TJ01: Famous Five

[Northern Pike]

Got it. Good round, Yndy.

I can't seem to do anything with the spreadsheets. Is Excel

1. included with Windows,

2. downloadable, or
3. something one actually has to buy?

 

[Yndy]

1. No
2. Only a viewer
3. Well yes.

Nevermind, I'm happy enough if me and Ted will update it. We'll post the predicted years from time to time.

Re: Gifts - I see gifts were useless but at least they did not trade with each other.

Edit: Grammar

 

[Northern Pike]

Thanks for the quick answer. I was afraid that was the situation.

 

[TedJackson]

@NP
I'll post a screenshot of the calculator summary page for you when I play my turns.


Ted

 

[Northern Pike]

Thanks, Ted, that would be helpful.


210 (0): The Great Wall will trigger our GA when we complete it in six turns. Not ideal timing, perhaps, but we're out of despotism, and now we'll be able to get some use out of our Gallics. I get two of them moving towards Germany.

The Spanish warrior four tiles southwest of our gems colony is escorting a settler. I'll try to block them off from sites which would immediately destroy our colony if used for a city, while tolerating settlement elsewhere, since I don't really want to go back to war with Spain until we've made more progress against Germany.

A horseman emerges from Berlin and dies attacking our nearby spearman.

Three Cows colosseum --> Gallic Swordsman.

Fourth Horseman aqueduct --> colosseum.


230 (1): Our elite horseman near Berlin defeats an archer--no GL.


250 (2): Our mini-SoD moves next to Berlin.


260 (3): We take Berlin from its garrison of three spearmen and two archers--without loss, remarkably, though two units redline. We raze the city.

Our army of horsemen gets its first two victories in the assault, and Fourth Horseman switches to Heroic Epic.

The Spanish found Zaragoza, on a site which will cost us our gems colony once the city gets a cultural expansion. We still have some time in which to deal with this.

A German archer emerges from Konigsberg and destroys our veteran spearman in the area.


270 (4): We kill the archer with an elite horseman--no GL.

Three Cows GS --> marketplace.

We get a palace expansion.


280 (5): I've been adding value to our WM by making safe moves with our galleys, and now I sell it around for 57 gold.

First Attempt colosseum --> worker (city at size twelve with full food box).

Fifth Wheel Great Wall --> colosseum, and our Golden Age begins.


290 (6): Our Gallic Swordsmen see their first action as we raze the new German capital of Konigsberg, which is held by three spearmen and an archer. We take no losses, and on the final attack:

 

[Karasu]

On the final attack... What?

Oh, I love these moments of suspense.

 

[Northern Pike]

 

[Northern Pike]

Very droll, Karasu.


One of our Gallics destroys an archer southeast of Hamburg, the latest German capital.

First Attempt worker (which later merges into Fourth Horseman) --> Gallic.

Second Minute colosseum --> Gallic.


300 (7): Our units in Germany heal.

A jungle burn outside Fifth Wheel doesn't reveal BG.

We discover Feudalism and begin researching Monotheism. We didn't get much service out of our Gallics, which are now superseded by the inferior MDI.


310 (8): More healing.

First Attempt MDI --> pikeman.

Second Minute MDI --> courthouse.


320 (9): We complete the road to our distant silks colony, and we're able to cut the luxury rate to 0%.

First Attempt pikeman --> horseman.

Three Cows marketplace --> courthouse.


330 (10): We raze Hamburg, garrisoned by three spearmen and an archer, for no loss. The German capital moves to Munich.

A Gallic Swordsman defeats an archer (depleted by catapult fire) north of Fourth Horseman.

Our southern galley discovers a lane of sea tiles through the ocean, though it doesn't look as if it can lead to anything but the South Pole.

I sell our WM around for 28 gold.

Six elite victories produced one Great Leader this round.

 

[Northern Pike]

THE FUTURE:


Orgetorix is waiting in First Attempt. I think we should use him to rush Sun Tzu in Fourth Horseman as soon as Heroic Epic completes there. It would be nice to keep Sun Tzu as a prebuild, but it wouldn't be wise to sit on a Leader for the length of time it will take before we qualify for another Wonder, and we need to do everything possible for Fourth Horseman's cultural total. Once all this has been done, Fourth Horseman will still need its cathedral, colosseum, and marketplace, in that order.

Fifth Wheel still needs its marketplace.

We should prebuild towards Monotheism/cathedrals to the extent possible, even if it's just a question of saving two turns with granary prebuilds. The courthouses being built in Second Minute and Three Cows are not prebuilds--they should help us.

We need to discuss whether we want to wipe out the Germans and later the Spanish completely, or whether we want to keep them in being as one-city vassal civs for Leader-fishing purposes. I think we should try the latter, at least until it becomes inconvenient. Given the terrain, if we're going to leave the Germans with one city it should be Munich, not Heidelberg.

The micromanagement of Fourth Horseman should be checked once we're able to increase the garrison to two.

The MDI between Second Attempt and Three Cows is positioned so as to be able to reinforce either city in one move.

I've been moving forces into position for the upcoming war with Spain, but we probably shouldn't attack in the Valencia area until stronger units than horsemen are available. Remember, we'll lose our gems colony as soon as Zaragoza gets a cultural expansion.

 

[Northern Pike]

The save:

330 AD, end of turn

 

[Northern Pike]

The remnants of Germany:

 

[mad-bax]

Well played!

Why can't we switch to colloseum in 4th to use the leader for Tzus Earlier? Wouldn't 4th catch up quicker then? I haven't looked at the save so I reserve the right to pen utter rubbish of course.

 

[TedJackson]

Got it

Good progress against Germany

Now that we've some friends overseas I propose that we reduce both Spain & Germany to one city Leader farms. Not in a mad rush I hasten to add but steady decimation.

Edit: now that I've had a look at the save I think it might be worth buying an embassy with France, sign them up for an MA vs Spain, declare war on Russia and get France to sign up on our side for that one as well. It might also be possible to sign Persia up vs Russia. This would leave England stuck in the middle with foreign units continually crossing her soil and hampering her Workers.

This would slow the AI down even more and allow us to concentrate on Spain & Germany at home.

Of course we can't sign an MA vs Spain until we sell France contact with Spain so forget my wild idea


Ted

 

[Northern Pike]

BTW, the workers between First Attempt and Fourth Horseman are there to extend our line of irrigation towards FH. We need to do this even though it will involve irrigating some tiles we've already mined.

 

[TedJackson]

@NP
Irrigation work completed

Post results tomorrow morning.


Ted

 

[TedJackson]

Pre-flight checks... OK

Pre-turn
Push Research to 90% (Mono in 5 @ -32gpt, 322gp in the Bank) - I'll see how much I can make from trading our WM next time and adjust accordingly

Press button
FA Horse - Horse

1 - 340AD
Move 3 vet Gallic Swords & 2 Elite Horse to gold mountain North of Heidelburg
Move vet Pike, vet Horse & Catapult to 2N of Zaragoza (prep)
Send vet MDI towards Valencia
Spot a foreign border just peeking out of the fog Southwestish of Seville - must be our last neighbour stuck alone on an island - could be our first off-continent conquest target
Gallic Sword (2NE Zaragoza) forts
Hawk WM for 15gp

IBT
Germany lands lone Horse SW of FH
FA Horse - Horse
SM Court - Granary
FH Heroic Epic - Sun Tzu

FW Colosseum - Market

2 - 350AD
Bombard Horse for 1hp damage
Vet Horse kills 2/3 Horse
Sun Tzu hurried in FH
Assault on Heidelburg:
Elite Horse kills Spear
Elite Horse retreats from Spear(2/3)
Vet Gallic Sword kills 2/3 Spear
Heidelburg is destroyed - we get 3gp & 1 Slave (Stella)
Stella roads to NNE FH
Make peace with Germany - they give WM + 12gp (broke)
Demand WM + 13gp from Spain - they refuse
Declare war on Spain
Vet Horse retreats from reg Sword
vet Horse retreats from reg Sword(2/3)
MDI takes station North of Valencia
Assault on Valencia:
Vet Horse kills Spear & promotes
Vet Horse kills Spear
Raze Valencia
Capture 2 Slaves (Sarah & Steph)
Catapult, vet Pike, vet GS & 2 vet Horse arrive North of Zaragoza
Lux 10%
Research 80% (3 turns @ -36gpt, 287 in the Bank)
Hawk WM for 11gp

IBT
Spain grabs our Silk Colony as expected
FA Horse - Court (pre-build)
TC Court - Horse (nothing for pre-build)
FH Sun Tzu - Market

3 - 360AD
Assault on Zaragoza:
Catapult bombards and misses
Vet Horse kills Spear & promotes
Vet Horse kills Warrior & promotes
Zaragoza is destroyed
Units start the long march SW
Hawk WM for 7gp

IBT
Vet Horse killed by Sword
TC Horse - Galley (let's meet our last neighbour)

4 - 370AD
Vet MDI kills 3/4 Sword
Units regroup in the South
Research 70%
Hawk WM for 4gp

IBT
Discover Monotheism - Theology
SM Granary - Cathedral
TC Galley - Cathedral

5 - 380AD
FA, FH & FW switch to Cathedrals
Silks Colony re-established
2 vet Horse + GS head for Salamanca
Galley (New Hope) sails West to meet our hidden neighbours
Lux 0%
Hawk WM for 3gp

IBT
FA Cathedral - Pike (Colony guard)
FW Cathedral - Market

6 - 390AD
Fortify Pike & Catapult on Gems Colony
MDI & Warrior fort Silks Colony
Slave starts fortress on Silks Colony
New Hope sails West
Pike's Paladin joins Army
Research 70% (8 turns @ +4gpt, 244 gp in the Bank)
Hawk WM for 4gp

IBT
FA Pike - Horse

7 - 400AD
2 vet Horse + vet GS arrive N Salamanca
Elite Horse + vet Horse 2 moves from Salamaca
Catapult + vet Horse 2 moves from Silks Colony
Northern Gambler positioned for Ocean crossing
Land routes from Munich now blocked
Pike (FA) starts long march to Silks Colony
2 elite Horse (FA) head towards Spain
Hawk WM for 4gp

IBT
FA Horse - Pike
SM Cathedral - Pike
TC Cathedral - Pike
FH Cathedral - Market

8 - 410AD
Assault on Salamanca:
Vet Horse retreats from Spear
Vet Horse retreats from Spear
Vet GS kills Spear & promotes
Battle group retires North to mountain
Northern Gambler attempts Ocean crossing
Elite Horse & vet Horse join Battle Group
2 Elite Horse join Silks Colony re-inforcements brigade
Hawk Wm for 4gp

IBT
FA Pike - Horse
SM Pike - Horse
TC Pike - Galley
Northern Gambler sinks

9 - 420AD
Pike (FA) positioned midway between FA & FH
Pike fort TC
Pike fort SM
Elite Horse & vet Horse arrive N Salamanca
Units in the hills 2N Salamanca fort to heal
Research 80% (4 turns @ -26gpt, 257 in the Bank)
Hawk WM for 3gp

IBT
FA Horse - Granary
SM Horse - Cat
TC Galley - Granary
FW Market - Court

10 - 430AD
Cat & vet Horse arrive at Silks Colony
2 elite Cav at mountain 2SE Santiago
Vet Horse kills Spear at Salamanca
Galley sails NW from TC
Research 70% (3 turns @ -7gpt, 234gp in Bank)

Notes & pictures follow...


Ted

 

[TedJackson]

Notes
A German Archer is loose somewhere in the North. Not a problem just something to be aware of.

We can prolong the war with Spain until we get a Leader.

Theology is due in 3 at a slight deficit.
We are the tech leaders at the moment and look to stay that way.
I suggest that after theology we switch to the bottom branch & pursue it all the way to Military Tradition until AI Discovers Education. I don't see much point in researching Chivalry in this game as we've got things well under control on our home continent. This approach would give us Sistine & Leonardo's without any real challenge from the AI.
Once Education is discovered then we should concentrate on the middle Branch to get Copernicus' then Magellan's hoping that the AI will trade us Music Theory for Bach's.
This is only a guide as I've not really got a feel for the tech pace in this game yet. I'm hoping that we can research the mainline techs and buy the offshoots from the AI but it might be that they are too slow in researching for this to work.
There is new land to be discovered Southwest from Salamanca.

Our Armies

Demographics

Culture Summary

There was a slight discrepancy with the numbers for First Attempt. Perhaps we had a riot. I tweaked the sheet by adding in a 1 turn anarchy for First Attempt to correct the problem.

Finally, the save is > here < and the updated spreadsheet is > there <


Ted

 

[mad-bax]

Got it! Looking forward to having a turn in this game.

 

[Northern Pike]

Good round, Ted. Thanks for posting the spreadsheet.

I like the research plan you've laid out, though it may have to be adjusted to circumstances, as you say.

Just one quibble: if Fourth Horseman doesn't yet have its colosseum--which I think is the case, though I'm writing this before checking the save--it should probably switch to colosseum, and only then complete its marketplace.

 

[mad-bax]

I feel a little out of my depth here. This is not my usual sort of game. Any road up...

430AD: Pre-turn
5th MM'd to increase commerce. Court still due in 4
Second switched to horse. I dont like losing 14 shields in building a cat.
I am not sure of the purpose of the granaries
Short rush colloseum with market in 4th.

IBT:
A couple of Spanish archers approach for the south West.
2nd horse - Pike
4th colloseum - Palace pre-build

440AD:
I will allow the SOD north of Salamanca to heal b4 attacking. No point rushing things here.
Not sure what to do with the army.

IBT:
1st granary - pike
2nd pike - pike
3rd granary - settler

450AD:
Sent out another suicide galley.

IBT:
Persians want an audience. They want to swap WMs. No
Learn theology. Now - Engineering vs Education. Unis have a very large cultural value for all our cities. How long will we have to wait for it to get it from the GL? I know I am running against the rest of the teams opinions, but I do not think we can wait 20 turns for universities. Sorry. I select education.
1st Pike - Pike
2nd Pike - horse
3rd Settler - galley
Western Hope sinks without trace.

460AD:
Raze Santiago. No leader, but we do get another worker.
Set science to 50% (+28gpt, Education in 13)
Change 4th to Sistines in 22 (ouch!)

IBT:
Germans get a cultural expansion and we get kicked out.
1st Pike - settler
2nd horse - horse
5th court - granary

470AD:
Attack Salamanca
Vet horse against reg spear dies.
Elite Gallic against reg spear retreats
Elite horse against reg spear wins leaving redlined pear in city.
I am going to leave this city as our leader farm as Seville is on a hill.
I have to kill the archers I talked about on the pre-turn.
Both Vet horses win and are promoted.

IBT:
1st settler - horse I'm building all these units to help hurry the unis soon.
2nd horse - horse
3rd galley - galley

480AD:
Now the GA has ended, Sistines in 4th doesn't look such a good idea. I switch it to market and put Sistines in 5th instead.
Join settler to 4th

IBT:
4th market - Granary

490AD:
Join Settler to 5th
Science to 40% now GA is over.
Russia has Republic. We can't afford it.

IBT:
The spanish drop off a horse near 5th.
I can't justify any more units for unis as Eduction is 17 turns away. So 1st is put on wealth. I don't know what else to do with it. 2nd is put on wealth too.
3cows - galley - galley

500AD:
Meet polite Carthage.
I trade them Mathematics for WM + 174g (all they had).
That's everybody met, right?

IBT:
Another galley was lost. But we don't need to send any more out.

510AD:
Blank dies trying to kill Spanish horse. Astral Peculiarity finishes the job. I wish it was the other way around to save the typing.

IBT:
3 cows Galley - cat
4th granary - cat

IBT:
4th cat - cat

530AD:
Join Green leaves of Summer into Fifth as there is no way I am going to type in that name again.

3 Cows and 4th still need some improvement. I'm sorry if researching Education was against the gameplan, and I did hesitate for a long while, but I could not think of an argument to wait 40 turns maybe for unis. IMO the culture loss would hurt us bad.

There is a reasonable stack of Elites north of Seville which must be razed as it's on a hill.

I allowed the German archer to go home. He is now fortified in the German cultural border.

Here is the latest minimap

>>here<< is the save for a better player.