leaving it alone, hoping it would flip to me and give me a free unit when I disbanded it.

296 BC, and Pericles was at my door offering Record Keeping and 30 Gold for my just-discovered Calendar. Nope. I wanted RK, but not at the price of Pericles stealing the Mausoleum from me! I wanted those long Golden Ages. Persepolis was starving itself to finish it as quickly as possible.

Asoka's jumbos kept moving north, probably headed for Taxila, except for a Horse Archer headed to reinforce Pattala's two Archers. Now five Axemen also emerged from the murk, crossing the Indus. My own jumbos were in Moen-jo-Daro, with movement; my Immortals would reach MJD next turn.

Two veteran jumbos erupted from MJD and razed Pattala. Another killed the Horse Archer on the Jungle Gems. Robert E. Lee was born in Nisibis. I promptly changed his un-Aryan name to Artaxerxes, and sent him to wait in Arbela. The rest of my jumbos attacked Asoka's Axemen, killing three. Two of my Light Cavalry followed up, killing the remaining Axemen. My third LC headed for Taxila, though if he really wanted it, Asoka's jumbos would walk through the Archer defending that town before the LC arrived. My Chariots joined my jumbo on the Gems.

Asoka was now taking calls, however. I called him up and exchanged Peace for Peace, saving Taxila from rapine and pillaging. He was now Cautious with me, so we Opened Borders. He wouldn't trade me Citizenship or Currency, but was willing to give me Record Keeping in return for Metal Casting, Fortification and Cuneiform. Take that, Pericles! Asoka was now up to Pleased. Eventually I might want to take India, but for now, my focus was in the west. A peaceful eastern neighbour might help keep the barbs down. I sent orders to my foot soldiers to head for Babylon. Phoenicia was my biggest rival,

I queued up the Palace at Knossos in Nisibis. I had been dithering between putting it in Arbela, Nisibis or Sardis. Sardis was too close to the potential front line with Rome, Arbela already had two Wonders. Nisibis, with Knossos and a Spy Specialist, might someday pop me a Great Spy. GS are the perfect reconnaisance units - invisible, undiscoverable (except that everyone can talk through them), and with two movement points. Invaluable.

In 290 BC, Solomon offered me fealty. Nope. I was thinking of taking out Phoenicia; Israel would be the cherry in that hot fudge sundae. I added Triremes to the queues of Larsa, Tarsos and Constantinople. Although I was primarily a land power, a navy might be a good thing to have in the coming years.

In 278 BC, Babylon popped the GE Nikolaus August Otto, just in time. Despite his outlandish name, I added him to the city roster to complete UHV #2. I would've sent him to Arbela, but there was no time to spare. I also turned my Research up to 50%, still in the financial black. My Chariots, exploring India, found 1-pop Delhi.

In 272 BC, Persepolis built the Mausoleum. It had starved down to 5 population. I reallocated its workers to the best Food tiles to start rebuilding the lost population. In other news, UHV #2 was marked YES. Time to think about UHV #3! My Score was 1786 to Phoenicia's 1265, so that work was well in hand.

Time to have some fun!

260 BC brought Construction. Arbela began the Flavian Ampitheatre. By starving the city a little and assigning it all the best hammer tiles in its BFC, I could have it in four turns! What a magnificent city.

Diodotus popped up to declare war. What, ANOTHER war in the east? Seemed Taxila never had a chance to catch its breath. He also declared on Asoka and Atheas. Problem was, Asoka had sent all his jumbos west - they were now scattered between Nisibis and Sardis - and I had killed his Axemen. I decided I preferred Asoka to Diodotus as a neighbour. My weary footsoldiers, turned out of Babylon, started for Taxila, seven turns away. I looked for my jumbos. Ha! I had left them recovering in MJD and, well, forgotten about them. Two of my Light Cavalry were also there, and the Chariots, on their way back from India, had just arrived in town. Seems I had considerable military on hand after all. This late, I didn't see much chance of circling round and taking out Diodotus' capital in his army's rear, so my jumbos, fat and lazy from their long holiday, started lumbering toward Taxila ...

HISTORICAL VICTORY in 248 BC. Stability Very Solid, 128 (65, 12, 49, -17, 19).

The ceremony was long and tedious. The line of ambassadors and satraps wound out from my throne hall, through the gate that a later Great King would rebuild and call the Gate of All Nations, and down the staircases to the plain below. Everyone had some gift that they hoped would please the King of Anshan, King of Persia, King of Media, King of the World, King of Kings, Great King, Mighty King, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Corners of the World, and King of the Universe and other thundering titles. All of those Kingships weighed on my head, giving me a headache; or maybe it was just the heavy headdress that I had been forced to wear today. Weary, yes. I was weary for a holiday in Babylon, in the shade of the Hanging Gardens, breathing the heady incense fumes wafting across from the Yasilikaya. My architects told me that someday Persepolis would be the greatest wonder of the world. That day was not this day.

Autumn Leaf · Sep 4, 2023

RFC GW 2.1 - 900 BC - Etruscans - Monarch - FAILED UHV 1,COMPLETED UHV 2 & 3

UHV 1: Etruscan Decadence - Have 2000 gold in 300 BC
UHV 2: Lords of Italia - Control 2 cities in Italia, and 1 in Venetia and Corsica in 270 BC
UHV 3: Etruscan Culture - Have more than 500 Culture in 250 BC

The Etruscan UHV in the release version of RFC-GW v2.1 looks basically impossible. If you build enough cities for UHV 2, you cannot build enough city defenders before Rome spawns. Your colonies will flip to Rome and then Rome will storm your capital. If you concentrate on defending your capital, you cannot achieve UHV 2. There are other issues, but these are quite enough to ruin your day.

UHV 1 - Once you solve the "Roman Question", it seems best to work on getting a Great Merchant so you can conduct a Trade Mission somewhere. The Coracle you need for UHV 2 may help with this. The GM alone won't be enough - you will still need to accumulate a pile of Gold from other sources.

UHV 2 - You need three Settlers (you need five in the default v2.1 configuration, but see below). Cenua in Italy, Suntriu in Venetia, and Arretium on Corsica were my default picks. You don't need them until 270 BC, and any built before 512 BC will flip to Rome, so you can slow-pedal this in favour of defenders for Velathri. You should Settle Cenua ASAP to head off Indy Massilia. Be sure to garrison Cenua, because even though Cenua blocks Massilia from spawning, Massilia's defenders will!

UHV 3 - Worry about this after you survive the Roman onslaught. Hint: Alphabet!

This playthrough uses modified Etruscan parameters:

1. I buffed the Etruscan Spearman ("ES", Str 5) in CIV4UnitInfos.xml by removing the need for Copper (there is none at hand and you can't research Iron Working in time). I also gave it +100% against Melee (not Mounted), +50% Hills defense, +50% City Defense, and -75% City Attack. This makes it absurdly strong when defending against Legions (or Phalanxes, as it turns out), but very weak when attacking cities.

2. I changed Etruria's starting units in 900 BC - Greek World.CivBeyondSwordWBSave from two Archers to one Archer and one ES, thus giving the Etruscans their UU as one of their starting units.

3. I reduced the necessary Italian cities from 4 to 2. With Velathri, you only need 1 additional city in Italy instead of 3.

Warning: these changes may unbalance the game - AI Etruria is supposed to lose against Rome! This game was a trial of these settings.

(ETA: The changes were only in my local copy of the game; they do not affect the official version.)

As usual, I settled on the spot. I set Velathri to building Walls, then an ES. I set my Research to Boat Building > Celestial Navigation, so that I could eventually build a Coracle to take a Settler to Corsica for UHV 2. My Workers hopped over the river to chop the Forest and Pasture the Sheep. I figured to get the Sheep and Cows producing first, then Quarry the Marble, chop the other Forest, and Pasture the Pigs. Any plans after that depended on surviving the Romans. I sent my starting Archer south to explore Italy.

In 758 BC, my Archer met Dido of the City-State of Carthage, who had settled Ziz in Sicily. We Opened Borders but didn't have anything to trade. She controlled Ziz and Sabratha - plus Carthage, probably, since capitals aren't tradable and so don't show in the list.

In 740 BC, my Archer met Hiram of the Phoenician City States, who had settled Solki in Sardinia. We Opened Borders. He controlled Kition, Byblos, Solki, Phoenicus, and Myriandrus (plus probably Tyre). He had Mythology, Polytheism, Herbalism, Spokes, and ... Boat Building. I had no techs to trade but I gave 95 from the 200 Gold in my Treasury to save 7 turns of Boat Building (I was 158/273) to get Coracles sooner. He now also offered Celestial Navigation, but I couldn't afford it. I was now Researching Celestial Nav, 25 Turns.

While my Archer was in Sicily, Independent Syrakoiusi, defended by 3 Archers and a Spearman, spawned east of Etna, blocking the way out. I went past it anyway. Fortunately they did not attack my Archer during the one turn when he was exposed.

In 704 BC, Velathri trained an Etruscan Spearman and started work on a Settler. I sent my original ES NW to hunt some barbs.

In 698 BC, my herbalists found a new plant. Options: 1 happy for 10 turns in all cities; -1 temp unhappy temporarily, 20% chance -1 pop, 35% +1 Health in all cities; -2 unhappy, 50% chance -1 pop, 90% +2 Health in all cities. Rationally I should have gone for option 1, since every delay made UHV 2 harder, but instead I took the third option and struck it lucky - I lost no population and got the +2 Health. The two unhappy citizens lost 1 productive population, but only delayed the Settler by one turn (from 8 turns to 9).

In 650 BC, my Settler appeared and went West, accompanied by my spare ES. Next turn, my Archer arrived home to garrison empty Velathri.

in 644 BC my exploring ES met Leonidas of the Kingdom of Sparta, who had captured Lutetia. We Opened Borders. He controlled Coronea and Lutetia (plus probably Sparta). He had Mythology, Polytheism, Herbalism, Professional Soldiers, Camel Domestication, Spokes, and Celestrial Navigation, but he didn't like me enough to trade any to me. This reminded me to go talk to Hiram, who was now willing to sell me Celestial Navigation (8 turns away, 302/436) for 105 Gold - which as it happens was exactly what I had left in my Treasury. Done! I instantly switched Research to Spokes > Trade (44 turns); I also turned the rate down to 80% to start earning money and avert the risk of bankrupcy. I was relying on getting a GM for UHV 1. At this point I had 52 Culture, just 10% of the amount I needed for UHV 3 and was hoping life would, uh, you know, find a way.

In 638 BC, I Settled Cenua on the westernmost Hill in Italy. On the first border pop it would envelope the Wheat. It would suppress the appearance of Independent Massilia on the Dye, was stable for me (SV 300) and was both defensible and close enough to quickly recapture once the "Roman Question" was resolved. There was no way it could build an ES before Rome flipped it, but I could probably squeeze out a Scout (14 turns) or a Monument (15 turns). A Monument would probably be lost when I recaptured the city from Rome, so I opted for the Scout. The accompanying ES garrisoned the new city.

In 626 BC, Dido wanted Fortification in return for Polytheism. I added her Spokes (10 turns away for me) to my Pottery. Done! She now showed me Trade, but wouldn't accept just Masonry for it. My Treasury had only 7 Gold in it, so no deal was possible. I now changed civics (2 turns of Anarchy) to Monarchy (+1 happy police), Vassalage (5 free units and +2 XP for new units) and Organised Religion (although I had no religion in my cities yet, the building bonus would help after Rome was sorted). Slavery would lose me my 25% Worker bonus, whereas I had neither Farms nor Fishing Boats for Isolation.

My Workers finished Pasturing the Pigs. I set them to making a Farm east of the Pigs and a Road to connect Venetia, then planned on sending them west to make a Road to Cenua.

In 602 BC Velathri built an ES and my homebound exploring ES entered Venetia from the NE. I renamed him Aeneas, after the Trojan. The ES in Cenua saw off a barb; I renamed him Tarquin, a fine old Etruscan name. The new guy got tagged Tages. He profited from my new Civics, starting with 2 XP and thus an instant Combat I.

In 596, two Independent Spearman spawned on the Dye next to Cenua. My ES garrison instantly killed one. Inter-turn the other moved N onto a Hill, but the ES, now promoted to Combat I, took care of that one, too.

In 566 BC my explorer-ES arrived home. I also trained another ES; this one I renamed Tite.

In 542 BC, the ES Mamarce was trained. Cenua finished its Scout and switched to a Granary it would not be able to complete. The Scout headed east to check out Greece.

In 536 BC I discovered Trade and revolted (1 Turn) to Trade Economy and Slavery. The land improvement bonus was now less important than my ability to rush an extra ES at need. I queued up Cuneiform, for that would give me Oligarchy and a free Specialist.

In 512 BC, Julius Caesar of the Latin peoples popped up to threaten me with his numberlesss minions. I numbered them. He had 3 Galleys, a Work Boat, 8 legions, a Hoplie, an Auxillia, 5 catapults, 3 Settlers, 3 Workers, and an Archer. Crunch time! With a new ES, Spurie, trained this turn, I had 6 Etruscan Spearmen, 1 Archer, two Workers, and a scout. The Scout crossed into Pannonia this turn, putting him beyond Caesar's reach. The rest, including the recalled Tarquin, turtled in velathri to await the breaking of the storm.

500 BC. 8 Legions and 5 Catapults arrived on the Plains across the river from my southern walls.

494 BC. Caesar bombarded, reducing my defenses to 4%. Cenua flipped to Rome as Genua, and Caesar declared war on Hiram (Solki - now Caralis - was in his flipzone). So was Ziz (now Panormus), but Dido seems to have swallowed that offense.

488 BC. All five Catapults suicided against Velathri, and then Jules sent in the Legions. Tarquin killed a Legion, and Aeneas killed two. Tages, Tite, Mamarce, Spurie and Tarquin all fell to the Roman blades. I was left with Aeneas at 1.7/5 and the Archer, 2.1/3 health, versus 5 injured Legions.

482 BC. I trained a new ES, Superbus, and although my Archer finally succumbed, Superbus and Aeneas stood off the Legions, each killing two more. Jules was left with one Legion at 2.1/7 health, and an Archer freshly arrived from Rome. After promotions, Aeneas was 3.5/5 and Superbus was 4/5, but I daren't risk a counter-attack and Caesar wasn't talking yet. So I sent Aeneas to see off a barb that was about to pillage my Pigs. My Scout paused on the borders of Macedonia - Alexander was about to spawn and I didn't want to risk losing my unit.

476 BC. The Legion retreated. The Archer moved onto my Marble, headed for Genua. Superbus darted out to nobble it, then darted back into the city to greet the Great General Francisco Pizarro. I renamed the general Tarquinus Superbus - a slap to the Romans, a memorial for poor old Tarquin, and a compliment to Superbus. As Aeneas came by headed for Cenua, Tarquinus went out and merged with him. That gave him 30/17 XP, which meant I had two promotions to give out, from a glittering array available. I gave him Morale (+1 Movement) and Leadership (+100% XP). Tarquinus Superbus then used his new movement to dash into Genua, which lost its Roman "G" and regained its proper "C". Jules still wasn't talking to me.

My Scout climbed a Forested Hill and met Alexander of the Macdonian People on the other side. We Opened Borders but had not much else to exchange. I faced a decision. It was likely that Alex would declare on Jules on sight. That would make northern Italy a battleground. Jules would probably make peace with me after that, and then Alex would tear us both a new one. But If I buttered up Alex now with 20 GP to get him to Pleased, I could ally with him against surly old Caesar until Rome collapsed and I could potentially nab all of Italy. So I opened up my Treasury to the rising power of Macedonia!

Velathri was pop 7 with one angry face. I set a Merchant (34 turns to a GM), temporarily starving it; when I acquired Cuneiform, Oligarchy would fix that. The city was 4 turns from an ES that would do nicely to garrison Cenua. I queued up a Coracle behind it (4 turns), and 2 Settlers behind that (9 turns each). Time was getting short for UHV 2, but there was still time. But I had only 102 Culture; that was the most worrying challenge. (In retrospect I shoulda been worrying about the money UHV.)

In 458 BC, Sparta's Culture vanished from Central Greece, replaced by Macedonian. It was now safe for my Scout to venture south, where he instantly met Pericles of the Republic of Athens.Pericles was willing to Open Borders but he was at war with Jules and Alex. He would also sell me Cuneiform for 50 Gold. Instead I closed that screen and went and bought it from Dido for the same price. I set Metal Casting for my next tech. I called up Alex and swapped Masonry and 10 Gold for his Mythology.

I wanted to explore the Peloponnese, but Athenian Culture blocked my way. Oh well. I also delayed switching to Oligarchy to finish Velathri's ES first. Jules was trying to slip an Auxillia past me and I might need someone to sortie to stop it.

In 452 BC, Velthri popped its ES and I promptly sent it out to block the Roman Auxillia. NOW I revolted to Oligarchy!

In 422 BC, Jules came to the table and gave me 30 Gold for Peace.

In 368 BC, after meeting and OB with Hammurabi and Atheas in previous turns, I met Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire, Opened Borders and swapped Archery and 125 Gold for his Alphabet. I could now tweak my Culture! No time like the present. At 20% Culture, 80% Research, I was still making 3 GPT.

In 362 BC I met Solomon of the Kingdom of Israel. He was worst enemy of Alexander so I didn't OB with him. Velathri popped its Settler, who boarded the Coracle and went off towards Corsica.

In 350 BC I Settled Arretium, on the northern Plains of Corsica. I set it to a Monument, figuring to ferry an ES out from Velthri later. The Monument would help hold off Caralis' Culture. Next turn I discovered Metal casting. Yay, I queued up a Bloomery after the Settler in Velathri.

Alexander had made peace with Solomon, so now we OB'd.

In 308 BC, Velathri dropped its final necessary Settler. It headed northeast into Venetia.

In 302 BC, Hammurabi offered Iron Working and 10 Gold for Metal Casting. Deal. Then Alexander wanted me to declare war on Sparta. Hard choice, but I did it.

In 296 BC, I finally Settled Suntriu, my final UHV 2 city. It didn't matter. My GM was still 5 turns away, I had just 76 Gold, and UHV 1 was a big NO.

FWIW a GM in Rome or Solki in 300 BC would have given me 700 Gold; in Carthage or Babylon, 900 Gold; in Byblos, 1300 Gold. Byblos was as good as it got - nobody was gonna give me 2K for a Trade Mission before 300 BC.

I played on, because I was on track for UHV 2 and UHV 3 was not out of reach. I wound the clock back to 302 BC and turned Culture up to 100%, +52/turn. I had 263 Culture; I was just over half way.

In 290 BC, Zoroastrianism spread in Arretium. I didn't convert yet; I needed more cities with religion first.

In 266 BC I finally got my GM, loaded him on the Coracle, and sent him off towards Byblos. Meantime, Alexander made peace with Sparta. Leonidas wouldn't talk to me and Pericles wanted a city for Peace. Also, Velathri and Cenua between them had more than 500 Culture, so I reduced my Culture to 40% and put 50% back into Research. The extra Culture might eventually take the Cow back from Rome, and would certainly prevent Rome stealing my nice new Iron mine. In other news, UHV 2 was marked YES.

In 236 BC, Cenua finally trained its ES and Tarquinus Superbus headed home. Cenua started on a Bloomery. Velathri completed an ES for Suntriu. UHV 3 was marked YES the previous turn, 242 BC.

In 212 BC my Coracle reached Tyre (instead of Byblos), and my GM completed his mission. I now had 1421 Gold. The Coracle started home. In other news, five Athenian Phalanxes, an Auxillia and a Spearman appeared in the pass, with a Javelineer behind them. I mobilised my forces to defend Suntriu which was, alas, on the flat.

200 BC. Pericles was at the east wall of Suntriu with 5 Phalanxes and an Auxillia. Two other Phalanxes - one of them the GG Jeanne d'Arc - with another Auxillia and a Spearman, were in the pass. My reinforcements jeeringly sprinted into the city from the south across the face of the enemy, then turned and counter-attacked from the walls. All six Greek units bit the dust for no loss to me. I dialled up Pericles and made peace, with an extra 40 Gold from him to pay for wear on my army's sandals.

I'm posting this as-is, because it's an instructive loss.

Findings:
- It took 50 years to get my GM to Tyre by Coracle. To complete UHV 1 I needed to pop him by 350 BC (set 2 Merchants instead of 1, although I could barely afford one), and also acquire an additional 700 Gold from somewhere by 300 BC to make up 2000 Gold, probably by turning off my Research, which would have created its own problems as you need time, tech and money to be in a position to get UHV 3!
- Overpowered Etruscan Spearnmen, plus an Archer, were barely enough to hold off the initial Roman attack against Velathri. I was left with 1 ES and the Archer, both injured. Things would have been very dicey against the second wave if I hadn't completed an additional ES in the same turn. If I hadn't had a unit due to complete that turn, I would have been forced to whip one the previous turn.
- Overpowered Etruscan Spearmen versus Athenian Phalanxes was a grotesque mismatch. True, Pericles didn't bring any Catapults. I didn't try attacking Caesar's Legions (they were across a river); maybe I shoulda. Maybe giving the ES the Amphibious promotion but reducing some of the other buffs would tailor a unit that could hold Velathri against the Roman wave but be much less powerful in most other situations. Because keeping Rome out of Velathri in 500 BC is the one thing they have to do.
- The 500 Culture turned out to be easy once everything else was in place. I could have turned some of that time and effort towards UHV 1.

Gonna play on and see how this game turns out. I missed the UHV, but there are other types of victory. However, I won't report on it as the UHV conditions I used here were very non-canonical and this thread targets UHVs. I'm hoping this post will point the way to a solution where a human player can sometimes beat Rome but an AI player mostly can't.

Autumn Leaf · Sep 6, 2023

RFC Greek World 900 BC, Rome - strategic notes for building a Roman Empire.

My draft playthrough for Rome is turning into an epic, so I have compiled this Spoiler to move some of the theory out of the mainline. I've wrapped it in a Spoiler warning. Be warned, there are serious spoilers inside!

[Edited 8 Sep to try to clarify the options on Turn 2/3. And then I edited my edits because they just made the options murkier. I think I'm still asleep. Sheesh.]

Spoiler Rome Strategy :

Autumn Leaf · Sep 9, 2023

RFC GW 2.1 - 900 BC - Rome - Monarch - Historical Victory in 500 AD - Score 3630, Ethelred the Unready

UHV 1: Delenda est Carthago - Cato's proclamation that "Carthage must destroyed!": Be the first civilization to capture or sack Carthage
UHV 2: The Triumph of Rome: Control 5 salt and 2 silver in 180 AD
UHV 3: The Eternal City: Be 1st in score in 500 AD

Friends and Romans, this should be a glorious romp. The worst part is that it romps on, and on, and on. It's one thing to build a massive empire, quite another to administer that empire and keep it stable for hundreds of turns. Probably best to avoid creating or keeping rubbish cities, no matter how historical. Keep 'em few, let 'em get big enough to do their job, then stagnate 'em.

UHV 1: If Carthage isn't at 15 across, 20 up, you're SOL. Probably wise to peek in the WB before playing. Carthage should be on the coast between the river and the Sheep. You start with 3 Galleys. Should be easy enough to drop Legions and Catapults on the Sheep and work from there. Sicily is right there for reinforcements.

UHV 2: Gotta get 'em all!

There's Silver in Attica and Britannia. That's literally all the Silver there is, unless you get lucky with a mine, so you need 'em both. Attica is stable for you; Britannia, well, the land near the Siver is OK but the only stable city spots that include Silver in the BFC are on the south coast. At least you can pick up some Pigs and Dye while you're there.

There's Salt in Italy and Raetia, yay! Also Arabia Felix (Jerusalem is stable), but then Sahara (2, unstable), Abyssinia (unstable), Ukraine (unstable, hope you like Huns and Germans) ... well, a bunch of unstable places, not all of which are practical. Fortunately you only need to control two unstable ones in 180 AD. You can try to give away the unstable locations once you secure UHV 2. You can also win this one by trading for the unstable ones, but most salty civs will have only one and probably won't be keen to trade it away unless you vassalise them.

UHV 3: You have a huge stable area to expand in, an awesome melee unit to persuade reluctant neighbours, and a thousand years to work in. You've got this! Just one word of warning, be careful around the Bosphorus - unless you like the idea of fighting someone your own size in 300 AD. (I look forward to it; I deliberately sent a Settler to build Constantinople. It helps stop random barbarians from wandering out of Asia.)

It's worth noting that if you're planning on razing Velathri, the Forest 1N of Rome's starting spot is a better site for Rome, as it takes in the Pig on the east coast yet still has access to the sea and the Tiber, and it gives Paestum a little more room. It delays the city foundation by one turn and leaves the Fish out of range until the border pops, but for once, I did not settle on the default spot; I went for the Forest.

UHV 3 was bugged. The code was in the wrong block. Moving it to the right place fixed it.

Since this was 512 BC, I chose to play as Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome. In this case, I was also the first King of Rome and an immortal despot.

==Foundation on the Tiber==

I moved my three Workers, my Archers and a Settler onto the Forest, followed by four Catapults, the Auxillia and another Settler. Five Legions went up to Velathri's walls. The Archer on the Galley landed on the Forest. I sent the Galley with the Settler in it south and dropped him north of a Stone Hill, then brought the empty Galley back north, gathering all of my Galleys at the coast south of the start spot. The Hoplite, the remaining Settler, one Catapult and three Legions, boarded the Galleys. My Work Boat squatted where it was, watching the horizon nervously for hostile sails.

Velathri was defended by two Archers and a Warrior.

I checked the Wonders. 9-pop Sparte had Stonehenge. 8-pop Athens, o-ho, had The Bath and Ashurbanipal's Library. Some 6-pop Unknown - probably Waset - had the Sphinx and Luxor. The Hanging Gardens and Temple of Solomon were owned by Independents, probably in Babylon and Jerusalem respectively.

Next turn my Workers chopped the Forest and I Settled Rome. In the south, I Settled Paestum. Both cities started working on Forges. I kept two Archers in Rome and sent the rest of my forces to join the Legions. I set my Research to Construction, 70 turns away.

==Delenda est Carthago==

Next turn I moved my fleet south and met Hiram. I sold him Professional Soldiers for Cuneiform, Boat Building and 10 Gold. Since he would declare war on me when Solki flipped next turn, I didn't bribe him to Open Borders. I instantly revolted to Oligarchy, wage Labour and Organised Religion. I was already using Vassalage, Trade Economy and Client Kingdoms.

In 500 BC, Solki/Caralis, Ziz/Panormus and Atria/Ravenna (SALT #1!) flipped to my. Messana/Syrakoúsai was rubble. Apart from Archers, Caralis brought two Swords and a Worker, Panormus a Galley and a Worker, and Ravenna a javelineer, two Workers, and - wow - a Settler. My new Galley picked up the island Workers and headed for Rome.

I bombarded Velathri, and suicided a Catapult on it. Then my Legions stormed the city, which now boasted an exra Warrior, without further loss. My fifth Legion passed through the ruins and killed a Barb Archer standing on the far side.

My Galleys sailed down to Carthage and landed my small army on the Sheep. There was an unsettling number of Carthaginian military in the area.

Next turn I promoted my vets in the north, then bombarded Carthage. My four attackers won their battles, but the city had more defenders than I had attackers. Oh, well. Next turn, my Hoplite stormed and razed the city. My Settler joined him in the ruins. My Legions and Catapult killed a Javelineer who stood in their way, then headed for Sabratha. The Galleys followed them along the coastline. In the north, one Legion reached the walls of Massalia, defended by one Spearman.

Next turn, in the south my Hoplite and Settler crossed the river. They could see the rubbish Carthaginian city of Cirta to their SW, defended by :eek:

THREE Numidian cavalry! Those could ruin my day. My legions reached Sabratha. One killed an Archer outside the city; the other two stormed the city. I called up Dido and made peace (she threw in Celestial Navigation), and the First Punic War was over. With luck, she would collapse.

In the north, my legion advanced and razed Massalia. My Auxilliari and Settler stood on the hill across the river, ready to build Genua next turn.

Next turn, Taharqa of Kingdom of Kush popped up. We OB'd and then I sold him Trade and Iron Working for Priesthood, Horse Domestication and 40 Gold (all he had visible). Meanwhile, Cirta had added a War Elephant and a Spearman to its garrison - I had been wise to make peace with Dido! I Settled Utica and started a Forge. At Sabratha, two legions and the Catapult boarded ship to sail home. The remaining legion garrisoned Sabratha; leaving the city empty was too risky. I left him and his Hoplite chum a Galley in case I needed to evacuate Africa.

==Peril in the Balkans==

It was 476 BC. Somewhere in the fog to the east beyond the Adriatic, a young king by the name of Alexander stood gazing into the waters of Lake Orestiada, surrounded by his massive army.

Next turn a Barb Javelineer coming down from the pass approached Ravenna. A legion killed it, and having that free Settler available, I decided to move my army towards the pass, planning to Settle Virunum to sort SALT #2.

Interturn, a Phoenician Bireme appeared off Sabratha. My homebound Galleys were near Paestum by now, and I decided to transit the canal as a shortcut and to avoid trouble. I noticed Rome's Culture now covered its Fish, so my Workboat scurried out and set up some Fishing Boats.

Alexander popped up. I had been planning to declare war on him, but it was 458 BC and I wanted to give him time and motivation to go chew on Sparta and Athens. Instead we OB'd and I traded my Masonry for his Mythology. he also had Horseback Riding, but he didn't want to trade that. Calydon was rubble, but Culture from Astakos had been blocking my ships from entering the Adreatic. War would also have opened a way, but this way I could cruise past and give the coast a good once-over.

My army split: two Workers, an Archer and the Settler went north; the rest went east. The site of Virunum was covered by Forest; my Workers would have to chop it before I could Settle.

My Galleys dropped their passengers in the path of my army, then headed for Ravenna for safety and R&R.

In 440 BC I Settled Virunum. My Archer garrisoned it. My army was now united and headed south; it could see Argos Orestikon's Culture on the Peaks ahead. Meanwhile I rushed Monuments in Utica and Sabratha - Cirta's Culture was starting to press on Utica.

Hiram was talking to me now, but wouldn't make peace. However, his Bireme had zoomed off into the fog.

In 422 BC, my army was at the turnoff for Macedonia. I declared war on Alexander and moved south east into his Culture. I called on Hiram - and now that we had a common enemy, he made Peace and we OB'd. That was a relief; his was the biggest civ on the map right now. With the enforced peace expiring soon, Dido's three Numidians in Cirta were now my biggest concern. She hadn't collapsed as I'd hoped. I called her up and gifted her Alphabet, plus one of my Sheep.

Next turn, Athens collapsed. I had a pretty good idea where Alex's main army was.

In 410 BC, the GM John Maynard Keynes appeared in Ravenna. I sent him to Rome.

My army was looking down on Argos Orestikon, and had movement. The 3-pop city was defended by a single Archer. My best Legion advanced, and Scupi was mine. Legions passed through the city and nabbed a couple of Workers on the far side. One of those Legions discovered the Macedonian GG Pachacuti, but had no movement left to attack him. My own GG Gaius Marius appeared in Ravenna. I put him on a Galley and sent him across the Adreatic.

In 398 BC, Brennus of the Celtic Tribes popped up. We OB'd. His time might come - but I had enough on my hands right now. Meanwhile my Workers had Quarried the SALT near Virunum and decided to work on some other goodies nearby before returning to the safety of Italy.

My relations with Dido were up to Cautious. I OB'd to try to cement the improved relationship

In 392 BC, my Legions on the Forest outside Thebes had movement. I debated waiting for the Catapults, but my best Legion had 87.5% odds against an Archer. One down. My next best Legion had 89.2% against a Phalanx. Two down! My next had 99.1% against a Swordsman, and Thebae was mine! I love Legions, when they are my Legions. I still remember chasing enemy Legions around Greece as Athens. That was a nightmare.

My Galley in the Gulf of Corinth could not see Alex's army. He had a Swordsman and an Archer in Astakos. Where were the rest?

Next turn, 2 Swordsmen, a Phalanx, and a Hoplite appeared SE of Thebae. I picked my least injured veterans and took them all out. One Legion was left standing exposed on the Marble. I crossed my fingers. He survived and darted back to safety. I promoted units. My whole army including Gaius Marius and excepting only the African detachment was now in Thebae.

Next turn, I moved everyone except the Legions out of Thebae (mostly onto the Marble) and merged Marius with my best Legion. More promotions were then the order of the day. Gaius Marius selected Leadership; the others worked on their City Raider skills. Then the Legions joined the rest on the Marble.

Construction! Rome, with a Barracks, started work on the Flavian Ampitheatre, 12 turns away. For good measure, my 2nd best production city, Caralis, started work on the Lion Gate, expected to take 13 turns. Ravenna, 3rd best, was 1 turn from its Forge. I queued up the Great Lighthouse behind that. The Pyramids were also available, but I couldn't justify them. No other cities had Forges yet; their production was still feeble. I suspect the AI spies on the player's Wonder production and tries to steal the Wonders. Maybe three at once would confiuse it and I could get one through. If not, my Treasury would benefit.

362 BC. 5-pop Athens was defended by 3 Hoplites and and Archer. It sat on a Hill. Gaius Marius had 74.5% odds. Three Cats bombarded and reduced the city's defenses to 0%. Now Marius had 95.1% odds. My remaining Cat had 0.7% retreat odds and was too valuable to suicide. Marius attacked! One down. My next legion (CR I, II and III) had 81.3% odds. Two down. My next Legion (same promotions) had 98.6% odd. What? Oh yeah, #2 still had some injuries whereas #3 had full health. Oh, well. Three down! #4 had only CR I & II but had 95.4% odds and was about to earn that 3rd badge. Athenae was mine!

I had known the city had the Great Bath and Ashurbanipal's Library; now I discovered that it also had an Academy and a Great Military Instructor. What a gem!

I optimised Ravenna's production to put the city on its best possible gait. It was now 13 turns from the Great Lighthouse. Rome was 10 from the Flavian Ampitheatre, Caralis was 12 from the Lion Gate.

I got a minor Cache of Ancient Writings event near Utica. In other news, the Pyramids were built somewhere. Curious, I checked the WB. Byblos was 9 turns from the Great Lighthouse! (Ecbatana had built the Pyramids.) I knew it! I checked my savefile from the turn before I discovered Construction. Byblos had been working on *The Colossus*. (Ecbatana, fair enough, had already been working on the Pyramids.) He had insta-finished the Colossus (probably via a GE, though where from I don't know as Byblos hadn't been due for one) and had decided to steal the Lighthouse from me.

Where's a GE when you need one? My Treasury was 484 Gold. Hurrying the GL from here would cost 1800 Gold. In 9 turns, I would be 3 turns from the GL and probably still short of the money. Could I do it by turning off my Research? I could earn 29 GPT. Unless Hiram sped up his own progress, I just might have enough cash to gazump him in 8 turns. It looked worth a try!

I had captured a Worker in Athenae. I put him on the Silver to prep a Road. When Athens came out of Resistance, he would build a Mine for SILVER #1. Meanwhile my army, some pretty hurt but most fairly healthy, started toward Sparta.

A Catapult came upon a Spartan Catapult. I dismantled it. Next turn, Sparta came out of the fog, defended by 2 Swordsmen, and Auxillia, an Axeman, and an Archer. It also had 4 Workers and a Settler (who would become a 5th Worker. Yum. I checked on Byblos. It was 7 turns from GL, Ravenna 10. Ravenna could rush it with 888 Gold; I had 512. I was still in the race!

338 BC. There were 4 Spartan Phalanxes and a Spearman standing on a Hill 2 tiles east of Scupi, yikes! I bombarded Sparta down to 0%. My best odds were still only 50%. I could suicide my 4th Catapult but still fall short. I called up Leonidas. He owned Gordion and Sfard. I decided to wait a turn and blow two Cats, then damn the torpedoes. If I could capture Sparta next turn I could try to save Scupi by making peace and hoping sparta collapsed!

332 BC. The Spartan force had moved SW. I had expected them to be at the walls of Scupi! But they were now only two tiles, maybe one two-tile move along the road I'd just built, from Thebae. I suicided a Catapult against Sparta's defenders. 68.7% odds. I suicided another. 74.5% odds. It would have to be enough; I was almost done with military conquest, but Cats are expensive and my best cities were building Wonders. I won two anxious fights, and now even though all my other units were already injured to some degree, my odds were above 90% for the rest. One Legion had to skip attacking (just 1/7 health) but I had enough - Olympia was mine! I called up Leonidas and made peace. He was broke, and wouldn't throw in a tech or city, but now my cities were temporarily safe from him and with luck he would soon collapse. I didn't OB with him.

==Wonders Galore==

I checked Ravenna. 8 turns to the GL (implying Byblos was 5), 696 Gold to rush it. I had 680 Gold in the bank! If I had to, I could rush it next turn. Rome was 4 turns from the Flavian Ampitheatre, Caralis was 7 turns from the Lion gate.

Barbarians near Utica drew my eye south. I suddenly realised that Carthage had collapsed several turns back. I hadn't noticed in all the other tumult at the time! I wiped away a tear for Dido.

Next turn, Ravenna could rush the GL for 600 Gold. It was 7 turns away. I decided to run things a little closer to the wind to save my Treasury, but I dialled my Research back up to 30%, as high as it would go and still leave me in the black.

314 BC. Alexander collapsed! My army heaved itself out of its hospital beds in Thebae and roared down the road toward Astakos. It wasn't quite as nice a spot as Calydon, but it had pop 4 (pop 3 once I could capture it). It would do.

308 BC. Rome completed the Flavian Ampitheatre! Caralis was 3 turns from the Lion gate. Ravenna was 4 turns from the GL. That meant Byblos was 1 turn from stealing it. I slipped 312 Gold to the labourers for a touch of overtime. Take that, Hiram! I also encountered Darius. OB and swapped him Archery for Herbalism. In other news, I captured Astakos/Apollonia, bringing the Balkan wars to a satisfactory conclusion. I was Very Solid (49; 10, 20, 20, 10, -11), had completed UHV 1, was well started on UHV 2, and my score was 1245 to Hiram's 1200, so UHV 3 was looking good.

302 BC. The Great Lighthouse was mine! Caralis was 2 turns from the Lion Gate. I unwound Ravenna's production to get it growing again. In 290 BC, Caralis completed the Lion Gate.

Unfortunately, the Barbs were closing in on Utica. A Barb Numidian Cavalry had taken Cirta, and two more were at Utica's walls, along with two Barb Swordsmen. A Barb Camel Rider was visible beyond Cirta. My defending Hoplite got 100% against Mounted units, but Numidians got 50% against Melee units. Utica was on the flat, had no walls and was still 2 turns from a Forge. In short, I couldn't possiby hold it. My Hoplite took to his heels, running for Sabratha. I called up Leonidas and made him an offer he should've refused. I couldn't hold Utica, but maybe my two heavy units could hold out in Sabratha. At need, I could evacuate them in the Galley. Next turn, the Barbs were in Utica.

My army was racing back into Italy. In a few turns I would be able to counter-invade Africa, if I wanted; the problem was retaining it long term. This level of Barbarian aggression would tie down several legions.

In 230 BC, Ravenna dropped the Great Engineer Cai Lun. Rome was working on the Mausoleum, but I was just 8 turns from Cartography and had a Settler halfway to Settle Constantinople. There was an opportunity here! I sent the GE east.

==Recovering Africa For the Empire==

In 218 BC, I landed 4 Legions and 2 Archers on the Horse in Africa. They were joined by the African contingent, ferried up the coast via Galley. The next turn, Utica was back in my hands. A turn later, I razed Cirta. Suddenly three more Numidian cavalry popped out of nowhere right next to Utica, obliterating one of my units - WTAF? I reloaded a save, moved my unit, and Hurried a Forge in Utica. The Barbs popped up again on the same tile. There's a reason "fog busting" exists - it's because it's rude to spawn Barbs on top of player units. Eye-poppingly rude.

In 200 BC, I Settled Constantinople. The next turn, Rome built the Mausoleum of Maussollus. In 182 BC, I discovered Cartography and my GE rushed the Great Cothon in Constantinople. How's them apples, Hiram?

I noticed a yellow Cultural border west of Utica and suddenly all the Barb Cavalry made sense. They were scripted events, Conqueror-style, to foreshadow and prepare Africa for the Numidian spawn. It reminded me of the Roman Conquerors that popped up *in* one of my Athenian cities in a past game. Yeah, that's a bug. Don't do that.

If Numidia was in, then so were Asoka and Diodotus. I hadn't heard a peep, that I recall. Never mind, they were so far away that their doings were none of my business. I decided to train a Scout to go east to say hello, sometime.

Gaius Marius and his sidekick Legion zoomed out to meet with Masinissa of Numidia. We OB'd, I gave him 20 Gold to butter him up, and gifted him the Sheep I'd previously given to Dido. Looked like I could bring the troops back home now that I knew why Africa had suddenly been so troublesome.

In 176 BC, Constantinople built the Great Cothon. In 170 BC, Leonidas asked to OB. The reason was obvious - he was at war with Brennus. I shrugged, and agreed. In other news, Nubia collapsed. In 134 BC, Sparta collapsed.

In 116 BC, I settled John Stuart Mill, the famous Sabrathean Great Merchant, in Paestum, to help it grow. Once Paestum buolt a Harbour it had plenty of Food from the sea, but was so desperate for Hammers that it kept putting citizens on the Stone, and every time it did that, it stopped growing until I noticed and moved the citizen to some tile that gave Food. Now it could have its Stone and eat it, too, as it were.

In 98 BC I discovered a new herb. I took the high-reward path and got +2 Unhappy, -1 pop, +2 Health in every city. Not ideal, but it could have been worse. I suffered a temporary dip in population and happiness, but a permanent improvement in health. A couple of turns later a Legionary detachment reached formlerly-Spartan Gordion. Bringing Gordion/Pessinus into the Empire opened the way for my newly minted Explorer unit to go east. Also, it was the Hellenic Holy City. Belatedly, I converted to Hellenism.

Olympia ran out of things to build, so I set th former Spartan city to building a new echelon of Legions. legions are generally superior to Heavy Swordsmen; I wanted to lay in a good supply of them while I could.

In 80 BC I swapped Literature to Hiram for Tyranny, his Map, and 50 Gold. Rome had Trajan's Column, Athens was 2 turns from the Great Library; I figured there wasn't much he could do to me in that time.

In 68 BC I razed Sfard/Sardis, which was a rubbish city in Pessinus' BFC. Next turn, Rome despatched its GM Ferdinand Magellan to help Paestum grow.

In 38 BC I met Asoka and OB'd. Got Horse and Elephant Domestication from him for a couple of old techs. Next turn he was aking to be a vassal. Uh, no. Same turn, Rome built the Parthenon and started on the Statue of Zeus. The turn after that, I met Diodotus and OB'd with him. Olympia started work on the Olympics Games, even though it would take 17 turns.

I fell into a trance after this for a long time, developing my cities and starting to prepare for UHV 2 but making no notes. Rather than fight Hiram for Jerusalem, I Settled two unstable cities in the Sahara and one unstable one north of Constantinople to acquire the required SALT. I sent two Galleys on a long journey around Spain to Settle Isca Dumnorum on the south coast of England to get the second SILVER. I built a bunch of Wonders. By the time I came out of the trance, it was 130 AD and the Olympic Games-inspired Golden Age was about to end.

==Gothic Horror, Mountains of Salt and Silver==

In 160 AD, Alaric of the Gothic Tribes declared war on me. Well, OK dude. Nice 'stache. Gaius Marius and his Legions wrenched themselves from the fleshpots of Moncastrum and started the trek across eastern Europe to find the Gothic capital. Of course, since the Germanic Swordsman is just as fast as the Legion, and stronger, and has major buffs for fighting in Forests, Marius wasn't sure he wanted to find it. However, if the Goths followed AI SOP they would send almost all of their units away from their city, probably south towards my capital. A sneak attack from the opposite direction might catch their capital by surpise, with fatal results for the Goths.

Just in case I needed reinforcements, I set Rome to building Heavy Swords, Olympia to building Noble Cavalry, and Thebes to build Trebuchets. My existing reserve I sent to gather at Virunum until I knew where the attack might come from. Unfortunately my Explorer, who would otherwise have been in the vicinity by now, had been nobbled by a Barb a few turns ago.

In 178 AD, my new Explorer found a Germanic Swordsman and 6 Heavy Axemen headed for Virunum. Beyond them he caught a glimpse of Gothic Culture. He took to his heels. Gaius Marius adjusted his path.

In 184 AD, UHV 2 was marked YES. Two down! Now I just had to survive until 500 AD with the highest score.

Meanwhile the Explorer escaped, but bravely attempted to approach the Gothic city again by circling to the west. This time he got caught and slaughtered by a Germanic Swordsman. But next turn, the enemy was visible from Virunum.

In 202 AD, Gaius Marius achieved his ambush! Unfortunately, although the Legions were not detected during their approach, the Goth city was strongly defended. 8 Legions faced 10 Germanic Swordsmen across a river. Meanwhile, 2 Germanic Swordsmen and 13 Heavy Axemen threatened Virunum, preventing reinforcements from trying to reach Marius. In the first battle, 6 German Swordsmen died for the loss of 2 Legions. The GG Subutai was born in Ravenna.

The garrison in the city did not counter-attack Marius, but further south one German Sordsman advanced towards Castrum Clus. A Noble Cavalry tried to stop him, but died. Four Heavy Swordsmen went out to avenge his death.

In the Forest outside Gothic Homelands that night, Marius wined and dined his men and assured them all of a warm welcome in Hell. In the morning they filed out, and the final battle began. The least injured Legions, two just promoted, attacked first - and won. Then Gaius Marius limped up to the walls - and won. The last Legion with any hope of victory raised his Gladius - and won! The Gothic city auto-razed as the Legions broke through its walls.

That night, many toasts were raised to the heroic fallen, LEG II A and LEG IV A. They were there when Rome was founded on the banks on the Tiber, they met their destiny on the banks of the Rhine.

==Slow Grind to the Finish Line==

The game was in its final run now. The Roman Empire's power was unrivalled, its Stability immense (very Solid, 124; 98, 10, 82, -59, -7; unelss something went very wrong, Byzantium could not spawn). It held 44% of the world population, 16% of its Land Area (safely below any risk of an accidental Domination Victory). Excet fr Rome vs Tyre (4614 to5346) it had the higest Culture cities - no risk of a surprise Cultural Victory or loss. Best of all, its Score seemed beyond challenge (3477 to Persia's 2209). All it needed was a steady hand ...

There was one cloud on the horizon - soon I must Research Christianity. That could destabilise things. By historical inevitability, the Empire's state religion was Hellenism. Caralis and Panormus had Baalism, Judaism had managed to get into Tarsatica and Sebha (a SALT city in the Sahara) before I got a Hiereia there; Hellenism was the sole religion in every other city. Still, I just had to avoid spreading it and it would be just one more minor belief system of many. What foolish ruler would upset a centuries-old Empire to imose novel religious beliefs? Not on my watch!

In 256 AD, I built The Labyrinth in Rome. In 274 AD, I upgraded every Archer to Crossbow.

In 286 AD, Christianity was founded in Virunum. In 298 AD, India collapsed. In 304 AD, Virunum produced a Christian Missionary; he went to Rome, which promptly started the Hagia Sophia (5 turns).

In 310 AD, the no-name Phoenician city formerly known as Jerusalem fell to the Persians and regained its name. Looking at the area, I noticed what seemed to be a big Barbarian army - a Bandit, 4 War Elephants, 5 Horse Archers, a Light Cavalry and a Catapult. Except that all units in that stack except the Bandit belonged to Darius! I had a suspicion that the Bandit was not what he seemed ... I checked the Score. I was 3717 to Darius' 2424. It seemed an adequate margin, but I started to draw up a contingency plan for a preventative war with Persia. I started moving my army from near Virunum to a new base near Constantinople, where it would be convenient for use against the Huns when they appeared, or against persia if it came to that.

In 320 AD, an angel of mercy blessed the Hospital in Rome. Perhaps there was something in this Cristianity thing after all? My Hellenistic advisers instantly snorted and pointed out that if so, it was an angel with a price tag - 121 Gold. I responded that the state religion sponsoring this was Hellenism; perhaps their own pockets were not going entirely unlined here? Much shuffling of feet and huffy re-arrangement of robes.

Manorialism obsoleted Hadrian's Wall. Villages and Towns became more profitable, but Barbarian attacks on my cities and units, so long kept at bay by the Wall, began again almost at once.

Dante Alighieri, a longtime resident of Rome, created a Great Work there. Rome, long a stronghold of Merchant Specialists, diversified its Specialists in order to attract a greater variety of illustrious residents - with a view to someday starting, if not a new Golden Age, at least a Silver one.

In 352 AD I decided to give Christianity a trial. Rome and Virunum popped a missionary each.

And in 368 AD, and here came Attila of the Hunnic Peoples, with his horde: 13 Huns, 7 Heavy Axemen, 7 Heavy Swordsmen, 4 Swordsmen.

By 404 AD, the Huns were 404 ... not found. The last enemy that could spawn to threaten Rome had been destroyed. Six Legions survived the climactic battle, four of them original from 512 BC, the other two reinforcements built in Sparta. No further Legions could be trained: the future belonged to the Heavy Swordsmen.

In the capital, the assembled Great People celebrated by kicking off a Golden Age. Workmen gathered to build a final Wonder of the World, the Globe Theatre, to fete the heroes of the war.

In 444 AD, I gifted Isca Dumnorum to the Celts. The city had become a target for Anglo Saxon Huscarls raiding out of Wales.

HISTORICAL VICTORY IN 500 AD.

The Globe was packed. White-bearded Legions in antique armour rubbed shoulders with glowing Great People; actors and farmers tried for a meeting of the minds; the dogs ran between our legs, while the cats looked down from the rafters. Then the lights dimmed, and the show began ...

Player Guide

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

bluepotato

Prince

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

Autumn Leaf

Since 1992

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