Turn Log
Preturn - Micromanage Karakorm to receive +1 commerce, allowing us to reduce the tech to 10% and receive 1 more gold per turn in the bank. Still at 2 turns to grow and 3 to pop the settler. (moved from Bonus Grassland to Flood Plains).
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IBT - Arab scout walks onto mountains west of Karakorum.
2900BC - Move scout north of Mecca to see what the Arabs have above their city.
Southern scout find another 3 Wines south of the other two.
Warrior fortified in Karakorum to serve as settler escort.
IBT - Worker finishes irrigating Flood Plains. Karakorum reaches size 5, will grow in 2 turns (+5 food

). Arabs build Medina on the COW!? at the southern end of the little pond south-west on Mecca (It has 3 bg next to it, and 3 more 1 tile away, so it'll produce quite a bit of shields if we let it survive).
2850BC - Ta-Tu build scout, starts on worker (due in 5, will reach size 2 in 5).
Worker begins roading Flood Plains (show me the money!)
Northern scout find a cow north west of Mecca.
Southern scout is hacking his way through the jungle.
Newly produced scout is heading northwest towards the dark patch.
Far northwest scout is heading south east towards the dark patch.
IBT - nothing
2800BC - Karakorum produces settler. Starts on settler. Size 3, will grow in 2. Settler due in 5, with 6 shields per turn.
Drop Luxury Tax to 0%.
Settler moves with regular warrior to the purple dot.
Northern scout finds another cow and wines (doh!) west/northwest of Mecca.
Northwestern scout finds a river cow as he enters the dark patch.
IBT - nothing
2750BC - Northeastern scout heads south towards the chokepoint.
Southern scout heads southwest away from the jungle, across plains and hills.
Northwestern scout explores yet more forest.
IBT - glimpse of Arab scout south west of Karakorum. I'll try and head him off at the gap.
Karakorum grows to size 4, will expand in 3, settler due in 3.
Worker finishes roading Flood Plains.
2710BC - Worker moves east to the plains.
Micromanage Karakorum to grow in 2, with production still in 3 (move bg to Flood Plains). <--- Does anyone remember how long you have to work Flood Plains before you get disease? This early in the game, that could be brutal.
Raise Luxury tax to 10%
Warrior/Settler combo move to the purple dot.
Northwest scout discovers game northeast of the ivory patch.
Northeast scout discovers 2 dyes in the dark.
Southern scout heads south one last square, and then heads north to the chokepoint. Heading south discovers the end of that spit of land (but a lot more across the water east), and a cow on the eastern land.
IBT - nothing
2670BC - worker begins roading river plains (irrigate/mine gives us nothing, as we wont use the square, and roading gets our luxuries hooked up earlier).
Kazan founded on the purple dot, begins producing scout (not sure if it's needed, but never hurts). Producing 2 shields per turn, 1 food, will grow in 20, scout due in 5.
Scout exploration, nothing but forest.
IBT - Ta-Tu grows to size 2. Karakorum grows to size 5.
2630BC - Ta-Tu produces worker, drops back down to 1

Starts on Barracks. I'm thinking that with it this close to the Arabs, it should pretty much produce only military, and we might as well have them be vets. Barracks due in 10, will grow in 20.
Karakorum will grow in 2, settler in 1.
Up Luxury Tax to 20%.
Ta-Tu worker moves to Dyes, with intentions of becoming a woodchopper.
Northwest scout finds two bonus grasslands among the trees. Northeast scout finds a mountain, and what looks like the tip of this penninsula.
IBT - nothing
2590BC - Karakorum produces settler, drops to size 3. Set to produce settler. Will grow in 2, settler due in 5.
Reduce Luxury Tax to 0%.
Ta-Tu worker starts chopping forest, will complete the turn after the barracks <-- HEADS UP NEXT PLAYER
Northeastern scout realizes that the penninsula keeps going

Northwestern scout finds a barb camp with a pair of warriors in it.

Southern scout keeps heading north towards the chokepoint.
Kazan changes from scout to warrior (still due in 3).
Opening trade window with Arabia shows that they have 60 gold, Dyes hooked up, and a single other city. Same techs as us still.
I have not moved the settler yet. There is still one move left on the northwestern scout, and the far east scout is one square north of Ta-Tu with 2 moves, and available for settler interdiction.
I'd like to know where the rest of you think we should place the scout and settler, and what to do with that scout next to the barb camp.
Here is an updated picture:
http://home.comcast.net/~lordkestrell/pictures/TGPython_2590BC_sitrep.jpg
And here is a zoom in on the barbs:
http://home.comcast.net/~lordkestrell/pictures/TGPython_2590BC_barbs.jpg
And here is a zoom in on the Arab border:
http://home.comcast.net/~lordkestrell/pictures/TGPython_2590BC_arabs.jpg
I'll try and update that dotmap.
Any comments on so far? It looks like I have the rest of this turn, plus the next to play. Unless I hear otherwise, I'll be moving the settler down to the chokepoint. Seeing as how there are now barbs, we NEED to start pumping some warriors out for defense. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any, so we could use unescorted settlers. I'm tempted to change Karakorum from his settler (due in 5) to a warrior (due in 2), but I think we should keep Karakorum on a strict 5 turn settler regimen.