SGOTM 12 - One Short Straw

[babybluepants]

T178 - 1180 AD
Switch EP to Roosevelt
Build Confu shrine in Fish - 17gpt
Trade: Optics for 340g + World Map (Roosevelt)
Trade: Rice for 1gpt (Churchill)

T179 - 1190 AD
Mao moves a catapult to Shanghai-1S
The HA LC marked up in China doesn't seem to exist, but he just built one in Nanjing
Bananas gets Confu spread
3 Swords, 1 Archer, 1 Catapult, 1 Galley and 1 Buddhist Missionary in Lyons - Churchill can take it IBT, I think. He has 2 cats + 6 units.
Trade: Philosophy for Peace w DG + 80g (Churchill)
Roosevelt actually has Philosophy as of this turn, and Gandhi's got Gunpowder. Traded, I guess...
Draft muskets from Bananas and Bermuda

T180 - 1200 AD
China:
Not good. Mao managed to move in an extra catapult, so I don't have enough maces to take Guangzhou. Lose 5 Trebs charging. Kill all but one red-lined HA. There's an HA in Chengdu that could make it in this IBT, and Guangzhou is building a caravel (ofc ). Next turn, but I'm not too happy with these losses. I screwed up not taking another mace, but there's too much to cover with two cities and two groups of workers...
Also, take an annoying cat with the musket (stupid, but it was hurting my pike in Shanghai), and it's redlined as a consequence with a HA lurking around. The pike will be able to take it right after, but we'll lose the musket for sure.
Also lost the trireme to a caravel at the Shanghai seafood. Fortified it there with a combat galley backup. Galley took out the injured caravel after.
Even uglier: decide to take the HA out with the pike, lose at 85%. Take it out with a backup mace. I've only won at 90+ and lost 3-4 straight at 60+.
Other:
Not much to report. DG doesn't have any new units. I'm taking a smoke break right now and I'll think about whether I wanna take him right away... Tricky business with unit availability. Edit: screw it, reinforcing China. We'll take Lyons later.
Washington and NYC have lots of hammers going.
Trade: Deer for 1gpt (Gandhi)

T181 - 1210 AD
Nothing IBT.
Take Guangzhou with no further losses. Intelligence Agency survives.
Ceasefire with Mao.
Gift St Nick.
Steal Communism - success! (cost was 1048ep)
Made a big mistake - I was pre-farming around GP and finished two by accident.
Good enough for tonight...

 

[Mitchum]

Looks good so far. As a suggestion, you may want to try to update the test game as you go and things are fresh in your mind...

 

[babybluepants]

Intermediate save's uploaded. Report above up to date. Not ideal play on my part and some bad RNG, but we've got Communism.

Roosevelt's not doing anything in Chengdu, so I'll have to see if I can quickly regroup and go take that. We may be a bit short of units now, I think. At least he can;t build any more HA's.

 

[babybluepants]

Just loaded up the save quickly to buy Roosevelt's map. Nothing yet...

 

[babybluepants]

I built a mace to recapture St Nick, btw. I'll take it when I'm ready to move towards Chengdu.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Well, bbp, I think you did a great job capturing Guangzhou in 3t! Maybe you could have saved the last treb. Did you check the odds of a CRIII mace against the lb, instead of our treb? I had really good odds in a similar situation, but I don't konw how damaged the lb was in your case. (Just a possiblity for next time.)

We had great luck: We kept the IA, got Communism, Roosy researched Corporation(!!!) and Churchill founded Oxford on the right tile! All far more important than trebs we expected to lose anyway.

Our Steel research and Roosy EPs are so far behind that I would still go for Chengdu before Hangzhou, because Chengdu under-defended but is far more able to quickly build reinforcements. It also depends on what Mao does with those two lbs in the field.

Onward!

Thoughts:
1. Let's research at 100% every chance we get. AIs might steal our treasury, which is about the worst thing they could do to us.
2. Cities.
Pigs: I agree with mdy. Let's build the market faster. I'd go 8 base hammers for now, with the rest merchants. We can get the market done in 5t that way, assuming a GA in 3t.
GP: The GP-NE tile needs only 2t to wkshp, so you can have 2 more wkshps done next turn and still get the GT in 4t.
Bananas: Will be unhappy at pop9, so I'd work all hammer tiles, including the ivory, to get the forge done in time for pop9.
Rheims: MM the tiles.
Bcool Island: Needs wkshps sooner than The Crabbes needs any more tiles improved.
St Nick: I thought we decided to leave Mao there for now. No need for that mace to re-capture it and it will just add to our WW, which is 196 against Mao and rapdily increasing.
Shanghai: Don't chop that second forest this turn or we convert hammers to gold. (There was some inconclusive discussion about using these forests for an FP, btw.)
3. Are you sure you need those Maces SE of Shanghai for Mao, rather than Lyons? You migh be ready to go down on Lyons in a few turns. Lyons built walls, btw.

Comment: Since we CFed Mao, it wasn't necessary to move all our units into Guangzhou. The Maceman 3(Fish) 6.6/8HP, for example, would have gained 20HP in the IT and would be fully healthy next turn. Just food for thought, bbp, not a criticism. I have often moved units around a little quicker than I should have right before or after battles, so I have learned to think carefully about all of the ramifications.

Looking good to me. I see no reason to not continue.

 

[babybluepants]

Well, bbp, I think you did a great job capturing Guangzhou in 3t! Maybe you could have saved the last treb. Did you check the odds of a CRIII mace against the lb, instead of our treb? I had really good odds in a similar situation, but I don't konw how damaged the lb was in your case. (Just a possiblity for next time.)

I took an initial catapult hit, which I didn't report, I guess. 4 maces were injured and I didn't want any risk for any of them. I still needed two treb hits to redline - one survived.

Let's research at 100% every chance we get. AIs might steal our treasury, which is about the worst thing they could do to us.

Good point. I generally do (like this turn), but I guess there's no reason to go binary here. Might as well break even.

Pigs: I agree with mdy. Let's build the market faster. I'd go 8 base hammers for now, with the rest merchants. We can get the market done in 5t that way, assuming a GA in 3t.

Ok.

GP: The GP-NE tile needs only 2t to wkshp, so you can have 2 more wkshps done next turn and still get the GT in 4t.

Yeah, I was gonna re-workshop.

Bananas: Will be unhappy at pop9, so I'd work all hammer tiles, including the ivory, to get the forge done in time for pop9.

Ok.

Shanghai: Don't chop that second forest this turn or we convert hammers to gold. (There was some inconclusive discussion about using these forests for an FP, btw.)

Missed that discussion. No, I won't finish the other chop.

Are you sure you need those Maces SE of Shanghai for Mao, rather than Lyons? You migh be ready to go down on Lyons in a few turns. Lyons built walls, btw.

Yeah, I think I should attack DG. Agreed? I can transport those maces via galley. I think I'd DOW in T+1, for capture in T+3-4.

Bcool Island: Needs wkshps sooner than The Crabbes needs any more tiles improved.

I know. I miscalculated the worker turns, I'll workshop for growth.

Comment: Since we CFed Mao, it wasn't necessary to move all our units into Guangzhou. The Maceman 3(Fish) 6.6/8HP, for example, would have gained 20HP in the IT and would be fully healthy next turn. Just food for thought, bbp, not a criticism. I have often moved units around a little quicker than I should have right before or after battles, so I have learned to think carefully about all of the ramifications..

What do you gain by this? Saves on unit supply, I'll need 2t for full healing if we want that, and I can move on Chengdu in the same number of turns. Maybe should've left the GG with the other stack - that was a hasty move - but I don't think it makes a difference really.

 

[babybluepants]

The two loose LBs came from Chengdu and Hangzhou respectively, btw. I'm assuming they'll return.

 

[LowtherCastle]

What do you gain by this? Saves on unit supply, I'll need 2t for full healing if we want that, and I can move on Chengdu in the same number of turns. Maybe should've left the GG with the other stack - that was a hasty move - but I don't think it makes a difference really.

Maybe nothing and you're right, supply cost is a relevant consideration. I was looking at the possibility of re-DoWing and hoping that Mao would suicide an lb or two, but that stack is way too exposed, so there's no way. Anyway, mostly it was just an observation I was making at an opportune moment. Nothing more really.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Looks like CHurchill is sending a GM on a trade mission. That's a golden opportunity for us to possibly score a huge gold trade from him. Keep a close eye on that.

One galley between GP Farm and Marseilles will get muskets to Tours 2t faster.

Trebs from Moscow get to Tours 3t faster via the Orleans galley chain than on foot.
.

 

[bcool]

I was wondering if we might want to kill the great merchant with a war declaration on Churchill. I guess are not prepared to handle all his units near us. Preventing him from upgrading all his units with that gold was what I was thinking, but he probably will upgrade his units regardless. But killing those archers while they are archers would be so much nicer.

Getting a good chuck of that gold in trade would be better if we can do it without giving away anything useful to him.

 

[babybluepants]

Yeah, I saw the merchant. We should take that gold in trade. I don't mind giving him any tech if it gets us through this patch of tech/espionage significantly quicker.

Edit: I totally jumbled up the galley moves between Galley City and Paris, rethinking my plans for Lyons continuously. Yes, I'll chain it properly over the next couple of turns.

 

[babybluepants]

So, the plan is to go after Chengdu next. We've lost the city visibility now. He was building HA's in all 3 cities before I took Guangzhou. Can't continue on that, so what happens exactly? Hammers lost, right? Would you guys just go next turn or finish healing? I think next turn - any further delays just let him build more LB's, and we should be ok for capture against 4-5 LB's.

Buy Roosevelt's map every turn now? I think I'd lay off for another turn, then try.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Buy Roosevelt's map every turn now? I think I'd lay off for another turn, then try.

He needs 13 tiles to defog for us. That's 5t. Our caravel will defog 2 tiles on the 5th turn, so we should be safe if we trade CHurchill Paper and he trades his maps to Roosy. Barely.

We shouldn't need to see Roosy maps for at least 3t.

We should be safe to trade Churchill Paper + Engineering for his gold. But no matter what, take all the gold he has to offer. I think we only get a 1t window, then it vanishes forever.

EDIT: Actually, I think there's one turn in between where Roosy would circumnavigate... So it all depends on what he does next turn.

 

[LowtherCastle]

So, the plan is to go after Chengdu next. We've lost the city visibility now. He was building HA's in all 3 cities before I took Guangzhou. Can't continue on that, so what happens exactly? Hammers lost, right? Would you guys just go next turn or finish healing? I think next turn - any further delays just let him build more LB's, and we should be ok for capture against 4-5 LB's.

I don't see it. You have two full-strength CRII trebs and 1 CRII with about 92HP (after upgrading to CRII) you can move on Chengdu next turn. Including the two trebs in SHanghai and the two east of SHanghai, you have 8 CRII trebs total to deal with Chengdu and Hangzhou. That's a bare minimum and inadequate if you have bad luck as with Guangzhou.

I see two choices. Either wait till the two from the Shanghai tile can move on Hangzhou, or one turn later, when they can move on Chengdu. I prefer Chengdu, as I've said.

And you definitely need the two TREBS from the east of Shanghai for Mao...

 

[babybluepants]

I still have to look at logistics more closely... This is where we should probably bombard one turn, hit next. I think we can move the healthy trebs and maces next turn for this purpose, then catch up with others. Yes, we're short on troops. I'm not sure how it will play out. He doesn't have HA's anymore and is spread out - I can start to leave cities and workers unprotected in cases, which helps a bit.

The two trebs from E of Shanghai are def. going to China, but I was gonna use the next two on Lyons.

 

[babybluepants]

We should be safe to trade Churchill Paper + Engineering for his gold. But no matter what, take all the gold he has to offer. I think we only get a 1t window, then it vanishes forever..

Ok. Engineering gives him 3-move roads, which is nasty. I kinda expect him to self-tech it by the time it matters to us, so trading it should be ok.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Ok. Engineering gives him 3-move roads, which is nasty. I kinda expect him to self-tech it by the time it matters to us, so trading it should be ok.

Sorry, my mistake, I meant Machinery + Paper.

 

[babybluepants]

Sorry, my mistake, I meant Machinery + Paper.

Shouldn't post without referring to save, I guess...

I'll play about same time as last night (in 5-ish hrs). Post comments 'till then, if you have anything more. Intend to go 6-8 turns, stopping if major events/surprises. At that point, we might wanna have a closer look at the Churchill-SOD or lack thereof.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Good luck!