I'm about to be in one VERY soon, as in just over 20 turns. Playing as the Americans, Monarch difficulty (renamed to New Normandy...it's good to be

), and at the moment, I have a massive Aztec empire on my doorstep. I dealt with the Iroquois, even got these Aztecs to assist (possibly a mistake). The continent is more or less split in two - there's this inland sea, and on both sides of it, I've been building Barricades to discourage further Aztec reinforcements to their newly conquered territories (previously Iroquois settlements which were previously Japanese

). I managed to deal with the main part of the Iroquois empire, mind you, so I have a great centre of production, and hefty conquered territories, but they make up the south east of my empire. The Aztecs are to the southwest and west, as are the settlements they conquered from the Iroquois... I'm fed up of the Aztecs, basically. They have a massive army, it keeps growing and I only just held my own in the last war with them, centuries ago now (it's now 1080AD), and I believe back then Fortresses/Barricades are what discouraged them from advancing further (I effectively pushed them back to the inland sea I mentioned earlier). The current building projects should seal the land bridges, but there are more than enough Aztec forces on my end to pose a dire threat.
So, Golden Age hit me just recently (built Copernicus' Observatory...darn Mayans stole Leonardo's Workshop, and with ONE turn to go too! I suppose I shouldn't be too angry, though, I switched to the Observatory and got it in a single turn and this Golden Age

). I'm building up three separate armies to strike at the Aztecs. Lemme see...15 Medieval Infantry, 7 Longbowmen, 7 Trebuchets...possibly 5/6 Musketmen also in each army. If they want a war, they got one!
But, you know...even the best laid of plans can be ruined.
I fear this will be the pre-requisite to a full-scale war the likes of which I have never fought in this game, and I'll definitely need to hold the seas and those land bridges. The seas because the Aztecs have an actual navy (but I can navigate Sea squares, so I can blockade, or at least delay, any naval transports). The land bridges because...well...you ever seen Star Trek Deep Space Nine, and the episodes when they mine the mouth of the wormhole to stop the Dominion bringing further reinforcements into the Alpha Quadrant? It's like that, it really is. I make no assumptions it will be easy, so that's why I am building these (possibly overkill) stacks of doom. Better to be safe than sorry! I just dread starting the war, and where the Aztecs will send their forces...