The Devel's Workshop 1a - Beyond the Veil (After the Slingshot)

[Hermann the Lombard]

1410 AD – Cumae Obs,Mkt. First rail segment done, first city pair (Rome to Antium, naturally). The new goal is to create a “backbone” of rail to carry units from end to end of Roman territory, then to link all cities to the backbone, and then to use rail anywhere it will improve production (mines and lumbermills), and finally to optimize movement of units within the territory.

1412 AD – Atl Cav,Machine Gun (MG); Etr Drydock,Galleon; Shang CMon,Bank; Sev BMiss,Lib; Wash Drydock (our third), GLOBE THEATER. Nappy GA ends…and we have SIX sources of Oil. Switch Cumae to Work Boat for the offshore source. [No, I didn’t know the problem at the time.] One Oil is under a Town at Cordoba, hopefully to remain a reserve. Another is under a farm at Toledo, but one is very convenient in open terrain not in a city radius between Shangian and San Francisco (and another is on the coast near Pisae). CMiss fails Bombay for perhaps the 5th time.

Statue of Liberty is now about half done (2102/4500) with 32t remaining. I’m not at all sure I’ll get it, but rushing it now would cost 5754gp! Now have 2304 in the treasury. If I *really* want SoL I should shut down research temporarily and gather the gold. Could generate +398gp@40% or +712@10% or +806@0%... So 6 turns at 10% will do it. Do It!

Aside: the elderly Anthony van Leeuwenhoek unfortunately will not work on Biology but insists on working against his nature: Physics. Go ahead and burn him (on Physics rather than at the stake) for +6651b out of 17940. This represents a big waste: he could have founded an Academy a LONG time ago, or been acting as a Super Specialist instead. This was like money in a mattress as opposed to investing it.

1414 Pis CMiss,CMiss; SF Gran,Forge

1418 Nappy offers Rifling for Steel. That’s approximately even up (11K vs 13K). I’ll take it. Rav TMiss,CMiss; Chi HTmp,Gran

1420 Cumae WBoat,Mkt;Cord CTmp,Court. BMiss to Ravenna[20/26 Roman cities have Buddhism]. Nappy declares on Gandhi.

1422 Sant Barr,Rifle; Bom Gran,Forge. Now I see one lone French Grenadier against 3 Indian Gren+Musk+LB. I think I should join the war against Gandhi to avoid French presence and to complete conquest of the continent. Offer peace to Monty for WM+20gp (Pfui!) but that’s all he has. PEACE reigns…momentarily. Sell Cows to Monty for 5gpt. TMiss to SF[23/26].

Rush SoL for 4854gp.

Research back to 60% and +198gpt with Bio in 16t.

[Hermann the Lombard]

1424 THE LADY brings 26 free specialists, so far! Etr Galleon (our first),Galleon. Jaipur falls to Aztecs…which is interesting because I didn’t know it existed. It mush have been built to replace the razed city. Rush 1 extra cannon (in NY). Rail line now complete from Neapolis to Washington!

1426 Pis CMiss,TMiss [In case it wasn’t obvious, a switch like this in *type* of Missionary usually means that I’m maxed out on the first type.]

1428 Sea Drydock (the 4th), Frigate; Rav CMiss,TMiss; Barc Drydock,Galleon; Chi Gran,BMiss; NY Cannon,Lib. Rails reach New York.

Headline in Madras: A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS

[Hermann the Lombard]

WAR with India: Swap Cav for Gren near Portland for mutual first blood. Bagged worker outside Bombay.

1430 Advancing in India. Rails reach Ravenna. Conf to Chartres (that’s all known French cities). The Kong Miao now yields +50gpt!

1432 Roman Cav destroyed by Indian Cav sallying from Madras, and the wretched Indians were barely hurt (12.1). CMiss to Bombay, at last! Rails reach Cordoba, but my workers must be wary with Indian cav around. Frigates confirm that Jaipur was destroyed, so it’s not an Aztec foothold. Frigates Romulus & Remus bombard Calcutta as a nuisance attack. Just realized—to my horror—that Ravenna was completely undefended! Moved LB in by rail and upgraded to Gren.

1434 Etr Gall,Barr; Sea Frigate,Frigate; Tol Grocer,Rifle; Rome Cannon,Gren; Atl Obs,Bank. CMiss fails Portland. Oh well. 5 Cannon reduce Madras. Indian Cav+Cat flee Madras toward Delhi. Roman Cav dies attacking the Indian Cav without even mussing his hair. That’s one tough Cavalry…which happens to be Combat III. [My unit First Cavalry is even better: Combat III + Formation.] Note: we’ll need a Settler to fill in the Jaipur peninsula.

1436 Indian Musket attacks a Cav on a forested hill. Bye, Musket. Pis TMiss,CMiss. Madras’ time has come. It’s defended by unpromoted Cav, Gren, 2 LB & Cat. Sac cannon vs Gren, damaging 4. Second cannon withdraws and survives, taking the Cav to half damage (7.3/15). 4th Cavalry kills Gren, First Mace kills LB, First Knight (Cav) kills LB, 7th Cavalry kills Cav, 3rd Cavarly kills Cat and takes the city. Lost one cannon (plus two cavalry to the cav that withdrew). Madras comes equipped with granary, academy, observatory & market. Nice.

1438 French frigates join Roman bombarding Delhi. Rav TMiss,CMiss; Chi BMiss,Uni.

1440 NY Lib,BMiss. TMiss fails Vandal. French reduce Delhi. BMiss to Madras.

1442 Sea Frig,Cannon; Frigate arrives to help Cannon bombard Karachi. At gates of Delhi facing Cav, Gren, Musk, LB, Cat on flat ground. Sac cannon pinking 4 of 5 units. Next cannon withdrew after mangling the Cav. Captured Delhi and Worker losing only the one cannon. City comes complete with Harbor, Academy, Obs, Mkt, Court, and NOTRE DAME. [I’ve lost count of how many Academies I now control. Must be about seven, and I built only one.]

[Hermann the Lombard]

STATUS: Nappy is close in Military Power, but Rome has a huge lead in all else.

Etruria will generate the next GP. Now 53% GS (which I don’t want), 42% GE (which I do), and 3% GP (marginally OK). Removed 2 scientists, added one merchant and one artist to try to skew the percentages toward GE. It will serve me right if I get a GA!!

1444 Monty cancels Peace Treaty (well, it timed out). Pis CMiss,CMiss; Bos Lib,Cannon; Rome Gren,Can; Wash Settler, back to GLOBE. TMiss fails Chicago. Frigate&Cannon reduce Karachi. Captured city without loss, leaving 3 Indian cities including 2 nuisances on the continent.

1446 Etr Barr,Rif; Sev Lib,Bank; Barc Gall,CTmp

1448 Rav CMiss,TMiss; Sant Rif,Lib. Aztec settler team lands on “Indian Peninsula” but my Settler got there just in time. Found Arretium, the first new Roman city since Ravenna in 880 AD and Etruria in 2160 BC! Aztecs will still get to found a colony but I got the site I want, and if I should happen to get a GA… Meanwhile, start driving rails toward Delhi & Arret.

1450 Ant Cav,Rif. CMiss to Arret, leaving only Portland without Conf.

1452 Biology, leaving big decision: Communism (13t) for Kremlin & State Prop, Combustion (16t) for Oil Wells & Warships, or Assembly Line (22t) for Factories. Comes down to Comm vs ALine; I think Assembly Line. [In retrospect it seems like I could have ignored Assembly Lines and Communism and won the game with Warships…but my first inclination is to get those factories pumping away.]

Neap WEST POINT start Rifle. Took Kohlapur without loss. It’s an Ice City; should I keep it? Well, it has fish and oil, it’s a good fishing village, so keep it.

1454 Madras comes online and starts my customary Theater. Rome Can,Gren; Cord Can,Court; Pis CMiss,TMiss; Arret Thea,Gran. CMiss to Portland for a clean sweep! Confucianism has spread to all Roman cities, all French, all but 1 Japanese, and 2 Aztec. Lahore falls, driving Gandhi from the mainland. Peace Treaty with India to consolidate the continent.

1456 Nappy wants me to break that treaty. Negative. NY BMiss,BMiss. Madras Thea,Forge; Karachi online already, Granary (doesn’t need Theater). Arret grows leaving only the tip of the peninsula available to the Aztecs…actually there’s a gap between Madras & Arret & Dellhi.

1458 Madrid Bank (the magic #6), start Grocer; Kohl online,Thea. Rails reach Arret via Delhi; that’s rail from one end of the continent to the other. BMiss to Arret.

1460 Cumae Mkt,Grocer; Rav TMiss,TMiss; TMiss to Karachi; Neap Rif,Cav

1462 Shan Bank, Grocer

1464 Pis TMiss,TMiss; Rome Gren, something or other. Delhi grows so the gap is gone leaving only 3 arable tiles. Louis Pasteur born in Etruria. Rats. Got the GS I expected rather than the GE I wanted (52/42%). Can take another chunk out of Physics. It’s too late for an Academy, and we have lots. Burn toward Physics…but wait a moment as Toku has had it for a long time and may trade.

1466 Now Monty wants me to break my treaty with India. Negative. Atl Bank,Grocer; Lahore online, came with only a Lighthouse, start Gran; Ant Rif, WALL STREET; Etr Rif,Gall; Bom Forge,HTmp

[Hermann the Lombard]

1468 Mony offers Open Borders, possibly because only one tile is open for his Settler team. OK, it’s Missionary Time! Tol Can,Rif; TMiss to Kohl; CMiss to Nara (last Japanese city).

Rome controls 60.4% of the land with 64% needed to win. There are only 4 not-yet-Roman tiles on the continent, and 14 Indian tiles on the island which *might* do the trick, but Murphy says otherwise.

Quick Plan: Move Galleons & Reserves toward island. Build Settler for the northern half leaving Calcutta with the rest. See if France or Aztecka will pay me to fight. Grab the island and recheck the land area. If still short, continue Infra & Research aiming for a modern attack on Monty to grab enough land for the victory.

1470 Rav TMiss,CMiss; Neap Cav,Rif; Pis TMiss,TMiss; NY BMiss,BMiss

1472 Cord Court,Settler

1474 Rome Can,Gren; Sea Mkt,Can. Monty makes peace with Gandhi.

1476 Barc CTmp, Grocer; Etr CMiss,Gall. Declare WAR on Gandhi.

1478 Sant Lib,Wrk; Bos Can,BTmp; Cord Settler,Forge. Battle of Calcutta: 7th Cavalry withdraws from Grenadier, First Knight whomps Musket, Rifleman gets first kill of its sort, and Battery B takes the city, capturing Worker, Harbor, Lighthouse, Forge, and Court.

Headline: India KIA

The Glory That Is Rome!

[Hermann the Lombard]

1480 Rav CMiss,CMiss; Neap Rif,Cav

1482 Pis TMiss,JMiss; Rome Gren,TTmp; Del Thea,Forge (insert Work Boat). Built Taprobane (nee Arpinum) on north coast of “Sri Lanka.”

1484 Wash GLOBE THEATER,Granary; Etr Gall,Frig; Sea Can,Can; Tol Rif,Can; NY BMiss,BMiss. Monty has a Rifle/Settler team now halfway between Madras & Arret (unclaimed land until this turn).

1486 Sala Court,Forge. Mission Ship arrives Tlaxcala: TMiss to Teot;TMiss to Tlat;CMiss to Tlat. BMiss to Tapro

1488 LA Lib,Light; Kara Gran,Forge

1490 Assembly Line, Communism (over Combustion & Physics). Cumae Grocer,TMiss;Atl Grocer,TMiss; Sant Wrk,Inf; Rome TTmp,Factory; Neap Cav,Inf; Wash Gran,Light.

1492 Pis JMiss,Obs; Rav CMiss,BMiss; Ant WALL STREET (rushed), Factory; Madrid Grocer,Mkt

1494 Sev Bank,Grocer; Sea Can,Factory; NY BMiss,Uni. TMiss to Texc; CMiss to Teot; BMiss fails Texc. JMiss to Rav. Given the Aztec threat, defer Communism in favor of Combustion to get Destroyers to counter Frigates and Galleons. Raise Research to 80%, +47gpt.

Interesting! In Texcoco Monty has 7 Frigates, at least 5 Galleons, and (visibly) 5 Knights and 4 Grens embarked. I wonder where they could be—cough—going?

[Hermann the Lombard]

1496 Atl TMiss,CMiss; Cumae TMiss,Factory; Etr CMiss,Frig; Madras Forge,Lib; BMiss to Calc. Stop rushing Infra to conserve gold for naval upgrades.

1498 Bombay HTmp,Ironclad; Tot Cav,Inf; Wash Lighthouse,Frig. With the expansion of Taprobane wie have all but one tile (Land’s End in the east) of both the continent and Sri Lanka but that’s only 62.28% of the necessary 64%, so we can’t get Domination without invading overseas. Must first defeat Monty’s navy, and I assume he’s coming my way. His land would be a tough nut; an easier target would be the Franco-Japanese island (hard for them to reinforce), though both are Friendly for now. No, Monty is the target! We could go for a Space or Diplo victory, but that’s not really my style this game. OK, here’s a vague plan: buildup navy for sea control, research to get tanks and marines, keep increasing production, build invasion force, go kick Aztec ass.

1500 Shang Grocer,Barr; Neap Inf,Factory; Chi Uni,Work Boat. TMiss to Tapr

Regarding factories: if Monty is coming I shouldn’t tie up all major production centers with factories under construction. Right now I have FIVE under construction including my top 3 production cities (Rome, 8t; Sea, 12t; Ant, 13t). Thought: suspend all but Rome & Seattle, shifting the other 3 to military production. Consider shifting Civics as well.

STATUS: Pulling away in Power with Monty actually in last place. 1st in ALL categories, even Approval, Life Expectancy & Imports/Exports. GNP 550/281/198; Prod 597/139/100; Food 792/233/179; Army 1.4M/1.2/1.0; Land 563/148/113; Pop 34M/10/6. No real worries.

1502 Atl CMiss,MGun; Rav BMiss,TMiss; Etr Frig,TMiss; Bos BTmp,Can; SF Forge,Court. TMiss fails Madras. Insert some Miss in build queues to delay any more Frigates since Combustion in 5t.

1504 Calcutta & Taprobane Railroad complete! BMiss to Shang

1506 CMiss to Tapr, that’s 34/34 Roman cities and all the rest of the world except 2 Aztec cities.

1508 Chi Work Boat,Obs; Etr TMiss,Frig; LA Light,Gran; Vandal Court,Lib; CMiss to Tlat; CMiss to Calix. That’s every city in the world! 59 cities with Confucianism!

1510 Monty cancels Open Borders, fortunately one turn *after* I completed proselytizing. Shang Barr,MGun; Wash TMiss, Frig.

1512 Combustion, start Physics (6t due to early burning GS); Rav TMiss,BMiss; Neap Inf,Inf; Cord Forge,Lib; Port Forge,Lib. 4 turns to first Oil Well so defer Frigates again.

1514 Barc Ironclad,Frig; Delhi Forge,Gran; TMiss to Calc; TMiss to Delhi

1516 Rome Factory,Inf; Ant Inf,Cav; TMiss to Lahore [32/34]

1518 Bom Ironclad;Frig; Atl MGun,Inf. Promoted Frigate Carthago & Ironclad Washington to Destroyer DD.

1520 Etr JMiss,DD; Tol Inf,Can. Promoted Frigate Surprise to DD

1522 Madrid Mkt,Obs; Cumae Inf,Work Boat; JMiss to Ant; Del Gran,Light; Bos Can,Can; Madras Lib,Court

1524 Sea Factory,Coal Plant; Neap Inf,MG; SF Court,Lib; FF Romulus promoted to DD

1526 Physics, Communism; Rav BMiss,BMiss;Sant Inf,Obs; Rome Inf,Coal Plant; BMiss to DD. Well, we have FIVE sources of Uranium.

1528 Cumae WBoat,Cav; Shang MG,MG; LA Gran,Forge; FF Remus to DD

[Hermann the Lombard]

1530 Sev Grocer,TMiss; Ant Cav,Factory; Del Light,Lib.

OK, here’s a plan to win the game: finish Communism (in 4t), then drive to Industrialism (20t) via Electricity (14t), then build or upgrade to Tanks and ad a few Marines and Battleships (BB). Use DD & BB to control the seas, and use Marines & Tanks & Infantry to carve out enough of Aztecka for the win. Optionally complete the Pentagon ((~55t vs 38t for Research) and possibly even switch to Theo+Vassalage for max promotions. Still hoping that the Aztecs will invade me so that I can bleed them; that huge armada is still there.

1532 Nuts. Darwin born in Tenoch. Giving them a free tech when they already have a GE for a free Wonder. OK, complete current unit production, then stop except warships & Neapolis.

1534 Neap MG,Cav; Pis Obs,Bank; Tol Can,Factory; Cord Lib,Factory. Monty’s Golden Age.

1536 Madras Court,Uni; Atl Inf,Mkt

1538 Communism, Electricity; Port Lib,Court; Calc Gran,CTmp; Etr DD,Bank; Rav BMiss,Harbor; Sev TMiss,Obs

1540 Rome Coal Plant, PENTAGON; Seattle Coal, KREMLIN; Bos Can,Obs; BMiss to Pisae [27/34] Toku has small armada in Tokyo; Nappy’s is in Marseilles…but Tokyo faces Rome and Marseilles does not. TMiss fails Arretium.

1544 Neap Cav,Inf;Wash Uni,DD

1546 Shang MG,Factory; Barc Grocer,DD; All frigates promoted to DD along with 2 of 3 Ironclads

1550 Delhi Lib,TMiss; NY Uni,Obs

1552 SF Lib,Obs; Vand Lib,BMiss; Madrid Obs,Factory; Bom DD,Drydock; Kohl Gran,Light

1554 Port Court,BMiss

1556 Ant Factory,Coal Plant; Neap Inf,MG; Rav Harb,BMiss; Wash DD,Obs

1558 Del TMiss,TMiss; TMiss to Arret

1560 Atl Mkt,Factory; Chi Transport,Obs. Navy now almost all DD with 1 Caravel coming home to upgrade.

1562 Electricity, Industrialism; Port BMiss,JMiss; Tol Obs,Can; Arret Forge,Light; Tapro Light,Gran; BMiss to Delhi

1564 Vand BMiss,BMiss; St. John born in Antium; Delhi TMiss,HMiss; TMiss to Madras. Sold Bio to Nappy 430gp and Monty 120; Toku has it already.

1566 Neap MG,Cav [Many cities are alternating military and infra, but Neap—with West Point and Barracks—is pumping military.

1568 Rav BMiss,Barr; Tapr Gran,Forge; BMiss to Lahore. It’s a pity that Industrialism will be done so long before the Pentagon: 14t vs 28t.

[Hermann the Lombard]

1570 Post JMiss,BMiss; Barc DD,BTmp; Sev Obs,TMiss; Del HMiss,HMiss; JMiss to Santiago; HMiss to Arret. St.John builds The Kashi Vishwanath for an instant +11gpt. BMiss to Etr

Hmm…I’m seeing the first Japanese Destroyers (and Transports); I have no real tech edge, but I have finished upgrading the navy: 19 DD and 6 Transports.

1572 Madras Uni, HMiss

1574 Ant Coal Plant,Aqueduct; Sant Obs,TMiss; Arret Light,Lib

1576 Neap Cav,Inf; Cumae Factory,Barr; Tol Can,Can; Chi Obs,Tpt; Bos Obs,Can; Bom Drydock,DD; Vand BMiss,BMiss; Del HMiss,HMiss. Louis Pasteur very belatedly builds Academy in Etruria rather than getting burnt toward Fission. I won’t let the game last long enough for that tech to be useful!

1578 Port BMiss,Barr; Madras HMiss,HMiss; Pis Bank,Tpt; Etr Bank,DD; Wash Obs,Bank; Sev TMiss,TMiss; HMiss to Vandal; TMiss fails Bombay; HMiss to Boston

1580 BMiss to Seattle

1582 Ant Aqu,Jail; Del HMiss,HMiss; HMiss fails Seville

1584 Sant TMiss,TMiss; Madras HMiss,Barr; HMiss fails Portland; BMiss to Karachi[32/34]

1586 NY Obs,HMiss; Sev TMiss,Barr; Cumae Barr,Cav; Neap Inf,MG; Vand BMiss,BMiss; TMiss to Bombay; TMiss to Chicago

1588 Cord Factory;Barr; Sala Forge,Harbor; Del HMiss,HMiss

1590 Calc CTmp,Wealth; Shang Factory,MG; Rav Barr,Exp; Tol Can,Can; LA Forge,Tpt;
HMiss to Madrid; BMiss to SF[33/34]. OK, here’s the deal: rush the Pentagon for 3933gp and start cranking Industrial units with the bonus. Note: running out of things that I need (and reaching saturation on religions), so switch some minor cities to Wealth. Another note: Ravenna is not a powerhouse city, but start using Barracks&Pentagon to turn out Explorers as Medics. Cheap, fast, useful, and doesn’t tie up combatants on hospital duty.

1592 Industrialism, Radio (then Flight); Rome PENTAGON, Tank; Barc BTmp,BB; Ant Jail,Marines; Port Barr,Exp. We have five sources of Aluminum (1 already hooked up at Salamanca…and the other 4 all have Windmills overhead). It’s a pity that Cavalry doesn’t promote to Tank (tell George Patton that cavalrymen can’t become tankers!) Reduce research to 60% to have more gold for hurrying Tanks, esp from West Point with Kremlin’s -50%.

Desired force mix for invading Aztecka? I want a minimum of 6-8 Tanks, 4 Marines, 6-8 Infantry, 6-8 well-promoted Cavalry, 4 BB, 12 DD, about 14 Transports, about 6 Machine Guns…and about 12 Cannon. Right now I have 24 Cavalry, 20 Cannon and 7 MG along with 11 Infantry and many upgradeable Grenadiers. Also 19 DD and 6 Transports. So I have my Infantry, Cavalry, MG, DD, and Cannons. I need to add at least 5 more Transports, and preferably about 10 to have a credible second wave. Under construction now? A Tank, 2 Marines, 3 BB, some legacy Cav & DD, 3 Transports, the Kremlin, and assorted Barracks and Factories to be followed by modern units. Looks like 10 to 20 turns before I’ll be ready to sail for Aztecka. I hope that’s fast enough. Rush 3 Barracks and 1 Factory (with another Barracks next turn).

1594 Del HMiss,HTmp; Atl Factory,Tank; Sant TMiss,Wealth; NY HMiss,Wkr; Madrid Factory,Barr; Cord Barr,Marine; Sev Barr,Inf; Madras Barr,Marine. [I’m roughly trying to optimize production to not waste too many hammers—or turns—producing units.]

[Hermann the Lombard]

1596 Sea KREMLIN, BB; Neap MG,Tank; Bos Can,MG; Vand BMiss,Can; TMiss to Vandal [34/34, another clean sweep]. HMiss fails Toledo. I have pretty much abandoned sending more missionaries overseas. Every city in the world has Confucianism, my state religion, and all the civs of the other hemisphere (i.e. the survivors) all have Conf. If I spread too many more religions I may undo the good will of my co-religionists.

1598 Fifty Million Romans! Bom DD, BB; Port Exp,Inf; Arret Lib,Drydock; HMiss fails Atl

1600 Rome produces First Armored, start another; Pisae Tpt,Tpt; Cumae Cav,Tnk; STATUS: All 1st. GNP (697/291), Prod 869/156; Army 1.9M/1.3; Land 563/149.

1602 Rav Exp,Exp; Chi Tpt,Tpt; NY Wkr,HMiss; Madrid Barr,Tnk; SF Obs,Wealth; BMiss to Kohl [another 34/34]

1604 Decline Open Borders with Monty; Ant builds First Marines; Tol Can,Tnk

1606 Del HMiss,HTmp; HMiss to Cord

1608 Seattle launches first BB; Kara Forge,Lib

1610 Rome Tnk,Tnk; NY HMiss,HMiss; Sala Harb,Wealth; HMiss to Wash. I’ve run out of things for workers to do.

1612 Neap Tnk,Tnk; Shang Mar,Mar; Atl Tnk,Tnk; Cord Mar,Mar; Wash BB, Bank; Kohl Light,Forge

1614 Ant Mar,Tnk; Bos MG,Can; Del HTmp,HMiss

1616 Rav Exp,Exp; Madras Mar,Mar; NY HMiss,HMiss

1618 Rome Tnk,Tnk; Etr BB,DD; Sea BB,BB; Sev Inf,Inf. Arret expands shoving the Aztec settler team off the continent. HMiss to Atl

1620 Modern Era! Radio, Flight; Bom BB,Tpt; Port Inf,MG; Madrid Tnk,Tnk; Del HMiss,Hmiss; HMiss fails Portland. Met all the OoB goals except Transports (now 8/14) but we’ll have the rest in 6 turns…then assemble the invasion fleet.

1622 Cumae Tnk,Tpt; Pis Tpt,Tpt; Vand Can,Tpt

1624 Barc BB,Tpt; NY HMiss,HMiss; HMiss fails Barcelona (odds are getting poor when most cities have at least 3 religions already).

1626 Ant Tnk,Mar; Neap Tnk,Tnk; Etr DD,Tpt; Chi Tpt,Settler (potentially to fill the site of a razed city). Research back to 80% and +125gpt with 9,287 gold in the treasury.

1628 Rome Tnk,Tnk; Rav Exp,Exp; Arret Drydock,Tpt; Sea Tpt,Tpt. Kalidas born in Rome. Great Artist. Nuts. That will probably be my last GP. OK we’ll bring the GA to help hold the first captured city and we’ll bring a Settler too. We’re hurrying Transports & Tanks.

[Hermann the Lombard]

1630 A big year! Cumae Tpt,Tnk; Neap Tnk,Tnk; Pis Tpt,Tpt; Etr Tpt,Tpt; shang Mar,Mar; Atl Tnk,Tnk; Tol Tnk,Can; Barc Tpt,Sub; NY HMiss,HMiss; Bos Can,Can; Cord Mar,Mar. HMiss fails Santiago. Plan: embark in 1640 (5 turns from now).

Picking an invasion site? My strong preference is for the wooded hills in NW Aztecka, good for bleeding his counterattackers. My second choice--and probably second front—is a single hill on the opposite shore with intent to cut Aztecka in two. In any case the attack will be painful: Monty has Machine Guns…but I have Tanks.

[Hermann the Lombard]

1632 Wash Tpt,Bank; LA Tpt,Tpt; Bom Tpt,Tpt. Dispatched the fleets to try to goad Monty into sending the Armada.

1634 Rome Tnk,Tnk; Ant Mar,Tnk; Neap Tnk,Tnk; Etr Tpt,Tep; Sea Tpt,Tpt; Barc Sub,Tpt; Wash Bank, BB; Chi Settler,Tpt; Madrid Tnk,Tnk; Madras Mar,Mar; Arret Tpt,Sub; Tapr Forge,Lib. Transports sail from Etruria & LA as those have farther to go then the ones at the eastern tip.

1636 Bom Tpt,Sub. It’s time. Headline: “IT’S WAR WITH MONTY!” Oops. My friend Napoleon just declared war on me! The shooting starts as DD Pisae and Londinium sink Aztec frigates.

1638 Etr Tpt,Tpt; Sea Tpt,BB; NY HMiss,HMiss; Del HMiss,Tpt. Monty switches to Theocracy. The important thing: Monty didn’t take the bait and the powerful Armada remains in port. Nuts. Wait! Whereditgo? The fleet has disappeared from Texcoco. Destroyers start recon of one full turn’s steaming from Texcoco. FOUND THEM! They’re just off the NW coast. They sailed TOWARD my main fleet. Pity.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Give BB Arpinium the honor of opening the battle: scratch one Frigate. BB Asia sinks FF + 5 collateral. BBs Brindisium, Narbonensis and Illyrium follow. On to the DDs. Romulus sinks last FF leaving the poor Galleons. Remus gets the first, then Barcelona, Salamis, Capri & Capua, wiping out the Armada: 6 Frigates and 5 fully-loaded Galleons. Very much easier to drown those units at sea than to absorb their counterattacks on their land…and the Aztecs barely scratched my paint. Only Brindisium took damage, and only 10%. Meanwhile, the French fleet remains in Marseilles. The Ship of the East and the Ship of the Center (both DD) sink two more FF and trash some fishing boats for sport. Now to watch the French: FF escorts laden Galleon off Chartres. I’m not inclined to hit them first, for non-game reasons.

1640 Port MG,MG; Cumae Tnk,DD; Neap Tnk,Tnk; Sea BB,Sub; Rav Exp,Exp; SotCenter sinks fleeing FF. Romulus sinks only known Aztec ironclad. HMiss to Barc [“only” 18/34 cities]. We are poised to invade.

1642 Another big year: Flight, start Artillery (not for any particularly good reason; this is the beginning of the end). Etr DD,DD; Rome Tnk,Mar; Sev Inf,Inf. French frigates approach the Roman coast in 3 spots, one sinking a fishing boat (that French fiend!) right off LA as the new Battleship NoriCumae approaches. Frigate blown to bits. DD Ludovicius sinks FF off Cumaeae and screens fishing boat against another.

Interesting: it looks like I can grab Calixtlahuaca with Marines as few units can counterattack due to lack of railroad (yes, the attack WAS fast enough).

[Hermann the Lombard]

Naval bombardment reduces Calix which has MG (Combat I) and Rifle (C I & City Def II). First Marines are Combat I + Pinch…and destroyed the MG! 2nd Marine (Combat II) dies attacking Rifle. 3rd Marine (w/Guerilla II) finishes off the Rifle and captures the city. [Lesson: for amphibious attack don’t make Marines defensive specialists even though their promotions lean toward defense.] The city comes equipped with Lighthouse, Harbor, Forge, Colosseum, Market & Courthouse.

Frigate SURPRISE sinks French frigate (surprise!) and Romulus sinks Galleon with 2 Cav+Gren. Widened the bridgehead in the west to 5 tiles to minimize collateral damage. Screwed up my second beachhead: I accidentally moved the transport fleet “ashore” decanting the entire army in a one spot: a grassy hill with 40 units next to Teotihuacan. [I wanted half of the force on the wooded hill next to that.] This may hurt!

1644 It hurt. 3 Cannons attack, each doing collateral damage to 7 units; one Cannon managed to retreat. French Knight suicides against Calix. French frigates sink two fishing boats and lightly damage Washington’s defenses. Pity about that BB that just came off the ways in Washington! Ant Tnk,Mar; Cumae DD,Tpt; Sea Sub,BB; Tol Can,Can; NY HMiss,HMiss; Bos Can,Can.

Counterpunches north of Calix kill 3 Cav, 2 Gren, and 1 Cannon at the cost of two badly chewed units (Tank & Cav). Widened the bridgehead even more with the intent to exhaust Aztec counterattacks and then advance. At sea, a group of transports heads back for reinforcements (as I set up a ship chain). Ludovicus sinks frigate off Etruria; BB sinks 1 of 2 frigates off Washington. Ship of the Center sinks Aztec Ironclad and Remus takes a Frigate.

Back at Teoti: lots of damaged units, most not too seriously. 7 defenders in the city: MG, 2 Rif, 2 Gren, Cav & Cannon, all with 1 or 2 promotions. Time for a bloodbath. Battery A dies nobly doing 50% damage to the MG and collateral to the other 6. Cannon killed by Rifle but also damages all. Another cannon dies doing NO damage to the MG but collateral to all the rest. Time for armor & marines: 3rd Armored (Bombard III) gets killed by MG. 8th Armored kills Cav…at which point I remember Teo’s +60%! Hello, Cannons? Now 0%. What an idiot. Teot falls without further losses. I’m tempted to sack and raze it after that embarrassment, especially because it is swamped in Aztec culture…but I’ll be greedy. Captured Granary, Forge, Colosseum, Mkt,Grocer&Court.

So we took the middle two cities and severed Aztecka, leaving 3 cities in the south and 1 in the north. Best bet: go north, take, raze and replace Texcoco, then pump culture into the 3 cities.

Of course with that much culture, "severed" is a relative thing...

[Hermann the Lombard]

1646 Cord Mar,Mar. No counterattacks at all by either enemy. Naval bombardment reduces Tenoch. BB sinks Frigate off Chicago for its 2nd kill. HMiss fails Toledo (as if that matters now). BB Gallia sinks Ironclad off Tours. Wait 2 turns, then move on Texcoco.

1648 Tank killed Gren and plundered the Aztec horse pasture. Reinforcements are on the way, including our secret weapon. Now controlling 62.21% of the land area out of 64% required.

1650 Again no enemy attacks. Shang Mar,Mar; Bom Sub,Sub

1652 Time to gear up for the attack. Arret Sub,Harbor; Vandal Tpt,Can…yes, I’m still playing as if this game has a future. Naval battle off Rheims: Surprise, Washington & Neapolis sink Frigates, Ludovicus sinks Ironclad. Perhaps it’s time to politely ask France to sit down. No, he refuses to talk. Armor & Cavalry move out as transports load up for Texcoco.

OH. Just noticed our ghastly war weariness and general unhappiness! Start some Jails as if the war would continue. It’s easy to get so focused on conquest that I overlook the home front.

1654 Ant Mar,Bomber; Neap Tank,Bomber; NY HMiss,Jail; Del Tpt,ChMiss; Cumae Tpt,Jail; Wash WBoat,Jail; Sala Lib,ChMiss; Lahore Forge,Lib. First Knight (Cav) goes down attacking Gren in open field. The Cavalry called Aztec Bane avenges First Knight. In action off Rheims Surprise & Neapolis sink Ironclads and Ludovicus sinks FF. Neap badly damaged. Hurry Theater in Calix.

1656 Calix Theater,CTmp; Sea BB,Jail; Chi Tpt, Jail; HMiss to Tapro [18/36]. BBs Illyrium & Capua reduce Texcoco, leaving garrison of 4 Rifle & 1 MG, all Combat I, 1 City Def I and 1 City Def II. Cannon dies maiming the MG and doing collateral to 3 Rifles; 2nd cannon survives maiming the CD II Rifle. 3rd Cannon destroys Rifleman. 4th, 6th & 9th Armor eliminate the Rifles and the Forlorn Hope Cavalry finishes the Machine Gun, taking the city

Burn, Texcoco, Burn! Immediately build Novo Texcoco one tile to the SW.

Kalidas the Great Artist immediately commemorates the liberation, shoving the borders 3 tiles to the south. Now that is great art!