The Unluckiest Lucky Start

[Aabraxan]

Of course you didn't...you didn't have anything else, so why would that trend change? Looks like a settler poach should grab it for you from the Americans.

A good thought, to be sure, but if you look at the way my towns are arrayed, you'll notice that the only possible settler poach in that area would be inside American territory, unless I want to abandon one of my towns.

Looking at the map you might be able to rush the temples and go for a culture flip or expansion which could grab the saltpeter from miami. Its an interesting layout though. America is worth taking out for the luxuries resources its got, they could get nasty later on. The same goes for Japan, they will have to go to war with you or America soon. How about allying with America against Japan? Let the Japs take miami then you take it back.

As you can see, I've started three temples nearby (something I rarely build), so maybe I can get that square to flip.

Are we taking odds?

 

[gmaharriet]

A good thought, to be sure, but if you look at the way my towns are arrayed, you'll notice that the only possible settler poach in that area would be inside American territory, unless I want to abandon one of my towns.

Maybe something has changed since you posted the screenie directly under where you said, "Oh, and I had learned Gunpowder:". It looks to me like there is a desert tile exactly 2 W of Rusicade that's not in American territory.

 

[Aabraxan]

Look 1 N of that tile. There's a city there.

 

[Nergal]

I saw you building Temples, thats why I suggested cash-rushing them. Miami is totally isolated from the rest of the American empire, its had one expansion so its at least got a temple in it. You have at least 3 towns surrounding it, it might flip under fair conditions. But we know what the AI is like so chances are you could build a whole pile of great wonders in the surrounding towns, play the game out till 2050 and the town would never flip. No betting given the propensity of AI cities to be stubborn.
I like the idea of cash-rushing the temples, which would let your cites get cultural expansion against its borders. Ally with America vs Japan, but funnel the Jap troops coming at you towards Miami. So Japan gets to burn a few troops on the walls of Miami before taking it. That drops Miamis cultural border so the saltpeter drops into your territory. Then you take Miami, it might get razed in the process, but it secures saltpeter for you.
As a maneuver I like the idea of doing it, its neat. But it depends on the strengths of Japan and America, whether America will ally and your troop strength in the area. Japan's lands look fertile, but low on resources/lux, America is excellent for resources/lux. It depends on what kind of victory you are heading for.
At the moment I am really enjoying early conquest/ domination victories so its the way I'd go. Take out the Japs, hope the war weakens the Americans ( although it could just encourage them to build a huge military). Then build towards taking out America, musketmen and aim for Mil Trad and cavalry.

 

[Aabraxan]

Chapter 5:

As some of you noticed, I built temples near Miami. I cash-rushed them, hoping that when I got my cultural expansions, I would grab the tile with saltpeter. As yo can see, the Americans are even generous enough to road it for me:

If I'd been really clever, I probably would have staggered rushing the temples so that I got cultural expansions on different turns. As it was, though, I rushed them all on the same turn (IIRC), and got cultural expansions on all of them in 500 AD.

Oddsmakers, do you think I got the salt?

Spoiler :

Of course not.

That being the case, I did what any sensible leader would do. I built more troops. I also took the liberty of roading up to the tile right next to the saltpeter so that, when Miami fell, I would instantly have saltpeter.

It's a little early in the game to really worry about culture, but here's where it stands:

Spoiler :

By 550 AD, as you can see, the Americans were thumping me in culture. Ownership of Great Wonders looks like this:
Americans:
Colossus
Oracle
Temple of Artemis
Mausoleum of Maussollos

Iroquois:
Pyramids

Japanese:
Great Wall

French:
Hanging Gardens

Koreans:
Sun Tzu's

Indians:
Great Lighthouse

Hittites:
Great Library

The Hittites, Iroquois and Koreans are all racing for Leonardo's. The Americans are working on the Sistine Chapel.

Me? I'm working on settlers and Medieval Infantry, with the occasional library thrown in.

In 560 AD, I was prepared to take Miami.

Before I attacked Miami, I did some trading, grabbing Theology from the Americans, who had a monopoly. I was careful not to put any per-turn stuff on the table, though. Once I got Theology, I bribed my neighbors to dogpile the Americans.

Spoiler :

If I'd been really clever, I'd have attacked Miami from the NE, but I wasn't. I came at it from the SE, mainly because I was trying to protect workers down there. That slowed me down by a turn, I think, but by 590 AD, Miami and its saltpeter were mine. Fantastic! Now I can spend an extra 30 shields for 1 extra defensive point . . . Just what I wanted.

American cities fell quickly once my troops arrived, but it took forever for me to get anywhere. Wars before rails are always hideously slow, so it wasn't until 650 AD that my forces finally reached Chicago. And then the Koreans stole Chicago out from under me. I was finally in attack position. But the Koreans attacked it and took it on the IBT.

So my troops headed west, towards Seattle. At 660 AD, my troops are ready to go on the march towards Seattle, or maybe to make peace and take on the Japanese. I played up to this point before beginning this story, but this is as far as I've gotten. So you now know as much as I do. Here's the map of the empire as it now stands.

Spoiler :

Thoughts? Advice? Criticism?

 

[gmaharriet]

I'm just enjoying a really run read.

 

[Demi_Neophyte]

Have you made any recent trades with the Indians?
I'm just wondering how they can be polite towards you while the Koreans and Japanese are annoyed.(I'll assume they're annoyed.)

Also I couldn't help noticing how you have a free shot at Kyoto, when you declare war on Japan you'll probably have little trouble with flipping.

 

[Aabraxan]

Have you made any recent trades with the Indians?

Probably. Seems like I traded Chivalry around, including to India, to put the Americans at the bottom of the dogpile. Yes, I know that means that I'll have to face War Elephants. It's been a while since I actually played the turns, but it seems like I'd traded Chivalry around for other reasons, as well. Once I did that, I figured that I might as well really trade it all around to take the profit incentive out of it.

 

[Nergal]

Its worth trading, leads to Knights Templar hence its value to the AI .. It doesnt matter Cavalry arent far away ...

 

[psweetman1590]

My advice would be to take out the Japs ASAP. They have very prettyfull land.

 

[Aabraxan]

Chapter 6

I found some notes that I'd made along the way, and thought I'd fill you in on some details that I apparently thought significant at the time they happened.

On the IBT after 620, Hiawatha demanded Gunpowder. Compared to him, I have a strong military. Besides, galleys are the biggest boat around, so I refuse. He goes away without declaring. I've dropped science spending to 20%. The SoZ will go obsolete at Metallurgy and I still don't have my own supply of horses, so I see no need to hasten the SoZ's demise.

By 640, America was willing to negotiate. Too bad that: (1) turns still remained in my alliances; and (2) he was only willing to offer 2 gold for it. No cities, no tech, just 2 measley gold. No thanks, Abe. I think I'll have a couple of your cities, instead.

Also in 650, the Koreans approached me to renew our peace treaty. Because I've got an alliance going vs. the Muricans, I accept. Naturally, that meant I have to wait 20 turns to pound the Koreans. . . drat.

Looking around in 660 AD, it appears that I am the sole owner of saltpeter on my continent. There are still some unexplored regions, so that may or may not be the case, but it seems likely.

On the IBT after 660 AD, the Americans complete the Knights Templar in Washington. Time to go crash a party.

In 690 AD, I switched to the Lone Scientist on Metallurgy, which put me at ~1200 gold and +150 gpt. Then I burned off a lot the cash that I'd been amassing by rushing Maces. I don't have enough troops in the field to take America down, but I do have enough to hurt them. Once my alliances expire, I'll quit hurting them and start hurting Japan.

In 700 AD, I founded Russucuru (sp?). I put it right at the edge of Korean territory, only to then realize that I'd also put it right at the base of a volcano . . . Doh!

As far as alliances in 700 AD, I've still got 6 turns left with Japan against America and 7 turns each with Korea and India. I'll hit probably one more American city and then start gathering my troops for the Japanese war.

Between 700 and 710 AD, approximately 150 of India's gold evaporated. They're a Republic, so cash-rushing is an option. I just don't know what they bought. The only civ that isn't a Republic is Korea. They're Feudal . . .

Looking around, I decide that it's time to shop around and see if Chemistry can be sold profitably. The Hittites will give me 52 gold and 46 gpt. Chem comes in at 682 beakers right now, so that seems like a good deal. Before I take it, though, I shopt it around to some other potential customers. The next best offer if Hiawatha's 40 gold and nobody else is even worth mentioning. It's not a fantastic deal, but I take it. The extra 46 gpt will do nicely. I promptly go out and cash-rush ~500 gold worth of MDI and trebs.

Between 710 and 720, the Japanese approached me. They offered me furs in exchange for ivory and 20 gpt. Given the fact that I'm gearing up to stomp on them, I don't think so.

In 720, America and Japan signed a peace treaty, with ~4 turns to go left in the alliance. Now I can attack Japan. I thought about a two-pronged attack, at Izumo and Kyoto, but that's not really going to work. The Japanese have the Great Wall. It's at Kyoto. . . Leaving Kyoto makes everything else considerably harder.

Here's the basic plan:

Spoiler :

And yes, I'm going to switch that temple at Gigthis to something else. I'll merge the stacks at Edo. Not sure where they'll go from there. Either they'll march on the rest of Japan, or resume hostilities with the Americans.

In 730, India and America signed a peace treaty (~3 turns left in our alliance vs. the Americans). In 740, I sold Chemistry around again, getting 112 gold and 18 gpt from the Koreans.

The American War has been costly and I've lost too many troops for too few cities. My ACs just won't cut it against the Americans any more, because they've got Pikes in cities now. So I've pretty much stopped the offensive against the Americans and am just riding out the remainder of my alliances. I keep redlining brave (yet foolhardy) American longbows and then leader-fishing. At this point, I still have not yet gotten a single Great Leader . . .

So, as psweetman noted, the Japanese have very prettyfull land and it may be time to turn my eye to them.

• Trebs? Check.
• MDI? Check?
• ACs? Check.
• Bargains ended? Check.
• Units out of their territory? Check.

By 750 AD, I felt ready to take on Japan. So here's the stack set to take on Kyoto, Possessor of the Great Wall, along with terrain information:

Spoiler :

Will it be enough?

One of my personal benchmarks in my games is that I like to have my continent cleared by ~1000 AD. I don't know if I'll be able to make that in this game.

In the next installment, I expect to tackle the Japanese. Up until now, my wars have been slow, marked only with small gains. Perhaps, if I'm lucky, I can make some large gains in the next war.

 

[Aabraxan]

Chapter 7​

In 760 AD, I had my first culture flip of the game. Karachi flipped to the indians.

To say the least, I'm not thrilled at having a city flip which is completely surrounded by my lands. Great. Now I have a doughnut shaped empire. . . . with a War Elephant standing in the middle of it. Unfortunately, all of my military units are preoccupied elsewhere. WW also sets in, so that's a problem. I've been running 10% lux, but I will have to turn the slider up to at least 20% this turn. So I make peace with the Americans in 770 AD. They'll give me peace, 6 gold (emptying their treasury) and 25 gpt. Sounds good. All of my alliances have run their course, so my rep is safe.

I sell Chemistry to India. I do this just to ensure that nobody else can profit from selling Chemistry, as much as anything.

And in 770 AD, just for funsies, I go demand the last gold that Japan has, all 7 of it. Togukawa refuses, instructing me to go boil my head. Very well. I DOW the Japanese.

The Americans want Ivory, spices and 60 gold to dogpile the Japanese. That price is too steep, thank you very much. The Koreans want spices and 80 gold. Ummm, no. The Indians? Spices, but no gold. I think I'll wait on them. By the time I get around to attacking Korea, I'm going to need India to have a few War Elephants, don't you think?

On the IBT, the Japanese counterrattack with a few horses and a couple of MDI, but the only thing they succeed in doing is dying.

And at long, long last, in 780 AD, I finally commplete the Forbidden Palace in Leptis Minor.

And in 790 AD:

This also gets me furs, which were previously unknown to my people. In 790, Edo also falls, giving me horses. So I now have horses and iron. Time to capture a continent. I begin some knight builds.

In 800 the Hittites learned Education, so the GLib is now obsolete. I considered buying it for the purpose of giving it to them (just for the purpose of making the GLib obsolete), but the price was too high.

In 810, I upgrade one of the very few horsemen I have to knight, and it's the first knight I own. I look around, only to discover that it was, in fact, one of two horsemen that I owned . . . and the other's an elite.

In 820, the Americans completed the Sistine Chapel. (Who knew the Americans had culture?!?).

In 830, the resistance at Kyoto ends. The Indian Elephant stationed at Karachi is apparently getting restless. He keeps fidgeting around and he's now walking around his 9 squares, making me very nervous.

I finally begin the siege of Tokyo in 840. Trebs reveal that it's guarded by 1 samurai and 1 pike. I redline both and kill them with elite ACs. Still, no MGL. Razing Tokyo nets me 4 slaves, though.

In 850, the war against the Japanese continues and I discover that the Koreans have completed Leonardo's Workshop. I can't say that I'm entirely disappointed. It'll make a fine addition to my collection. The Karachi elephant is still wandering through his 9 tiles, so I suspect that the Indians have completed another defensive unit at Karachi. I begin moving units thataway. Soon enough, I'm going to have to take Karachi back.

860 -- The race for Copernicus' begins. Also, I see Korean LBs and American Spears fighting. Maybe I'll have to ally with the Koreans in a few turns.

Osaka finally fell in 870 (on the first turn of the attack), but stiiiiiiiiiiiiiillll no MGLs for ol' Hannibal.

After 870, the Koreans approach me for an RoP and an alliance vs. the Americans. However, I still have 10 turns of peace remaining in my PT with the Americans. Given that they're paying me 25 gpt for that peace, I see no need to ally with Wang Kon just yet. No, but thanks for asking.

Between 880 and 890, the Americans approach me about an RoP and an alliance against the Koreans. However, I'm still on the receiving end of Korean gold, so I don't see this as being profitable for myself. I decline. On that same IBT, the Indians complete Copernicus' Observatory.

On the trading front, I've somewhat allen behind. Japan is the only potential buyer for Invention, and I've nothing else to sell. OTOH, only 2 techs are out there to be purchased: Education and Printing Press. I'll pick them up eventually.

In 900 AD:

Now that horses and iron are secure, I'm less concerned about the SoZ going obsolete. I increase science, going from Metallurgy in ~28 to Metallurgy in 4.

In 920 AD, I discovered that America, India, and the Iros beat me to Metallurgy by 1 turn!

Even at 1 turn out, how does this look for a deal?

Spoiler :

I make the trade and begin the march towards Military Tradition -- 5 turns out @ -148 with 1822 in the bank.

Remembering that Osaka, very near my SoD has a rax, I move a bunch of trebs back to begin upgrading. I still have 5 turns of peace left with the Americans, so I might as well make use of it, right? So, having bought Metallurgy and some maps for my own map, I go see Mursillis. He'll give me Printing Press, 6 gpt, his WM and Tm for Metallurgy. Seems fair. I take it. Joan then gives me Education, 12 gpt and 40 gold for Metallurgy. I trade Metallurgy around until the tech scene looks like this:
America: Up Astronomy & broke.
India: Up Astronomy, w/ 205 in the bank.
Korea: Down PP, Education and Metallurgy, 7 gold to their name.
Hittites: Up Astronomy & broke.
Iroquois: Up Astronomy & broke.
France: Down PP, w/ 7 gold.

I check into prices on Astro, but everyone wants either 2 luxes, WM + ~250 gold, or they want contact with another civ. Neither works for me right now, so I'll wait.

In 940, my stack o' trebs finally made it into Osaka, and I spend 720 of my ~1500 gold upgrading them to cannons. That leaves me enough gold to keep the hard burn going towards MT, but there won't be much leftover to convert knights to cavs. I'll have to build most of them from scratch. However, as I don't have many (~4-6) knights to begin with, I was going to have to build my cavs from scratch, anyway. I also begin recon in American territory, setting units just over the border. Let's see if I get the boot. . .

Trade-wise, banking has been discovered and is known by America and India. In 940, I get notice that the Hittites are building Magellan's Voyage.

Not only do I get the boot from the Americans, but the Koreans and Indians (whose territory I was also eye-ballin') also give me directions to get my troops out.

By 970 AD, my treaties with America and India has run out. I've got a small force in place next to Karachi prepared to retake it. America is a far bigger concern, so here's my plan:

Spoiler :

Bright green is a task force of knights, supported by a few (~5-6) cannons, a couple of MDI and a musket. Once San Francisco is taken, knights will break away from the group and head for Atlanta. Red is a much larger stack of cannons (~15-20), ~6 MDI, ~8 ACs (mostly elites), 5-6 Longbows, and a few combat settlers. They'll take Seattle and then break off as many as necessary to join the knights at Atlanta. I'm not overly concerned about Houston, but we'll see what comes out of there. The big blue arrow points for Washington. I'd like to be able to make one large push to Washington and cripple the Amis once and for all.

Sure enough, on the IBT following 970 AD, Lincoln pokes his ugly mug in and wants to renew the Peace Treaty. My advisor says he's a known cheat and liar. I decline. The Americans have to go. They're getting way too much culture. Military Tradition comes in right after that, and I start a minimum run to Astronomy. I figure I need the gold for cash-rushing cavs.

990 - San Francisco is razed.

Also in 990 AD, my first cavalry hits the ground.

I put a couple of units on a mountain between Atlanta and Seattle. The Americans oblige me by sending units to attack there, rather than the SOD sitting on their doorstep.

In 1000 AD, I burn Seattle to the ground. (Nope, didn't get my continent cleared by then.) Also in 1000 AD I finally get my first MGL by killing a redlined LB with an eAC. Gee, now that I have Cavs, what should I make? Hmmmm, let's see .......

And then the Iros show up and want me to make this trade:

(Mind you, they're willing to throw in Astronomy, Banking, 30 gold and ~ 25 gpt to sweeten the pot). Nonetheless, I want to keep my monopoly on MT for a bit.

And so ends Chapter 7.

Thoughts and advice?

 

[gmaharriet]

Sounds like it's going very well. You certainly must be pleased to have iron, horses and salt now. Is that elephant still charging around his 9-tile pen?

You tell the story nicely, Aabraxan. Good writing!

 

[Aabraxan]

Yep, Jumbo's still stomping around his pen. I've put a small "containment force" in his area, just in case Mahatma gets jumpy. Having horses, iron, salt and cavs helps tremendousluy.

Thanks, gma. Chapter 8 is already in the works. Now if I can just get my home internet back up!

 

[Aabraxan]

Chapter 8: The Unluck Continues​

Marching north from Atlanta, I see that the Koreans have already taken Houston. The Americans are involved in a two-front war. If the Koreans weren't on my hitlist, I'd consider allying with them. Now that I have MT, I've gone lone scientist -- Astronomy due in 46 at 0%, +123 gpt and 325 banked.

Going to check on trades, there's a pretty significant dispartity among AI offers for MT. More specifically, the Hittites won't offer nearly as much as the Iros or the Indians. The Indian bargain is the best on the table, with ~15 gpt more than the Iros. However, as I may have to declare on the Indians soon, I think I'll take the Iro offer. So I take Banking, Astronomy, 61 gold, 39 gpt, WM and TM from Hiawatha for Military Tradition. Oooh, that reminds me to start a Military Academy somewhere (except that I don't have a victorious army yet . . . )

I go back around with MT, only to discover that the Indians have Navigation. They'll give me Nav, WM, 37 gpt and 60 gold for MT. I guess I'll take it and let Karachi sit for a while. It can wait until I've pounded the Koreans, I guess. (Incidentally, Korea doesn't even have metallurgy yet, so I'm not overly worried about them; they have no gold and are behind in tech).

In 1040 AD, 1 turn after the last round of trading, I'm in lone scientist, with 49 turns to go on Physics, only to discover that the Iroquois already have it. Drat. I guess that's OK. They're the only civ with a tech lead and I'm busy cash-rushing cavs, anyway, right?

Just as I'm about to attack Washington, I ask myself, "Just what Wonders does Washington have?" Answer: The Oracle, the Colossus, the Temple of Artemis, the Mausolleum of Mausollos and the Knights Templar. Wow, that's a bunch! If I understand something about flip risks (not necessarily a safe bet), I'm going to have to eliminate the Americans in short order to hold onto this city.

In 1070, I raze New York.

Shelling Washington reveals about 7-8 Muskets inside. Unable to redline any of them, I decide to give it one more turn. Rocket scientists that they are, the Americans move about 3 of them out with settlers on the IBT.

By 1080, Washington was mine.

Spoiler :

Also by 1080 AD, Music Theory had been learned and traded around. There was a race for JS Bach's going on, but I wasn't part of it. I was too busy buying Cavalry.

In 1100 AD, I get my 2nd MGL of the game!

And sure enough, between 1100 AD and 1110 AD, Washington deposes me. Good thing I only had 2 military units inside, eh? Equally fortunately, My Cavalry army 2 tiles away has just finished healing. Oh, and the defender in Washington is a spear . . . (By the way, why is it that when a city flips to the AI, it gets a defender, but doesn't on those exceedingly rare occasions that one actually flips to me?!? No fair!)

By the time 1120 closed, I had captured Philadelphia and the now-obsolete Temple of Artemis. I approached the Americans on past IBT and they had no cities in their diplo screen. Now I've captured Philadelphia, which I had believed to be their last city, and they still live. I can't find another American city, or a cultural border anywhere. I believe that this may be my very first real settler-on-a-boat incident. At any rate, Abe will give me Music Theory and both of his maps for peace and I've chased him off my continent, so I take it.

And so, at the close of the American-Carthage War, my empire looked like this:

Spoiler :

Immediately after that war, I looked at my troop counts, my unit support, my continent and decided it was time to hit the Koreans. They were willing to provide me with a territory map on demand, but not even one of their 10 gold. That's OK. I've got 1555 in the bank.

In spite of some pretty awful military execution, I'm able to survive the Korean counterattacks, at least for the first couple of turns.

Unfortunately, in 1140, Philadelphia flipped back to the Americans. That left my largest attack force out in Korean territory with no "home turf" to which it could retreat and heal.

At the end of 1140, I cash-rush a potload of cavs (~6 of 'em), burning off some of that gold I've amassed. I expect to keep cashrushing them until Korea burns out its military.

By 1180 AD, both Economics and Physics are out there, though not widely known. The Hittites, Iroquois and France know Econ and the Hittites and Iros know Physics. I'd like to get them, but I'm still in the tech race, if not the lead.

In 1210, I finally took Seoul, garnering me the following:

Spoiler :

Oddsmakers, are we gambling on how long I can keep it from flipping?

In 1230 AD, I finally, finally, FINALLy, complete the Heroic Epic in Rusicade. Given my stellar luck with MGLs so far, I can only hope that this can't hurt. And, in fact, in 1240 AD, I got my 3rd MGL!

However, in 1240, I got even bigger news.

The empire looks about the same as it did in the previous screenshot, except that the Americans have put out a couple of settlers and are trying to reclaim some land. Can't say that it's a huge concern, given what I did to them last time around. I guess the Indians are next, right?

 

[gmaharriet]

Great progress, Aabraxan! Now that you have Sun Tzu's and Leo's free of flip-risk, you should have no trouble taking over your continent. How many turns left before you can attack the Koreans?

 

[Aabraxan]

How many turns left before you can attack the Koreans?

I presume that you mean the Indians. (The Koreans are gone.) IIRC, I can attack them at will. I don't think I had any deals going with them. I just need to organize my forces.

 

[gmaharriet]

*cough* *cough* Um, of course I meant the, um, Indians. Yeah, that's it.

Actually, I didn't read the notice in the last screen. I just noticed the one in which you'd taken Seoul.

 

[Panzy]

very nice.... you put it real well

 

[Bobv2]

Very, very, very dry, hard reading. This story is no fun. Throw Some background stories in their! Explian battles and soldier's travels! Put a little story with EVERYTHING that happens. You could take a lesson from this story. Chapters 6-8 were especially hard to read, because of lack of pictures. The masses like pictures. The more pictures the better, the less the worse. 1 picture per paragraph is an average amount.

However, the story is interesting. I look forward to a more lush, content-booming chapter