N played a strong set of moves, exploring the northwest passage that enabled me to get circumnavigation this round, and discovered Iron/Horses. I salute you.
625: Inherited turn. Cancel all movement orders, begin massive troop movements everywhere. We cannot afford to sit idly by in cities. We're pirates, we're raiders, we will who fight in the enemy hills overlooking their cities. Will fight in jungles blockading their path to us. We will fight and conquer our way overseas!
I grumble a lot but settling landbound is not a bad move. We can work on archers earlier, and cabin boy gets something to do.
Madrid: We don't need a second workboat right now. Archer immediately. Cancel that and move it to the end of build queue. We can afford to let it decay. Workboat isn't a priority as we have a workboat almost complete with circumnavigation, and galley on en route home.
Barcelona: Swap Obelisk to Archer. Queue orders for Sassy from Barcelona to support Desperate Dan, the archer next to Kyoto. Bo jangles will start the next turn, when Norm comes home to drink and 'protect' madrid. I don't want unhappiness. Archer in 3 turns.
Cabin boy will fiinish the farm, then begin a mine. Barc will grow a turn faster once the farm finishes, just in time for the mine.
Yar'inestVesselThatBe: Head southwest around that island instead of north. We're getting close to the polar ice caps. I don't want that that to blockade us.
Galley: Now named mermaid's luck, cancelled movement orders. I think YVTB can circumnavigate alone.
Lizzie: Negotiate Open borders. We'll try to convert her to us later.
HC: Nothing to do. We'll convert later.
Cathy: Hates us. Nothing to do.
Darious: Cancel orders for two moves, and move only onto the desert hill, then he'll head back east to fogbust.
I am not happy with the troop movements in the previous turns. We've lost the blockade. I'll remedy this. We need an active blockade, not city defenders. I cannot stress this enough. We cannot afford our troops to be sitting at home waiting for enemies to come to us. We need to keep Japan on the defensive and intercept any incoming pillagers in the jungle before they make it to our improvements.
600BC (1): Wheel discovered. Judaism spread to Barc.
Yar'inestVesselThatBe: Moves southwest and discovers copper on grassland hills.
Mermaid's luck: Moves southwest, and discovers a second source of Iron next to the sheep. Lucky indeed! We have a 4th settle position.
After some thought, I decide to start researching metal casing. Reason? Our rivals are more likely to get alphabet than we are, and it is too late to bee line for an early alphabet. Besides that, we don't have much to trade at this point, most worker techs are likely to be learned or traded, and the rest are too valuable. Since this is a sea map, we also need to value colossus greatly.
Barcelona: Switched from working lake to working grassland forest. This saves us a turn building great lighthouse. With the -1 health problems killing one food, and two food for next pop, we won't get more production out of a new pop growth.
Japan: Has moved an archer from Kyoto towards us for Pillaging duty. Bo jangles moves to intercept via jungle blockade. We absolutely NEED this blockade.
575 (2): Japan notices we're advancing, and japan instead returns his pillage duty archer back home to defend kyoto rather than raid.. Whew. We NEED to keep him on the defensive.
Mermaid's luck notes the land north is pretty harsh but for the sheep. That'll allow us some production from the Iron Mine
550 (3):
Madrid archer complete. GLH work begun. 15 turns. We're going to lose stonehenge, but I've been convinced SH is a bad idea, and GLH is far more powerful for this map. Pottery done next turn, due to being required for Metal Casing. Additional trade routes may also spread our religion(s) faster.
TYVTB: Heads west and southwest. A small island will allow us circumnav next turn.
525 (4):
HC converts to Bhuddism. We'll have to keep this in mind. We only get -2 relations, probably for having his Holy city. I am not sure.
Japan decides to send another archer to pillage after all. He hasn't moved his worker yet. That is good. Oh no. He might want to guard that Iron. Move Dan southwest to counter once we get bo jangles here. We cannot allow Japan to get to that Iron!
500 (5): Circum bonus. Huzzah! Three movement galleys is so sweet. That's +50% movement.
Archer from Kyoto retreats again. Whew. I notice Japan has expanded north of his position. So long as we deny him iron, we can still keep an advantage until we can get iron ourselves.
TYVTB starts heading back towards Lizzie, hoping to explore her territory with the new Open Borders agreement. Metal casing in 22 turns.
Sassy moves next to Osaka, onto the Jungle/Hill tile, and promoted to combat I. She'll be used to intercept anything that comes from Osaka. If Sassy is attacked next turn, she'll be able to fend off up to two defenders, and should be promoted to cover for anti-archers. Osaka has 3 archers, one warrior. I have a choice to move the Madrid archers north to support Sassy, or east to maintain the Iron denial. Kyoto has a road toward that iron, that means Japan can get an archer to the iron resource within two turns, and a worker within one--but since I moved Dan southwest, he won't risk moving his worker onto the Iron
I decide to move Madrid's archer north after all. I don't want to risk losing Sassy, and Bo Jangles will likely be able to hold off the Iron mine--but will not be able to pillage the road leading toward the Iron mine. Japan has three City Garrison I archers there, and a combat I archer. He plans to fight with that combat I archer. Let's not let him get the chance.
I stress. We do not have enough military to defend everywhere. We do not have enough military to attack. We DO have enough military, with careful manuevering, to keep Japan off balance, and hold him off from Iron (key resource).
475 (6) Japan moves his combat I archer into the forest tile southwest, next to the iron. We cannot bluff him much anymore. If he gets that combat I archer down there, and fortifies, we aren't going to be able to displace him. Desperate dan will earn his name, with promotions useless to grassland defense, he'll go southward --- unless this is a trick to get onto the hills tile on our north where dan is. What a choice. Dan will... If the Japan gets onto the Iron mine, Bo jangles will promote to combat I and attack, and likely die. Then we'll just have to hope Dan can finish the combat I archer off. Madrid archer is moving to support, but needs four turns.
Cabin boy onto plains tile and mining. Done in 4. TYVTB en route to Lizzie. Drake made it to the eastern hill, and is now heading back west to fogbust that way.
450 (7):
Desperate Dan dies, but weakens the japanese archer enough for Bo Jangles to finish him off. It is not good. Another archer combat I moves into the forest east of us. Let's pray he doesn't attack.
Sassy is attacked next to Osaka and survives. As predicted, AI's only attack with 'spare' units, not everything. Sassy promotes to cover.
425 (8): Every moment of respite is needed. I wish I moved Madrid's archer eastward earlier. This is a dangerous situation, even with cover.
I should've done this last turn. Sassy begins heading towards Bo jangles.
TYVTB discovers York and lizzie has copper mine next to it with a spearman guarding.
400 (9) Bo Jangles survives a combat I archer attack, barely. 0.3 Strength left. Cabin boy finishes mine, and Barcelona will have an archer in two turns. Merlaid's luck will park next to Barcelona, to quickly transport the archer there next turn to Tokugawa's Iron mine. Mermaid's luck can get there in as little as four turns.
375 (10): Stonehenge Fidal. Looking at the info screen, Russia had the oracle, england has stonehenge. Russia having a Holy shrineable GPP production isn't a good thing, but stonehenge being in English, not russian territory is a good one.
Madrid is trading with London. That is a good thing. Possibility of religion spreading to London that way. Barcelona trading with York, even more chance of religion spread Lizzie before Cathy spreads confucianism.
GLH Done in 8 turns, Madrid will grow pop in 10 turns, requiring 10 food. Roading requires will be complete in 3 turns, 7 food left then at 2 food pt, so four turns at that point. Madrid growth in 7 turns total when we road corn.
Since judaism spread to Barcelona, culture was produced every turn, borders will expand next turn. We can build a workboat in as little as 6 turns, or an archer in 5. I suggest a workboat then archer, as Barcelona will grow in 3 turns.
Liq, you absolutely need to continue moving Sassy to support Bo Jangles. Although I do enjoy telling people what to do, and I generally respect different decisions if they can be made to our advantage, I ask you do not argue with my decision on this. That Iron Mine denial is too important. You need archers fortified there fast establish a permanent military force there. Look below for the suggested galley motion on the matter. Japan has 3 cities. We have 2. Japan produces archers all the time, we're busy holding our own for a GLH. Our advantage is the 3 movement Galley, early trade routes, archers in key positions and religion. We can do this, but every turn matters.
You'll have to pull an advance galley move. Move the archer onto the galley, move the galley towards the Iron Mine, and move the archer off the galley just as the galley uses its last movement points.
Feel free to delay GLH in madrid for one archer, but don't delay it any more than that. We aren't facing industrious civs, but delaying GLH any more than that. We need this wonder, unlike oracle or stonehenge, GLH will serve us for most of the game.
Osaka has had 2-4 turns of archer production at 2 Hammer total. That's around 8 out of likely 23 complete. You'll have 7 turns before Osaka produces another archer. In Barcelona, I've queued an archer after this current to counter the one in Osaka. Once the Iron Mine designated archer is built, you need to get an archer to brown dot ASAP, whether from Barc or Madrid (delaying GLH).
I am worried for our civilization, but we have a STRONG fighting chance if we can hold the Iron Mine away from Japan, and establish a presence at Brown and Orange dot jungles. I bet there's an archer on the gems mine but he won't likely attack. He might, but AI's usually value defending essential resources and there's another in production
Cathy is willing to offer Open borders. I leave it to you to decide whether to take it or not.
. Although we may need most of our military at home.
At least Toku doesn't have them.
