[GS] Why Mali is my favorite Civ and help me find a new favorite like him

[Shaf]

When ever I play Mali I make the map hot and lots of hills. I design my game around desert folklore and getting the first golden age. After that there isn't any planning or chess games I have to play to get any victory type. He lets you play turn by turn and make decisions on the spot because you can buy all the things planning would have gotten you.

After Mangus lets him not loose pop for buying 10 settlers with faith during that golden age I just pump everything into either buying districts with faith or gold. Then you get to turn production on autopilot and just do city projects.

His unique ability makes me design a world around him and play him differently than any other civ would play the game. The money lets me win every disaster event making diplo easy and buy all the districts or great people to tilt any victory I want.

Is there any civ you guys have played that give you a very unique feel for playing them.

 

[Ondolindë]

The Inca and the Maori. Each has such different feel for me. The Inca is just so exciting because you can grow so fast, use strategically and transverse mountain chains while doing everything else for pretty much any victory type. Every part of it just really complim each other. The Maori is exciting first because of being able to choose more freely your starting location and discover the world while at it and then it’s abilities just propel you to growth and strength in many ways. The music for both are great, but that’s something for another discussion. I guess I have to say that Phoenicia is definitely there too. Another strategy and feel while implementing it.

 

[Sagax]

I mean... you edit the map itself to create a perfect condition for the civ. A lot of civs can fit the bill in that case, though only one can be as gold-oriented.

Phoenicia’s GPT game can be comparable to Mali, though you need to go very wide for that.

I expect Inca and Maori to be even more nuts than what they already are, if you adjust the map settings accordingly.

Less obvious ones, but also fun to consider: Indonesia, Russia, maybe Brazil and Australia.

 

[exince]

When ever I play Mali I make the map hot and lots of hills. I design my game around desert folklore and getting the first golden age. After that there isn't any planning or chess games I have to play to get any victory type. He lets you play turn by turn and make decisions on the spot because you can buy all the things planning would have gotten you.

After Mangus lets him not loose pop for buying 10 settlers with faith during that golden age I just pump everything into either buying districts with faith or gold. Then you get to turn production on autopilot and just do city projects.

His unique ability makes me design a world around him and play him differently than any other civ would play the game. The money lets me win every disaster event making diplo easy and buy all the districts or great people to tilt any victory I want.

Is there any civ you guys have played that give you a very unique feel for playing them.

Try eleanor... its not quite comparable in terms of gameplay, especially if you u re used to change the map for perfect conditions. But eleanor definitely is unique - and converting other cities is just satisfying.. so if u're looking for unique play styles, give her a try

 

[Haig]

Germany's cities have more districts than normal and has the unique Hansa district, you can get your German empire into an industrial powerhouse quickly!
There's also combat bonus against city-state units, so it's natural for them to gobble up a few neighboring city-states.
I also love naval unique units, and the u-boat fleets are fun way to harass enemy by capturing their trade routes, pillaging coast tiles(also you can pillage the tiles on land next to sea) and sinking enemy battleships.

England with Victoria has always been another favorite, you want to spread out and colonize new continents, building Royal Navy dockyards in them and getting free land and naval units from them. They also have bonuses for industrializing and are pretty flexible.

I haven't tried Canada yet but they seem to bring an unique twist to the game by concentrating on diplomacy and world congress, plus they get more benefit from tundra and snow.

 

[AriochIV]

As was said, Inca and Maori also have unique playstyles that really change gameplay.

Hungary and Phoenicia also have some unique mechanics, which may or may not come into use depending on the map. Crank up the number of city-states for Hungary, and play on maps with lots of reachable foreign continents for Phoenicia.

 

[Weraptor]

I don't adjust map generation in favor of a civ. Feels like cheating ._.

 

[Disgustipated]

Phoenicia’s GPT game can be comparable to Mali, though you need to go very wide for that.

This is my recommendation for the OP. I believe I was making more money in my Phoenicia game than my Mali game. Play Phoenicia on archipelago or island plates and watch the gold flow in.

 

[Karmah]

I don't adjust map generation in favor of a civ. Feels like cheating ._.

and yet , it isn't

 

[Mr_PeaCH]

To OP Shaf:

"Is there any civ you guys have played that give you a very unique feel for playing them."

I don't know if all have been updated for GS but there were a number of uniquely playable Civs (mostly American Indian) put out by EnigmaConundrum in the Steam Workshop:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1268802392

The Navajo were my favorite in this regard; totally unique playstyle but similar in that way to Mali. Desert oriented but with a unique Faith unit; very cool.

 

[Sostratus]

Germany's cities have more districts than normal and has the unique Hansa district, you can get your German empire into an industrial powerhouse quickly!

OP: if you enjoy Mali's district placement game with sugubas and holy sites, Germany has the same mechanic with their Hansa. See the link in my signature for a detailed guide - I find it very fun to play both of these civs!

Speaking of the district game, Japan is really fun that way as well with their bonus adjacencies. You really cluster up districts in a way that you don't with most civs.
Two other fun contenders for builder style empires are China and Aztec. Each has the ability to let worker units rush wonders (china) or districts (aztec.) This allows you to really run your empire differently; yet you still have flexibility to pivot to whatever victory you want on the back of a strong economy.