Seriously Tricky Sticky Game

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Scouse Gits
Order of Play

Obiwan18 - 15 Turns
La Fayette - 15 Turns
SCG - 12 Turns
SG[1] - 12 Turns
STYOM - 12 Turns
SG(2) - 12 Turns
Hydey - 12 Turns
DrSpike - 12 Turns
Straybow - 12 Turns
-Jrabbit - 12 Turns

There are 10 of us!

After Obiwan18 and La Fayette have started the ball rolling (in the early years you often have little to do) with 15 turns each I suggest the rest of us play 12 during the first round.

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SG(2)

Sounds good......by the time it gets to me 12 turns will be nice and juicy.

Obiwan.

[Ben Kenobi]

Dr. Spike:

Do you want me to play well, or play quickly?


*checks record of the Marquis de Sodaq in the 1st Demo Game*

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by obiwan18
Dr. Spike:

Do you want me to play well, or play quickly?

Both!

[Ben Kenobi]

Tale of the Years:

(15 turns)

Clearly a Mickey mouse game, Scuse Gits!

4000 BC -
Found city, Steamboat Willy on opening city site, specials of Whale and Cod.
Set Steamboat Willy to build warriors for hut tipping.
Hut on far eastern corner.
Opening Tech Choice 3950, select Horseback Riding.
We could probably get most of our techs from hut tipping.

3900,
Discover, Whales, Cod just a few squares away from Steamboat Willy.
Tip hut, Get Horsie! Now we are rolling!

3850,
Decide to head north to build second city. Spot another hut at grid location 55,103 (first hut was at 59,109).

3800,
Tip hut, get barbs. Smite barb horseman, we get a Vet! Steamboat Willy finishes warrior.

3750, spot another whale.

3700, finish Horseback Riding, select writing as the next tech, spot yet another whale.

3650, tip hut at (49,101) 100 gold! Woohoo!

3600, prepare ground for second city, spot another hut.

3550, build second city, Free Willy.
(Two whales in city, 1 square overlap with Steamboat
Tip hut on forest, yet another Horseman! w00t!

3500, nothing but plains and grassland, as far as the eyes can see

3450, spot Wheat special.

3400, spot Whale.

3350, Free Willy finishes warrior, starts settler.
Pop hut, trigger advanced tribe.
Rename city Fantasia. It's not a bad city site on the opposite side of our island. It's a port city, no specials that I can see. I rehome the horse to lower the burden on poor Steamboat Willy.

3300, our scientists finish Writing, and seeing further expansion blocked, researches Map Making.
700 hundred years is enough for me! Onward ho!

Bonne Chance, La Fayette!

And of course,
the save:

[Ben Kenobi]

Spazzed uni comps.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Good turns... except, is MapMaking on the trail to Democracy? If not..

I think we should be very careful with our city sites - but your choices sound good. Can't get too far away from our capital in Despo...

HG anyone?

[-Jrabbit]

Is it just me, or did Obiwan give everyone the Willies?

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Is it just me, or did Obiwan give everyone the Willies?

I'd appreciate it if all involved kept their Willies to themselves.

[Scouse Gits]

Thanks for starting things off obiwan 18 ... actually Fantasia has a hidden special two squares away to the SW

Monsieur La Fayette your country needs you ! BTW what's the french for willy? (Thinks ... that could be a question better left unanswered )

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SG(2)

[Scouse Gits]

Sounds good - but as it seems we have not gone for super carefully selected four special cities a sleaze might be effective - that way we can utilise all these whales one per city - I didn't go to Doctor Evil School for seven years for nothing

SG[1]

[La Fayette]

Robust constructive criticism: our glorious capital would certainly have enjoyed being founded 2 squares north
Lesson #1: It is very advisable to let your settlers wander before creating your capital (no general rule, but 2 or 3 turns is fine IMO, since it generally provides a hut and a nice view of the surroundings).

2950: Map Making discovered (I think it was a good idea to research it, even if it not on the path to Demo).
We are now researching Currency.
2800: Trireme completed in F.. Willy (if someone can explain Willy to me, he or she is welcome)
2750: Settler completed in SteamBW
2700: Barb uprising, close to FWilly. We rushbuild a horse and a diplo.
2650: Our horseman kills a barb horseman.
2600: Barb horseman kills our warrior.
2550: Our rushbuilt horseman is compelled to destroy the barb king, stacked with the horseman (bye, bye 150g

... it was 'kill or die')

There is a nice big island east of ours. Seems to be unsettled. I play one turn too much. Please, excuse me

[DrSpike]

Good to see it going ok.....keep it up.

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by DrSpike
Good to see it going ok.....keep it up.

Sorry, it is not going OK at all: my savegame has disappeared .
I'm no clever hacker at all: therefore I rather replay 15 turns NOW.

[La Fayette]

Ooooooops: found it

[DrSpike]

I noticed you didn't attach it before because I was going to take a peek. Now I can.

[Scouse Gits]

La Fayette ... I agree Map Making is an essential advance so we can go exploring/hut finding

SCG you now take the stage

Order of Play

Obiwan18 - 15 Turns
La Fayette - 15 Turns
SCG - 12 Turns
SG[1] - 12 Turns
STYOM - 12 Turns
SG(2) - 12 Turns
Hydey - 12 Turns
DrSpike - 12 Turns
Straybow - 12 Turns
-Jrabbit - 12 Turns

--------------------------

SG(2)

[Scouse Gits]

Yikes I'm nearly up

SG[1]

[Scouse Gits]

I've just looked at LaFayette's save - we have yet to make a start on the Gardens - don't forget the AI started with 4 settlers each - this is a race we do not want to lose!
rah's trick of using Diplos as 'poor man's caravans' might be useful.....

SG[1]

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Currency is being researched. Pick Trade next, and we should be OK for Caravans.

I agree HG is crucial... then we can do a bit of a sleaze, if we need to.

[Scouse Gits]

For what it's worth my current take on this game is a game of two halves

Era One - Despotism - grab the Gardens and sleaze on trade specials - keeping the sizes low so as to avoid unhappiness - each city producing three or four arrows - ideally size 3 so we can have some limited celebration, but that just may not be possible

Era Two - Democracy - disband the sleazy cities to get the Settlers (non) to both build up the infrastructure (mines and irrigation are nearly worthless in Despo) and to quickly fatten the chosen cities up to 8

I hasten to add that this is all new territory for me and I would welcome any and all comments upon this or any other strategy we might try...

SG[1]

[DrSpike]

Looks like what I was thinking. With us being in despotism lots of small cities with HG is the best way to go early on........really pack em in wherever is it useful in the short term. Without HG I would question whether this game is winnable.

[Scouse Gits]

DrSpike and [1] ... I half agree, but do like a decent capital ... pity Obiwan18 missed the 4 special site because with the HG it would celebrate with Monarchy resources.

If you disband a city the resulting settler is surely supported from the next nearest city?

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SG(2)

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

I thought disbanded cities produced NONs...now I'm doubting that.

HG + celebration + trade = winnable I think. Why not find a new 4 special site and rebuild the palace there? Or will it be too late (HG needs to be in the capital for this strat to work, does it not)?

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
I thought disbanded cities produced NONs...now I'm doubting that.

It's some time since I've done that ... now I'm having doubts, but don't have time to test it right now. If they are NONs it's a powerful strategy ... but I still think the only way to obtain a NON settler is from a hut, or from bribing close to an AI city. (usually very expensive) Or disbanding a city closer to an AI city than one of your own.

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SG(2)

[SCG]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
I thought disbanded cities produced NONs...now I'm doubting that.

disbanding a city produces a settler/engineer attached to cities the same way it determines the home city of bribed ones. so they would be supported by our nearest city since we don't seem to have anybody close to us (our touring horsies are still closest to S.Willy).

Anyway, i have the game now
I'll try and be more deliberate in my choices this time, so not sure if i'll finish tonight or not

[Ben Kenobi]

Robust constructive criticism: our glorious capital would certainly have enjoyed being founded 2 squares north.

I sure wish I could get starts like this when I play OCC.


I thought about poking around, but I had no idea whether or not we had more specials near. I thought it best to build the city and be sure to get a quick start.

Whales and Cod aren't bad specials for a capital starting position.

[Scouse Gits]

obiwan18 ... I'm sure you wanted to get us moving because this is a strange and difficult game.

However, it never does much harm to wander a few turns before founding the capital and gives barb-free huts as well as NON units.

For location of specials have you tried Hut Finder?

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SG(2)

[Straybow]

At Deity level Despotism means, what, six cities before the first extra red face?

No big canal projects until Demo, then.

[La Fayette]

1) Settlers from disbanded cities are attached to the nearest city: I KNOW that .
2) I didn't mention the 'canal ' cities sites because I think (apparently with many others ) that HG will be VERY nice if we can get it. I chose currency (leading to Trade) and an early trireme with horseman onboard, hoping to tip some fat huts (eg 100g, why not?) in order to get those 200 shields ASAP.
3)Our island is too small to make a transcontinental canal really useful (but I swear I build a canal later on if Straybow leaves one unbuilt ).
4) Too bad DaveV is not with us: he sure would have enjoyed sleazing like mad .

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by Straybow
At Deity level Despotism means, what, six cities before the first extra red face?

It is linked to map size: IIRC 4 cities on small and medium maps, 6 cities on large maps (and I guess this one IS large).