What do you think about Alphabet?

[Lucilla]

In my last games I tried to get Alphabet as quickly as possible. As the AI did not research Alphabet until later in the game, it gave me an interesting advantage:

I was the only one who was able to trade techs. So even if the other civs got to know each other, they could not trade techs among themselves but only with me. It was easy to buy all the techs that I missed out in the beginning and it gave me a significant tech lead as long as I didn't sell Alphabet to anybody.

What's your opinion on this strategy? Did you try it and did it work out for you?

[rayw69]

I think this is a valid strategy. Its one that I have used successfully a few times. But unless the other AI Civs are all avoiding Alphabet, the window of advantage is very narrow.

The interesting thing about this strategy, is that oftentimes, the only tech I have available to trade when I finally research Alphabet... is Alphabet! If not only Alphabet, then most certainly the tech(s) leading up to Alphabet.

So in some ways, this strategy is self defeating. Sort of like building Stonehenge in order to help extend your cultural borders in order to grab a resource that requires the building of a plantation.

[Lucilla]

I usually had Writing available to trade and I did not completely neglect the other techs like e.g. Masonry (1st wonder that I usually build: Pyramids). So I could trade 1 or 2 techs aside from Alphabet.

But that all might depend on difficulty level and map size. If there are more oponents, it's more likely that they get to the Writing-Alphabet part of the tech tree, too.

[Azuarc]

I've found when you go this route that alphabet seems to take insurmountably long due to not having infrastructure yet. I like to shoot for priesthood first - which possibly sets up nabbing a religion - and then start the oracle while I get up to writing during its construction.

[aeturneus]

I find that on Monarch and above I am behind in the tech race by the time I discover alphabet, and I'm lucky if I'm the first to get it. However, it is critical to have because it allows you to see what technologies other civs have, and go for different ones so that you do get something tradeable eventually, and i have no idea how you'd stay even remotely competitive scientifically at high difficulties without tech trading as much as possible.

[Becephalus]

I play with tech trading off should I even bother with above monarch level?

[Blake]

I tend to shoot for alphabet after getting ironworking and the hunting/ag/archer techs. I'm usually inclined to not get an early religion, unless playing a civ well suited to doing that.

[Lemmy]

In my previous two aggressive games i didn't research alphabet untill i was close to winning a war, so i could demand all their techs for peace a treaty...i found it to be quite effective, esp against a religious civ, since it allows me to ignore the religious techs and focus only on military and basic infrastructure.

[vee4473]

Originally posted by rayw69


So in some ways, this strategy is self defeating. Sort of like building Stonehenge in order to help extend your cultural borders in order to grab a resource that requires the building of a plantation.

Not necessarily, if the resource is within your borders, then the most important part has been accomplished.

Barring military invasion, no other civ can access that resource, regardless of whether YOU have the tech needed to do so.

[Utwig]

Well, if you plan to go on early warmongering or focus on latter religions (Christianity, Islam), you want it because you will probably research narrowly and trade for cheaper earlier techs.