SGFN-06: Skull session - what next?

[TheOverseer714]

I think it's time to start the process toward beginning the next round of this series after a resounding victory in India Stomps the World. It seems it came across as "too easy" after a slightly nervous beginning, so we need either a more difficult variant or a higher level. Suggestions so far are 5CC Space, 20k cultural, 1CC Space and several others. Right now, nothing has been decided, so we are wide open to suggestions BTW, there is no such thing as a lurker in this thread, everyone who follows SGs is encouraged to chime in, we need ideas to keep things fresh. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is open...

 

[anaxagoras]

Checking in to see what develops. Personally, I'd like to give demigod a go, but let's see who picks up the thread. I don't want to scare anyone off.

 

[darski]

How about a "Countdown to Armageddon"? (Countdown to Apocalypse) Build 7 cities named:

Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

Oh and since they are in the modern day Turkey, you could play with the Ottomans. (not that that is a favourite of mine or anything

 

[Rodent]

Count my Vote for a Demigod Game, Even though I cant play *now* but I Emperor players would Appreciate another Demigod game to get their feet wet

 

[Northen Wolf]

Even tho I am in sick bed, if public does not oppose, I'd like to join this game too, even as a lurker.

EDIT:
My I ask offer always war on pangea or spaceship on pangea - continents are too simple.

 

[Optional]

Overseer, I was hoping you were gonna put this thread up! It looks like you're gonna leave it to the team what game next?

I already gave some thoughts. Maybe it's best if I repeat them. I'm not so fond of variants with big restrictions, so Always War or One City Challenge wouldn't be my cup of tea, but apart from that I'm not so fuzzed. Northen Wolf's suggestion, Spaceship on Pangaea, sounds fine to me.

I'll repeat the variants I gave earlier, just as a refresher:

* Wide Spacing variant: no town may be placed within a 3-tile hop of one of your other towns.
* Atheism variant: no religious buildings, war must be declared on any Religious civ met. Strictly no peeking on the F10 screen to see who's on the map!
* Hypocritical pacifists variant: no military buildings, war must be declared on any Militaristic civ met (just a variant on the variant).
* Wonder pride variant: must build or capture every wonder that corresponds with the civ's traits. Note: a Wonder Victory is when you lead the histograph when the last wonder is built, so that's very different.
* No units in the AA: only when you hit the Middle Ages you can start to build military units. This is less tricky than you might think.

Each of these variants can be tied in with any victory condition you wish. But you may put them all in the bin, as I don't really care all that much. I hope some new faces will still chime in and say their thing.

 

[anaxagoras]

you could play with the Ottomans.

Why don't you take up the challenge, Darski? Join us. We won't even play demi-god.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Demigod or Emperor with a mild variant, say "forgotten governments", where Monarchy, Republic, and Communism are off the table and Feudalism, Democracy and Fascism are our only choices. Or something some of the gang arrives at, I like the Atheist and Pacifist bit, those might be cool.

 

[anaxagoras]

How about the Wide-Spaced Forgotten-Government Atheistic Wonder-Worshippers? At Demigod (unless Darski agrees to come for the ride, of course).

 

[Optional]

What I like in some of the variants I put up is the 'what's in the box?' aspect of them. As you start the game, you have no idea yet where the game will take you, as it depends on who your opponants are.
When we're going Demigod, variants like 'Atheism' and 'Pacifists' could be too hot to handle. Demigod is not a step up, it's a leap up. I'm all for the Demigod challenge, but we're not ready for that with a tricky variant. I see it as a must to be free in our diplomacy on Demigod.
For Demigod an ordinary Spaceship is probably better. If I was pushed for a vote now I would probably say: Demigod Spacerace, no variant rules.

But I would like to be on board anyway, whatever the variant. More important is that we discuss our opening moves. We are seeing in 'Whistling in the dark' how not to do it; let's learn from that. Opening moves can be played quickly, but perhaps they should be played slower, to allow for team consultation. That's probably more important than the choice of start position. I think, Overseer, you've spoilt us with no less than 5 immaculately presented starting locations previously. That's great, of course, but if 3 is less work, than 3 would do for me.
What I would make more work of is a decent run through of the opening strategy. I remember in 'India stomps the World' we bought Pottery from Germany quite expensively, involving gold per turn. Something like that should probably be brought forward, as there would have been other options, like waiting until meeting another civ for the price to come down. And where to settle towns and what to build in them in the early stages in the game is also quite important. We didn't do bad in playing as a team in 'India stomps the World', I think, so let's try and keep at least that level up.

 

[anaxagoras]

I was, of course, being facetious.

In all seriousness, if we do go with Emperor, I wouldn't mind doing more than one of the variants. I think the folks who have checked in here make a good enough team to handle most things an Emperor game will throw at us.

Which is a pretty good argument for tackling a no-variant DG game. I'd be fine with a straight-up DG space-race. Again, unless someone with less experience wants to join us. I'd be happy to do some kind of teaching game at less difficulty if we get some folks expressing interest.

And I agree with everything Optional said about team play.

 

[TheOverseer714]

And I agree with everything Optional said about team play.

As do I. If we do DG I agree on it being a non variant space game. If we go one or multiple variants, we better stick with Emperor. In the first turn-set we might have a built in holds for team consultation, say turn 10 or 15 to dot-map.

 

[PrinceMyshkin]

The only SG I've played so far is SGOTM13 and it appears I have time to give at least one SG a try. I'd like to play if you need more and I would be comfortable on DG with any civ and start, I think. I could probably keep up a good pace on my turn-sets, but I like the idea of discussing things a bit before committing ourselves.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Welcome aboard, Prince! I see your stuff in the HoF and xotms, you could teach us all a thing or two. I think the newbie thing fits someone who has only done one SG, even though your skill-set is that of an expert. I look forward to your contribution.

 

[darski]

Sorry guys... I have modded my game to play my way and I am so bad at SG's anyway. I would like to see you stretch a bit and try the straightforward Demigod game. I think you are ready and it would be a learning curve for some of us as well.

I'm not suggesting that it be a TDG but just the talk you will need to figure out what to do next will be instructive.

 

[PrinceMyshkin]

I've certainly played a lot of CivIII and learned a lot lurking SG's and at CFC in general, but I'll likely learn some things as well. Hardly a week or a game goes by where I don't learn a thing or three, even on lower levels.

It looks like the general call is to try DG space race. I think we could handle a pangaea with a random civ, good start or not. The larger the map the better as well although some have issues with playing times on large and huge maps. We should not only play and discuss things to win, but also challenge ourselves to win as fast as possible. If most of us want to choose our civ and game settings we could start discussion here about what is best to try for a fast spaceship on DG.

 

[Northen Wolf]

I'm have never played anything above emperor and I should get out of hospital soon. But if it is one step above emperor (that I usually beat or end second place) I'd be happy to play. I don't like atheist or religious variants. I Like pangea as thec speed is fast and it is harder (securing your own continent is easy).

 

[Aabraxan]

I want to see what you come up with for SGFN-06, so here's my subscription post. Whatever it turns out to be, good luck!

 

[Optional]

I welcome you joining us, PrinceMyshkin. Players of any level would be welcome, but if we're trying Demigod it would make a difference if at least one of us is comfortable at that level (that is, if I'm right in assuming that Overseer, Anaxagoras, Rodent and now as well Northen Wolf are all mainly Emperor players).
I'm playing Demigod myself now, but I'm still only trying to get to terms with it. My experience is that there's a big difference between Emperor and Demigod. In my games I've had to throw quite a few things out of the window. Wide spacing, Ancient Age wonders and the Republic slingshot all had to go, I'm afraid.

I don't really care which civ we're taking, although, based upon my personal experiences, starting with Alphabet would be a big help in the early game.
I think we've already more or less agreed on Pangaea, and other game settings, well, I really don't have any strong feeling about anything in particular here. Barbarians are stronger on Demigod, so we might not want to put om raging straight away.
For government I would suggest going Republic. I expect we will need to fight a few tough wars, much tougher than what we had in 'India stomps the World', but I still consider Republic the government of choice for going Space on Demigod.

 

[Delphi456]

I've never been in an SG (but read some) and would like to try.

My history: Emperor/DG level player; usually play agri civs (Mayan or Sumeria); VC is always conquest; played some huge maps but have lately stuck with standard map (pangea or conts, never arch); only wonders are ToE and Hoover, but I've done JS Bach a couple times; usually do republic sling-shot, tried monarch a few times; leave culture-flips 'on'; set barbs to sedintary.

If people think conts is too easy, how about an arch map? Pangea is so boring (send two boats in opposite directions and eventually you meet everyone). Plus, pangea eliminates the need for navy and air force. I would think arch would make the game tougher because you can't just sit back and rex your way through the AA. I'd also like to try a gov't other than republic or monarchy - maybe fascism or communism. Also like to try a tier-3 civ instead of a powerhouse civ. A non-agri civ would be a nice change. But, whatever the group decides......