America BTS Monarch
I finally got the American UHV. I started as Mali. I was actually going for the Mali UHV, but realized I was no where close to getting it around 1400 or so, (I lost a city to Impi, other probs), so I rode it out and flipped to America.
It is hard to give an exact America strategy because the starts can be so different, but assuming you do not "cheat", you will probably get a start like mine. England and France were in the USA in their usual places (France in NE Canada and New Orleans, and England on the East Coast... although the French may also have had Savannah... can't remember). But, I got lucky in that there was no super-power (often Germany is a huge super-power), and England AND France were weak. France actually collapsed before I had to declare war for N.O. (Savannah flipped).... and England collapsed pretty quick.
So, here are some generic suggestions:
1) Get a decent start. If you see on start that England is really powerful AND they already have a city on the West Coast, give it up. Or if Germany is way ahead in tech, or whatever. America is hard. With a bad starting position it is just a waste of time.
2) You will get extra units one turn after the start (as most of you know) when the cities flip. Take out England first. So....
3) If it looks safe, send 1 galleon immediately around Africa and to Asia to make contact with all the non-Euro civs, good chances for tech trades there. Move 1 settler and 1 rifle toward Chicago and settle it (between the two cornfields). This will be an awesome city for you. Lots of forest to chop and good cottage spam, and it will grow super quick. Move the missionary to Washington and found Christianity. Turtle the other settlers in Washington for the moment. Move all military units north to take out England. I usually adopt Slavery and Representation and Organized religion and Occupation. I think slavery and occupation are a must.
4) Bee-line for democracy. Take physics if someone offers it or you can buy it. Airships help a lot, both in softening up cities, and they help out your navy. You'll never be able to kill an English frigate or SoL without some air attacks. (The English ships have too many promotions).
5) If the English have "York-Factory" I would raze it, but it is kind of a 50/50 thing. But if you are successful you will have soooooo many cities, and York-Factory sucks.
6) You made need to consider Geo-politics. Depending on the world set up, and how long it is taking you to kick the English out, you might stop your war with them but leave them one city. You'll have to take it out later, but if you leave only one city, and it is a small one (in tundra, either a York-Factory or in Newfoundland), it will not grow much, and they will not really re-inforce it. Otherwise, kick England out and then go for France. Workers should build lots of mines and factorys around Washington and NY for future wonder building. And leave some forest for chopping. Chop them once you start the statue of liberty. Any GP's should focus on Engineers cause they can rush your wonders.
7) Once you are confident that the English or French are not the threat to the middle of the continent, send out the settlers to found cities in the middle. It'll depend on your exact situation, but you'll see the good spots. There is gold in the north if you need it, and settling a Sante Fe or Houston is good for the oil. Try to keep your cities well spaced out. You want to settle as few as possible. Assuming there is no one on the west coast save one settler to found either San Fran or Vancouver as soon as possible. It is a real pain to get units over there if you have to take out someone.
8) If there is someone on the west coast already, consider taking central america (often to can get the independent city Chic Izeta (something) in a World Congress), and building a fort to make a Panama Canal.). Dog Soldiers will be a pain in the middle of the USA and in N.O., but on the west coast they are usually not a problem. Anyway, you do not have to develop the west coast right away, just get a city to block others, so you can hunker down in the city for a while. (no workers or improvements for the Dog Soldiers to plunder, and a rifleman in the city can easily hold off three dog soldiers per turn)
9) Keep slavery for a long time, certianly until you finish the pentagon. Try to get a settler into the Caribean to block the Spanish there. If you need to take out the Spanish in Central America or Carib, don't neglect Galleons.
10) If you bee-line all the techs for the Statue, the Pentagon and The UN you should be OK on those. A good tactic is to keep the Euros at war with each other as much as possible, to stop them from building any of them. So watch where the Euros are in tech, and if one offers to got to war against another one, and asks you along, and it looks like they are not a threat, well take it (example, Russia asks you to fight Germany, and Germany already has Assembly Line.....)
11) The hardest thing is getting the Euros out of N and C America. If you can get that you are probably going to make it, though you can lose out in the wonders race by a few turns, so save a lot, in case you miss the Pentagon by one turn, you can always reload and whip it.
12) Once you have the Pentagon and the Euros are out of the Americas, you can change civs. It will kind of depend on your situation (have a lot of vassals, then Vassalage)....
The final thing is to get the 10 oil resourses. Suggestions:
1) If they offer, take Egypt as a vassal. If they don't, keep asking them! Egypt makes a great jumping off point for an invasion of Arabia for the oil.
2) Start planning to invade Arabia (and Turkey probably), in 1900. You need a good navy, and flight. You can build Galleons in 1900 and upgrade them later.
Once you get flight, build some airports and start flying in units to Egypt. Get a naval force ready to take at least 12 units by sea.
3) There is oil in the ocean in indonesia (Borneo?). Get some workers and chop a space next to the oil for a settler. Settle there and build up the island. Put some navy and strong units there if Japan is strong. If not you may risk it. You don't need to take the oil until the last moment.
4) Run a settler up to North Alaska and get the oil there, you can also get gold.
5) Usually I cannot get Spain to let me open border into the med, so I have to go around Africa to transport troops to Arabia. I like Marines for naval assaults and paratroopers to airlift into Egypt. I never really used paratroopers until I played America. But if you can get 3-5 of them in one city and then air-drop them behind the enemy onto a nice plot of land--say a plantation or an iron mine-- it can be quite useful. If you get radio and bombers you can use less artillery, otherwise you'll need that too. Probably the Arabs, if not already, will capitulate to the Turks once you start taking their cities. So you will need to declare war on Turkey. One idea is to try to get the Arabs to capitulate to you first. You will need to take out the Turks to get all the oil, so having Egypt and Arabia on your side will help a lot. Plus, it is more cities to fly in support to. In my game (and so I assume this is true) I did not have to have the oil in my territory, it counted the oil I had in Arabia which was my vassal. And, as soon as you get enough oil, you win. You do not have to wait until 2000.
Oh, and I gift techs to Egypt and Arabia to build them up so their armies are actually useful. With the oil in America (incl in the gulf of Mexico and Alaska), the oil in Borneo, and all the mid-east oil you should get 10.
Comments?
Ryry
