Winning without fighting

stormerne

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Here's a strange story. Has anyone had anything similar happen to them?

I recently tried beat my record for earliest Alpha Centauri landing on Civ2. I played, as I do for most games, at King level on a large map with large continental masses and seven civs. I decided my strategy would be to get Marco Polo early (and later United Nations) and use them to trade technologies as much as possible. Also, where a civ declined to trade, I decided I would just give them all as many techs as I had. The idea behind that was it would surely be faster if I had seven civs researching for me and not just my own. We'd all hit the space race together but I would win that easily due the stupid way the AI handles its launches.

Well it worked - but not in the way I expected. I ended up winning even though I was third to launch, but that was expected. I didn't make my best landing date, and that was a disappointment. But the strangest thing was a unique side-effect of this strategy. I won without fighting! At no time during the entire game did I attack any AI civ unit or city. And at no time during the game did any AI civ unit attack me. Mid-game, one civ obviously got fed-up with my repeatedly giving them gifts and declared war on me - really! But that changed a few moves later back to peace since they were on the other side of the world to me and we never came into contact!

Another side-effect of this strategy was that most of the civs most of the time were enthusiastic or worshipful. Only one was recalcitrant and I changed that on the year before landing by giving them all my techs and all my money. So I finished the game with all civs worshipful!

Has anyone ever done that before, won a game without fighting another civ at all?
 
I haven't done that before... what level was it on?

Has anyone tried conquering the world using only diplomats and spies? I would say it's highly possible...
 
Well, I havent done it without fighting anyone, but I have won where I had only minor conflicts with the other civs. The AI would always start the trouble though. I have also won a game by taking over the world with mostly diplomats and spies. It isnt as easy as you might think, but once you get going you can roll over them pretty easy.
 
Originally posted by Thunderfall:
I haven't done that before... what level was it on?

Has anyone tried conquering the world using only diplomats and spies? I would say it's highly possible...

It would be possible except of the last city of each civ...I don't think you can bribe them.


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[This message has been edited by PaleHorse76 (edited January 19, 2001).]
 
oops, what was I thinking... You can't bribe cities of a democratic gov't and the capital. It should be highly impossible to win using diplomats alone.
 
I haven't won a game like that but I did propose a challenge. To win the game without building/defending any cities. You can not place or fortify and units in a city. Or build any cities. I tried this once and got destroyed. It's harder than you think. Taking over the world with no cities to call your own.
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But it's a challenge.

Try it, it's cool!!

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"I'm too out of shape for a long fight so I'll have to kill you fast"
"If LESS is MORE just imagine how much MORE, MORE would be!!!"
I AM CANADIAN!
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Playing a game without fighting or any cities boggles my brain. I guess i am old-fashioned. Build cities, build armies, eliminate everything in sight

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I am disrespectful to Dirt! Can you not see that I am serious?
 
Well I tried a game last night but I lost.
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I DID how ever kill the Chinese and Carthagians. I was allied with the Mongols and when I tried to kill them I perished.
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You can't build a city, but you can take over a city. But you can't defend it.

I had an awesome game going with 6 Legions but I got stuck on an island!!! So I had to start over. 1 Chariot, 2 Archers, 2 Horses, and 2 Settlers, at my peak. Just think of it as a game as the barbs.
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"I'm too out of shape for a long fight so I'll have to kill you fast"
"If LESS is MORE just imagine how much MORE, MORE would be!!!"
I AM CANADIAN!
Civ 2 Ladder
My Civ 2 Scenario Page.
 
Hi Thunderfall. As I said, it was at King level.

As to your suggestion: I would have thought it very hard but still possible to win only using veteran spies. If you can poison the capital to zero before they transfer it to another city then you can incite/subvert the rest. But you gotta do before they're democracies - that's the hard part.

That's usually the way I finish off the last civ when it has only one city left. I've made sure that I've knocked out the capital and that it hasn't transferred. Then I hem in the last city completely, max out my cities in democracy, finally cranking up the luxury rate to 100%, waiting a few turns and sending a spy to subvert. You have to choose a backward civ that doesn't have democracy and keep it that way, keeping an eye on what they're researching.

 
Try doing absolutely nothing except improving the land and finding huts to get units (no city building)that can swarm around the map. Call yourselves the 'Barbarians'and do basically nothing until around 1800 AD. It is stupid, but fun, and at Warlord/chieftain you can almost compete with the AI.
 
stormerne, what version of Civ are you using, classic or MGE? I have MGE and have found that even a worshipful civ will convert to icy or worse in a turn or two. Even giving away all my techs like you did I can't imagine them all staying friendly that long in MGE.
 
BTW, what IS your record for earlies spaceship land? I have one landing in 1866 in my current game (Warlord, large map, 7 civs)
 
I use version 2.7.8l, the Classic collection that came with Fantastic Worlds. They do the quick-freeze on that version too!
 
Thunderfall,

When I play, I make peace at the beginning with every civ, I usually play with 7 civs. Eventually I declare war on 2 civs, and am at peace with the rest. Then I hike my taxes up, build diplomats, and subvert all the cities I can. First you start with the cities furthest from the capitals, its easier and cheaper. I leave one civ left, to trade with, and then about the year 1950, I destroy them, and finish the game out.
 
Can you use a spy to destroy the palace? I also know that if the capital falls, you may be able to subvert the last sities before a new capital is declared. In my current game I have just conquered Paris and there were two cities left. I sent spies to both and was able to convert them, even though it was the following turn. I suppose the AI possibly calculated that there were not enough shield to build the palace
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I don't know...
 
Spies/diplomats cannot destroy capitols. I tried, it did not give me the option, (instead the spy automatically sabatoged the marine production.)
 
I always trade with other civs at all times and in all circumstances. if you do this, you are always ahead, because you always have several techs that another civ doesnt have. I have also noticed that this style of game reduces war and creates harmony between nations. There is also little need to have a high science rate, and I always turn science off completely while I am in possession of marco polo and the library.

Yes, great strategy,

One of the best!

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MrLeN

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Where there is money, there are liars!
 
I can never do that! The more I contact them, the more they get pissed at me. Sometimes, I have to teach them a lesson for pestering me.

One way to advoid fighting is to start at the pole, but that way, you can't win!
 
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