Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
And BTW, looking forward to playing Scythia and swooping down on all those fat farmers with their fat-tailed sheep and grazing my horses in their fat overgrown fields. 
Player Guide
- Thread starter Autumn Leaf
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0 - Sumeria - Monarch - Historical Victory in 2000 BC - Score 1175, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: The First Great Civilization: Be the first to discover The Wheel, Masonry and Cuneiform.
UHV 2: The influence of Ur: Make Ur the #1 Cultural city in 2000 BC.
UHV 3: The Legend of Sargon: Control a city in Sumer, Akkad, Subartu and Khuzestan by 2180 BC.
Here's the usual caveat about misleading phrasing: Actual code for UHV 3 is "if (iGameTurn == i2200BC):", meaning you need to control those cities IN 2200 BC (it will be evaluated in the inter-turn and announced in 2180 BC) not BY 2180 BC (which would be "if (iGameTurn <= i2200BC):").
As usual, I founded on the spot. Since I am Gilgamesh, I named my city Uruk, not Ur. I instantly used my missionary to found Annunaki. If you don't spread Annunaki immediately then it will spread anyway in a few turns, leaving you with a Missionary you can use later, but Culture is a UHV condition for Ur and if you don't spread it immediately then you are leaving 4 Culture per turn on the table in the meantime. I started work on a Brewery.
UHV 1: I set my research path to The Wheel (for the free Scientist and for UHV 1), Mysticism (for Monarchy and Deification), Mining (for Stone), Urban Settlements (for Javelineers and Settlers), Masonry (for UHV 1), Hunting (pre-req), Spokes (pre-req), Trade (pre-req), Cuneiform (for UHV 1). Note that although there is no formal deadline for UHV 1, the Minoans spawn with Masonry in 2690 BC and the Babylonians spawn with Cuneiform in 1890 BC; therefore you must have these techs by those dates. You can't delay along the way to pick up a bunch of other nice-to-have techs. Also, because Hunting is late in the list, it will be a while before you can go popping villages. There used to be a village south of you in Arabia that you could reach with your Warrior and maybe pop a Scout or a technology before the Warrior had to race back to defend Ur, but that seems to have been nixed. The nearest villages are now in places like Anatolia, Armenia and Persia. It's a use-your-judgement thing - do you need hammers or villages more?
UHV 2: You are probably going to be fighting with Waset in Egypt for this one. They start with the Slavery civic; you don't. Don't even think about chasing Stonehenge - you need to use your hammers for other things.
UHV 3: Conquer Agade. Found Ninevah. Raze Larsa when it flips, to allow Shusan to grow, because you will probably need to capture not raze Shusan unless you literally throw everything you have into training a second Settler.
I could see an Independent Town Guard west of me. My Warrior headed that way and soon discovered an unprotected Jericho. The TG did not go into the city, so I attacked it for experience. The fate of Jericho was my first decision. If I captured it, it would auto-raze. If I left it, it would probably be razed by barbs. I decided to leave it; the bounty for capturing the town was too small to be worth it. Maybe (however unlikely) it would survive and flip.
In 3890 BC I discovered The Wheel and received the GS. Uruk, pop 3, was working two of the Flood Plains with Trade and the Desert Hill east of Jericho (hammer with Trade) and was generating 12 beakers. If I made the GS a Specialist he would give 6 beakers, a hammer and improve the chances for my GS. If I built an Academy it would bring 6 beakers per turn initially and more later, plus 4 culture per turn. I went for the Academy; culture was probably going to be a fight with Waset and unless I popped a GA I needed every note.
In 3740 BC, Uruk was about to grow to pop 4 and become unhappy, so I ran some micro-management razzle-dazzle, alternately working the two-hammer hill (starvation) and a Flood Plain (surplus food) to keep myself on the edge of growth. By 3620 BC I was 1 turn from Masonry and I left my citizen on the Flood Plain so Uruk would grow next turn. In 3590 BC I discovered Mysticism and revolted to Monarchy and Deification. I also inserted a Monument ahead of the Brewery in my build queue. I kept three Flood Plains with Trade in use (notably the one with Incense), and put my new citizen on the two-hammer Hill, which was now generating Trade. The alternative was the Plains south of the river, which had one Food, one Hammer and one Trade, but I wanted to get my Monument and Brewery built. As soon as I came out of anarchy in 3560 BC, I converted to Annunaki. By 3530 BC I was running free, with 7 happy faces to 4 unhappy ones.
In 3500 BC, Larsa spawned and the Vulture from it looked like it was coming for me ... then the next turn, it turned around and went home!
In 3350 BC I discovered Mining, woohoo! I put the citizen from the Hill on the Stone instead, trading two hammers and trade for three food and a hammer for faster population growth.
In 3260 BC I reached 5 pop and was working the Stone plus the Trade Flood Plains. In 3200 BC there was a Sumerian revolt in Larsa. In 3170 I built my Monument and resumed my Brewery, plus grew to pop 6; I put the new citien on a flood plain. In 3080 BC I discovered Urban Settlement and queued a Javelineer and a Settler after the Brewery. In 3020 I grew to pop 7 and rearranged my citizens, working the all the Incense tile plus Flood Plains. In 2990 BC I built my Brewery. In 2930 BC there was a Sumerian revolt in Jericho, which somehow was still surviving. In 2780 Annunaki spread in larsa.
In 2750 BC I discovered Masonry and, not incidentally, founded Hellenism in Uruk. My happy cap was still 9 but now I had 1 point of religious unhappiness; if I let my city grow to 8 pop, it would be unhappy. I didn't worry about it; I would be stagnant for a long time building a Settler.
In 2720 BC, Kindattu popped up to declare war on me. So be it. In 2690 BC, Larsa finally flipped. To give Shusan access to a flood plain I disbanded Larsa, net gain one Javelineer. I brought my Javelineer home to avoid scaring Kindattu.
In 2630 BC I discovered Hunting. I was now on a beeline for Cuneiform (UHV 1, Spokes -> Trade -> Cuneiform). In 2600 BC I trained a Javelineer in Uruk. I checked the city and reset the citizens for the fastest possible Settler (11 turns).
In 2570 BC, Shusan's borders expanded. I checked the Stone flood: no sign of being worked. I checked in WB: Shusan was working the hilltop E of town. You're never going to grow that way, Kindattu! Looked like I might need a second Settler. I checked north - no sign of cities in Akkad or Subartu; was I playing the right version?
In 2480 BC, Hiram popped up to say hello. In 2405 BC I discovered Spokes.
In 2395 BC, I trained my Settler and started on a Town Guard for quick Happy Police, with a Javelin to follow. My two Javelineers went NE with the Settler. In 2360 BC I killed a barb Vulture that appeared beside them, and in 2345 a KR that foolishly came down from the hills. I promoted my Javelineers to Drill I.
In 2330 BC, Agade popped up - with its defenders standing 1 SW of it. My Settler and one Javelineer were standing 1 SE of the site. My Javelineer instantly nabbed the undefended city and my Settler followed it in for safety. My other Javelineer killed a KR who appeared on the hills NE. Shusan was 2 pop, with one KR. I promoted my Javelineer to Shock but as it was injured I fortified it there and started bringing the other Javelineer east to help. My Settler went N. Uruk trained a Town Guard. I switched to another Town Guard. Number of units meant more than unit power here. My Warrior headed NE.
2315 BC: My injured Javelineer threw itself recklessly on Shusan - and captured the city! In 2300 BC my units reversed their steps to guard Agade and Uruk; my Settler went N. I despatched the Town Guard toward Agade.
2270 BC: The Settler, which was standingon 1 N of the site of future Ashur, founded Ninevah. My Javelineer started north from Agade to garrison it. 2240 BC: all cities guarded. Hellenism had spread to Agade and Ninevah. Somewhere in this tumult, Uruk lost a population point, dropping back to 6. I left it there. Who knows what horror might happen if I turned back the clock to correct it?
In 2225 BC I discovered Trade and revolted to Trade Economy. In 2210 BC, my Town Guard in Agade saw off a barb Vulture.
In 2180 BC, UHV 3 ticked off! I was 8 turns from Cuneiform. I checked the Top 5 Cities: no Wonders. What was Waset up to? I'd had no chance to send a unit to Egypt. I'd just have to forge ahead and hope. The nearest rival I could actually see was Byblos; I was 796 to their 162.
In 2090 BC my Gold ran out. I turned my Research down to 60%; Cuneiform was now 3 turns away.
In 2045 BC I discovered Cuneiform! I selected Slash & Burn (Workers) for my next tech, not that it mattered much; I had achieved my tech goal. Anything else I researched from here was going to be post-UHV. I revolted to Oligarchy.
It's 2000 BC and HISTORICAL VICTORY TIME!
Stability: Solid (+25); 15, 10, -8, 12, -4. Waset, according to the WB, has 574 Culture; Uruk has 940.
So here I am once again, sitting on my crumbling walls, looking out across the desert. But this time, instead of vile Babylon - I can see smiling Sumerian guards waving back from Agade, Ninevah and Shushan. I know Babylon is coming, but this time, I swear, I will strike my mikku and pukku as Hammurabi is consigned to the underworld, the house from which no one ever comes forth, where people are clad like birds with garments of wings, where over door and bolt dust has spread; the house of darkness whose occupants are bereft of light, where dust is their food and clay their sustenance!
ETA: 1580 BC, Babylon captured.
UHV 1: The First Great Civilization: Be the first to discover The Wheel, Masonry and Cuneiform.
UHV 2: The influence of Ur: Make Ur the #1 Cultural city in 2000 BC.
UHV 3: The Legend of Sargon: Control a city in Sumer, Akkad, Subartu and Khuzestan by 2180 BC.
Here's the usual caveat about misleading phrasing: Actual code for UHV 3 is "if (iGameTurn == i2200BC):", meaning you need to control those cities IN 2200 BC (it will be evaluated in the inter-turn and announced in 2180 BC) not BY 2180 BC (which would be "if (iGameTurn <= i2200BC):").
As usual, I founded on the spot. Since I am Gilgamesh, I named my city Uruk, not Ur. I instantly used my missionary to found Annunaki. If you don't spread Annunaki immediately then it will spread anyway in a few turns, leaving you with a Missionary you can use later, but Culture is a UHV condition for Ur and if you don't spread it immediately then you are leaving 4 Culture per turn on the table in the meantime. I started work on a Brewery.
UHV 1: I set my research path to The Wheel (for the free Scientist and for UHV 1), Mysticism (for Monarchy and Deification), Mining (for Stone), Urban Settlements (for Javelineers and Settlers), Masonry (for UHV 1), Hunting (pre-req), Spokes (pre-req), Trade (pre-req), Cuneiform (for UHV 1). Note that although there is no formal deadline for UHV 1, the Minoans spawn with Masonry in 2690 BC and the Babylonians spawn with Cuneiform in 1890 BC; therefore you must have these techs by those dates. You can't delay along the way to pick up a bunch of other nice-to-have techs. Also, because Hunting is late in the list, it will be a while before you can go popping villages. There used to be a village south of you in Arabia that you could reach with your Warrior and maybe pop a Scout or a technology before the Warrior had to race back to defend Ur, but that seems to have been nixed. The nearest villages are now in places like Anatolia, Armenia and Persia. It's a use-your-judgement thing - do you need hammers or villages more?
UHV 2: You are probably going to be fighting with Waset in Egypt for this one. They start with the Slavery civic; you don't. Don't even think about chasing Stonehenge - you need to use your hammers for other things.
UHV 3: Conquer Agade. Found Ninevah. Raze Larsa when it flips, to allow Shusan to grow, because you will probably need to capture not raze Shusan unless you literally throw everything you have into training a second Settler.
I could see an Independent Town Guard west of me. My Warrior headed that way and soon discovered an unprotected Jericho. The TG did not go into the city, so I attacked it for experience. The fate of Jericho was my first decision. If I captured it, it would auto-raze. If I left it, it would probably be razed by barbs. I decided to leave it; the bounty for capturing the town was too small to be worth it. Maybe (however unlikely) it would survive and flip.
In 3890 BC I discovered The Wheel and received the GS. Uruk, pop 3, was working two of the Flood Plains with Trade and the Desert Hill east of Jericho (hammer with Trade) and was generating 12 beakers. If I made the GS a Specialist he would give 6 beakers, a hammer and improve the chances for my GS. If I built an Academy it would bring 6 beakers per turn initially and more later, plus 4 culture per turn. I went for the Academy; culture was probably going to be a fight with Waset and unless I popped a GA I needed every note.
In 3740 BC, Uruk was about to grow to pop 4 and become unhappy, so I ran some micro-management razzle-dazzle, alternately working the two-hammer hill (starvation) and a Flood Plain (surplus food) to keep myself on the edge of growth. By 3620 BC I was 1 turn from Masonry and I left my citizen on the Flood Plain so Uruk would grow next turn. In 3590 BC I discovered Mysticism and revolted to Monarchy and Deification. I also inserted a Monument ahead of the Brewery in my build queue. I kept three Flood Plains with Trade in use (notably the one with Incense), and put my new citizen on the two-hammer Hill, which was now generating Trade. The alternative was the Plains south of the river, which had one Food, one Hammer and one Trade, but I wanted to get my Monument and Brewery built. As soon as I came out of anarchy in 3560 BC, I converted to Annunaki. By 3530 BC I was running free, with 7 happy faces to 4 unhappy ones.
In 3500 BC, Larsa spawned and the Vulture from it looked like it was coming for me ... then the next turn, it turned around and went home!
In 3350 BC I discovered Mining, woohoo! I put the citizen from the Hill on the Stone instead, trading two hammers and trade for three food and a hammer for faster population growth.
In 3260 BC I reached 5 pop and was working the Stone plus the Trade Flood Plains. In 3200 BC there was a Sumerian revolt in Larsa. In 3170 I built my Monument and resumed my Brewery, plus grew to pop 6; I put the new citien on a flood plain. In 3080 BC I discovered Urban Settlement and queued a Javelineer and a Settler after the Brewery. In 3020 I grew to pop 7 and rearranged my citizens, working the all the Incense tile plus Flood Plains. In 2990 BC I built my Brewery. In 2930 BC there was a Sumerian revolt in Jericho, which somehow was still surviving. In 2780 Annunaki spread in larsa.
In 2750 BC I discovered Masonry and, not incidentally, founded Hellenism in Uruk. My happy cap was still 9 but now I had 1 point of religious unhappiness; if I let my city grow to 8 pop, it would be unhappy. I didn't worry about it; I would be stagnant for a long time building a Settler.
In 2720 BC, Kindattu popped up to declare war on me. So be it. In 2690 BC, Larsa finally flipped. To give Shusan access to a flood plain I disbanded Larsa, net gain one Javelineer. I brought my Javelineer home to avoid scaring Kindattu.
In 2630 BC I discovered Hunting. I was now on a beeline for Cuneiform (UHV 1, Spokes -> Trade -> Cuneiform). In 2600 BC I trained a Javelineer in Uruk. I checked the city and reset the citizens for the fastest possible Settler (11 turns).
In 2570 BC, Shusan's borders expanded. I checked the Stone flood: no sign of being worked. I checked in WB: Shusan was working the hilltop E of town. You're never going to grow that way, Kindattu! Looked like I might need a second Settler. I checked north - no sign of cities in Akkad or Subartu; was I playing the right version?
In 2480 BC, Hiram popped up to say hello. In 2405 BC I discovered Spokes.
In 2395 BC, I trained my Settler and started on a Town Guard for quick Happy Police, with a Javelin to follow. My two Javelineers went NE with the Settler. In 2360 BC I killed a barb Vulture that appeared beside them, and in 2345 a KR that foolishly came down from the hills. I promoted my Javelineers to Drill I.
In 2330 BC, Agade popped up - with its defenders standing 1 SW of it. My Settler and one Javelineer were standing 1 SE of the site. My Javelineer instantly nabbed the undefended city and my Settler followed it in for safety. My other Javelineer killed a KR who appeared on the hills NE. Shusan was 2 pop, with one KR. I promoted my Javelineer to Shock but as it was injured I fortified it there and started bringing the other Javelineer east to help. My Settler went N. Uruk trained a Town Guard. I switched to another Town Guard. Number of units meant more than unit power here. My Warrior headed NE.
2315 BC: My injured Javelineer threw itself recklessly on Shusan - and captured the city! In 2300 BC my units reversed their steps to guard Agade and Uruk; my Settler went N. I despatched the Town Guard toward Agade.
2270 BC: The Settler, which was standing
In 2225 BC I discovered Trade and revolted to Trade Economy. In 2210 BC, my Town Guard in Agade saw off a barb Vulture.
In 2180 BC, UHV 3 ticked off! I was 8 turns from Cuneiform. I checked the Top 5 Cities: no Wonders. What was Waset up to? I'd had no chance to send a unit to Egypt. I'd just have to forge ahead and hope. The nearest rival I could actually see was Byblos; I was 796 to their 162.
In 2090 BC my Gold ran out. I turned my Research down to 60%; Cuneiform was now 3 turns away.
In 2045 BC I discovered Cuneiform! I selected Slash & Burn (Workers) for my next tech, not that it mattered much; I had achieved my tech goal. Anything else I researched from here was going to be post-UHV. I revolted to Oligarchy.
It's 2000 BC and HISTORICAL VICTORY TIME!
Stability: Solid (+25); 15, 10, -8, 12, -4. Waset, according to the WB, has 574 Culture; Uruk has 940.
So here I am once again, sitting on my crumbling walls, looking out across the desert. But this time, instead of vile Babylon - I can see smiling Sumerian guards waving back from Agade, Ninevah and Shushan. I know Babylon is coming, but this time, I swear, I will strike my mikku and pukku as Hammurabi is consigned to the underworld, the house from which no one ever comes forth, where people are clad like birds with garments of wings, where over door and bolt dust has spread; the house of darkness whose occupants are bereft of light, where dust is their food and clay their sustenance!
Spoiler The Sumerian Empire in 2000 BC :
ETA: 1580 BC, Babylon captured.
Last edited:
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0 (Release version) - 900 BC - Scythia - Monarch - Historical Victory in 98 BC - Score 1418, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: Horse Culture: Own 4 horses (including by trade) in 500 BC.
UHV 2: Destruction of Nineveh: Destroy 3 civilizations by 300 BC.
UHV 3: Nomadic Way of Life: No foreign culture in Crimea, Sarmatia, Caucasus and Scythia in 100 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 896 BC.
UHV 1 is pretty straightforward. There are several horses nearby, more to the west in some lush land north of the Black Sea, and plenty more down south of the Black Sea if you can wrest them from the Assyrians. There are no Harappans, Elamites or Hittites on this map. Your first real competition other than the Assyrians and the Phoenicians will be the Persians, around 674 BC - otherwise you're dealing with the barbs. You can scatter your cities widely.
UHV 2 is awkward, mainly due to that very shortage of enemies. Greece is so far off that your hunting ground will be the Middle East - Assyria, Babylon, Phoenicia and Israel are all alive but some may die before you can kill them. If so, you can try it on with Persia but Cyrus is a seriously tough customer for the Scythians. If all else fails you can try to nobble India in 320 BC.
UHV 3 pretty much lays out the focus of your battlfields. Independent cities don't count ("for iLoop in range(iNumPlayers): #no minor civs"), though you'll need to make sure nobody else captures any that pop up! You have to be sure to crush Bactria soon after they spawn in 254 BC, before their culture spreads north into Scythia. The Celts spawn in 806 BC but their focus is towards Rome and Macedonia; you will have to watch them however, in case they try to capture a city in Sarmatia or Crimea. You also need to watch Dacia in case a city is founded there that may spread culture into Sarmatia.
The Scythians spawn on a Plains tile in what is, frankly, a lousy spot for a city; so bad that instead of settling in place, for once I moved one square east and settled on the next turn. I lost a couple of Grassland squares that would have been handy for early growth, but gained a Horse and Iron. The tough choice was where to send Settler #2. There's a sweet spot nearby where the river hits the Caspian, which has Fish and another Horse, but it's too close to the capital. The second Settler really has to head west along a corridor of high-Settler-value tiles into Sarmatia. I gave each Settler an Archer. The remaining Archer also went west; it was to explore down through the Caucasus, eventually joining the army in Armenia.
The rest of my army headed south towards Media. The quickest route is down the east side of the Caspian. The Caucasus route is shorter, but mountainous and thus slower. Scythian horsies have 3 movement on the flat or in forests, so I could be at the gates of Hasanlu in as little as 6 turns. I sent one Rider west to scout the way for Settler #2; it later came down through the Balkans to join the main army.
I revolted to Monarchy, Vassalage, Slavery, Isolationism, Deification, and Client Kingdoms (3 turns). May as well get some of it over with while I have no cities.
On my next turn I founded Kul-Oba and since the Palace would eventually expand its borders, I set it to building a Granary, understanding it would need to switch to a Worker as soon as it hit 2 pop. I thought it'd be an OK city once I Farmed the Grasslands, but the Grasslands have no access to fresh water and I lacked the tech to build dry Farms. It is OK once you Farm the Plains (3 Food under Isolationism, hence a surplus) and the cultivation spreads the irrigation, but the city takes a very long time to grow and one Worker takes a very long time to build the Farms that will let you work the Horse and the Iron. Basically once I built the Horse Pasture I had to focus on Farms for the rest of the UHV period.
I set my pathetic Research to Mathematics and Metal Casting. I figured I might need Catapults, by and by, and good production, but the Scythians are not a scientific civ. I eventually had to drop my Research to keep my budget afloat.
My Rider soon found a nice Sarmatian spot for a city on the north bank of a river where it entered the Sea of Azov, with Sheep, Marble, Wheat and, most importantly, Horse within its mainly grassland BFC. Some Forests promised quick early production. Since the Scythians get no free Workers and any you capture will face a long dangerous journey if you try to bring them home, this is important; building Workers is a very high priority. (In the 4400 BC start there will probably be some Workers hanging around in Harappan/Bactrian territory, but not in the 900 BC start.)
In 860 BC my horsies pulled up on the Spice Hill outside Hasanlu, razing Independent Bactra en route. Alas, Hasanlu had been captured by barbs and had only one population point; it would auto-raze on capture. Better to leave it for later. It looked like I would have to hit the Assyrians without Catapults. This could get bloody! I had a Noble Horseman and three Scythian Riders for my main army. Not a lot to throw aganst what was possibly the most powerful empire on Earth at that time.
In 854 BC I founded Sarmatia on the Sea of Azov and set it to bulding a Monument, again understanding I would need to switch to a Worker once it hit 2 pop. Meanwhile my army moved SW onto the Stone, and Ashurbanipal popped up to present me with with my first conundrum. He was willing to Open Borders, which would let me through his territory to attack his neighbours; but if I did that I would give him time to get stronger, while the treaty would prevent me from attacking him. Plus he was probably in the process of attacking his neighbours right now with a much larger army than mine. If I attacked now I might be able to finish him before he could bring his army home. So I moved west onto the Forest Hill, which gave me a view of "Nievah". Two Archers and a Javelineer - looked like his army was indeed away. So be it.
Next turn I dceclared war then advanced onto the Horse, crossed the river and attacked Nievah from the north. I noted a Worker standing on a Cow Hill to my NW. Yum. My Noble Horseman killed an Archer; two Riders finished the others. Hammurabi instantly popped up to offer peace. I would not be ready to take him out until I knew who else was around, so I agreed. If Ashurbanipal had more cities hidden away in the mist, it might be necessary to cross Babylonian territory to get to them, so we also Opened Borders.
There was at least one Assyrian city west of me. I sent my last Rider to nab the Worker, and saw Harran in the river valley below, defended by two Archers. I also saw a red border to my north - probably Thuspa.
Next turn I lost a Rider attacking Harran, a second Rider killed one Archer, my Noble Horseman withdrew from the remaining Archer, and my last Rider captured Harran. Alas, Ashurbanipal was still alive; he obviously had at least one more city. I noticed that Babylon was now calling itself the "City-State of Larsa", which gave me a good idea where Ashurbanipal's army was. If he didn't collapse first, I'd be hearing from it soon.
Inter-turn, Hiram of Phoenicia popped up. We Opened Borders - the last thing I needed now was another war or territory I could not enter. For good measure, in 836 BC I contacted Ashurbanipal and made peace. I was not in any shape to hold off his vengeful army let alone take Babylon off him. He had clearly crippled Hammurabi and I held his core. With a little luck he would expire before the ceasefire did, although I half hoped he would not - I needed to destroy three civs and right now I had met exactly three!
Meanwhile my 3rd Archer had come south out of the Caucasus. The barb city to my north was indeed 1-pop Tushpa, defended by two Archers. Owning Hasanlu, Niavah, Sarmatia and Kul-Oba would give me control of four Horses for UHV 1, but this calculation contained a critical oversight which will be revealed soon.
In 830 BC, I balanced my budget by dropping Research to 0%. Nievah (2-pop) and Harran (1-pop) came out of disorder. Nievah was currently my largest city!
My captured Worker started building a Horse Pasture outside Nievah.
In 812 BC my scouting Rider, who had come down through the Balkans and entered Anatolia, met a boat from Ramses, who was at war with Ashurbanipal. We Opened Borders; he was too far away for me to attack.
In 800 BC an Assyrian Swordsman appeared NW of Harran. My scouting Rider got a view of Babylon - it was held by a Swordsman and two Spearmen. Another Swordsman was SW. Clearly Ashurbanipal retained significant military power, but where was the rest of his army? I saw no Rams. Had he lost them or were they off in the mist, lurking?
In 770 BC the treaty with Ashurbanipal expired. Nievah had built an Archer and was working on a Scythian Rider. Ashurbanipal's northern Swordsman was just standing there outside Harran, like a literal Sword of Damocles. I decided to take it out as the first move in a new war; that might tempt his remaining forces out of hiding. But I was pretty sure he didn't have much if anything that I didn't know about. Taking Babylon had cost him dearly.
The war opened in 764 BC. My Noble Horseman killed the Swordsman outside Harran and turned back towards Nievah. In 758 BC, three barb Spearmen spawned east of Babylon and headed west, north and east. That might complicate things. My Noble Horseman reached Nievah. In 752 BC, Thucydides reported that Phoenicia was the strongest civ, some unknown civ was 2nd, and I was 3rd. I advanced and killed a barb Spearman, stopping two tiles north of Babylon to stay out of reach of its defenders. Over the next few moves, using hit-and-run, I picked off a unit here, a unit there until in 728 BC a Rider killed an Auxillia and broke into Babylon. Interestingly, the game offered me "No, return control to the City State of %s1" as one of my options. One civ killed.
After healing up and reinforcing my army with a new Rider from Nievah, I waited till Hammurabi sent some units out of Larsa, then declared war and for the loss of one Rider smashed my way through the two Bowman protecting that city. I razed it, because even at 0% Research I was losing money. Two kills. One more civ by 300 BC and I'd nail UHV 2. The catch was, Phoenicia was bigger and stronger than me; I doubted I could take them down by 300 BC. I needed to find weaker prey.
I also still needed to secure four Horses by 500 BC. Kul-Oba and Sarmatia were crawling towards Workers. Nievah had its Horse hooked up. I decided it was time to capture Hasanlu, and started my horsies that way, followed by an Archer and a Worker.
Here's a bug. First time through this I captured Hasanlu in 680 BC - and then in 656 BC it flipped unconditionally to Cyrus, who declared war on me. No notice. No chance to refuse the flip. That bug needs to be fixed. Anyway, I couldn't fight Persia as Cyrus spawned with units that would eat me alive. The bug gave me an excuse to back up a few turns, switch Nievah to a Settler, and wait. My best remaining option was to build a city in Anatolia. This time when Cyrus appeared, I Opened Borders with him. A couple of turns later I Liberated Babylon to him, pleasing him and getting rid of a city I couldn't afford.
In practical terms, all my southern conquests were dispensable; I ony needed them until 500 BC. After that, my whole focus would be to prevent anyone from establishing culture in the north. I would keep Nievah as long as possible - it was overwhelmingly my best city and I needed the horsies it was pumping out - but if push came to shove I could abandon the south once the north started to develop.
In 638 BC, I got the Quest of the Horsemaster, and laughed. I was down to 4 cities (soon to be back up to 5); no chance of seven stables anytime soon.
In 626 BC, I built Neocaesarea, with Pigs, Sheep, Copper and two Horse in its BFC, and started Pasturing one Horse to meet UHV 1.
In 614 BC, I met Solomon, and instantly declared war on him. He was clearly my best chance for completing UHV 2. In 602 BC my horsies reached Jerusalem. It was defended by a Macabee and two Archers. My Noble Horseman took out the Macabee. My first Rider took out one Archer, the next died, the third captured the city and two Workers. I promptly Liberated the city to Hiram for the sake of my budget and good diplomatic relations. Three down! Horatio Nelson was born in Nievah. I pondered what sort of horseman the old Admiral had been.
In 584 BC, Ramses asked me to declare war on Cyrus and I refused. Then Cyrus asked me to declare war on Ramses and I accepted; both Hiram and Cyrus were still far too strong for me and must be placated. I doubted I would see any Egyptians. I razed barb Tushpa to free up its Copper for Neocaesarea. Neocaesarea could turn into quite a production brute, with Copper, Sheep, two Horse, and enough River Plains to support a good population. However, it would be a while before it paid off as it didn't have Nievah's Flood Plains for quick growth. I gave it both my original southern Workers; the two from Jerusalem would soon take over in Subartu.
I had burned all but one of my original Scythian Riders and was accumulating a new generation, all with with Mobility promotions, who would eventually form my new army. In 572 BC, I merged Horatio Nelson with my Noble Cavalry and started him towards the east with the remaining veteran Rider as a sidekick, to explore Bactria then go north to garrison my northern cities, which were being dogged by barbs.
500 BC came and went and I was 2/3 for my UHVs - just UHV 3 to get. I traded Monotheism and 15 Gold to Hiram for Metal Casting, and bought his map for 105 Gold; then traded maps with him for 115 Gold. Then traded Sailing for Horseback Riding and 265 Gold. I temporarily focused on city development; it was taking too long to build my army.
In 452 BC, Pliny reported that Scythians were the 5th most powerful empire in the world. I was losing ground! I would have to be careful, as weakness could tempt Phoenicia or Persia into targeting me.
I captured two Independent cities - Olbia in Sarmatia and Padikápeon in Crimea. The former would eventually have Horses. The latter would never amount to much, but it blocked land access to the rest of the peninsula.
In 368 BC, Kul-Oba hit 6 pop. It was working every developed tile and starting to show promise of eventually becoming a good production city. It was nearly finished its Forge - I queued a Worker after that to help the existing Worker build Farms. Sarmatia was 8 pop and starting to blossom. But Nievah and Neocaesarea were still my powerhouses, and even Harran was still putting out more hammers than the northern cities. Having converted to Baalism a while back once it had spread to all three southern cities, I now built a Sanctuary in Nievah and then a couple of Kohen to spread it in the north.
In 284 BC I founded Saka between the mountains at the south end of Caucasus, blocking access. I was spinning out Riders now in anticipation of Bactria's spawn. I needed to be able to overwhelm their initial units.
A couple of turns after the Bactrians were due, I launched my army across the sands to seek them out. I bumped an army just north of their city of Demetrios. Inter-turn, a Camel Cataphract attacked Horatio Nelson but withdrew; Horatio was Level 6, with Combat I, II and III. The next turn I was into the Hills and hammering the 1-pop city. I wasn't able to take it and my army took a bruising, but I lost no units. A couple of turns later, using only my least injured units, I broke through - the last defender was the injured Camel Cataphract. The city auto-razed and Diodotus was myth.
Accompanied by four captured Workers, my limping army turned for home. It should be a straight run to 100 BC now, I thought to myself. All I had to do was make sure nobody snuck any culture into Sarmatia, Crimea, Caucasus or Scythia. I checked the demographics. Despite my military training spree I was still only #4 in military, 269,000 to 361,000; but that was OK. Even if everyone declared war on me in the south I was in a good position to survive long enough in the north to win. I was #1 in production, population and land area, but 5th in GNP.
In 212 BC, Sarmatia popped a GE. Unfortunately the AI had gone on a Wonders spree recently and there was nothing to build. I settled him in the city, which had excellent food but relatively poor production.
In 152 BC, Livy reported that I was the largest empire in the world. I was #3 in Score, behind Phoenicia and Rome but ahead of Persia - who was now at war with Asoka. He had invited me to join him but I was starting to feel secure enough to refuse a war with someone else close enough to hurt me. Taharqa of Kush popped up talking about termites licking stones, and I agreed and we opened borders. He was too far away to worry about.
In the last century, 200 BC to 100 BC, "Yuezhi Horse Archers" began harassing Kul-Oba, spawning in hordes of 4 units every few moves. At first I was unimpressed, but after losing a couple of Riders to them I started to take them seriously, scrambling my defenders in at least equal numbers to kill them beyond my cultivation and leave no units vulnerable to counter-attacks. I stationed one Rider on a hilltop to spot them coming as far out as possible.
In 98 BC my UHV arrived.
Stability: An astonishing Very Solid (+108); +27, -5, +62, +6, +18.
So here I am sitting in my hall in Kul-Oba, watching yet another horde of Yuezhi Horse Archers approaching from the north. In a moment I must go shake Horatio awake and send him out with his Riders to abate the nuisance, but first I shall raise a mug of imported Phoenician Wine and allow my thralls to cheer my victory to the rafters.
UHV 1: Horse Culture: Own 4 horses (including by trade) in 500 BC.
UHV 2: Destruction of Nineveh: Destroy 3 civilizations by 300 BC.
UHV 3: Nomadic Way of Life: No foreign culture in Crimea, Sarmatia, Caucasus and Scythia in 100 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 896 BC.
UHV 1 is pretty straightforward. There are several horses nearby, more to the west in some lush land north of the Black Sea, and plenty more down south of the Black Sea if you can wrest them from the Assyrians. There are no Harappans, Elamites or Hittites on this map. Your first real competition other than the Assyrians and the Phoenicians will be the Persians, around 674 BC - otherwise you're dealing with the barbs. You can scatter your cities widely.
UHV 2 is awkward, mainly due to that very shortage of enemies. Greece is so far off that your hunting ground will be the Middle East - Assyria, Babylon, Phoenicia and Israel are all alive but some may die before you can kill them. If so, you can try it on with Persia but Cyrus is a seriously tough customer for the Scythians. If all else fails you can try to nobble India in 320 BC.
UHV 3 pretty much lays out the focus of your battlfields. Independent cities don't count ("for iLoop in range(iNumPlayers): #no minor civs"), though you'll need to make sure nobody else captures any that pop up! You have to be sure to crush Bactria soon after they spawn in 254 BC, before their culture spreads north into Scythia. The Celts spawn in 806 BC but their focus is towards Rome and Macedonia; you will have to watch them however, in case they try to capture a city in Sarmatia or Crimea. You also need to watch Dacia in case a city is founded there that may spread culture into Sarmatia.
The Scythians spawn on a Plains tile in what is, frankly, a lousy spot for a city; so bad that instead of settling in place, for once I moved one square east and settled on the next turn. I lost a couple of Grassland squares that would have been handy for early growth, but gained a Horse and Iron. The tough choice was where to send Settler #2. There's a sweet spot nearby where the river hits the Caspian, which has Fish and another Horse, but it's too close to the capital. The second Settler really has to head west along a corridor of high-Settler-value tiles into Sarmatia. I gave each Settler an Archer. The remaining Archer also went west; it was to explore down through the Caucasus, eventually joining the army in Armenia.
The rest of my army headed south towards Media. The quickest route is down the east side of the Caspian. The Caucasus route is shorter, but mountainous and thus slower. Scythian horsies have 3 movement on the flat or in forests, so I could be at the gates of Hasanlu in as little as 6 turns. I sent one Rider west to scout the way for Settler #2; it later came down through the Balkans to join the main army.
I revolted to Monarchy, Vassalage, Slavery, Isolationism, Deification, and Client Kingdoms (3 turns). May as well get some of it over with while I have no cities.
On my next turn I founded Kul-Oba and since the Palace would eventually expand its borders, I set it to building a Granary, understanding it would need to switch to a Worker as soon as it hit 2 pop. I thought it'd be an OK city once I Farmed the Grasslands, but the Grasslands have no access to fresh water and I lacked the tech to build dry Farms. It is OK once you Farm the Plains (3 Food under Isolationism, hence a surplus) and the cultivation spreads the irrigation, but the city takes a very long time to grow and one Worker takes a very long time to build the Farms that will let you work the Horse and the Iron. Basically once I built the Horse Pasture I had to focus on Farms for the rest of the UHV period.
I set my pathetic Research to Mathematics and Metal Casting. I figured I might need Catapults, by and by, and good production, but the Scythians are not a scientific civ. I eventually had to drop my Research to keep my budget afloat.
My Rider soon found a nice Sarmatian spot for a city on the north bank of a river where it entered the Sea of Azov, with Sheep, Marble, Wheat and, most importantly, Horse within its mainly grassland BFC. Some Forests promised quick early production. Since the Scythians get no free Workers and any you capture will face a long dangerous journey if you try to bring them home, this is important; building Workers is a very high priority. (In the 4400 BC start there will probably be some Workers hanging around in Harappan/Bactrian territory, but not in the 900 BC start.)
In 860 BC my horsies pulled up on the Spice Hill outside Hasanlu, razing Independent Bactra en route. Alas, Hasanlu had been captured by barbs and had only one population point; it would auto-raze on capture. Better to leave it for later. It looked like I would have to hit the Assyrians without Catapults. This could get bloody! I had a Noble Horseman and three Scythian Riders for my main army. Not a lot to throw aganst what was possibly the most powerful empire on Earth at that time.
In 854 BC I founded Sarmatia on the Sea of Azov and set it to bulding a Monument, again understanding I would need to switch to a Worker once it hit 2 pop. Meanwhile my army moved SW onto the Stone, and Ashurbanipal popped up to present me with with my first conundrum. He was willing to Open Borders, which would let me through his territory to attack his neighbours; but if I did that I would give him time to get stronger, while the treaty would prevent me from attacking him. Plus he was probably in the process of attacking his neighbours right now with a much larger army than mine. If I attacked now I might be able to finish him before he could bring his army home. So I moved west onto the Forest Hill, which gave me a view of "Nievah". Two Archers and a Javelineer - looked like his army was indeed away. So be it.
Next turn I dceclared war then advanced onto the Horse, crossed the river and attacked Nievah from the north. I noted a Worker standing on a Cow Hill to my NW. Yum. My Noble Horseman killed an Archer; two Riders finished the others. Hammurabi instantly popped up to offer peace. I would not be ready to take him out until I knew who else was around, so I agreed. If Ashurbanipal had more cities hidden away in the mist, it might be necessary to cross Babylonian territory to get to them, so we also Opened Borders.
There was at least one Assyrian city west of me. I sent my last Rider to nab the Worker, and saw Harran in the river valley below, defended by two Archers. I also saw a red border to my north - probably Thuspa.
Next turn I lost a Rider attacking Harran, a second Rider killed one Archer, my Noble Horseman withdrew from the remaining Archer, and my last Rider captured Harran. Alas, Ashurbanipal was still alive; he obviously had at least one more city. I noticed that Babylon was now calling itself the "City-State of Larsa", which gave me a good idea where Ashurbanipal's army was. If he didn't collapse first, I'd be hearing from it soon.
Inter-turn, Hiram of Phoenicia popped up. We Opened Borders - the last thing I needed now was another war or territory I could not enter. For good measure, in 836 BC I contacted Ashurbanipal and made peace. I was not in any shape to hold off his vengeful army let alone take Babylon off him. He had clearly crippled Hammurabi and I held his core. With a little luck he would expire before the ceasefire did, although I half hoped he would not - I needed to destroy three civs and right now I had met exactly three!
Meanwhile my 3rd Archer had come south out of the Caucasus. The barb city to my north was indeed 1-pop Tushpa, defended by two Archers. Owning Hasanlu, Niavah, Sarmatia and Kul-Oba would give me control of four Horses for UHV 1, but this calculation contained a critical oversight which will be revealed soon.
In 830 BC, I balanced my budget by dropping Research to 0%. Nievah (2-pop) and Harran (1-pop) came out of disorder. Nievah was currently my largest city!
My captured Worker started building a Horse Pasture outside Nievah.In 812 BC my scouting Rider, who had come down through the Balkans and entered Anatolia, met a boat from Ramses, who was at war with Ashurbanipal. We Opened Borders; he was too far away for me to attack.
In 800 BC an Assyrian Swordsman appeared NW of Harran. My scouting Rider got a view of Babylon - it was held by a Swordsman and two Spearmen. Another Swordsman was SW. Clearly Ashurbanipal retained significant military power, but where was the rest of his army? I saw no Rams. Had he lost them or were they off in the mist, lurking?
In 770 BC the treaty with Ashurbanipal expired. Nievah had built an Archer and was working on a Scythian Rider. Ashurbanipal's northern Swordsman was just standing there outside Harran, like a literal Sword of Damocles. I decided to take it out as the first move in a new war; that might tempt his remaining forces out of hiding. But I was pretty sure he didn't have much if anything that I didn't know about. Taking Babylon had cost him dearly.
The war opened in 764 BC. My Noble Horseman killed the Swordsman outside Harran and turned back towards Nievah. In 758 BC, three barb Spearmen spawned east of Babylon and headed west, north and east. That might complicate things. My Noble Horseman reached Nievah. In 752 BC, Thucydides reported that Phoenicia was the strongest civ, some unknown civ was 2nd, and I was 3rd. I advanced and killed a barb Spearman, stopping two tiles north of Babylon to stay out of reach of its defenders. Over the next few moves, using hit-and-run, I picked off a unit here, a unit there until in 728 BC a Rider killed an Auxillia and broke into Babylon. Interestingly, the game offered me "No, return control to the City State of %s1" as one of my options. One civ killed.
After healing up and reinforcing my army with a new Rider from Nievah, I waited till Hammurabi sent some units out of Larsa, then declared war and for the loss of one Rider smashed my way through the two Bowman protecting that city. I razed it, because even at 0% Research I was losing money. Two kills. One more civ by 300 BC and I'd nail UHV 2. The catch was, Phoenicia was bigger and stronger than me; I doubted I could take them down by 300 BC. I needed to find weaker prey.
I also still needed to secure four Horses by 500 BC. Kul-Oba and Sarmatia were crawling towards Workers. Nievah had its Horse hooked up. I decided it was time to capture Hasanlu, and started my horsies that way, followed by an Archer and a Worker.
Here's a bug. First time through this I captured Hasanlu in 680 BC - and then in 656 BC it flipped unconditionally to Cyrus, who declared war on me. No notice. No chance to refuse the flip. That bug needs to be fixed. Anyway, I couldn't fight Persia as Cyrus spawned with units that would eat me alive. The bug gave me an excuse to back up a few turns, switch Nievah to a Settler, and wait. My best remaining option was to build a city in Anatolia. This time when Cyrus appeared, I Opened Borders with him. A couple of turns later I Liberated Babylon to him, pleasing him and getting rid of a city I couldn't afford.
In practical terms, all my southern conquests were dispensable; I ony needed them until 500 BC. After that, my whole focus would be to prevent anyone from establishing culture in the north. I would keep Nievah as long as possible - it was overwhelmingly my best city and I needed the horsies it was pumping out - but if push came to shove I could abandon the south once the north started to develop.
In 638 BC, I got the Quest of the Horsemaster, and laughed. I was down to 4 cities (soon to be back up to 5); no chance of seven stables anytime soon.
In 626 BC, I built Neocaesarea, with Pigs, Sheep, Copper and two Horse in its BFC, and started Pasturing one Horse to meet UHV 1.
In 614 BC, I met Solomon, and instantly declared war on him. He was clearly my best chance for completing UHV 2. In 602 BC my horsies reached Jerusalem. It was defended by a Macabee and two Archers. My Noble Horseman took out the Macabee. My first Rider took out one Archer, the next died, the third captured the city and two Workers. I promptly Liberated the city to Hiram for the sake of my budget and good diplomatic relations. Three down! Horatio Nelson was born in Nievah. I pondered what sort of horseman the old Admiral had been.
In 584 BC, Ramses asked me to declare war on Cyrus and I refused. Then Cyrus asked me to declare war on Ramses and I accepted; both Hiram and Cyrus were still far too strong for me and must be placated. I doubted I would see any Egyptians. I razed barb Tushpa to free up its Copper for Neocaesarea. Neocaesarea could turn into quite a production brute, with Copper, Sheep, two Horse, and enough River Plains to support a good population. However, it would be a while before it paid off as it didn't have Nievah's Flood Plains for quick growth. I gave it both my original southern Workers; the two from Jerusalem would soon take over in Subartu.
I had burned all but one of my original Scythian Riders and was accumulating a new generation, all with with Mobility promotions, who would eventually form my new army. In 572 BC, I merged Horatio Nelson with my Noble Cavalry and started him towards the east with the remaining veteran Rider as a sidekick, to explore Bactria then go north to garrison my northern cities, which were being dogged by barbs.
500 BC came and went and I was 2/3 for my UHVs - just UHV 3 to get. I traded Monotheism and 15 Gold to Hiram for Metal Casting, and bought his map for 105 Gold; then traded maps with him for 115 Gold. Then traded Sailing for Horseback Riding and 265 Gold. I temporarily focused on city development; it was taking too long to build my army.
In 452 BC, Pliny reported that Scythians were the 5th most powerful empire in the world. I was losing ground! I would have to be careful, as weakness could tempt Phoenicia or Persia into targeting me.
I captured two Independent cities - Olbia in Sarmatia and Padikápeon in Crimea. The former would eventually have Horses. The latter would never amount to much, but it blocked land access to the rest of the peninsula.
In 368 BC, Kul-Oba hit 6 pop. It was working every developed tile and starting to show promise of eventually becoming a good production city. It was nearly finished its Forge - I queued a Worker after that to help the existing Worker build Farms. Sarmatia was 8 pop and starting to blossom. But Nievah and Neocaesarea were still my powerhouses, and even Harran was still putting out more hammers than the northern cities. Having converted to Baalism a while back once it had spread to all three southern cities, I now built a Sanctuary in Nievah and then a couple of Kohen to spread it in the north.
In 284 BC I founded Saka between the mountains at the south end of Caucasus, blocking access. I was spinning out Riders now in anticipation of Bactria's spawn. I needed to be able to overwhelm their initial units.
A couple of turns after the Bactrians were due, I launched my army across the sands to seek them out. I bumped an army just north of their city of Demetrios. Inter-turn, a Camel Cataphract attacked Horatio Nelson but withdrew; Horatio was Level 6, with Combat I, II and III. The next turn I was into the Hills and hammering the 1-pop city. I wasn't able to take it and my army took a bruising, but I lost no units. A couple of turns later, using only my least injured units, I broke through - the last defender was the injured Camel Cataphract. The city auto-razed and Diodotus was myth.
Accompanied by four captured Workers, my limping army turned for home. It should be a straight run to 100 BC now, I thought to myself. All I had to do was make sure nobody snuck any culture into Sarmatia, Crimea, Caucasus or Scythia. I checked the demographics. Despite my military training spree I was still only #4 in military, 269,000 to 361,000; but that was OK. Even if everyone declared war on me in the south I was in a good position to survive long enough in the north to win. I was #1 in production, population and land area, but 5th in GNP.
In 212 BC, Sarmatia popped a GE. Unfortunately the AI had gone on a Wonders spree recently and there was nothing to build. I settled him in the city, which had excellent food but relatively poor production.
In 152 BC, Livy reported that I was the largest empire in the world. I was #3 in Score, behind Phoenicia and Rome but ahead of Persia - who was now at war with Asoka. He had invited me to join him but I was starting to feel secure enough to refuse a war with someone else close enough to hurt me. Taharqa of Kush popped up talking about termites licking stones, and I agreed and we opened borders. He was too far away to worry about.
In the last century, 200 BC to 100 BC, "Yuezhi Horse Archers" began harassing Kul-Oba, spawning in hordes of 4 units every few moves. At first I was unimpressed, but after losing a couple of Riders to them I started to take them seriously, scrambling my defenders in at least equal numbers to kill them beyond my cultivation and leave no units vulnerable to counter-attacks. I stationed one Rider on a hilltop to spot them coming as far out as possible.
In 98 BC my UHV arrived.
Stability: An astonishing Very Solid (+108); +27, -5, +62, +6, +18.
So here I am sitting in my hall in Kul-Oba, watching yet another horde of Yuezhi Horse Archers approaching from the north. In a moment I must go shake Horatio awake and send him out with his Riders to abate the nuisance, but first I shall raise a mug of imported Phoenician Wine and allow my thralls to cheer my victory to the rafters.
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0 (Release version) - 900 BC - Carthage - Monarch - Historical Victory in 4 AD - Score 1887, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: The wealth of Carthage: Dominate the Tyrian purple dye trade by controlling at least 3 dye by 400 BC.
UHV 2: Hannibal crosses the Alps: Be victors in the Punic War by capturing Rome.
UHV 3: Carthagianian Mediterranean Pre-eminence: Have the highest score in 0 AD.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 812 BC.
UHV 1 - There are two Dye in Africa, one in Mauretania, one in Southern Iberia, one in Celtic Gaul (settle in Nothern Iberia; Massalia will later pop up on top of the Dye however), one in Messapia. Phoenicia, Assyria and Babylon control Dye, sometimes several. Dye is everywhere! You can also trade for it. You complete this condition as soon as you have 3 Dye in trade or in your BFC, so it doesn't matter if you can't maintain it. You don't even have to cover it with your Culture for it to count (this is possibly a bug).
UHV 2 - This is not as hard as it looks; you just need enough units to capture the city. You don't need to hold it or to destroy the Roman civ. Capturing Rome will destabilize Caesar and probably bring him running to the table. Of course, there are all those Legions ...
UHV 3 - If you can suppress Rome, Egypt and Carthage this one should be easy ... [ETA: No, even I'm not sure any more what I was saying there.
]
COPPER is a real challenge for Carthage. There is Copper near Tanis (owned by Ramses and maybe later by Taharqa) and Copper in western Spain (beware of Romans). Maybe Sparta will trade their spare. There are no mercenaries (Carthage's traditonal way of recruiting talent). You may have to research Iron Working before you can train serious units. The only bright side is that Numidian Cavalry get +50% against Melee units (e.g. Legions) and thus count as 10.5 versus a Legion's 7. You're still likely to lose a lot of horsies attacking Rome. Better build some Rams.
Early over-expansion can be an issue. In my first shot, I greedily captured Zau, Memphis and Wasit. Great cities to have, but they killed my economy early on when I couldn't afford the drain. I abandoned that game. You need to be compact and nimble.
I instantly revolted to Monarchy, Trade and Deification (1 turn). I moved Settler #1 west across the river; this puts the capital on the Numidian border (but still in Africa), with Horse, Wheat, two Fish and two Sheep in the BFC. Settler #2 boarded Galley #2 along with an Archer; the Galley went NW till it found an uninhabited island. Galley #1, with Settler #3 and an Archer aboard, headed east and dropped its passengers NE of the Stone, then continued east [with a horsie aboard]. I Opened Borders with Hiram.
On the next move, Settler #1 founded Carthage; the city started work on a Bakery. I traded 190 Gold to Hiram for Pottery. I set my Research to Horse Domestication, Elephant Domestication, Metal casting and Iron Working. Settler #3 founded Sabratha; the city started work on a Monument. Galley #2 dropped its passengers on the east end of the island (the west end, ta-da, holds still-invisible Dye) then headed west to look beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
In 800 BC I founded Ibossim on the island; the city started work on a Monument. I Opened Borders with Lars Porsenna, Leonidas and Ramses. I traded Sailing to Ramses for Alphabet and Herbalism.
The next turn my western Galley reached the edge of the world and turned back. The turn after, I met Pericles and traded Sailing for Fortification and Cuneiform, then Solomon and traded Sailing for Writing. I had to turn my Research down to 20% to avoid running out of money, so these valuable early trades were vital. I had to negotiate carefully to get the best value from each, even if it meant passing over useful (but cheap) techs like Masonry.
In 782 BC I met Ashurbanipal and traded Sailing for Code of Laws. My Galley dropped a Numidian Cavalry ashore near IRL Alexandretta. [ETA: this explorer eventually returned to Carthage with amazing tales of distant lands.]
In 770 BC my Cavalry met Atheas, who had just captured Harran, and traded Sailing for Monotheism. Then Hammurabi, who didn't have much so I gave him Sailing in return for Mythology.
In 752 BC I met Taharqa, who had Masonry and Metal Casting but wouldn't offer them even though I had Spokes and Boat Building, which he lacked.
In 662 I met Cyrus. We Opened Borders but he wouldn't trade anything.
Finally in 638 BC, I managed to use Horse Domestication to extract Masonry from Solomon. I also got Storytelling from Hammurabi.
In 620 BC I razed Indy Cyrene, which was in the wrong place. In 614, Carthage popped a GM (Pytheas). I settled him. I founded Barca on the hill west of Cyrene, thus completing my settlement of Africa. I set it to building a Monument; the Archer would come from Carthage. Sabratha's Spearman stood garrison meantime.
I looked for Copper trades and found none. Cyrus would trade Iron, but he wanted Fish, Wheat, Sheep, and Horse for it. That lopsided trade might be OK - except that I had only 1 Horse and I needed it!
In 602 BC, I felt confident enough to take Zau, putting me in reach of Tanis' Copper if Ramses should ... uh ... fall. It would also allow me to run irrigated Farms out from the Nile all the way to. Sabratha and its Stone was blocking the other end. (Actually this turned out not to be a problem; the city seemed to pass irrigation through.)
In 578 BC I suddenly remembered the Kohen that had been hunkered down in Carthage from the start. I spread Baalism in Carthage and converted.
In 512 BC, Julius Caesar's emissaries popped by to declare war on me. This is my shocked face! I sent them home with some magic mushrooms for their salad and quietly loaded my War Elephant and Numidian Cavalry on my boats. If he followed SOP, Jules would found Rome then pretty much empty the city of troops. If I timed it right, I could nip in while he was off guard. I sent the boats off up the west side of Sardinia.
In 506 BC, Hiram popped up to swap Iron Working and 20 Gold for Elephant Domestication. Well, OK. I started on Horse Riding.
In 500 BC, my Trireme sank a Roman Galley. My fleet pulled away from Sardinia into Ibossim's Culture to avoid being flipped.
In 494 BC, Phoenician Caralis flipped to Rome. My fleet sailed east till I could see Rome's defenders. A Hoplite, three Archers. Good enough, if I could land on the forest north of the city. Where were Jules's Legions? Probably beseiging Velathri, which made that Forest tile a deathtrap. I didn't want to attack across the River. Dare I risk an amphibious assault? Should I wait till Velathri fell?
In 488 BC, I sailed up to the walls of Rome. The defenders were down to two Archers! An Archer and a Settler were [east] of the town. There was no sign of the Hoplite. [I checked in WB afterward - it was on the far side of Italy.] I checked the odds - 73.6% for the Elephant, 78.3% for a Numidian Cavalry; I had four units, they had two. It might never get any better, so I leaped ashore and captured Rome. Being 1-pop, "Capua" auto-razed. I captured a Worker. I hastily dropped my War Elephant on a Worker and the remaining Cavalry on the nearest Hill in Sardinia to make room in the boats to evacuate the new unit next turn.
In 482 BC, somehow Jules's 2-move Legions had not come to rain on my parade, so my injured horsie and new Worker clambered aboard the boats to sail to Caralis. My horsie from the Hill destroyed the Swordsman garrison of Caralis and captured "Solki".
Jules had captured Velathri - now Arretium - but his losses to me had made him willing to talk. He only offered 10 Gold for peace - no techs. He had two cities showing - Arretium and Messana. That meant his capital was probably Ravenna. That gave me an evil idea - adding Messana to my bag. I could see its Culture, and it probably didn't have many defenders. So I didn't make peace yet.
In 476 BC, a Galley with my two healthiest Cavalry crept along the north coast of Sicily and dropped the horsies on a Hill north of Massana. Massana was defended by a single Archer, but had only one population. Well, too bad. I would have preferred to capture it, but I'd settle for razing it. Maybe I could nip back later and take Arretium down too, if Jules was silly enough to move his Legions out of it. In 470 BC I razed Massana, then boarded the Galley and sailed back to Solki.
I took stock. UHV 1 and UHV 2 were accomplished; now I just needed to be top scorer in 0 BC. I was currently #2, 972 to Phoenicia's 1075. Seemed doable.
In 458 BC I took a look at Arretium. Three Legions and a Catapult. 12.9% chance of winning. Nope, nope, and nope. Well, it had been a nice fantasy. Time to make peace? I could always come back later. Oh wait, that Archer and Settler I'd seen [east] of Rome. There might be another target. I could see some Roman Culture in central Italy ... to think it was to do it. My three horsies clambered through Pigs on a hillside and from the top they looked across a valley to Corfinium, defended by a single Archer!
In 452 BC, after the sack of Corfinum, my score was up to 992 but Phoenicia had slid to 1048; seemed things were not looking good for Hiram, off in the mist. But then in 446 BC, Hiram was back up to 1081 and I was down to 988. Weird! Jules was now willing to offer 20 Gold and the city Augusta Taurinorum (north of IRL Genoa). However, I didn't want that city; it was surrounded by Roman Culture. I counter-proposed Maths, but he wouldn't do that. Instead I got Professional Soldiers, 20 Gold, and a treaty. Good enough. That put my score up to 1021.
I dropped a Settler on the Hill north of the ruins of Massana. A city there would have good defence, would lock up Sicily, and would have Wine, Sheep and two Stone in its BFC. It was a stable tile for me in terms of Settlervalue. I even had two Workers just itching to develop those tiles sitting in Solki. Jules still had all his Legions but it would be a while before he could work his way down devastated Italy to me, assuming he wanted a 2nd round. In 440 BC I founded Syracuse. My score was now 1025 to Phoenicia's 1081.
In 416 BC, Athens collapsed.
In 386 BC, I founded Iol in Mauretania. I figured it would flip to Numidia around 200 BC, but since I was preparing to borg them, that was OK - and meantime I finally had Iron! I was slowly creeping up on Phoenicia in score.
In 350 BC, the Lion Gate was completed in Carthage and the Colossus in Sabratha. Score: 1187 to Phoenicia 1174. Number One at last! Now all I had to do was hang on to my lead. In other news, Rome collapsed.
In 248 BC, Sabratha completed the Mausoleum. With everything tailored to max production, it had taken just 9 turns.
In 200 BC, as prophesied, Masinissa of Numidia popped up to declare war. To my surpise, my city Iol crumbled to rubble - I had expected it to flip! Masinissa had 4 Imajaghan, 3 Numidian Cavalry, and assorted Archers, Workers and Settlers. Apart from their Desert adaptations the Imajaghan weren't noticably superior to my Numidian Cavalry, and I had just as many horsies as he did. I also had four War Elephants. It could get bloody, but once my cultural boundaries rebounded I should be able to clean him up quickly. It would have been harder if he'd asked for peace, since then I would've had to declare war on him. I hate doing that.
We stared at each other. Masinissa founded his Iol, south of the Iron. In 188 BC he sent four Imajaghan and a Numidian Cavalry at me. I sent my War Elephants in reply; scratch four Imajaghan. The GG Arminius was born in Zau. I now sent in my best Cavalry to clean up the remaining enemy cavalry unit.
In 182 BC I left that Cavalry unit healing in Carthage while the rest advanced up to Iol. The jumbos joined them there. Next turn one War Elephant dodged around the city to pick off an Archer and Settler on the far side, while my horsies went in, veterans first, and cleaned up the defenders without loss. Iol auto-razed and Masinissa was myth. I lost a city - Carthage was already working on a Settler to fix that - and gained two Workers. With Masinissa's spawn out of the way I could go ahead and settle Mauretania in earnest.
I had lost a little ground to Hiram - my score was 1373 to his 1344. Better pick up the pace, or else pick a fight with Hiram.
In 146 BC, Carthage popped a GP who bulbed Tyranny. In 134 BC I discovered Cartography and revolted to Slavery so I could rush the Great Cothon, which Hiram was also working on. I could build it in Carthage in 7 turns, but Hiram was also 7 turns away. It didn't seem right to risk someone else building Carthage's own Wonder!
In 122 BC, I founded Murustaga on the Iron. In 104 BC I founded Utica on the Numidian Hill NW of the Elephant. In 98 BC, I completed the Great Cothon. My score was now 1547 to Hiram's 1422. It was looking like nobody could catch me by 0 AD.
In 80 BC, the Bactrians were destroyed. Curious, having played the Scythians in a recent game, I checked in the WB. Cyrus had done the deed.
In 50 BC, Sabratha completed Naqsh-e Rustam. In 38 BC, Barca completed the Palace at Knossos. In 32 BC, Ashurbanipal captured Jerusalem and destroyed Israel.
In 4 AD (actually displayed as 2 BC) I won my UHV, score 1774 to Hiram's 1453.
My Stability was Very Solid (125); 41, 25, 46, 2, 11.
I ordered my Galley made ready and enjoyed a procession down to the Great Cothon to board it. I wasn't sure where I was going, but it was a bright sunny day and the breeze was making the waves sparkle in excitement. Carthage stood supreme among nations: all borders were open to me. I could go anywhere. Even to sacked and ruined Rome, where wolves still lurked atop the Palatine Hill.
UHV 1: The wealth of Carthage: Dominate the Tyrian purple dye trade by controlling at least 3 dye by 400 BC.
UHV 2: Hannibal crosses the Alps: Be victors in the Punic War by capturing Rome.
UHV 3: Carthagianian Mediterranean Pre-eminence: Have the highest score in 0 AD.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 812 BC.
UHV 1 - There are two Dye in Africa, one in Mauretania, one in Southern Iberia, one in Celtic Gaul (settle in Nothern Iberia; Massalia will later pop up on top of the Dye however), one in Messapia. Phoenicia, Assyria and Babylon control Dye, sometimes several. Dye is everywhere! You can also trade for it. You complete this condition as soon as you have 3 Dye in trade or in your BFC, so it doesn't matter if you can't maintain it. You don't even have to cover it with your Culture for it to count (this is possibly a bug).
UHV 2 - This is not as hard as it looks; you just need enough units to capture the city. You don't need to hold it or to destroy the Roman civ. Capturing Rome will destabilize Caesar and probably bring him running to the table. Of course, there are all those Legions ...
UHV 3 - If you can suppress Rome, Egypt and Carthage this one should be easy ... [ETA: No, even I'm not sure any more what I was saying there.
]COPPER is a real challenge for Carthage. There is Copper near Tanis (owned by Ramses and maybe later by Taharqa) and Copper in western Spain (beware of Romans). Maybe Sparta will trade their spare. There are no mercenaries (Carthage's traditonal way of recruiting talent). You may have to research Iron Working before you can train serious units. The only bright side is that Numidian Cavalry get +50% against Melee units (e.g. Legions) and thus count as 10.5 versus a Legion's 7. You're still likely to lose a lot of horsies attacking Rome. Better build some Rams.
Early over-expansion can be an issue. In my first shot, I greedily captured Zau, Memphis and Wasit. Great cities to have, but they killed my economy early on when I couldn't afford the drain. I abandoned that game. You need to be compact and nimble.
I instantly revolted to Monarchy, Trade and Deification (1 turn). I moved Settler #1 west across the river; this puts the capital on the Numidian border (but still in Africa), with Horse, Wheat, two Fish and two Sheep in the BFC. Settler #2 boarded Galley #2 along with an Archer; the Galley went NW till it found an uninhabited island. Galley #1, with Settler #3 and an Archer aboard, headed east and dropped its passengers NE of the Stone, then continued east [with a horsie aboard]. I Opened Borders with Hiram.
On the next move, Settler #1 founded Carthage; the city started work on a Bakery. I traded 190 Gold to Hiram for Pottery. I set my Research to Horse Domestication, Elephant Domestication, Metal casting and Iron Working. Settler #3 founded Sabratha; the city started work on a Monument. Galley #2 dropped its passengers on the east end of the island (the west end, ta-da, holds still-invisible Dye) then headed west to look beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
In 800 BC I founded Ibossim on the island; the city started work on a Monument. I Opened Borders with Lars Porsenna, Leonidas and Ramses. I traded Sailing to Ramses for Alphabet and Herbalism.
The next turn my western Galley reached the edge of the world and turned back. The turn after, I met Pericles and traded Sailing for Fortification and Cuneiform, then Solomon and traded Sailing for Writing. I had to turn my Research down to 20% to avoid running out of money, so these valuable early trades were vital. I had to negotiate carefully to get the best value from each, even if it meant passing over useful (but cheap) techs like Masonry.
In 782 BC I met Ashurbanipal and traded Sailing for Code of Laws. My Galley dropped a Numidian Cavalry ashore near IRL Alexandretta. [ETA: this explorer eventually returned to Carthage with amazing tales of distant lands.]
In 770 BC my Cavalry met Atheas, who had just captured Harran, and traded Sailing for Monotheism. Then Hammurabi, who didn't have much so I gave him Sailing in return for Mythology.
In 752 BC I met Taharqa, who had Masonry and Metal Casting but wouldn't offer them even though I had Spokes and Boat Building, which he lacked.
In 662 I met Cyrus. We Opened Borders but he wouldn't trade anything.
Finally in 638 BC, I managed to use Horse Domestication to extract Masonry from Solomon. I also got Storytelling from Hammurabi.
In 620 BC I razed Indy Cyrene, which was in the wrong place. In 614, Carthage popped a GM (Pytheas). I settled him. I founded Barca on the hill west of Cyrene, thus completing my settlement of Africa. I set it to building a Monument; the Archer would come from Carthage. Sabratha's Spearman stood garrison meantime.
I looked for Copper trades and found none. Cyrus would trade Iron, but he wanted Fish, Wheat, Sheep, and Horse for it. That lopsided trade might be OK - except that I had only 1 Horse and I needed it!
In 602 BC, I felt confident enough to take Zau, putting me in reach of Tanis' Copper if Ramses should ... uh ... fall. It would also allow me to run irrigated Farms out from the Nile all the way to. Sabratha and its Stone was blocking the other end. (Actually this turned out not to be a problem; the city seemed to pass irrigation through.)
In 578 BC I suddenly remembered the Kohen that had been hunkered down in Carthage from the start. I spread Baalism in Carthage and converted.
In 512 BC, Julius Caesar's emissaries popped by to declare war on me. This is my shocked face! I sent them home with some magic mushrooms for their salad and quietly loaded my War Elephant and Numidian Cavalry on my boats. If he followed SOP, Jules would found Rome then pretty much empty the city of troops. If I timed it right, I could nip in while he was off guard. I sent the boats off up the west side of Sardinia.
In 506 BC, Hiram popped up to swap Iron Working and 20 Gold for Elephant Domestication. Well, OK. I started on Horse Riding.
In 500 BC, my Trireme sank a Roman Galley. My fleet pulled away from Sardinia into Ibossim's Culture to avoid being flipped.
In 494 BC, Phoenician Caralis flipped to Rome. My fleet sailed east till I could see Rome's defenders. A Hoplite, three Archers. Good enough, if I could land on the forest north of the city. Where were Jules's Legions? Probably beseiging Velathri, which made that Forest tile a deathtrap. I didn't want to attack across the River. Dare I risk an amphibious assault? Should I wait till Velathri fell?
In 488 BC, I sailed up to the walls of Rome. The defenders were down to two Archers! An Archer and a Settler were [east] of the town. There was no sign of the Hoplite. [I checked in WB afterward - it was on the far side of Italy.] I checked the odds - 73.6% for the Elephant, 78.3% for a Numidian Cavalry; I had four units, they had two. It might never get any better, so I leaped ashore and captured Rome. Being 1-pop, "Capua"
auto-razed. I captured a Worker. I hastily dropped my War Elephant on a Worker and the remaining Cavalry on the nearest Hill in Sardinia to make room in the boats to evacuate the new unit next turn.In 482 BC, somehow Jules's 2-move Legions had not come to rain on my parade, so my injured horsie and new Worker clambered aboard the boats to sail to Caralis. My horsie from the Hill destroyed the Swordsman garrison of Caralis and captured "Solki".
Jules had captured Velathri - now Arretium - but his losses to me had made him willing to talk. He only offered 10 Gold for peace - no techs. He had two cities showing - Arretium and Messana. That meant his capital was probably Ravenna. That gave me an evil idea - adding Messana to my bag. I could see its Culture, and it probably didn't have many defenders. So I didn't make peace yet.
In 476 BC, a Galley with my two healthiest Cavalry crept along the north coast of Sicily and dropped the horsies on a Hill north of Massana. Massana was defended by a single Archer, but had only one population. Well, too bad. I would have preferred to capture it, but I'd settle for razing it. Maybe I could nip back later and take Arretium down too, if Jules was silly enough to move his Legions out of it. In 470 BC I razed Massana, then boarded the Galley and sailed back to Solki.
I took stock. UHV 1 and UHV 2 were accomplished; now I just needed to be top scorer in 0 BC. I was currently #2, 972 to Phoenicia's 1075. Seemed doable.
In 458 BC I took a look at Arretium. Three Legions and a Catapult. 12.9% chance of winning. Nope, nope, and nope. Well, it had been a nice fantasy. Time to make peace? I could always come back later. Oh wait, that Archer and Settler I'd seen [east] of Rome. There might be another target. I could see some Roman Culture in central Italy ... to think it was to do it. My three horsies clambered through Pigs on a hillside and from the top they looked across a valley to Corfinium, defended by a single Archer!
In 452 BC, after the sack of Corfinum, my score was up to 992 but Phoenicia had slid to 1048; seemed things were not looking good for Hiram, off in the mist. But then in 446 BC, Hiram was back up to 1081 and I was down to 988. Weird! Jules was now willing to offer 20 Gold and the city Augusta Taurinorum (north of IRL Genoa). However, I didn't want that city; it was surrounded by Roman Culture. I counter-proposed Maths, but he wouldn't do that. Instead I got Professional Soldiers, 20 Gold, and a treaty. Good enough. That put my score up to 1021.
I dropped a Settler on the Hill north of the ruins of Massana. A city there would have good defence, would lock up Sicily, and would have Wine, Sheep and two Stone in its BFC. It was a stable tile for me in terms of Settlervalue. I even had two Workers just itching to develop those tiles sitting in Solki. Jules still had all his Legions but it would be a while before he could work his way down devastated Italy to me, assuming he wanted a 2nd round. In 440 BC I founded Syracuse. My score was now 1025 to Phoenicia's 1081.
In 416 BC, Athens collapsed.
In 386 BC, I founded Iol in Mauretania. I figured it would flip to Numidia around 200 BC, but since I was preparing to borg them, that was OK - and meantime I finally had Iron! I was slowly creeping up on Phoenicia in score.
In 350 BC, the Lion Gate was completed in Carthage and the Colossus in Sabratha. Score: 1187 to Phoenicia 1174. Number One at last! Now all I had to do was hang on to my lead. In other news, Rome collapsed.
In 248 BC, Sabratha completed the Mausoleum. With everything tailored to max production, it had taken just 9 turns.
In 200 BC, as prophesied, Masinissa of Numidia popped up to declare war. To my surpise, my city Iol crumbled to rubble - I had expected it to flip! Masinissa had 4 Imajaghan, 3 Numidian Cavalry, and assorted Archers, Workers and Settlers. Apart from their Desert adaptations the Imajaghan weren't noticably superior to my Numidian Cavalry, and I had just as many horsies as he did. I also had four War Elephants. It could get bloody, but once my cultural boundaries rebounded I should be able to clean him up quickly. It would have been harder if he'd asked for peace, since then I would've had to declare war on him. I hate doing that.
We stared at each other. Masinissa founded his Iol, south of the Iron. In 188 BC he sent four Imajaghan and a Numidian Cavalry at me. I sent my War Elephants in reply; scratch four Imajaghan. The GG Arminius was born in Zau. I now sent in my best Cavalry to clean up the remaining enemy cavalry unit.
In 182 BC I left that Cavalry unit healing in Carthage while the rest advanced up to Iol. The jumbos joined them there. Next turn one War Elephant dodged around the city to pick off an Archer and Settler on the far side, while my horsies went in, veterans first, and cleaned up the defenders without loss. Iol auto-razed and Masinissa was myth. I lost a city - Carthage was already working on a Settler to fix that - and gained two Workers. With Masinissa's spawn out of the way I could go ahead and settle Mauretania in earnest.
I had lost a little ground to Hiram - my score was 1373 to his 1344. Better pick up the pace, or else pick a fight with Hiram.
In 146 BC, Carthage popped a GP who bulbed Tyranny. In 134 BC I discovered Cartography and revolted to Slavery so I could rush the Great Cothon, which Hiram was also working on. I could build it in Carthage in 7 turns, but Hiram was also 7 turns away. It didn't seem right to risk someone else building Carthage's own Wonder!
In 122 BC, I founded Murustaga on the Iron. In 104 BC I founded Utica on the Numidian Hill NW of the Elephant. In 98 BC, I completed the Great Cothon. My score was now 1547 to Hiram's 1422. It was looking like nobody could catch me by 0 AD.
In 80 BC, the Bactrians were destroyed. Curious, having played the Scythians in a recent game, I checked in the WB. Cyrus had done the deed.
In 50 BC, Sabratha completed Naqsh-e Rustam. In 38 BC, Barca completed the Palace at Knossos. In 32 BC, Ashurbanipal captured Jerusalem and destroyed Israel.
In 4 AD (actually displayed as 2 BC) I won my UHV, score 1774 to Hiram's 1453.
My Stability was Very Solid (125); 41, 25, 46, 2, 11.
I ordered my Galley made ready and enjoyed a procession down to the Great Cothon to board it. I wasn't sure where I was going, but it was a bright sunny day and the breeze was making the waves sparkle in excitement. Carthage stood supreme among nations: all borders were open to me. I could go anywhere. Even to sacked and ruined Rome, where wolves still lurked atop the Palatine Hill.
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0 (Release version) - 900 BC - Celts - Monarch - Historical Victory in 4 AD - Score 1094, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: Celtic Migration: Have 2 cities in Celtic Gaul, and 1 city in Britannia, and Northern Iberia, Venetia and Raetia in 300 BC.
UHV 2: Sack of Rome: Be the first civilization to capture or sack Rome.
UHV 3: Celtic Culture: Have 1000 culture in 0 AD.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 806 BC.
UHV 1 - You have huge provinces to spread out in, but your Settlermap is just a few city squares here and there. In Celtic Gaul, there's Paris - where you start - and Marseille, down on the Dye ('ware Romans!). In Britain, there's London. There's nothing marked in northern Spain, Raetia or Venetia. Then there is that spot in Pannonia that the AI Celts are so mysteriously fond of settling - but Pannonia is not in your UHV list. Raetia is a weird 20-tile province straddling the Alps; 10 of its tiles are Peaks! There's a spot just north of it in Belgic Gaul that gives you Iron, Wheat, Deer, Stone, Marble and Salt, but Belgic Gaul is not on your to-do list, so the best you can do is to settle on the Stone. It's a good defensive spot that gets the Stone, Marble, Iron, Wheat and Salt and is a nice place to sit and watch the Roman Legions marching up from Italy to take it away from you. Let's not mention Venetia, which is Rome's eastern exit from Italy. Also, you don't start with Celestial Navigation; in fact you need to get Fishing and Boat Building before Celestial Navigation (by 300 BC), just so you can build a Coracle to go settle Britannia. Logically the Celts should start with a Coracle in the English Channel.
UHV 2 - This is at least as hard as it looks. Carthage at least starts with a unit (the Numidian Cavalry) that could have been designed for going head to head with Legions, and has the boats for a surprise seaborne raid. The Celts have the Gallic Warrior, a 5-strength Auxillia replacement with 2 movement, +10% city attack and +10% Hills defense that is also buffed with Guerilla I (+20% Hills defense). It's an OK unit, but you're gonna burn through them if you go up against 7-strength Legions. Since Legions also have 2 movement, you can't even dance around them. Oh, and you need Storytelling to build them. You don't start with Storytelling, nor with its pre-requisite, Mythology. You'll need to trade for or research both. Finally, since you have no boats and no time to build the Coracles required, you'll have to fight your way to Rome overland. Also, since your cities are going to be spread all over the map and the Roman Legions are as fast as your UU, you'll have little hope of properly defending on interior lines. The only saving grace here is that AI Carthage is unlikely to capture Rome, so you can slow-pedal UHV 2, defend your cities, and hope to press home a sneak attack later when Rome is fighting Macedonia. Or you can, you know, be a toadie.
UHV 3 - You are going to spend most of the game working on building Culture in cities that have feeble production and powerful hostile neighbours. Good luck, you're gonna need it.
What I see in those UHVs is a lot of painful grinding. Worse, if you don't settle Italy's western exit quickly, an indefensible Indy Marsallia pops up on the Grassland Dye in 600 BC. In this version of RFC-GW, "Independent city spawns are no longer blocked by culture". Actually if it's within the 2-tile limit, the spawn is still blocked by the proximity rule, but the defenders may appear, so you'll have two or three Indy Archers popping up out of thin air next to your city. I tentatively decided to let that city spawn and to try to capture it when it hit pop 2.
I revolted to Monarchy, Vasslage, Slavery and Isolationism (2 turns, one of them while I had no cities). I left Deification and Client Kingdoms for later.
I did not settle on the spot, but moved one tile south. This gave me Deer, Pig, Sheep and two Wheat. Great food, inferior production (but better than my spawn site) - I had a feeling at the outset that I could be working the Slavery civic a bit in this game. Such a waste of ... good ... men. My other Settler did not head for Marseille, but for Raetia. I needed cities that could pump out early Settlers, but I also needed cities that could pump out military! I had 49 turns before the Roman onslaught began, and 84 turns to build six cities. My units scattered - the Horse went SW, the Chariot NW, the Warrior SE, the Worker went onto the Deer, and the Archer followed my first Settler.
Sparta and Athens were at war with me when I spawned. In fact, they claimed *I* had declared war on *them*; Pericles was even complaining that I had declared war on his friend (presumably Leonidas, but I mean, ewww)! In 800 BC, Lars Porsenna popped up to also declare war. It was a right cheerful start to my game. I stifled my tears, founded Bibracte and set my people to work on a Granary.
When the anarchy ended in 794 BC, I was 13 turns from Fishing, 33 from Boat Building, 53 from Celestial Navigation, 31 from Mythology, and 42 from Storytelling. With everyone I knew at war with me, I had no hope of trading for anything. Might as well spend the war fishing - oh wait, I needed to research that.
In 776 BC I founded Argentorate on the Stone and started work on a Monument. Please, no jokes about rocks and hard places.
In 752 BC, my Horsie penetrated Iberia and Hiram popped up. We Opened Borders. He had Fishing and Mythology on offer, but I had nothing he wanted. He finally agreed to sell me Fishing for 45 Gold. Better than nothing, and it was the only thing I had enough money for anyway. I switched my research to Boat Building, but had to drop my Research rate to 80% to balance my budget.
In 722 BC, Bibracte reached 3 pop. I switched from the Granary to a Settler (16 turns).
in 662 BC, a Great Mediator offered to negotiate peace between Gaul and Athens. I dithered, but finally agreed. How long could Athens and Sparta stay buddies anyway? Besides, Leonidas preferred boys. Pericles was more my type.
In 630 BC I founded my future international port of Burgidala. Hello, sailor!
In 542 I met Dido, the hussy. We curled up on a couch and had some girl talk, then Opened Borders. Pretty sure those babies on her chest are fake. Also met Solomon. Hairy, not my type, but smart. Open Borders.
In 518 BC, Baalism spread in Argentorate. Time to get religion! I revolted to Deification and Client Kingdoms.
In 494 BC I met Julius Caesar. Balding, bit of a rake according to his soldiers. Nice gent, serves a tasty salad. I wore my lowest blouse and he spent his time talking to my chest. We Opened Borders, and a few other things, and swore eternal friendship. We both had our fingers crossed behind our backs. I do hope this friendship lasts, at least long enough for me to slip a bloody claymore through the gates of Rome.
In 488 BC, Rome converted to Baalism. I solemnly rubbed blue mud in my navel and also converted to Baalism. My Gallic Warrior raided Massilia and killed one of its defending Spearmen, then ran back to recover his strength in a nearby Forest.
In 470 BC, my Gallic Warrior captured Massilia. Reluctantly, I reduced my Research to 30%. Bibracte and Argentorate queued Settlers. It was going to be line-ball whether I made my 300 BC UHV 1. I really, really needed Celestial Navigation!
In 428 BC, Ramses popped up and we Opened Borders. He's a bit of a weirdo, with red hair and a hooked nose, and lives in a desert half a world away. I had the feeling he would be famous some day.
In 422 BC, my Treasury was 127 Gold and I was 17 turns from Celestial Navigation. I called on Hiram, poured him a glass of my best grape wine (I didn't have Amphora yet, so no alcoholic wine - how does that work?) I really schmoozed the guy. He finally agreed to sell me Celestial Navigation for 125 Gold. Yay! I made an excuse to leave the room and told my secretary to switch Burgidala to a Coracle - 6 turns - and my Research to Mythology, although I now had my Iron hooked up so I could build Swordsman units for my upcoming Roman adventure instead of holding out for Gallic Warriors.
Bibracte built a Settler. I sent him to Burgidala to wait for the boat.
In 386 BC, Hiram came all the way from Phoenicia specifically to gift me Masonry. Wow! Never had that happen before. I must've really made an impression on him. Then Dido came and offered me Trade and 10 Gold for Iron Working. Such generosity, not. But beggars can't be choosers, and Trade would be handy. So I closed the deal and revolted to Trade Economy. In other news, Burgidala had finished its Coracle. The waiting Settler jumped aboard and I sent the boat off on its voyage to Britannia.
In 374 BC, Bibracte dropped another Settler - the last one I needed. I sent it off toward Northern Iberia and switched to military production.
In 362 BC I started moving my units into position on a hilltop in Venetia. After due thought and noting an absence of Legions in Italy, I had decided to come down through Ravenna and Arretium. Ravenna would give me Venetia. If I had London and Iberia sewed up by then, it would seal UHV 1 and soon after that the fall of Rome would seal UHV 2. Then I could worry about UHV 3, which frankly was cause for concern. I had only 287 Culture; I was less than 1/3 of the way to the necessary 1,000.
In 350 BC, my Settlers were all in place. If they founded their cities now, however, my economy would tank and my Roman war would kill me financially. I had to wait till just before 300 BC! My army wasn't quite ready yet. On the other hand ... I am impulsive.
In 344 BC, I declared war on Rome.
My valiant Gallic Warrior ran all the way to Ravenna and cut the single defending Archer clean in two with a single sweep of his claymore! Roman Culture vanished and the rest of my army - two Rams, two Swords, my Light cavalry and my Chariot - clattered down off the hill and into the city. The horse units wanted to go further, but the rest of the army was tired and needed to rest. I would need all my strength for Arretium.
Next turn my Gallic Warrior rested up in Ravenna, healing; his titanic effort had nearly slain him. The Swords and Rams crossed the Rubicon into Arretium's Culture. The horse units rode ahead to a hilltop where they could look down to Arretium - defended by a single Archer!
In 326 BC, a Legion appeared in Arretium. This was bad news. I bombarded the city defenses down to 0% with one Ram, then suicided the other on the defenders. I lost a Swordsman against the Legion, but fortunately the second Swordsman killed the Legion. My Chariot crushed the injured Archer beneath his wheels and the city was mine! My losses would slow me down, but reinforcements were on their way. I needed a couple of turns of healing up, but once I moved on my next stop would be in the Roman Forum! My Light Cavalry scouted Rome - it was defended by a Legion and an Archer.
Oops, 302 BC. I quickly founded Pompaelo in Northern Iberia, Londinium in Britannia, and for good measure, Tergeste in Venetia. My army advanced on Rome. I garrisoned my two ex-Roman cities with the horse units.
Hammurabi popped up. After the usual border formalities, I bought Mythology from him for 20 Gold. I was only two turns away from discovering it myself, but I was getting impatient. My army advanced onto the Forest north of Rome. I checked my UHVs - #1 was a big YES.
It was now 290 BC. I bombarded Rome, which now had a second Legion in it, to 0%. My first Swordsman died, my second killed the Archer; my third died, my fourth killed a Legion. In the end it came down to my Gallic Warrior versus an injured (1.1 strength) Legion. ROME FELL. My UHV #2 was complete.
I called Julius Caesar via signal fire. He was willing to make peace, but I wanted a technology too. He wouldn't sign up. In the end I got mad and gave Rome to Dido, then signed a treaty with Caesar for 60 Gold and 1 GPT. I was done with Mr. Stingy. He would probably take Rome off Dido before my army even got out of Italy, but that was no skin off my bones. I still had Ravenna and Arretium.
I also had a bleeding economy, even at 0% Research. All those new undeveloped cities! Well, it was what it was. I had 424 Culture; 576 still to get, and just 278 years (45 turns) to get them.
In 266 BC, an arranged Baalite marriage (with a 15 Gold backhander) gave me a +1 boost with Dido. We girls have to stick together!
Alas, Carthage and Rome both collapsed in 242 BC! Meanwhile I had stacked on the Merchants so I could stay afloat while researching Storytelling. In 230 BC, Bibracte popped a GM. After chatting with him a while, I persuaded him to buy Metal Casting for his people.
In 206 BC I discovered Storytelling and switched my Research to Arrowheads. I set all my cities to Culture, either now or when they finished their current build; I was about 525 now. The game did not give me a Culture slider to make things easier (I needed Alphabet for that).
In 164 BC I got another GM in Bibracte; this one I settled.
In 146 BC, one of Argentorate's mines produced Tin, +2 hammers on the plot.
In 140 BC, I crossed 1000 Culture and switched back to normal production. My UHV was now assured, but wouldn't actually be registered till 0 AD. I'd prefer to have the victory sooner.
In 68 BC, Alexander offered Priesthood for Storytelling and 10 Gold.
Achieved UHV in 4 AD.
Stability: Very Solid (117); 37, 25, 37, 14, 14
There were omens and portents that year; barbarians, meteors, earthquakes and plague. But that happens every year. I laid a flower on my little shrine to Dido, then sailed on a Phoenician vessel to spend the autumn with Hiram in Tyre. We had finally risen above "Barbarian" in the estimation of his people. United, what could we not achieve in the new millennium? My seers told me that one day a mighty empire would rise from Celtic lands. Why wait? I told myself. I could build that empire myself.
(s) Boudica xox
UHV 1: Celtic Migration: Have 2 cities in Celtic Gaul, and 1 city in Britannia, and Northern Iberia, Venetia and Raetia in 300 BC.
UHV 2: Sack of Rome: Be the first civilization to capture or sack Rome.
UHV 3: Celtic Culture: Have 1000 culture in 0 AD.
I played this game on the 900 BC map; the game started me in 806 BC.
UHV 1 - You have huge provinces to spread out in, but your Settlermap is just a few city squares here and there. In Celtic Gaul, there's Paris - where you start - and Marseille, down on the Dye ('ware Romans!). In Britain, there's London. There's nothing marked in northern Spain, Raetia or Venetia. Then there is that spot in Pannonia that the AI Celts are so mysteriously fond of settling - but Pannonia is not in your UHV list. Raetia is a weird 20-tile province straddling the Alps; 10 of its tiles are Peaks! There's a spot just north of it in Belgic Gaul that gives you Iron, Wheat, Deer, Stone, Marble and Salt, but Belgic Gaul is not on your to-do list, so the best you can do is to settle on the Stone. It's a good defensive spot that gets the Stone, Marble, Iron, Wheat and Salt and is a nice place to sit and watch the Roman Legions marching up from Italy to take it away from you. Let's not mention Venetia, which is Rome's eastern exit from Italy. Also, you don't start with Celestial Navigation; in fact you need to get Fishing and Boat Building before Celestial Navigation (by 300 BC), just so you can build a Coracle to go settle Britannia. Logically the Celts should start with a Coracle in the English Channel.
UHV 2 - This is at least as hard as it looks. Carthage at least starts with a unit (the Numidian Cavalry) that could have been designed for going head to head with Legions, and has the boats for a surprise seaborne raid. The Celts have the Gallic Warrior, a 5-strength Auxillia replacement with 2 movement, +10% city attack and +10% Hills defense that is also buffed with Guerilla I (+20% Hills defense). It's an OK unit, but you're gonna burn through them if you go up against 7-strength Legions. Since Legions also have 2 movement, you can't even dance around them. Oh, and you need Storytelling to build them. You don't start with Storytelling, nor with its pre-requisite, Mythology. You'll need to trade for or research both. Finally, since you have no boats and no time to build the Coracles required, you'll have to fight your way to Rome overland. Also, since your cities are going to be spread all over the map and the Roman Legions are as fast as your UU, you'll have little hope of properly defending on interior lines. The only saving grace here is that AI Carthage is unlikely to capture Rome, so you can slow-pedal UHV 2, defend your cities, and hope to press home a sneak attack later when Rome is fighting Macedonia. Or you can, you know, be a toadie.
UHV 3 - You are going to spend most of the game working on building Culture in cities that have feeble production and powerful hostile neighbours. Good luck, you're gonna need it.
What I see in those UHVs is a lot of painful grinding. Worse, if you don't settle Italy's western exit quickly, an indefensible Indy Marsallia pops up on the Grassland Dye in 600 BC. In this version of RFC-GW, "Independent city spawns are no longer blocked by culture". Actually if it's within the 2-tile limit, the spawn is still blocked by the proximity rule, but the defenders may appear, so you'll have two or three Indy Archers popping up out of thin air next to your city. I tentatively decided to let that city spawn and to try to capture it when it hit pop 2.
I revolted to Monarchy, Vasslage, Slavery and Isolationism (2 turns, one of them while I had no cities). I left Deification and Client Kingdoms for later.
I did not settle on the spot, but moved one tile south. This gave me Deer, Pig, Sheep and two Wheat. Great food, inferior production (but better than my spawn site) - I had a feeling at the outset that I could be working the Slavery civic a bit in this game. Such a waste of ... good ... men. My other Settler did not head for Marseille, but for Raetia. I needed cities that could pump out early Settlers, but I also needed cities that could pump out military! I had 49 turns before the Roman onslaught began, and 84 turns to build six cities. My units scattered - the Horse went SW, the Chariot NW, the Warrior SE, the Worker went onto the Deer, and the Archer followed my first Settler.
Sparta and Athens were at war with me when I spawned. In fact, they claimed *I* had declared war on *them*; Pericles was even complaining that I had declared war on his friend (presumably Leonidas, but I mean, ewww)! In 800 BC, Lars Porsenna popped up to also declare war. It was a right cheerful start to my game. I stifled my tears, founded Bibracte and set my people to work on a Granary.
When the anarchy ended in 794 BC, I was 13 turns from Fishing, 33 from Boat Building, 53 from Celestial Navigation, 31 from Mythology, and 42 from Storytelling. With everyone I knew at war with me, I had no hope of trading for anything. Might as well spend the war fishing - oh wait, I needed to research that.
In 776 BC I founded Argentorate on the Stone and started work on a Monument. Please, no jokes about rocks and hard places.
In 752 BC, my Horsie penetrated Iberia and Hiram popped up. We Opened Borders. He had Fishing and Mythology on offer, but I had nothing he wanted. He finally agreed to sell me Fishing for 45 Gold. Better than nothing, and it was the only thing I had enough money for anyway. I switched my research to Boat Building, but had to drop my Research rate to 80% to balance my budget.
In 722 BC, Bibracte reached 3 pop. I switched from the Granary to a Settler (16 turns).
in 662 BC, a Great Mediator offered to negotiate peace between Gaul and Athens. I dithered, but finally agreed. How long could Athens and Sparta stay buddies anyway? Besides, Leonidas preferred boys. Pericles was more my type.
In 630 BC I founded my future international port of Burgidala. Hello, sailor!
In 542 I met Dido, the hussy. We curled up on a couch and had some girl talk, then Opened Borders. Pretty sure those babies on her chest are fake. Also met Solomon. Hairy, not my type, but smart. Open Borders.
In 518 BC, Baalism spread in Argentorate. Time to get religion! I revolted to Deification and Client Kingdoms.
In 494 BC I met Julius Caesar. Balding, bit of a rake according to his soldiers. Nice gent, serves a tasty salad. I wore my lowest blouse and he spent his time talking to my chest. We Opened Borders, and a few other things, and swore eternal friendship. We both had our fingers crossed behind our backs. I do hope this friendship lasts, at least long enough for me to slip a bloody claymore through the gates of Rome.
In 488 BC, Rome converted to Baalism. I solemnly rubbed blue mud in my navel and also converted to Baalism. My Gallic Warrior raided Massilia and killed one of its defending Spearmen, then ran back to recover his strength in a nearby Forest.
In 470 BC, my Gallic Warrior captured Massilia. Reluctantly, I reduced my Research to 30%. Bibracte and Argentorate queued Settlers. It was going to be line-ball whether I made my 300 BC UHV 1. I really, really needed Celestial Navigation!
In 428 BC, Ramses popped up and we Opened Borders. He's a bit of a weirdo, with red hair and a hooked nose, and lives in a desert half a world away. I had the feeling he would be famous some day.
In 422 BC, my Treasury was 127 Gold and I was 17 turns from Celestial Navigation. I called on Hiram, poured him a glass of my best grape wine (I didn't have Amphora yet, so no alcoholic wine - how does that work?) I really schmoozed the guy. He finally agreed to sell me Celestial Navigation for 125 Gold. Yay! I made an excuse to leave the room and told my secretary to switch Burgidala to a Coracle - 6 turns - and my Research to Mythology, although I now had my Iron hooked up so I could build Swordsman units for my upcoming Roman adventure instead of holding out for Gallic Warriors.
Bibracte built a Settler. I sent him to Burgidala to wait for the boat.
In 386 BC, Hiram came all the way from Phoenicia specifically to gift me Masonry. Wow! Never had that happen before. I must've really made an impression on him. Then Dido came and offered me Trade and 10 Gold for Iron Working. Such generosity, not. But beggars can't be choosers, and Trade would be handy. So I closed the deal and revolted to Trade Economy. In other news, Burgidala had finished its Coracle. The waiting Settler jumped aboard and I sent the boat off on its voyage to Britannia.
In 374 BC, Bibracte dropped another Settler - the last one I needed. I sent it off toward Northern Iberia and switched to military production.
In 362 BC I started moving my units into position on a hilltop in Venetia. After due thought and noting an absence of Legions in Italy, I had decided to come down through Ravenna and Arretium. Ravenna would give me Venetia. If I had London and Iberia sewed up by then, it would seal UHV 1 and soon after that the fall of Rome would seal UHV 2. Then I could worry about UHV 3, which frankly was cause for concern. I had only 287 Culture; I was less than 1/3 of the way to the necessary 1,000.
In 350 BC, my Settlers were all in place. If they founded their cities now, however, my economy would tank and my Roman war would kill me financially. I had to wait till just before 300 BC! My army wasn't quite ready yet. On the other hand ... I am impulsive.
In 344 BC, I declared war on Rome.
My valiant Gallic Warrior ran all the way to Ravenna and cut the single defending Archer clean in two with a single sweep of his claymore! Roman Culture vanished and the rest of my army - two Rams, two Swords, my Light cavalry and my Chariot - clattered down off the hill and into the city. The horse units wanted to go further, but the rest of the army was tired and needed to rest. I would need all my strength for Arretium.
Next turn my Gallic Warrior rested up in Ravenna, healing; his titanic effort had nearly slain him. The Swords and Rams crossed the Rubicon into Arretium's Culture. The horse units rode ahead to a hilltop where they could look down to Arretium - defended by a single Archer!
In 326 BC, a Legion appeared in Arretium. This was bad news. I bombarded the city defenses down to 0% with one Ram, then suicided the other on the defenders. I lost a Swordsman against the Legion, but fortunately the second Swordsman killed the Legion. My Chariot crushed the injured Archer beneath his wheels and the city was mine! My losses would slow me down, but reinforcements were on their way. I needed a couple of turns of healing up, but once I moved on my next stop would be in the Roman Forum! My Light Cavalry scouted Rome - it was defended by a Legion and an Archer.
Oops, 302 BC. I quickly founded Pompaelo in Northern Iberia, Londinium in Britannia, and for good measure, Tergeste in Venetia. My army advanced on Rome. I garrisoned my two ex-Roman cities with the horse units.
Hammurabi popped up. After the usual border formalities, I bought Mythology from him for 20 Gold. I was only two turns away from discovering it myself, but I was getting impatient. My army advanced onto the Forest north of Rome. I checked my UHVs - #1 was a big YES.
It was now 290 BC. I bombarded Rome, which now had a second Legion in it, to 0%. My first Swordsman died, my second killed the Archer; my third died, my fourth killed a Legion. In the end it came down to my Gallic Warrior versus an injured (1.1 strength) Legion. ROME FELL. My UHV #2 was complete.
I called Julius Caesar via signal fire. He was willing to make peace, but I wanted a technology too. He wouldn't sign up. In the end I got mad and gave Rome to Dido, then signed a treaty with Caesar for 60 Gold and 1 GPT. I was done with Mr. Stingy. He would probably take Rome off Dido before my army even got out of Italy, but that was no skin off my bones. I still had Ravenna and Arretium.
I also had a bleeding economy, even at 0% Research. All those new undeveloped cities! Well, it was what it was. I had 424 Culture; 576 still to get, and just 278 years (45 turns) to get them.
In 266 BC, an arranged Baalite marriage (with a 15 Gold backhander) gave me a +1 boost with Dido. We girls have to stick together!
Alas, Carthage and Rome both collapsed in 242 BC! Meanwhile I had stacked on the Merchants so I could stay afloat while researching Storytelling. In 230 BC, Bibracte popped a GM. After chatting with him a while, I persuaded him to buy Metal Casting for his people.
In 206 BC I discovered Storytelling and switched my Research to Arrowheads. I set all my cities to Culture, either now or when they finished their current build; I was about 525 now. The game did not give me a Culture slider to make things easier (I needed Alphabet for that).
In 164 BC I got another GM in Bibracte; this one I settled.
In 146 BC, one of Argentorate's mines produced Tin, +2 hammers on the plot.
In 140 BC, I crossed 1000 Culture and switched back to normal production. My UHV was now assured, but wouldn't actually be registered till 0 AD. I'd prefer to have the victory sooner.
In 68 BC, Alexander offered Priesthood for Storytelling and 10 Gold.
Achieved UHV in 4 AD.
Stability: Very Solid (117); 37, 25, 37, 14, 14
There were omens and portents that year; barbarians, meteors, earthquakes and plague. But that happens every year. I laid a flower on my little shrine to Dido, then sailed on a Phoenician vessel to spend the autumn with Hiram in Tyre. We had finally risen above "Barbarian" in the estimation of his people. United, what could we not achieve in the new millennium? My seers told me that one day a mighty empire would rise from Celtic lands. Why wait? I told myself. I could build that empire myself.
(s) Boudica xox
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
Couple of observations on the Celts UHVs -
- They need to research three largely useless (to them) techs just so they can build one Coracle that may only ever be used to drop one Settler in Britannia.
- Their UU is OK (the Gallic Warrior I spawned with performed heroically), but comes too late for the UHVs. I had to take out Rome with Swordsmen. Banal.
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Edmund Ironside
White Rabbit Object
The Celts are a problem. Changing the UHVs is definitely a possibility, but I think they as a civilization don't really function correctly. Trying to cover all the Celtic nations with one Civ just doesn't work. If they actually settled the areas they did historically they would become too powerful. For me we need them split into the Gauls, Celtiberians and Britons. Though in the short term, could maybe give them 2-3 extra techs to start with, and/or change the UHV so that they don't need to settle Britain (maybe Belgic Gaul instead)?
By the way are you planning on trying Athens or Sparta again (they both had their UHVs tweaked to be easier and harder respectively)?
By the way are you planning on trying Athens or Sparta again (they both had their UHVs tweaked to be easier and harder respectively)?
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
I'll have another look at Greece soon. My priority for now was to test drive civs that previously had no UHVs and that spawn after 900 BC.
I agree with you about united Celts becoming too powerful. By 0 AD I was growing fast and would soon be in a position to drop new cities and to clean up the Roman/Carthaginian fragments in Spain and Italy. I was weak after my long post-Roman Renaissance, and Alexander was getting aggressive towards me, but with a few light applications of the whip I would be able to conjure up an instant army big enough to hand him his ears.
I agree that starting Celts small, backward and weak and giving them early fiddle-work was the correct move. But alas, it changed them from the woad-daubed yahoos they could have been into bookish cultural snobs.
I agree with you about united Celts becoming too powerful. By 0 AD I was growing fast and would soon be in a position to drop new cities and to clean up the Roman/Carthaginian fragments in Spain and Italy. I was weak after my long post-Roman Renaissance, and Alexander was getting aggressive towards me, but with a few light applications of the whip I would be able to conjure up an instant army big enough to hand him his ears.
I agree that starting Celts small, backward and weak and giving them early fiddle-work was the correct move. But alas, it changed them from the woad-daubed yahoos they could have been into bookish cultural snobs.
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
LOL, Athens round 2 is not going the way I had hoped. Instead of his army running up and stopping on a killing ground, Leonidas has turtled in Sparta, where I can't winkle him out (we're talking 3-4% chance of victory here per attack and half a dozen winning attacks required.) I have captured his Workers and pillaged all his improvements. My Galley is Blockading Pylos. I should gradually pull ahead. I'm trying to keep him bottled till I get Fortification, then coming back with some suicidal Rams to wear his units down. Still, it distracts from more important matters - like achieving my UHV.
HighFunctioningAlcoholic
Warlord
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2018
- Messages
- 201
No workers at all?
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
I haven't played Egypt in the new version, but in the report you read you'll see that "Tanis popped a Great Artist in 2225. Although I probably would have scraped up 1000 by 2180 (I was now making 40 Culture per turn) I took no chances: I culture bombed Tanis, instantly going from from 944 ..." - At 40/turn I would have topped 1000 in 2195 BC regardless. So I didn't need the GA to win, I just had it so I used it.
However, that game was played with the Tanis that had Grassland Flood Plains. With the nerfed Tanis in later versions that exploit has been closed, so AFAIK you may be correct. Obviously with the Release version of 2.0 now out, we need a new playthrough.
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
Do you see any improved tiles except two Mines (bult by Kindattu) in the screenshot I posted? I did not manage to capture his Worker and I built none of my own.
Not sure what you're after here. Workers require Slash & Burn Cultivation, which Ur didn't (and still doesn't) start with. I would thus need to research it, and once researched, Workers are expensive to build in low-population, low-production, time-pressed early Ur. Consider:
I wasn't even sure of researching the three techs I needed. Roads was easy. Then I needed to have Masonry by the time the Minoans spawned (2690 BC) and I needed to have Cuneiform by the time the Babylonians spawned (1890 BC). Hence:
Could I have done better if I'd stopped to research and build Workers?
That's the fun of Civ. I'm a mediocre player. Feel free to go ahead and show us how it should be done!
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0 (Release version) - 4400 BC - Egypt - Monarch - Unfinished game Historical Victory in ??? ?? - Score ????, ?????
UHV 1: Egyptian Old Kingdom: Have 1000 culture in 2180 BC.
UHV 2: Egyptian Middle Kingdom: Have the highest score in 1690 BC.
UHV 3: Egyptian New Kingdom: Control at least two cities in Egypt, Nubia, Palestine and Phoenicia by 1069 BC.
Victory jpg here
I played this game on the 4400 BC (First Civilizations) map; the game started me in 4400 BC. This is my second playthrough as Egypt; the first was nearly a year ago and the game is quite different now.
UHV 1 - This one is now really hard. There are no goody huts any longer, and the Nile delta has been nerfed. Mysticism is an obvious target, and Masonry. Apart from its wonders, Masonry also gives you Hellenism and the prospect of a second Holy Shrine, in the unlikely event that you can get it before Minoa spawns in 2690 BC. Although the random chance of a GA may (or may not) be gone I did get a random GS, so I wouldn't write the GA off just yet.
UHV 2 - This one should fall into your lap if you can get #1 and #3.
UHV 3 - You need eight cities: two in Egypt, two in Nubia, two in Palestine and two in Phoenicia. You have till 1069 BC to do it, but the longer you take, the more competition there will be. Previously, settling Nubia early was very bad for your stability; it's not so bad now, and there are two obvious sites - Nubt on the Hill SE of the Gold also gets the Gems 2S and Iuny on the Hill SW of the Stone gets the Iron 1S - that only overlap in their outer rings and become productive very quickly. There is already one city in Palestine - Scythopolis (Jericho). If you can capture Scythopolis, your obvious other city will be Gaza, on the Hill west of the Stone (it gets the Oasis Sheep 2S in Arabia, versus the coastal position north of it which is indefensible come 1196 BC and gets no bonuses Scythopolis can't also reach). By the time you're ready to take Palestine, however, you will probably be competing for it with Phoenicia and you won't have much choice about city sites in Phoenicia. You'll have to capture them from Phoenicia.
I was tempted to settle Waset on the spot. The site looked pretty barren, but five Hills on the horizon promised good Hammers later while six Flood Plains - one of them on a Hill - promised plenty of easy Food. Instead I moved 2N1W and settled Memphis on the (invisible) Stone, losing two turns and the Gold, but gaining Horse and Wheat. Since Culture is a difficult target, I immediately used my initial Hemet-Netjer to found Pesdjet and convert to that religion. Early Research: Mysticism (via Beer Making) for Obelisks and Stonehenge. Memphis has the potential to become a monster, especially if you're good with the whip. I'm not good with the whip - I hate it - but winning as Egypt may be impossible without whipping. I queued up a Town Guard and a Bakery. I let the city work one of the Flood Plains; at this stage I needed to grow my population more than I needed to build things.
I renamed my initial Warrior Ra and sent him off to capture Scythopolis (Jericho). This would take a while as he would have to kill excess Town Guards (TG) while waiting for the city to hit 2 pop, meanwhile hoping for good rolls. The city had two Town Guards when he arrived. He killed one in 4040 BC, promoted himself to Combat I, and could have killed the remaining TG in 4010 BC (I proved that by the simple expedient of doing it, then reloading) except the city would have auto-razed.
I had to whip a TG in Memphis to hold off a couple of barb TGs. When Scythopolis grew to 2 pop in 3830 BC, Ra captured it and Gilgamesh popped up to say hello.
When I discovered Mysticism in 3560 BC, I switched to Slash & Burn. I queued up Stonehenge behind an Obelisk in Memphis and an Obelisk behind my TG in Scythopolis. In 3530 BC I whipped the Obelisk in Memphis. When Scythopolis hit 2 pop in 3410 BC, I whipped the TG. Once the TG appeared, Ra headed back towards Egypt, where a red border showed that Tanis had now spawned. There was no rush; it would take Tanis time to reach 2 pop.
I had a second thought and moved the half-built Brewery ahead of Stonehenge in the queue. In a few turns when the TG unhappiness wore off, I could whip that and get an early Brewery while the extra Hammers flowed over into Stonehenge. By the time I was ready to whip Stonehenge the unhappiness would be gone. The net result should not delay Stonehenge much if at all.
In 3350 I discovered Slash & Burn and switched to Mining. I shoved a Worker in front of the Brewery.
In 3320 BC I whipped the Worker and when he appeared, I sent him off to Farm the Wheat.
In 3110 BC, Tanis reached 2 pop and I whipped my Brewery in Memphis.
In 3080 BC, Ra captured Tanis. I queued a TG and an Obelisk. In 3050 BC I discovered Mining and started on Urban Settlements.
In 2930 BC, Pesedjet spread in Tanis.
In 2780 BC I discovered Urban Settlements and switched to The Wheel.
In 2720 BC I turned Research down to 80% when my Treasury reached 34 Gold. Tanis whipped its TG. Next turn, Ra started for home at last.
In 2660 BC, Satur of Minoa popped in to say hello.
In 2540 BC I whipped Stonehenge for three lives.
In 2510 BC, apart from Stonehenge completing, the GS Louis Pasteur was born in Memphis. He built an Academy (+4 Culture). I'm not sure how that worked - in 2540 BC I was 57/90 for a Great Person, with 100% probablilty of a GP. Next turn I popped a GS. Not complaining mind you! 
A save file will not be forthcoming - this bug, if bug it is, I like! 
(FWIW if I had popped a GP he would have built the Sphinx for 4 Culture/Turn; a GA would have completed UHV 1; not sure what I'd have done with a GM, a GE or a GSpy. But 3/6 options help Egypt's UHV 1.)
I took stock. I had 435 Culture. I was making 22 (20 + 1 + 1) per turn. Long story short, with 22 turns to go I was 4 turns short of the money. I stacked on Priests in Memphis and Scythopolis (starving the latter).
In 2495, Hiram popped in to say hello. In 2480 BC, Tanis hit 2 pop and I put a Priest on there. In 2465 I was 1 turn from a GP in Memphis so I put the priests in the other cities back on the land.
In 2450, Ramakrishna popped in Memphis and built the Sphinx. I now had 525 Culture and I was making 27 (24 + 1 + 2) Culture per turn with 18 turns to do it in. I might just make it!
In 2330 BC I discovered Masonry and started on Agriculture. In 2300 I whipped a Bakery in Scythopolis.
In 2255 my Sumerian Ambassador f'd up. Oh, well. Ur was a long way away and I would soon switch over to military production.
In 2240 I discovered Agriculture and switched to beeline Spokes, Animal Husbandry and Horse Domestication.
IN 2255 BC, Hiram Opened Borders. Why not? I needed to build some Settlers and settle some cities before I would be ready to take him out.
In 2225 BC, Memphis built a Javelineer then switched to put 1 turn into Lion Gate to get one more pop point before starting in on its Settlers. I had 938 Culture and was churning out 28 per turn. In 2210 BC I put all my people on the land and set out to train Settlers at 5 turns each.
In 2180 BC I had 1023 Culture, so I knew I had UHV 1 made (barely).
In 2165 BC, UHV 1 got a big happy YES next to it.
This game is being posted half-finished; the objective was to see if UHV 1 was possible. It is.
I'll update this post if/when I finish the game. Melbourne has just gone back into 5 days' Covid lockdown, so I may have more time on my hands than I had expected ...
FWIW, I am #1 in Score (371 to Minoa's 236) from the civs I have contacted. The only unknown is Vatavelli. If I'm #1 now I will likely stay ahead as I settle cities and conquer enemies. So UHV 2 is looking good. That just leaves the military victory, UHV 3.
UHV 1: Egyptian Old Kingdom: Have 1000 culture in 2180 BC.
UHV 2: Egyptian Middle Kingdom: Have the highest score in 1690 BC.
UHV 3: Egyptian New Kingdom: Control at least two cities in Egypt, Nubia, Palestine and Phoenicia by 1069 BC.
I played this game on the 4400 BC (First Civilizations) map; the game started me in 4400 BC. This is my second playthrough as Egypt; the first was nearly a year ago and the game is quite different now.
UHV 1 - This one is now really hard. There are no goody huts any longer, and the Nile delta has been nerfed. Mysticism is an obvious target, and Masonry. Apart from its wonders, Masonry also gives you Hellenism and the prospect of a second Holy Shrine, in the unlikely event that you can get it before Minoa spawns in 2690 BC. Although the random chance of a GA may (or may not) be gone I did get a random GS, so I wouldn't write the GA off just yet.
UHV 2 - This one should fall into your lap if you can get #1 and #3.
UHV 3 - You need eight cities: two in Egypt, two in Nubia, two in Palestine and two in Phoenicia. You have till 1069 BC to do it, but the longer you take, the more competition there will be. Previously, settling Nubia early was very bad for your stability; it's not so bad now, and there are two obvious sites - Nubt on the Hill SE of the Gold also gets the Gems 2S and Iuny on the Hill SW of the Stone gets the Iron 1S - that only overlap in their outer rings and become productive very quickly. There is already one city in Palestine - Scythopolis (Jericho). If you can capture Scythopolis, your obvious other city will be Gaza, on the Hill west of the Stone (it gets the Oasis Sheep 2S in Arabia, versus the coastal position north of it which is indefensible come 1196 BC and gets no bonuses Scythopolis can't also reach). By the time you're ready to take Palestine, however, you will probably be competing for it with Phoenicia and you won't have much choice about city sites in Phoenicia. You'll have to capture them from Phoenicia.
I was tempted to settle Waset on the spot. The site looked pretty barren, but five Hills on the horizon promised good Hammers later while six Flood Plains - one of them on a Hill - promised plenty of easy Food. Instead I moved 2N1W and settled Memphis on the (invisible) Stone, losing two turns and the Gold, but gaining Horse and Wheat. Since Culture is a difficult target, I immediately used my initial Hemet-Netjer to found Pesdjet and convert to that religion. Early Research: Mysticism (via Beer Making) for Obelisks and Stonehenge. Memphis has the potential to become a monster, especially if you're good with the whip. I'm not good with the whip - I hate it - but winning as Egypt may be impossible without whipping. I queued up a Town Guard and a Bakery. I let the city work one of the Flood Plains; at this stage I needed to grow my population more than I needed to build things.
I renamed my initial Warrior Ra and sent him off to capture Scythopolis (Jericho). This would take a while as he would have to kill excess Town Guards (TG) while waiting for the city to hit 2 pop, meanwhile hoping for good rolls. The city had two Town Guards when he arrived. He killed one in 4040 BC, promoted himself to Combat I, and could have killed the remaining TG in 4010 BC (I proved that by the simple expedient of doing it, then reloading
) except the city would have auto-razed.I had to whip a TG in Memphis to hold off a couple of barb TGs. When Scythopolis grew to 2 pop in 3830 BC, Ra captured it and Gilgamesh popped up to say hello.
When I discovered Mysticism in 3560 BC, I switched to Slash & Burn. I queued up Stonehenge behind an Obelisk in Memphis and an Obelisk behind my TG in Scythopolis. In 3530 BC I whipped the Obelisk in Memphis. When Scythopolis hit 2 pop in 3410 BC, I whipped the TG. Once the TG appeared, Ra headed back towards Egypt, where a red border showed that Tanis had now spawned. There was no rush; it would take Tanis time to reach 2 pop.
I had a second thought and moved the half-built Brewery ahead of Stonehenge in the queue. In a few turns when the TG unhappiness wore off, I could whip that and get an early Brewery while the extra Hammers flowed over into Stonehenge. By the time I was ready to whip Stonehenge the unhappiness would be gone. The net result should not delay Stonehenge much if at all.
In 3350 I discovered Slash & Burn and switched to Mining. I shoved a Worker in front of the Brewery.
In 3320 BC I whipped the Worker and when he appeared, I sent him off to Farm the Wheat.
In 3110 BC, Tanis reached 2 pop and I whipped my Brewery in Memphis.
In 3080 BC, Ra captured Tanis. I queued a TG and an Obelisk. In 3050 BC I discovered Mining and started on Urban Settlements.
In 2930 BC, Pesedjet spread in Tanis.
In 2780 BC I discovered Urban Settlements and switched to The Wheel.
In 2720 BC I turned Research down to 80% when my Treasury reached 34 Gold. Tanis whipped its TG. Next turn, Ra started for home at last.
In 2660 BC, Satur of Minoa popped in to say hello.
In 2540 BC I whipped Stonehenge for three lives.
In 2510 BC, apart from Stonehenge completing, the GS Louis Pasteur was born in Memphis. He built an Academy (+4 Culture). I'm not sure how that worked - in 2540 BC I was 57/90 for a Great Person, with 100% probablilty of a GP. Next turn I popped a GS.
Not complaining mind you! A save file will not be forthcoming - this bug, if bug it is, I like! (FWIW if I had popped a GP he would have built the Sphinx for 4 Culture/Turn; a GA would have completed UHV 1; not sure what I'd have done with a GM, a GE or a GSpy. But 3/6 options help Egypt's UHV 1.)I took stock. I had 435 Culture. I was making 22 (20 + 1 + 1) per turn. Long story short, with 22 turns to go I was 4 turns short of the money. I stacked on Priests in Memphis and Scythopolis (starving the latter).
In 2495, Hiram popped in to say hello. In 2480 BC, Tanis hit 2 pop and I put a Priest on there. In 2465 I was 1 turn from a GP in Memphis so I put the priests in the other cities back on the land.
In 2450, Ramakrishna popped in Memphis and built the Sphinx. I now had 525 Culture and I was making 27 (24 + 1 + 2) Culture per turn with 18 turns to do it in. I might just make it!
In 2330 BC I discovered Masonry and started on Agriculture. In 2300 I whipped a Bakery in Scythopolis.
In 2255 my Sumerian Ambassador f'd up. Oh, well. Ur was a long way away and I would soon switch over to military production.
In 2240 I discovered Agriculture and switched to beeline Spokes, Animal Husbandry and Horse Domestication.
IN 2255 BC, Hiram Opened Borders. Why not? I needed to build some Settlers and settle some cities before I would be ready to take him out.
In 2225 BC, Memphis built a Javelineer then switched to put 1 turn into Lion Gate to get one more pop point before starting in on its Settlers. I had 938 Culture and was churning out 28 per turn. In 2210 BC I put all my people on the land and set out to train Settlers at 5 turns each.
In 2180 BC I had 1023 Culture, so I knew I had UHV 1 made (barely).
In 2165 BC, UHV 1 got a big happy YES next to it.
This game is being posted half-finished; the objective was to see if UHV 1 was possible. It is.
I'll update this post if/when I finish the game. Melbourne has just gone back into 5 days' Covid lockdown, so I may have more time on my hands than I had expected ...
FWIW, I am #1 in Score (371 to Minoa's 236) from the civs I have contacted. The only unknown is Vatavelli. If I'm #1 now I will likely stay ahead as I settle cities and conquer enemies. So UHV 2 is looking good. That just leaves the military victory, UHV 3.
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bluepotato
Prince
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2018
- Messages
- 325
I think that's from discovering The Wheel. I'll admit it's a bit broken that Egypt can do that, IIRC previously Sumeria always took the GS if Egypt went for Mysticism.
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
Huh, you're right. I was so absorbed by the events of that tumultuous turn that I didn't remember that I discovered The Wheel on the same turn Stonehenge was built. If I'd Researched The Wheel before Urban Settlements I could've gained an additonal 40+ Culture. I was focused on getting access to the Healer's Hut and the Javelineer.
Actually it raises a point about Religion, but I'll take that discussion over to the main thread.
Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0.2 (Release version) - 4400 BC - Egypt - Monarch - Historical Victory in 1490 BC - Score 2170, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: Egyptian Old Kingdom: Have 1000 culture in 2180 BC.
UHV 2: Egyptian Middle Kingdom: Have the highest score in 1690 BC.
UHV 3: Egyptian New Kingdom: Control at least two cities in Egypt, Nubia, Palestine and Phoenicia by 1069 BC.
I played this game on the 4400 BC (First Civilizations) map; the game started me in 4400 BC. The first part was played with version 2.0; I upgraded to the bugfix 2.0.2 for the second half. This is my second playthrough as Egypt; the first was nearly a year ago and the game is quite different now.
UHV 1 - This one is now really hard. There were no goody huts any longer, and the Nile delta has been nerfed. Mysticism is an obvious target, and Masonry. Apart from its wonders, Masonry also gives you Hellenism and the prospect of a second Holy Shrine, in the unlikely event that you can get it before Minoa spawns in 2690 BC. Although the random chance of a GA may (or may not) be gone I did get a random GS, so I wouldn't write the GA off just yet.
UHV 2 - This one should fall into your lap if you can get #1 and #3.
UHV 3 - You need eight cities: two in Egypt, two in Nubia, two in Palestine and two in Phoenicia. You have till 1069 BC to do it, but the longer you take, the more competition there will be. Previously, settling Nubia early was very bad for your stability; it's not so bad now, and there are two obvious sites - Nubt on the Hill SE of the Gold also gets the Gems 2S and Iuny S of the Salt gets the Iron 1SW - that only overlap in their outer rings and become productive very quickly. There is already one city in Palestine - Scythopolis (Jericho). If you can capture Scythopolis, your obvious other city will be Gaza, on the Hill west of the Stone (it gets the Oasis Sheep 2S in Arabia, versus the coastal position north of it which is indefensible come 1196 BC and gets no bonuses Scythopolis can't also reach). By the time you're ready to take Palestine, however, you will probably be competing for it with Phoenicia and you won't have much choice about city sites in Phoenicia. You'll have to capture them from Phoenicia.
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This is Part II. For Part I see https://forums.civfanatics.com/goto/post?id=16024652#post-16024652
=====
PART II
=====
In 2075 BC, I settled Zau in the Delta, queuing up an Obelisk. I had decided to build a TG for each city and an extra Worker before each Settler. It would be slower but I needed defenders and I needed to develop my land faster.
In 1990 BC, Kindattu of Elam popped up and we Opened Borders. He had no tech to offer. I discovered Animal Husbandry - right as I completed a Farm on the Cow! Grrr. Well, the Farm would work until it was replaced and the extra Food was useful.
In 1960 BC, Urukagina of Ur popped up and we Opened Borders. He had no tech to offer.
In 1950 BC, Memphis popped a GP who bulbed Mythology. Memphis was at its happy cap, 12 pop. I queued up a Temple of Amun and whipped a TG.
In 1900 BC, I settled Nubt in Nubia, queuing up an Obelisk.
In 1870 BC, Hammurabi of Babylon popped up and we Opened Borders. He had Trade, Hunting and Logging but we couldn't find a deal that wouldn't give him a Wonder he could steal.
In 1900 BC, I settled Iuny in Nubia, queuing up an Obelisk. My next Settler would go to Palestine.
In 1750 BC, the cumulative effect of several whippings gave me the Great Bath in Memphis. Memphis had 3 unhappy faces from the whip, but they would wear off. I had to turn my Research down to 30% to balance my budget.
In 1690 BC, UHV 2 turned to YES. Guess Vatavelli was doing no better than the rest.
In 1650 BC, I settled Gaza in Palestine, queuing up an Obelisk. Memphis was still whipping out War Chariots, with occasional units from Scythopolis, Tanis and Zau. Workers were nearly finished joining Palestine to my road network.
In 1640 BC, Memphis popped a GS.
In 1610 BC, Suppiluliuma popped up to declare war on me.
In 1590 BC, overflows from whippings gave me Luxor in Memphis. My Research was down to 10% to build up my Treasury for the war.
In 1520 BC, my entire army was assembled outside Scythopolis - 7 War Chariots, 3 Javelineers, 2 Warriors (promoted TGs). I had left a couple of TGs for happy police in Memphis (the city was still desperately unhappy from all that whipping of units) and a skimpy Hyksos guard. No other city had more than a single unit in it; I was gambling on a quick war and then a quick withdrawal before the barbs got too pressing at home. I called up Hiram and declared war, then advanced into Phoenicia's Culture.
In 1510 BC, Byblos had an Archer and a Warrior defending it. My first Chariot withdrew; my second killed the Archer; my third took the city. Four Chariots passed through and pulled up below the walls of Ugarit, which were defended by a single Javelineer. My footsoldiers occupied Byblos.
Inter-turn, Hammy popped up to swap Trade for Masonry and 120 Gold. This time I accepted. If I played on, it would be handy. I instantly revolted to Trade Economy.
In 1500 BC, my first Chariot died at Ugarit; my second carried the town and captured two Workers.
Historical Victory in 1490 BC.
Stability: Very Solid (69); 18, 10, 31, 14, -4.
I sought out Hiram's last city. I stepped down from my War Chariot, reaching back to deposit my weapons on the footplate. I took off the ancient crown of the two lands and laid it on my weapons. Then I walked toward the city gate, arms out. A gruff voice told me to stop. I slowly sank to my knees and bowed my head. Hiram had been my friend and I had betrayed him; it was time to attempt to begin a healing. If I failed, my heir would take up my crown - but for me there would be no long rest.
UHV 1: Egyptian Old Kingdom: Have 1000 culture in 2180 BC.
UHV 2: Egyptian Middle Kingdom: Have the highest score in 1690 BC.
UHV 3: Egyptian New Kingdom: Control at least two cities in Egypt, Nubia, Palestine and Phoenicia by 1069 BC.
I played this game on the 4400 BC (First Civilizations) map; the game started me in 4400 BC. The first part was played with version 2.0; I upgraded to the bugfix 2.0.2 for the second half. This is my second playthrough as Egypt; the first was nearly a year ago and the game is quite different now.
UHV 1 - This one is now really hard. There were no goody huts any longer, and the Nile delta has been nerfed. Mysticism is an obvious target, and Masonry. Apart from its wonders, Masonry also gives you Hellenism and the prospect of a second Holy Shrine, in the unlikely event that you can get it before Minoa spawns in 2690 BC. Although the random chance of a GA may (or may not) be gone I did get a random GS, so I wouldn't write the GA off just yet.
UHV 2 - This one should fall into your lap if you can get #1 and #3.
UHV 3 - You need eight cities: two in Egypt, two in Nubia, two in Palestine and two in Phoenicia. You have till 1069 BC to do it, but the longer you take, the more competition there will be. Previously, settling Nubia early was very bad for your stability; it's not so bad now, and there are two obvious sites - Nubt on the Hill SE of the Gold also gets the Gems 2S and Iuny S of the Salt gets the Iron 1SW - that only overlap in their outer rings and become productive very quickly. There is already one city in Palestine - Scythopolis (Jericho). If you can capture Scythopolis, your obvious other city will be Gaza, on the Hill west of the Stone (it gets the Oasis Sheep 2S in Arabia, versus the coastal position north of it which is indefensible come 1196 BC and gets no bonuses Scythopolis can't also reach). By the time you're ready to take Palestine, however, you will probably be competing for it with Phoenicia and you won't have much choice about city sites in Phoenicia. You'll have to capture them from Phoenicia.
=====
This is Part II. For Part I see https://forums.civfanatics.com/goto/post?id=16024652#post-16024652
=====
PART II
=====
In 2075 BC, I settled Zau in the Delta, queuing up an Obelisk. I had decided to build a TG for each city and an extra Worker before each Settler. It would be slower but I needed defenders and I needed to develop my land faster.
In 1990 BC, Kindattu of Elam popped up and we Opened Borders. He had no tech to offer. I discovered Animal Husbandry - right as I completed a Farm on the Cow! Grrr. Well, the Farm would work until it was replaced and the extra Food was useful.
In 1960 BC, Urukagina of Ur popped up and we Opened Borders. He had no tech to offer.
In 1950 BC, Memphis popped a GP who bulbed Mythology. Memphis was at its happy cap, 12 pop. I queued up a Temple of Amun and whipped a TG.
In 1900 BC, I settled Nubt in Nubia, queuing up an Obelisk.
In 1870 BC, Hammurabi of Babylon popped up and we Opened Borders. He had Trade, Hunting and Logging but we couldn't find a deal that wouldn't give him a Wonder he could steal.
In 1900 BC, I settled Iuny in Nubia, queuing up an Obelisk. My next Settler would go to Palestine.
In 1750 BC, the cumulative effect of several whippings gave me the Great Bath in Memphis. Memphis had 3 unhappy faces from the whip, but they would wear off. I had to turn my Research down to 30% to balance my budget.
In 1690 BC, UHV 2 turned to YES. Guess Vatavelli was doing no better than the rest.
In 1650 BC, I settled Gaza in Palestine, queuing up an Obelisk. Memphis was still whipping out War Chariots, with occasional units from Scythopolis, Tanis and Zau. Workers were nearly finished joining Palestine to my road network.
In 1640 BC, Memphis popped a GS.
In 1610 BC, Suppiluliuma popped up to declare war on me.
In 1590 BC, overflows from whippings gave me Luxor in Memphis. My Research was down to 10% to build up my Treasury for the war.
In 1520 BC, my entire army was assembled outside Scythopolis - 7 War Chariots, 3 Javelineers, 2 Warriors (promoted TGs). I had left a couple of TGs for happy police in Memphis (the city was still desperately unhappy from all that whipping of units) and a skimpy Hyksos guard. No other city had more than a single unit in it; I was gambling on a quick war and then a quick withdrawal before the barbs got too pressing at home. I called up Hiram and declared war, then advanced into Phoenicia's Culture.
In 1510 BC, Byblos had an Archer and a Warrior defending it. My first Chariot withdrew; my second killed the Archer; my third took the city. Four Chariots passed through and pulled up below the walls of Ugarit, which were defended by a single Javelineer. My footsoldiers occupied Byblos.
Inter-turn, Hammy popped up to swap Trade for Masonry and 120 Gold. This time I accepted. If I played on, it would be handy. I instantly revolted to Trade Economy.
In 1500 BC, my first Chariot died at Ugarit; my second carried the town and captured two Workers.
Historical Victory in 1490 BC.
Stability: Very Solid (69); 18, 10, 31, 14, -4.
I sought out Hiram's last city. I stepped down from my War Chariot, reaching back to deposit my weapons on the footplate. I took off the ancient crown of the two lands and laid it on my weapons. Then I walked toward the city gate, arms out. A gruff voice told me to stop. I slowly sank to my knees and bowed my head. Hiram had been my friend and I had betrayed him; it was time to attempt to begin a healing. If I failed, my heir would take up my crown - but for me there would be no long rest.
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0.2 - 900 BC - Athens - Monarch - Historical Victory in 20 BC - Score 2119, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: Ancient Greek Technology and Innovation: Be the first to discover Drama, Democracy and Engineering
UHV 2: Domination of the Mediterranean trade: Build 5 harbours by 450 BC
UHV 3: The Wonders of the Ancient World: Build the Oracle, the Parthenon, the Colossus and the Temple of Artemis by 300 BC
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map
UHV 1 - You need to discover a minimum of 13 Techs. You will get most of the techs you need along the route to your three targets, but you will also need Metal Casting (Colossus). As you can see, some techs - Priesthood, Mathematics, Tyranny, and Citizenship - are in multiple paths. Also, some early techs are so useful and some later techs so expensive that you will work along multiple paths.
UHV 2 - To build Harbors you need to research Sailing [891
]. You need at least 5 coastal cities. Some of these could be Athens, Thebai, Knossos and Troia. However, in 900 BC they all start at 1 pop and except for Athens they have no rich food tiles within early reach. Thebai and Knossos won't grow (0 health and at most 3 (-1) Food). Troia will (working the Grassland). They will auto-raze if you conquer them too soon. (That won't stop Sparta, who will probably destroy Thebai.) Of other coastal cities, Byblos, Zau and Tanis all have 2+ population but are located on tiles unstable for Athens. In the 4400 BC start there is more flexibility.
UHV 3 - The shortest path to all these Wonders, getting each as soon as possible, is Priesthood [345] (Oracle) -> Metal Casting [655] (Colossus) -> Mathematics [873] -> Aesthetics [1346] (Parthenon) -> Tyranny [1055] -> Citizenship [1201] (Phalanxes!) -> Record Keeping [1128] -> Democracy [1601] (Temple of Artemis). You will probably need to pick up some other techs to speed up your research and industry, so the shortest path may not be the best.
Your UHV targets are a long way off so it's better to focus on UHV 2 & 3 early. You can follow the shortest path as above, but pick Sailing after Metal Casting so that you can build those Harbors for UHV 2. Optionally, between Maths and Aesthetics you can hit Construction [1092] to let you build Odeons, but every digression is risky; someone may beat you to Aesthetics and rush the Parthenon, for example. Once you have the first three Wonders in your bag you can digress a little. Also, the Oracle and the Colossus are at severe risk of being built by the AI. Hiram loves the Colossus.
With only 7 Phalanxes versus Sparta's five plus three Spartiates Hoplites, and with no spare Settler whereas Sparta has a spare, a long-drawn-out military spat is not in your interest. If you have the opportunity, myth Leonidas. Otherwise try to stay friendly. He'll declare war on you eventually anyway.
The game started in 896 BC, with Athens and Sparta already settled. There was no Mycenae or Pylos, but an Indy Thebai. There would be no chance to play razzle-dazzle with the capital or city locations. Luxor, The Hanging Gardens and Temple of Solomon had already been built. I set my Research to Priesthood then Metal Casting. I started Athens on a Work Boat and put the citzen on the Sheep. I converted to Hellenism.
The absence of early cities to conquer was a bummer. My Phalanxes moved onto the Silver. With little hope of containing Sparta, I couldn't risk them far from home. My Workers moved onto the Forest E of the Stone and started chopping. When they finished I would move them to the Forest on the Stone. I landed my Warrior to garrison Athens, and sent the Galley off to explore. It immediately met Hiram, and we Opened Borders. He had Sailing but "didn't want to start trading it away yet". He would be unlikely to trade it until the Great Lighthouse was built.
Next turn I revolted to Oligarchy, Vassalage, Caste System, Trade Economy, Deification, and Client Kingdoms. [Eta: at least, I meant to. I was able to build Hereia without monasteries so I think I fat fingered it, then or later.] Slavery would be useful for building Wonders, but that was a while away and the additional free Specialist from Caste System would come in handy immediately. I set up two Citizens for the Hammers.
I Opened Borders with Solomon, who had Priesthood on offer, but he said I couldn't afford it. I Opened Borders with Ramses, who had nothing I wanted.
In 878 BC I Opened Borders with Leonidas just to see what he had. All his military was huddled in the city along wth his Settler. His Workers were probably in the south, on his Copper or his Sheep. I fortified one Phalanx on the Forest north of Sparta to keep watch; two went to meet and board the Galley; the others headed to the site of Patras. I had a plan.
In 854 BC Athens built the first of two Work Boats. It built boats on the nearest Fish. I switched my citizen to the Fish; growth in 4 turns. When I was 2 turns away I put him back on the Sheep (still 2 turns, extra Hammer).
In 806 BC, Brennus declared war on the Greeks. Leonidas' main army had been heading north; now it crossed Thebai's cultural boundary. This might be the opening I was waiting for. Just one more move north ...
Leonidas moved onto the Marble instead. I decided to wait till he destroyed Thebai and moved all his units into the fog, if he did. Pity about Thebai; it was the Hellenism Holy city. I sent my detached Phalanx to join the main army. In 758 BC, after one laggard Spartiates Hoplite disappeared into the fog, I declared war! My units moved south, then SE.
In 746 BC I had 5 Phalanxes standing outside Sparta, which was defended by two Archers and a Swordsman. After three quick attacks, Tegea was mine, with three Workers!
In 722 BC, Troia reached 2 pop and my Galley launched an amphibious assault to capture it from two Town Guards (TG). I sent the Galley back for more. Then advanced and razed Gordion and Sfard, making room for Ephesus. Athens was building a Settler.
In 680 BC, Tegea's border expanded and it started building the Oracle.
In 674 BC, Cyrus popped up to declare war.
In 656 BC I captured Zau and dropped two Phalanxes there to protect it from Camel Archers. Taharqa of Kush popped up to Open Borders. Sparta popped a GM; he could bulb Record Keeping, which was a tech I wanted, but right now I needed money and Sparta needed food. I settled him.
In 650 BC, Tegea built The Oracle. Since I was two turns from Metal Working, I chose Sailing for my free tech. The city started on a Library, with a Settler to follow. Athens trained its Settler and started on a Brewery to let it grow a bit before training the next Settler. Zau queued up a Harbor behind its Monument. Troy queued one up in front of its Elder Council.
I discovered Metal Working and switched to Aesthetics via Mathematics.
Tegea was not coastal, so Athens had to build the Colossus. I queued it up in front of the unfinished Brewery - 8 turns. I added a Harbor after the Brewery.
My Settler settled Ephesus, south of the Iron. Unstable for Athens, but it's a better site than the tile W of it and it durned well should be stable! It started working the Sheep N of the Iron, which had a Pasture. I queued up a Monument (to stop Hiram's Culture) and then a Harbor in Ephesus. Troy was working the unQuarried Marble N of the Sheep. The Galley headed for the south of the Peloponnese.
In 590 BC, Athens built the Colossus and popped a GS, who built an Academy. Sparta built a Settler. All cities added a Forge to the end of their queues. The Settler and a Phalanx boarded the Galley.
In 584 the Phalanx razed Knossos. The Settler disembarked. The Galley went back to Peloponnese and took two Workers aboard. In 578 BC it dropped them on Knossos' Cow. The Settler moved onto the Marble.
In 572 BC, the Settler settled Gortyn. The Workers started a Pasture. The Phalanx fortified in Gortyn. Gortyn started a Harbor (15 turns).
In 560 BC, Brennus dropped his demand for Tegea and we made peace. Cyrus was talking and we made peace once I threw in a one-off 7 Gold. Like, whatever, dude.
From the start of the game I had been running 100% Tech Research. My Treasury had been buffed by the city captures. I currently had 278 Gold and was losing 20 Gold per turn. Sooner or later I would have to dial it down, but I was buying tech while the money lasted. As my cities grew they were switching their citizen Specialists to Merchants and Scientists.
Cyrus Opened Borders. Solomon offered Horse Domestication and 30 Gold for Metal Casting. I took it. Tegea finished its Forge and started a Courthouse. Gortyn's Workers finished the Pasture. Gortyn was 6 turns from its Harbor - at some point the the Specialists had switched to Merchants and I had to move them back to Citizen Specialiasts.
Tegea popped another GM. It could only bulb Currency, which technically I didn't need, but I decided it might be worth it. I was now 1 turn from Currency and 6 from Aesthetics.
It was time to start thinking about Alexander the Great, due in 476 BC. I queued Archers behind Sparta's Courthouse; I would drop them in my colonies and bring my Phalanxes home. I needed Citizenship to build more, and I wouldn't have it in time.
In 512 BC, Julius Caesar dropped in to declare war. In other news, I completed UHV 2. Yay!
My first Archer arrived in Zau. With UHV 2 complete I no longer needed that city; the Camel Archers would probably take it from my Archer sooner or later now the two Phalanxes were gone. My Treasury was empty; I dropped Research to 80% and stacked on Merchants in Zau.
In 488 BC I razed Ambrakia/Calydon; I had no objections to it, I just couldn't risk it flipping to Alexander. Central Greece had to be barren for my plan to work. I had two Phalanxes waiting north of the site of Alexander's spawn; they were on the coast between the Gold and the Iron.
In 476 BC, quel surprise, Alexander declared war. I moved my 5 Phalanxes up to the Marble.
In 470, Athens popped a GS. I sent him to Sparta to build an Academy. In 464 BC, Athens started work on the Parthenon (8 turns). My Phalanxes advanced.
In 458 BC, 5 Companion Cavalry emerged from the fog on the Sheep SW of former Thebai. My Phalanxes were hiding in the city's ruins. A moment later, all 5 Cavalry were dead.
In 452 BC I discovered Tyranny. Four of my Phalanxes advanced onto the Forest NW; the other moved into the ruins. Four Macedonian Phalanxes, a Companion Cavalry, and a Swordsman were on the other side.
My northern detachment advanced onto the Forest W of Argos Orestikon and looked down upon a town defended by a single Archer. There were two Workers NE and a Swordsman and a Worker on the Forested Sheep on the far side of town. There was no sign of the other Swordsman or the Hoplites.
In 446 BC Alexander's missing Sword and Hoplites appeared 2 N of my main army. His Phalanxes moved S and were now W of my army. The Swordsman that had been on the Sheep had moved S; the Workers from the NE were huddling in Argo Orestikon, which was still defended by a single Archer. One of my Phalanxes advanced from the hill, Argos Orestikon auto-razed, and Alexander's mighty army winked out of existence. I had wiped him out for no loss. I even captured two Workers.
Although still at war with Rome, I could now focus on the Wonders. I was 10 turns from Citizenship. Athens was 5 turns from the Parthenon. Only the Temple of Artemis to go. I had 24 turns left and the calculation said 37 turns worth of research (not counting building time). It didn't look good. I rejiggered all my cities for max Research and sold Priesthood to Hiram and Taharqa for 70 Gold each, then put Research to 100%. Citizenship 5 turns, Record keeping 5 turns, Democracy 9 turns. 19 turns. Since I still had to build the Temple after I got Democracy, it looked like I was SOL unless I popped a GE.
n 422 BC, Zau popped a GM. I sent the Galley to fetch it to Athens.
In 416 BC, barb Spearmen pillaged the improvements outside Troy and Ephesus. The Phalanxes had previously kept them at bay; the Archers now defending the cities had to turtle. All my cities except Zau were pumping Research now; Zau was 2 turns from its Forge.
In 392 BC, I was 6 turns from Democracy. I had 15 turns! I was still in the race.
In 380 BC I made peace with Julius Caesar.
In 374 BC, Sparta popped a GS. He bulbed 1599 toward Education, which I needed to get Engineering for UHV 1.
In 356 BC I discovered Democracy. I went through all my cities, reallocating them for production, then assessed Athens and Sparta. Athens could do the Temple in 9 turns, Sparta in 6. I had 9 turns. Though I probably had a turn beyond my nominal end, it would have to be Sparta.
In 320 BC I discovered Construction. Sparta completed the Temple of Artemis, ticking off UHV 3. Athens trained a Settler and sent him off to resettle Thebai. I had Literature (12), Machinery (15), Drama (20) and Engineering (21) left on UHV 1. I could complete these faster than that, but I was way out in front and my cities were under-developed and needed to catch up.
The rest was mostly development.
When Rome got its "surprise" Conquest event I was ready. It was costly, but his two northern Legions were more interested in escaping. I wiped out the Euboean contingent without loss, and lost one for three against the Spartan contingent when I caught them on the flat in Central Greece when they tried to run away. Since Caesar still wanted Tegea for peace, I organised an expedition to the north, which razed Pella for one loss, destroyed another contingent on the flat in the north for one loss, then got counter-attacked and lost another of their own. By the time they were at the walls of Tarsatica, there were only three Phalanxes left in the expedition and they had no hope of storming the city. That was when I discovered Engineering and got my UHV in 20 BC.
Stability: Stable (18); 31, 20, 35, -64, -4
The Athenian Empire spread from the Nile Delta to the Bosphorus. Its rickety walls were still in some cases manned by the feeble Archers of the Wonder Years, but a new generation of Phalanxes and War Elephants was moving up. I had destroyed the vile Spartans and Macedonians, and halted Rome in its tracks. Not bad for a city of philosophers, whose white beards and bald heads still congregated under the Painted Stoa in the Agora on Market Day.
UHV 1: Ancient Greek Technology and Innovation: Be the first to discover Drama, Democracy and Engineering
UHV 2: Domination of the Mediterranean trade: Build 5 harbours by 450 BC
UHV 3: The Wonders of the Ancient World: Build the Oracle, the Parthenon, the Colossus and the Temple of Artemis by 300 BC
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map
UHV 1 - You need to discover a minimum of 13 Techs. You will get most of the techs you need along the route to your three targets, but you will also need Metal Casting (Colossus). As you can see, some techs - Priesthood, Mathematics, Tyranny, and Citizenship - are in multiple paths. Also, some early techs are so useful and some later techs so expensive that you will work along multiple paths.
- Sailing (Harbors)
- Metal Casting (Colossus).
- Priesthood (Oracle) -> Tyranny -> Citizenship -> Democracy (Temple of Artemis).
- Mathematics -> Aesthetics (Parthenon) -> Literature -> Drama.
- Priesthood -> Mathematics -> Construction -> Tyranny -> Record Keeping -> Citizenship -> Education -> Machinery -> Engineering.
UHV 2 - To build Harbors you need to research Sailing [891
]. You need at least 5 coastal cities. Some of these could be Athens, Thebai, Knossos and Troia. However, in 900 BC they all start at 1 pop and except for Athens they have no rich food tiles within early reach. Thebai and Knossos won't grow (0 health and at most 3 (-1) Food). Troia will (working the Grassland). They will auto-raze if you conquer them too soon. (That won't stop Sparta, who will probably destroy Thebai.) Of other coastal cities, Byblos, Zau and Tanis all have 2+ population but are located on tiles unstable for Athens. In the 4400 BC start there is more flexibility.UHV 3 - The shortest path to all these Wonders, getting each as soon as possible, is Priesthood [345
] (Oracle) -> Metal Casting [655] (Colossus) -> Mathematics [873] -> Aesthetics [1346] (Parthenon) -> Tyranny [1055] -> Citizenship [1201] (Phalanxes!) -> Record Keeping [1128] -> Democracy [1601] (Temple of Artemis). You will probably need to pick up some other techs to speed up your research and industry, so the shortest path may not be the best.Your UHV targets are a long way off so it's better to focus on UHV 2 & 3 early. You can follow the shortest path as above, but pick Sailing after Metal Casting so that you can build those Harbors for UHV 2. Optionally, between Maths and Aesthetics you can hit Construction [1092
] to let you build Odeons, but every digression is risky; someone may beat you to Aesthetics and rush the Parthenon, for example. Once you have the first three Wonders in your bag you can digress a little. Also, the Oracle and the Colossus are at severe risk of being built by the AI. Hiram loves the Colossus.With only 7 Phalanxes versus Sparta's five plus three Spartiates Hoplites, and with no spare Settler whereas Sparta has a spare, a long-drawn-out military spat is not in your interest. If you have the opportunity, myth Leonidas. Otherwise try to stay friendly. He'll declare war on you eventually anyway.
The game started in 896 BC, with Athens and Sparta already settled. There was no Mycenae or Pylos, but an Indy Thebai. There would be no chance to play razzle-dazzle with the capital or city locations. Luxor, The Hanging Gardens and Temple of Solomon had already been built. I set my Research to Priesthood then Metal Casting. I started Athens on a Work Boat and put the citzen on the Sheep. I converted to Hellenism.
The absence of early cities to conquer was a bummer. My Phalanxes moved onto the Silver. With little hope of containing Sparta, I couldn't risk them far from home. My Workers moved onto the Forest E of the Stone and started chopping. When they finished I would move them to the Forest on the Stone. I landed my Warrior to garrison Athens, and sent the Galley off to explore. It immediately met Hiram, and we Opened Borders. He had Sailing but "didn't want to start trading it away yet". He would be unlikely to trade it until the Great Lighthouse was built.
Next turn I revolted to Oligarchy, Vassalage, Caste System, Trade Economy, Deification, and Client Kingdoms. [Eta: at least, I meant to. I was able to build Hereia without monasteries so I think I fat fingered it, then or later.] Slavery would be useful for building Wonders, but that was a while away and the additional free Specialist from Caste System would come in handy immediately. I set up two Citizens for the Hammers.
I Opened Borders with Solomon, who had Priesthood on offer, but he said I couldn't afford it. I Opened Borders with Ramses, who had nothing I wanted.
In 878 BC I Opened Borders with Leonidas just to see what he had. All his military was huddled in the city along wth his Settler. His Workers were probably in the south, on his Copper or his Sheep. I fortified one Phalanx on the Forest north of Sparta to keep watch; two went to meet and board the Galley; the others headed to the site of Patras. I had a plan.
In 854 BC Athens built the first of two Work Boats. It built boats on the nearest Fish. I switched my citizen to the Fish; growth in 4 turns. When I was 2 turns away I put him back on the Sheep (still 2 turns, extra Hammer).
In 806 BC, Brennus declared war on the Greeks. Leonidas' main army had been heading north; now it crossed Thebai's cultural boundary. This might be the opening I was waiting for. Just one more move north ...
Leonidas moved onto the Marble instead. I decided to wait till he destroyed Thebai and moved all his units into the fog, if he did. Pity about Thebai; it was the Hellenism Holy city. I sent my detached Phalanx to join the main army. In 758 BC, after one laggard Spartiates Hoplite disappeared into the fog, I declared war! My units moved south, then SE.
In 746 BC I had 5 Phalanxes standing outside Sparta, which was defended by two Archers and a Swordsman. After three quick attacks, Tegea was mine, with three Workers!
In 722 BC, Troia reached 2 pop and my Galley launched an amphibious assault to capture it from two Town Guards (TG). I sent the Galley back for more. Then advanced and razed Gordion and Sfard, making room for Ephesus. Athens was building a Settler.
In 680 BC, Tegea's border expanded and it started building the Oracle.
In 674 BC, Cyrus popped up to declare war.
In 656 BC I captured Zau and dropped two Phalanxes there to protect it from Camel Archers. Taharqa of Kush popped up to Open Borders. Sparta popped a GM; he could bulb Record Keeping, which was a tech I wanted, but right now I needed money and Sparta needed food. I settled him.
In 650 BC, Tegea built The Oracle. Since I was two turns from Metal Working, I chose Sailing for my free tech. The city started on a Library, with a Settler to follow. Athens trained its Settler and started on a Brewery to let it grow a bit before training the next Settler. Zau queued up a Harbor behind its Monument. Troy queued one up in front of its Elder Council.
I discovered Metal Working and switched to Aesthetics via Mathematics.
Tegea was not coastal, so Athens had to build the Colossus. I queued it up in front of the unfinished Brewery - 8 turns. I added a Harbor after the Brewery.
My Settler settled Ephesus, south of the Iron. Unstable for Athens, but it's a better site than the tile W of it and it durned well should be stable! It started working the Sheep N of the Iron, which had a Pasture. I queued up a Monument (to stop Hiram's Culture) and then a Harbor in Ephesus. Troy was working the unQuarried Marble N of the Sheep. The Galley headed for the south of the Peloponnese.
In 590 BC, Athens built the Colossus and popped a GS, who built an Academy. Sparta built a Settler. All cities added a Forge to the end of their queues. The Settler and a Phalanx boarded the Galley.
In 584 the Phalanx razed Knossos. The Settler disembarked. The Galley went back to Peloponnese and took two Workers aboard. In 578 BC it dropped them on Knossos' Cow. The Settler moved onto the Marble.
In 572 BC, the Settler settled Gortyn. The Workers started a Pasture. The Phalanx fortified in Gortyn. Gortyn started a Harbor (15 turns).
In 560 BC, Brennus dropped his demand for Tegea and we made peace. Cyrus was talking and we made peace once I threw in a one-off 7 Gold. Like, whatever, dude.
From the start of the game I had been running 100% Tech Research. My Treasury had been buffed by the city captures. I currently had 278 Gold and was losing 20 Gold per turn. Sooner or later I would have to dial it down, but I was buying tech while the money lasted. As my cities grew they were switching their citizen Specialists to Merchants and Scientists.
Cyrus Opened Borders. Solomon offered Horse Domestication and 30 Gold for Metal Casting. I took it. Tegea finished its Forge and started a Courthouse. Gortyn's Workers finished the Pasture. Gortyn was 6 turns from its Harbor - at some point the the Specialists had switched to Merchants and I had to move them back to Citizen Specialiasts.
Tegea popped another GM. It could only bulb Currency, which technically I didn't need, but I decided it might be worth it. I was now 1 turn from Currency and 6 from Aesthetics.
It was time to start thinking about Alexander the Great, due in 476 BC. I queued Archers behind Sparta's Courthouse; I would drop them in my colonies and bring my Phalanxes home. I needed Citizenship to build more, and I wouldn't have it in time.
In 512 BC, Julius Caesar dropped in to declare war. In other news, I completed UHV 2. Yay!
My first Archer arrived in Zau. With UHV 2 complete I no longer needed that city; the Camel Archers would probably take it from my Archer sooner or later now the two Phalanxes were gone. My Treasury was empty; I dropped Research to 80% and stacked on Merchants in Zau.
In 488 BC I razed Ambrakia/Calydon; I had no objections to it, I just couldn't risk it flipping to Alexander. Central Greece had to be barren for my plan to work. I had two Phalanxes waiting north of the site of Alexander's spawn; they were on the coast between the Gold and the Iron.
In 476 BC, quel surprise, Alexander declared war. I moved my 5 Phalanxes up to the Marble.
In 470, Athens popped a GS. I sent him to Sparta to build an Academy. In 464 BC, Athens started work on the Parthenon (8 turns). My Phalanxes advanced.
In 458 BC, 5 Companion Cavalry emerged from the fog on the Sheep SW of former Thebai. My Phalanxes were hiding in the city's ruins. A moment later, all 5 Cavalry were dead.
In 452 BC I discovered Tyranny. Four of my Phalanxes advanced onto the Forest NW; the other moved into the ruins. Four Macedonian Phalanxes, a Companion Cavalry, and a Swordsman were on the other side.
My northern detachment advanced onto the Forest W of Argos Orestikon and looked down upon a town defended by a single Archer. There were two Workers NE and a Swordsman and a Worker on the Forested Sheep on the far side of town. There was no sign of the other Swordsman or the Hoplites.
In 446 BC Alexander's missing Sword and Hoplites appeared 2 N of my main army. His Phalanxes moved S and were now W of my army. The Swordsman that had been on the Sheep had moved S; the Workers from the NE were huddling in Argo Orestikon, which was still defended by a single Archer. One of my Phalanxes advanced from the hill, Argos Orestikon auto-razed, and Alexander's mighty army winked out of existence. I had wiped him out for no loss. I even captured two Workers.
Although still at war with Rome, I could now focus on the Wonders. I was 10 turns from Citizenship. Athens was 5 turns from the Parthenon. Only the Temple of Artemis to go. I had 24 turns left and the calculation said 37 turns worth of research (not counting building time). It didn't look good. I rejiggered all my cities for max Research and sold Priesthood to Hiram and Taharqa for 70 Gold each, then put Research to 100%. Citizenship 5 turns, Record keeping 5 turns, Democracy 9 turns. 19 turns. Since I still had to build the Temple after I got Democracy, it looked like I was SOL unless I popped a GE.
n 422 BC, Zau popped a GM. I sent the Galley to fetch it to Athens.
In 416 BC, barb Spearmen pillaged the improvements outside Troy and Ephesus. The Phalanxes had previously kept them at bay; the Archers now defending the cities had to turtle. All my cities except Zau were pumping Research now; Zau was 2 turns from its Forge.
In 392 BC, I was 6 turns from Democracy. I had 15 turns! I was still in the race.
In 380 BC I made peace with Julius Caesar.
In 374 BC, Sparta popped a GS. He bulbed 1599 toward Education, which I needed to get Engineering for UHV 1.
In 356 BC I discovered Democracy. I went through all my cities, reallocating them for production, then assessed Athens and Sparta. Athens could do the Temple in 9 turns, Sparta in 6. I had 9 turns. Though I probably had a turn beyond my nominal end, it would have to be Sparta.
In 320 BC I discovered Construction. Sparta completed the Temple of Artemis, ticking off UHV 3. Athens trained a Settler and sent him off to resettle Thebai. I had Literature (12), Machinery (15), Drama (20) and Engineering (21) left on UHV 1. I could complete these faster than that, but I was way out in front and my cities were under-developed and needed to catch up.
The rest was mostly development.
When Rome got its "surprise" Conquest event I was ready. It was costly, but his two northern Legions were more interested in escaping. I wiped out the Euboean contingent without loss, and lost one for three against the Spartan contingent when I caught them on the flat in Central Greece when they tried to run away. Since Caesar still wanted Tegea for peace, I organised an expedition to the north, which razed Pella for one loss, destroyed another contingent on the flat in the north for one loss, then got counter-attacked and lost another of their own. By the time they were at the walls of Tarsatica, there were only three Phalanxes left in the expedition and they had no hope of storming the city. That was when I discovered Engineering and got my UHV in 20 BC.
Stability: Stable (18); 31, 20, 35, -64, -4
The Athenian Empire spread from the Nile Delta to the Bosphorus. Its rickety walls were still in some cases manned by the feeble Archers of the Wonder Years, but a new generation of Phalanxes and War Elephants was moving up. I had destroyed the vile Spartans and Macedonians, and halted Rome in its tracks. Not bad for a city of philosophers, whose white beards and bald heads still congregated under the Painted Stoa in the Agora on Market Day.
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0.2 - 900 BC - Sparta - Monarch - game abandoned in 344 BC.
UHV 1: This is Sparta!: Control an army of 30 units in 450 BC.
UHV 2: The Peloponnesian War: Be victors in the Peloponnesian War by controlling all of Greece (Peloponese, Attica, Macedonia, Central Greece, Euboea, Cyclades) in 400 BC.
UHV 3: Spartan hegemony: Have the highest score in 350 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map. It's not a win, but I was not actually defeated and I post it as an instructive failure.
UHV 1 - You don't need 30 units to achieve UHV 2, but you do need lots of cities to support 30 units. If you look at the provinces you need to control for UHV 2, half of those units are simply garrisons for the necessary cities. A healthy economy will be required, so you can't ignore Research; but since you have no tech or Wonder UHV, you can cheerfully trade techs the AI wants for techs useful to you.
UHV 2 - Sparta covers the peloponnese. Athens covers Attica. For Macedonia you can use your 30 unit Juggernaut to block Alexander's army till 450 BC, then smash it (using up your extra units), keep him bottled till Argos Orestikon grows, and capture that city. You can also raze Argos Orestikon and settle a new city to take advantage of its resources. You will need one Settler for Central Greece, which tends to get knocked about during the wars. Pick a spot and settle it sometime between 452 and 400 BC. (If you settle it earlier it will flip to Alexander in 458 BC, and we can't have that. I use a dirty little trick to kill Alexander cheaply, but it relies on his flipzone being barren of cities). Euboea also needs a Settler, since it's not enough to cover it with your culture for the UHV; you need a city there. I use my 2nd initial Settler for that. Rome will eventually spawn three Legions there around 206 BC, but that's long after UHV 2 is complete. The Cyclades means a city on one of the two islands between Crete and Anatolia. So, you need three or four Settlers by 400 BC. Not hard; the hard part is still controlling those provinces in 400 BC; the Spartanas are better conquerors than adminstrators. Most of your UHV cities will be on unstable tiles. You have several good tiles in western Central Greece (Ambrakia/Calydon will probably get razed but Dodona on the Sheep 2N gets the Iron; or you can resettle Calydon), but that's about it. You also have one tile in Sicily (E of the Peak) and two in Italy (E of the Stone in the toe, on the Wine in the heel), if you feel like playing Pyrrhus, but Sicily & Italy don't help your UHV.
UHV 3 - If you defeat Athens, Macedonia and Rome and control that mighty empire in 350 BC, this should follow. You may need to build some Wonders along the way.
In my previous Spartan games I focused on nabbing Mycenae and Pylos. Those cities don't exist in 900 BC, and you start the game with Sparta already settled. Therefore you can't play ahistorical razzle-dazzle with your capital or initial cities. Fortunately, Sparta is a pretty good early city, its main deficiency being that its Food soon tops out and it gets hard to grow it enough to make full use of the otherwise magnificent Peloponnese. Eventually you can settle GMs in Sparta to provide extra food, but that takes time. There's not really any place to build a viable second city in there. If you settle Mycenae or the tile north of it, the city flips unconditionally to Alexander in 458 BC because it's not your capital.
Food was a grim priority so I set Sparta to building Brewery->Spartan Camp->Bakery, and sent my Workers to Farm the Wheat. I garrisoned Sparta with one Phalanx and sent my main army and the Settler NE (this is a suicidal tactic against a human player, but the AI is less than a moron). I Opened Borders with Pericles. My initial Research was Priesthood. If I could nab the Oracle, lots of things became possible. I revolted to Oligarchy, Vassalage, Caste System (mysteriously apt for stratified Sparta), Trade, Deification, and Client Kingdoms (1 turn) and set two Citizen Specialists to get two extra early Hammers to help with my Brewery.
Next turn I converted to Hellenism. My army advanced N. My Workers began building a Farm on the Wheat.
In 884 BC my army paused, waiting for Thebai's border pop before advancing NE in 878 BC.
In 872 BC I met and Opened Borders with Hiram. He wouldn't trade Sailing. My Army moved N onto the Marble; the Settler and one Phalanx continued NE, headed for Euboea. I needed a port to build a Coracle to settle the islands, and I needed Euboea for UHV 2. There was a risk Athens' Culture might flip it, but I hoped to fix Athens before then.
In 866 BC the Farm was finished and I switched Sparta's citizen to the Wheat. The Workers moved onto the Sheep, ready to chop and Pasture the tile. I razed Thebai to free up the Pigs in Euboea for Chalkis. Two of my Spartiates Hoplites promoted to City raider I.
In 860 BC I settled Chalkis and set it to building a Monument to counter Athens' Culture. I could see 1-pop Indy Troia across the Ionaian Sea, but it was a long way by land and until I finished with Athens I had to keep my army close to home. My units fortified on the Marble, healing. There were some tempting Wonders available to me - The Pyramids, Stonehenge, Lion Gate, Yasilikaya, Great Bath, Ashurbanipal's Library. Only the Lion Gate and the Bath looked worth the effort, and it was way too soon to splurge my Hammers even on those.
In 806 BC, Brennus declared war on Greece. In 794 BC, Pericles moved his army NW out of Athens along his new Road, leaving two Phalanxes and an Archer in Athens! I waited until one turn after he had disappeared into the fog, then declared war in 776 BC and advanced on Athens.
In 770 BC, my two City Raider-promoted Spartiates killed an Archer and a Phalanx. I had a bad feeling about risking my third, unpromoted Spartiates against the remaining Phalanx defender and in what was probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, I sent in a phalanx of my own. As expected, my Phalanx died. My remaining Spartiates now killed the defending Phalanx and captured Athens. My Spartiates promoted to City Raider I. For the loss of one Phalanx, Pericles was myth, I now controlled three of the six provinces demanded by UHV 2, and my three Spartiates all wore City Raider promotions in addition to the Combat I they had spawned with. Fair enough. Time to start the serious work! I needed 30 units, I needed several Settlers, and I needed at least one Coracle.
In 746 BC, Assyria was destroyed (by a coalition of Phoenicia and Scythia, I discovered later). I discovered Priesthood and inserted the Oracle at the start of Sparta's queue. I started researching Tyranny, which would lead to Citizenship and let me build more Spartiates Hoplites.
In 698 BC I built the Oracle and took Metal casting as my freebie. Now I could build Forges.
In 692 BC my new Coracle ventured forth with a Spartiates on board and discovered that Santorini was covered by Indy Knossos' Culture but that Phoenicus had recently been captured by barbs and thus Rhodes was free. If I razed Phoenicus, Rhodes could become my Cyclades city. To think it was to do it - next turn.
In 674 BC, Cyrus declared war on me.
In 596 BC, Sparta popped a GM. I settled him. Sparta also built Rhodes' Settler. I sent him to Athens.
In 590 BC, Athens built a Work Boat; the city needed Food. Sparta started turning out Archers to free up Phalanxes for the coming Macedonian and Roman wars.
In 572 BC my Settler landed on Rhodes. Phoenicia had resettled Phoenicus but its Culture had not yet enevloped the island. In 566 BC I settled Rhodos and set it to working on a Monument. An Archer was on its way to Athens to be ferried across to garrison the new city. I now had four of the provinces required for UHV 2.
In 554 BC I discovered Tyranny and started on Citizenship (26 turns - my war with Alexander would have to be fought with plowshares and pitchforks).
In 500 BC I cleared the decks by making peace with Cyrus and Brennus.
In 494 BC, I Opened Borders with Ramses.
In 476 BC, Alexander declared war. Most of my army, and the Settlers, moved up to fortify on the Forest of Chaeronea. My plan was to kill his Companion Cavalry then retreat while my northern ambush moved south.
In 464 BC the Cavalry arrived. I killed them on the Hill north of my army. One Phalanx was open to counter-attack; I could attempt to reinforce him but I daren't lose men yet. He was a necessary sacrifice to the mass of Macedonian Phalanxes, Hoplites, Sword and Cavary on the Forest Sheep beyond.
Alexander didn't take the bait. In 458 NC I withdrew my army to the site of Thebai; the lucky Phalanx moved onto the Forest. My northern units climbed the Forest Hill W of Argos Orestikon and looked down on a city defended by a Sword and an Archer. My heart sank: Alex's Phalanxes were standing on the Forested Sheep beyond the city.
True to his nature, the AI failed to do the obvious. His units moved away. In 452 BC, my northern detachment razed Argos Orestikon and Alexander's swarms poofed into smoke. My Settlers moved towards their long-selected destinations across a landscape that was suddenly open and safe.
I took stock. I had 32 military units. Half of them were Swordsmen, the cheapest unit I could build - cannon fodder, to use up against Roman walls. At 40% Research, my budget was bleeding.
In 446 BC, UHV 1 was marked YES. the GP Shankara was born in Sparta and built the Labyrinth there. Sparta was working on an extra Settler, for a site I had identified.
In 440 BC, I resettled Calydon in Central Greece. My Macedonian Settlers chopped the Forest on the Hill west of the site of Argos Orestikon, giving it 6 Hammers. In 422 BC, I settled Ulpiana on that Hill to claim Macedonia for my looming UHV 2. In 426 BC, Sparta's Settler headed for Chaeronea, preceded by a pair of Workers to chop the Forest. The city would claim the Olives, the Iron and the Pigs. I didn't need it, but with Alexander gone it was a good site to control.
In 398 BC the Workers finished chopping Chaeronea Hill and the city was settled. In 392 BC, UHV 2 was marked YES.
And then I noticed the oncoming disaster. Hiram's score was 1182, mine was 967. He was profiting from his defeat of Assyria. [ETA: actually he was profiting from a pile of Wonders in Byblos.] Still, maybe I could catch him?
In 362 BC I capture Ravenna. Score 1234 to 1022.
In 344 BC I was stationed outside Arretium, ready to attack, but UHV 3 was marked NO. My score was 1026, but Hiram had 1248. I had not "lost" - I was well on the way to a military victory - but I had missed the UHV.
Stability: Very Solid (52); 28, 20,40, -31, -5.
I watched the doomed Romans rushing around the walls of Arretium. I was on the verge of a great victory! So why did I feel this sudden sadness, the passing of something desirable, an encounter missed, an opportunity lost? I threw down my sword and shield and walked down the Hill towards Ravenna.
UHV 1: This is Sparta!: Control an army of 30 units in 450 BC.
UHV 2: The Peloponnesian War: Be victors in the Peloponnesian War by controlling all of Greece (Peloponese, Attica, Macedonia, Central Greece, Euboea, Cyclades) in 400 BC.
UHV 3: Spartan hegemony: Have the highest score in 350 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map. It's not a win, but I was not actually defeated and I post it as an instructive failure.
UHV 1 - You don't need 30 units to achieve UHV 2, but you do need lots of cities to support 30 units. If you look at the provinces you need to control for UHV 2, half of those units are simply garrisons for the necessary cities. A healthy economy will be required, so you can't ignore Research; but since you have no tech or Wonder UHV, you can cheerfully trade techs the AI wants for techs useful to you.
UHV 2 - Sparta covers the peloponnese. Athens covers Attica. For Macedonia you can use your 30 unit Juggernaut to block Alexander's army till 450 BC, then smash it (using up your extra units), keep him bottled till Argos Orestikon grows, and capture that city. You can also raze Argos Orestikon and settle a new city to take advantage of its resources. You will need one Settler for Central Greece, which tends to get knocked about during the wars. Pick a spot and settle it sometime between 452 and 400 BC. (If you settle it earlier it will flip to Alexander in 458 BC, and we can't have that. I use a dirty little trick to kill Alexander cheaply, but it relies on his flipzone being barren of cities). Euboea also needs a Settler, since it's not enough to cover it with your culture for the UHV; you need a city there. I use my 2nd initial Settler for that. Rome will eventually spawn three Legions there around 206 BC, but that's long after UHV 2 is complete. The Cyclades means a city on one of the two islands between Crete and Anatolia. So, you need three or four Settlers by 400 BC. Not hard; the hard part is still controlling those provinces in 400 BC; the Spartanas are better conquerors than adminstrators. Most of your UHV cities will be on unstable tiles. You have several good tiles in western Central Greece (Ambrakia/Calydon will probably get razed but Dodona on the Sheep 2N gets the Iron; or you can resettle Calydon), but that's about it. You also have one tile in Sicily (E of the Peak) and two in Italy (E of the Stone in the toe, on the Wine in the heel), if you feel like playing Pyrrhus, but Sicily & Italy don't help your UHV.
UHV 3 - If you defeat Athens, Macedonia and Rome and control that mighty empire in 350 BC, this should follow. You may need to build some Wonders along the way.
In my previous Spartan games I focused on nabbing Mycenae and Pylos. Those cities don't exist in 900 BC, and you start the game with Sparta already settled. Therefore you can't play ahistorical razzle-dazzle with your capital or initial cities. Fortunately, Sparta is a pretty good early city, its main deficiency being that its Food soon tops out and it gets hard to grow it enough to make full use of the otherwise magnificent Peloponnese. Eventually you can settle GMs in Sparta to provide extra food, but that takes time. There's not really any place to build a viable second city in there. If you settle Mycenae or the tile north of it, the city flips unconditionally to Alexander in 458 BC because it's not your capital.
Food was a grim priority so I set Sparta to building Brewery->Spartan Camp->Bakery, and sent my Workers to Farm the Wheat. I garrisoned Sparta with one Phalanx and sent my main army and the Settler NE (this is a suicidal tactic against a human player, but the AI is less than a moron). I Opened Borders with Pericles. My initial Research was Priesthood. If I could nab the Oracle, lots of things became possible. I revolted to Oligarchy, Vassalage, Caste System (mysteriously apt for stratified Sparta), Trade, Deification, and Client Kingdoms (1 turn) and set two Citizen Specialists to get two extra early Hammers to help with my Brewery.
Next turn I converted to Hellenism. My army advanced N. My Workers began building a Farm on the Wheat.
In 884 BC my army paused, waiting for Thebai's border pop before advancing NE in 878 BC.
In 872 BC I met and Opened Borders with Hiram. He wouldn't trade Sailing. My Army moved N onto the Marble; the Settler and one Phalanx continued NE, headed for Euboea. I needed a port to build a Coracle to settle the islands, and I needed Euboea for UHV 2. There was a risk Athens' Culture might flip it, but I hoped to fix Athens before then.
In 866 BC the Farm was finished and I switched Sparta's citizen to the Wheat. The Workers moved onto the Sheep, ready to chop and Pasture the tile. I razed Thebai to free up the Pigs in Euboea for Chalkis. Two of my Spartiates Hoplites promoted to City raider I.
In 860 BC I settled Chalkis and set it to building a Monument to counter Athens' Culture. I could see 1-pop Indy Troia across the Ionaian Sea, but it was a long way by land and until I finished with Athens I had to keep my army close to home. My units fortified on the Marble, healing. There were some tempting Wonders available to me - The Pyramids, Stonehenge, Lion Gate, Yasilikaya, Great Bath, Ashurbanipal's Library. Only the Lion Gate and the Bath looked worth the effort, and it was way too soon to splurge my Hammers even on those.
In 806 BC, Brennus declared war on Greece. In 794 BC, Pericles moved his army NW out of Athens along his new Road, leaving two Phalanxes and an Archer in Athens! I waited until one turn after he had disappeared into the fog, then declared war in 776 BC and advanced on Athens.
In 770 BC, my two City Raider-promoted Spartiates killed an Archer and a Phalanx. I had a bad feeling about risking my third, unpromoted Spartiates against the remaining Phalanx defender and in what was probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, I sent in a phalanx of my own. As expected, my Phalanx died. My remaining Spartiates now killed the defending Phalanx and captured Athens. My Spartiates promoted to City Raider I. For the loss of one Phalanx, Pericles was myth, I now controlled three of the six provinces demanded by UHV 2, and my three Spartiates all wore City Raider promotions in addition to the Combat I they had spawned with. Fair enough. Time to start the serious work! I needed 30 units, I needed several Settlers, and I needed at least one Coracle.
In 746 BC, Assyria was destroyed (by a coalition of Phoenicia and Scythia, I discovered later). I discovered Priesthood and inserted the Oracle at the start of Sparta's queue. I started researching Tyranny, which would lead to Citizenship and let me build more Spartiates Hoplites.
In 698 BC I built the Oracle and took Metal casting as my freebie. Now I could build Forges.
In 692 BC my new Coracle ventured forth with a Spartiates on board and discovered that Santorini was covered by Indy Knossos' Culture but that Phoenicus had recently been captured by barbs and thus Rhodes was free. If I razed Phoenicus, Rhodes could become my Cyclades city. To think it was to do it - next turn.
In 674 BC, Cyrus declared war on me.
In 596 BC, Sparta popped a GM. I settled him. Sparta also built Rhodes' Settler. I sent him to Athens.
In 590 BC, Athens built a Work Boat; the city needed Food. Sparta started turning out Archers to free up Phalanxes for the coming Macedonian and Roman wars.
In 572 BC my Settler landed on Rhodes. Phoenicia had resettled Phoenicus but its Culture had not yet enevloped the island. In 566 BC I settled Rhodos and set it to working on a Monument. An Archer was on its way to Athens to be ferried across to garrison the new city. I now had four of the provinces required for UHV 2.
In 554 BC I discovered Tyranny and started on Citizenship (26 turns - my war with Alexander would have to be fought with plowshares and pitchforks).
In 500 BC I cleared the decks by making peace with Cyrus and Brennus.
In 494 BC, I Opened Borders with Ramses.
In 476 BC, Alexander declared war. Most of my army, and the Settlers, moved up to fortify on the Forest of Chaeronea. My plan was to kill his Companion Cavalry then retreat while my northern ambush moved south.
In 464 BC the Cavalry arrived. I killed them on the Hill north of my army. One Phalanx was open to counter-attack; I could attempt to reinforce him but I daren't lose men yet. He was a necessary sacrifice to the mass of Macedonian Phalanxes, Hoplites, Sword and Cavary on the Forest Sheep beyond.
Alexander didn't take the bait. In 458 NC I withdrew my army to the site of Thebai; the lucky Phalanx moved onto the Forest. My northern units climbed the Forest Hill W of Argos Orestikon and looked down on a city defended by a Sword and an Archer. My heart sank: Alex's Phalanxes were standing on the Forested Sheep beyond the city.
True to his nature, the AI failed to do the obvious. His units moved away. In 452 BC, my northern detachment razed Argos Orestikon and Alexander's swarms poofed into smoke. My Settlers moved towards their long-selected destinations across a landscape that was suddenly open and safe.
I took stock. I had 32 military units. Half of them were Swordsmen, the cheapest unit I could build - cannon fodder, to use up against Roman walls. At 40% Research, my budget was bleeding.
In 446 BC, UHV 1 was marked YES. the GP Shankara was born in Sparta and built the Labyrinth there. Sparta was working on an extra Settler, for a site I had identified.
In 440 BC, I resettled Calydon in Central Greece. My Macedonian Settlers chopped the Forest on the Hill west of the site of Argos Orestikon, giving it 6 Hammers. In 422 BC, I settled Ulpiana on that Hill to claim Macedonia for my looming UHV 2. In 426 BC, Sparta's Settler headed for Chaeronea, preceded by a pair of Workers to chop the Forest. The city would claim the Olives, the Iron and the Pigs. I didn't need it, but with Alexander gone it was a good site to control.
In 398 BC the Workers finished chopping Chaeronea Hill and the city was settled. In 392 BC, UHV 2 was marked YES.
And then I noticed the oncoming disaster. Hiram's score was 1182, mine was 967. He was profiting from his defeat of Assyria. [ETA: actually he was profiting from a pile of Wonders in Byblos.] Still, maybe I could catch him?
In 362 BC I capture Ravenna. Score 1234 to 1022.
In 344 BC I was stationed outside Arretium, ready to attack, but UHV 3 was marked NO. My score was 1026, but Hiram had 1248. I had not "lost" - I was well on the way to a military victory - but I had missed the UHV.
Stability: Very Solid (52); 28, 20,40, -31, -5.
I watched the doomed Romans rushing around the walls of Arretium. I was on the verge of a great victory! So why did I feel this sudden sadness, the passing of something desirable, an encounter missed, an opportunity lost? I threw down my sword and shield and walked down the Hill towards Ravenna.
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Autumn Leaf
Since 1992
RFC GW 2.0.2 - 900 BC - Sparta - Monarch - Historical Victory in 344 BC - Score 1589, Dan Quayle
UHV 1: This is Sparta!: Control an army of 30 units in 450 BC.
UHV 2: The Peloponnesian War: Be victors in the Peloponnesian War by controlling all of Greece (Peloponese, Attica, Macedonia, Central Greece, Euboea, Cyclades) in 400 BC.
UHV 3: Spartan hegemony: Have the highest score in 350 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map. I failed the UHV on my first play, I grant that; but I backed up to the defeat of Alexander in 452 BC and played forward from there to see if I could have won it! I had 17 turns to save the world ...
==========
I took stock. I had 32 military units. Half of them were Swordsmen, the cheapest unit I could build - cannon fodder, to use up against Roman walls. At 40% Research, my budget was bleeding.
==========
AND THEN ... instead of going north to destroy caesar, I chose instead to turn east and bring down mighty Phoenicia! I sent runners to tell Athens to build a fleet of Coracles.
==========
In 446 BC, UHV 1 was marked YES and a GP was born in Sparta and built the Labyrinth there. Sparta was working on an extra Settler, for a site I had identified.
As they arrived in Attica I started ferrying units across to Lydia, starting with my Spartiates. Once the first had regained movement, I declared war on Hiram and moved south towards Phoenicus.
In 422 BC I captured Phoenicus, now renamed Selinus.
In 410 BC, I made peace with Julius Caesar. The peace would be eternal, until his future unforgiveable sneak attack in 206 BC. But that was still far away.
In 404 BC I captured Myriandros, now Mallos. Hiram's Score was down to 1109, mine was up to 975. My Spartiates and Phalanxes needed a rest, so I took a pause in 398 and 392 BC while the rest of my army was brought over and moved up to the front. Hiram's score shot up to 1144 while I was on 989. I merged my GG Belisarius with my best Spartiates Hoplite.
In 374 BC my Phalanxes, temporarily detached from the Spartiates, captured Harran to the east. Since the alternative name was blank, I renamed it No Name City. Atheas and Hammurabi popped up to Open Borders; I traded Horse and Elephant domestication with Atheas for Tyranny. From no Name City I could see Nievah to the east, held by Atheas, with a green babylonian border south of it. Further eastward attacks thus seemed likely to be fruitless, so my Phalanxes followed my Spartiates south towards Byblos - which to my surprise was not the Phoenician capital! Scores: Hiram 1121, me 1031.
In 362 BC I captured Byblos and finally passed Hiram in Score: 1146 to 942. I checked my Stability: still Very Solid (40).
in 356 BC, Caesar offered me Sailing for Monotheism and 10 Gold, Done. I discovered Citizenship (I could now build Spartiates Hoplites!). I occupied Byblos in force and advanced seven Swordsmen SE, revealing Tyre, the Phoenician capital, with two Swords, an Axeman, an Archer, and three Biremes. I could see the edge of Phoenician Culture beyond it, so if I could just capture Tyre the enveloping Phoenician Culture around Byblos should vanish. Score: 1266 to Hiram's 938.
In 350 BC, Caesar Opened Borders. I threw my seven Swordmen at Tyre and lost four, but killed the Axe, an Archer and a Swordsman. Scores: my 1266 to Hiram's 925.
In 344 BC the game awarded me the UHV.
Stability: Solid (23); 26, 20, 42, 52, 13.
I sat in burning Byblos, looking south to embattled Tyre. Soon I would take that city. Then I would have to begin unwinding my conquests before my realm's stability was corrupted by the unaccustomed weight of maintaining a military occupation in so many strange lands filled with strange people and queer beliefs. I yearned for the olive trees and wheat fields of Sparta and the quiet loyal helots who maintained them for me.
UHV 1: This is Sparta!: Control an army of 30 units in 450 BC.
UHV 2: The Peloponnesian War: Be victors in the Peloponnesian War by controlling all of Greece (Peloponese, Attica, Macedonia, Central Greece, Euboea, Cyclades) in 400 BC.
UHV 3: Spartan hegemony: Have the highest score in 350 BC.
I played this game on the 900 BC (Greek World) map. I failed the UHV on my first play, I grant that; but I backed up to the defeat of Alexander in 452 BC and played forward from there to see if I could have won it! I had 17 turns to save the world ...
==========
I took stock. I had 32 military units. Half of them were Swordsmen, the cheapest unit I could build - cannon fodder, to use up against Roman walls. At 40% Research, my budget was bleeding.
==========
AND THEN ... instead of going north to destroy caesar, I chose instead to turn east and bring down mighty Phoenicia! I sent runners to tell Athens to build a fleet of Coracles.
==========
In 446 BC, UHV 1 was marked YES and a GP was born in Sparta and built the Labyrinth there. Sparta was working on an extra Settler, for a site I had identified.
As they arrived in Attica I started ferrying units across to Lydia, starting with my Spartiates. Once the first had regained movement, I declared war on Hiram and moved south towards Phoenicus.
In 422 BC I captured Phoenicus, now renamed Selinus.
In 410 BC, I made peace with Julius Caesar. The peace would be eternal, until his future unforgiveable sneak attack in 206 BC. But that was still far away.
In 404 BC I captured Myriandros, now Mallos. Hiram's Score was down to 1109, mine was up to 975. My Spartiates and Phalanxes needed a rest, so I took a pause in 398 and 392 BC while the rest of my army was brought over and moved up to the front. Hiram's score shot up to 1144 while I was on 989. I merged my GG Belisarius with my best Spartiates Hoplite.
In 374 BC my Phalanxes, temporarily detached from the Spartiates, captured Harran to the east. Since the alternative name was blank, I renamed it No Name City. Atheas and Hammurabi popped up to Open Borders; I traded Horse and Elephant domestication with Atheas for Tyranny. From no Name City I could see Nievah to the east, held by Atheas, with a green babylonian border south of it. Further eastward attacks thus seemed likely to be fruitless, so my Phalanxes followed my Spartiates south towards Byblos - which to my surprise was not the Phoenician capital! Scores: Hiram 1121, me 1031.
In 362 BC I captured Byblos and finally passed Hiram in Score: 1146 to 942. I checked my Stability: still Very Solid (40).
in 356 BC, Caesar offered me Sailing for Monotheism and 10 Gold, Done. I discovered Citizenship (I could now build Spartiates Hoplites!). I occupied Byblos in force and advanced seven Swordsmen SE, revealing Tyre, the Phoenician capital, with two Swords, an Axeman, an Archer, and three Biremes. I could see the edge of Phoenician Culture beyond it, so if I could just capture Tyre the enveloping Phoenician Culture around Byblos should vanish. Score: 1266 to Hiram's 938.
In 350 BC, Caesar Opened Borders. I threw my seven Swordmen at Tyre and lost four, but killed the Axe, an Archer and a Swordsman. Scores: my 1266 to Hiram's 925.
In 344 BC the game awarded me the UHV.
Stability: Solid (23); 26, 20, 42, 52, 13.
I sat in burning Byblos, looking south to embattled Tyre. Soon I would take that city. Then I would have to begin unwinding my conquests before my realm's stability was corrupted by the unaccustomed weight of maintaining a military occupation in so many strange lands filled with strange people and queer beliefs. I yearned for the olive trees and wheat fields of Sparta and the quiet loyal helots who maintained them for me.
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Mollitious
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 7, 2021
- Messages
- 1
RFC GW 2.0.2 - Mycenae - Monarch - Historical Victory in 998 BC - Score - Bugged
UHV 1: Build four Tholoi by 1300 BC.
UHV 2: Build the Lion Gate by 1100 BC.
UHV 3: Ensure there are no Barbarian or Independent cities in Lydia or Anatolia in 1000 BC.
Mycenae has two serious hurdles to cross. The four Tholoi is brutal - you can get one in Mycenae and Olympia fairly easily. Producing another settler to settle Athens (work the forest marble) is your third and very manageable. The fourth is the problem. Here are your city options:
Troy - this is most likely your best chance. You will need to conquer Troy anyway, so it works. The problem is the city is absolutely horrible (no food in workable tiles besides a plain grassland and both food resources in the fat cross require AH) and you need the AI to grow Troy so you can capture it. Max hammer rate is four hammers, so you need to capture it eight turns before the deadline to get the UHV 1.
Tanis - Utterly dependent on Egypt, but if you can sneak in and grab it, it should be size 2 or bigger. It will build a Tholoi easily.
If Troy is razed (50%+ of the time) and Tanis is Egypt/well guarded, restart for your own sanity. Check WB to tell. And yes, you do not have time to produce a second settler to get Thebai. At least I'm not good enough to find a way.
And then Lion Gate. Wasset is your biggest enemy. The UV gives you until 1100BC, but Egypt routinely grabs it around the 1310BC date. Do everything possible to get it ASAP - with a forest chop, I believe you can get it in 1292 BC.
1600 BC, settle in Mycenae. Immediately set it to producing a Tholoi. Worker to copper 1N immediately to mine it. The second city differs from the previous report provided - Autumn Leaf settled Thebai. I went for Olympia. You are under a severe time crunch, and Olympia settled on the stone is the definition of a fast start. Your worker will mine the second copper (Mycenae is working Copper and then Fish to build Settler so it needs no more improvements) and with a hooked up fish, is a fantastic site to get Lion Gate ASAP.
Mycenae's build order is Tholoi -> Workbroat -> 1 turn into Eqtoi -> Settler.
Olympia's build order is Tholoi -> Workboat -> Eqtoi (might as well) -> Lion Gate.
Tholoi immediately is the best time to build it as the worker constructs mines, and immediately set research to Masonry. Set your tech to Bronze Working after Masonry for axes. Do not revolt to Hellenism, that turn is precious and you gain no benefit (happiness is not a problem for this run). The loss of a turn can be important for landing Lion Gate. Revolt into Isolationism immediately. Sign peace with Minos in turn 144 so you can send the galley out to get your third city. Here is my 'setup' - the Tholoi is finished in Mycenae. Hattusa has conquered barbarian Troy, unfortunately. Troy will not regrow that population and ended up being razed later.
Fortunately, option 3 prevailed. Tanis was barbarian (not Egyptian!) and it immediately begins building a Tholoi once captured. From here, the 1st UHV is secure. Mycenae at size 2 should work fish and copper to complete the Settler and with the 4h tile, Athens will build your fourth Tholoi.
From here, Olympia begins rushing the Lion Gate and you cross your fingers Egypt's having a bad game. You can complete it by 1290 BC (you should really chop this out earlier using the forests - don't know what I was thinking) and with that, the two most luck dependent goals are done. From here, it's smooth sailing. The last goal does not matter for you. Hattusa protects their cities well enough to where intervention is not needed. The best way to fight the Sea People is axemen - just keep producing them and you'll be fine. I lost Athens (it flipped back eventually) but nothing else, and only my silver mine was pillaged. Olympia and Mycenae can produce units at a good enough clip to where you can reinforce Troy against Sea People easily.
I only researched Masonry, Bronze Working, and Animal Husbandry. Slash and Burn along with Agriculture was got in trades, and Fortifications came from an Assyria tech trade.
Unfortunately, the UHV win is bugged (screenshot provided), but I did win. Mycenae becomes much easier if Egypt is weak like in this game - the Tanis gamble and Lion Gate are possible with a weak Egypt. Most of the difficulty comes from Troy usually being unavailable and Egypt being strong and going on a wonder spree.
(Yes, I wrote this all up mostly to state that Mycenae is bugged, but since Autumn Leaf's report helped me complete this, I figured I should write one to help anyone else trying to figure this out.)
UHV 1: Build four Tholoi by 1300 BC.
UHV 2: Build the Lion Gate by 1100 BC.
UHV 3: Ensure there are no Barbarian or Independent cities in Lydia or Anatolia in 1000 BC.
Mycenae has two serious hurdles to cross. The four Tholoi is brutal - you can get one in Mycenae and Olympia fairly easily. Producing another settler to settle Athens (work the forest marble) is your third and very manageable. The fourth is the problem. Here are your city options:
Troy - this is most likely your best chance. You will need to conquer Troy anyway, so it works. The problem is the city is absolutely horrible (no food in workable tiles besides a plain grassland and both food resources in the fat cross require AH) and you need the AI to grow Troy so you can capture it. Max hammer rate is four hammers, so you need to capture it eight turns before the deadline to get the UHV 1.
Tanis - Utterly dependent on Egypt, but if you can sneak in and grab it, it should be size 2 or bigger. It will build a Tholoi easily.
If Troy is razed (50%+ of the time) and Tanis is Egypt/well guarded, restart for your own sanity. Check WB to tell. And yes, you do not have time to produce a second settler to get Thebai. At least I'm not good enough to find a way.
And then Lion Gate. Wasset is your biggest enemy. The UV gives you until 1100BC, but Egypt routinely grabs it around the 1310BC date. Do everything possible to get it ASAP - with a forest chop, I believe you can get it in 1292 BC.
1600 BC, settle in Mycenae. Immediately set it to producing a Tholoi. Worker to copper 1N immediately to mine it. The second city differs from the previous report provided - Autumn Leaf settled Thebai. I went for Olympia. You are under a severe time crunch, and Olympia settled on the stone is the definition of a fast start. Your worker will mine the second copper (Mycenae is working Copper and then Fish to build Settler so it needs no more improvements) and with a hooked up fish, is a fantastic site to get Lion Gate ASAP.
Mycenae's build order is Tholoi -> Workbroat -> 1 turn into Eqtoi -> Settler.
Olympia's build order is Tholoi -> Workboat -> Eqtoi (might as well) -> Lion Gate.
Tholoi immediately is the best time to build it as the worker constructs mines, and immediately set research to Masonry. Set your tech to Bronze Working after Masonry for axes. Do not revolt to Hellenism, that turn is precious and you gain no benefit (happiness is not a problem for this run). The loss of a turn can be important for landing Lion Gate. Revolt into Isolationism immediately. Sign peace with Minos in turn 144 so you can send the galley out to get your third city. Here is my 'setup' - the Tholoi is finished in Mycenae. Hattusa has conquered barbarian Troy, unfortunately. Troy will not regrow that population and ended up being razed later.
Spoiler :
Fortunately, option 3 prevailed. Tanis was barbarian (not Egyptian!) and it immediately begins building a Tholoi once captured. From here, the 1st UHV is secure. Mycenae at size 2 should work fish and copper to complete the Settler and with the 4h tile, Athens will build your fourth Tholoi.
From here, Olympia begins rushing the Lion Gate and you cross your fingers Egypt's having a bad game. You can complete it by 1290 BC (you should really chop this out earlier using the forests - don't know what I was thinking) and with that, the two most luck dependent goals are done. From here, it's smooth sailing. The last goal does not matter for you. Hattusa protects their cities well enough to where intervention is not needed. The best way to fight the Sea People is axemen - just keep producing them and you'll be fine. I lost Athens (it flipped back eventually) but nothing else, and only my silver mine was pillaged. Olympia and Mycenae can produce units at a good enough clip to where you can reinforce Troy against Sea People easily.
I only researched Masonry, Bronze Working, and Animal Husbandry. Slash and Burn along with Agriculture was got in trades, and Fortifications came from an Assyria tech trade.
Unfortunately, the UHV win is bugged (screenshot provided), but I did win. Mycenae becomes much easier if Egypt is weak like in this game - the Tanis gamble and Lion Gate are possible with a weak Egypt. Most of the difficulty comes from Troy usually being unavailable and Egypt being strong and going on a wonder spree.
Spoiler :
(Yes, I wrote this all up mostly to state that Mycenae is bugged, but since Autumn Leaf's report helped me complete this, I figured I should write one to help anyone else trying to figure this out.)
