What is youre favorite opening play?

[make]

After countless combinations of opening moves I have now reached a point where I almost always do the same things every time.

I would just like to share it and hear youre thought of it.

In this case I play with Cathy (hunting and mining start techs).

Notes added:
Standard map size.
Emperor difficulty.

My "standard" opening moves is as follows.

1.
Research archery, build a worker.

Why?

In my experience, archers is the safest and fastest way to neutralize barb treats until barb axemen appear. I skip warriors first because they often die to barbs and there is a period in the beginning where you are safe anyway. Barbs dont appear before my first archer is build.
If there is nothing to do fore a worker, I will not build one first, but this is rarely the case fore me.

2.
Research agriculture and animal husbandry, build 3 archers.

Why?

It is rare that there isnt an animal or plant resource nearby, and revealing horses is important.

The first archer wil be a garrison in the capital fore the happiness. The second wil be patrolling the borders to stop barbs from pillaging. The third will be lighting up the path to my second city site.

3.
This is somewhat circumstancial. If I can see my worker is not going to be unemployed fore a long time, I will research bronzeworking. If the worker will be free soon, I will research the wheel and pottery first.
Build a settler.

Why?
Bronzeworking. This one is obvious. Reveal the bronze and chopping trees.
The wheel and pottery. Build roads to resources and build cottages. Often I will research the wheel before bronzeworking because roads are needed (if no river) to use the bronze.

Now I have my base and second citysite secured, it is time to found the next city.

From here on it is to circumstancial to really talk about a standard opening play, IMO.

[bobshiznit]

This is a good and safe strategy for any difficulty level. I really like the focus on early defense. The only thing that I tend to do differently is swap animal husbandry with bronzeworking if there is an agriculture resource in my captal. The reason for this is I like to know if there is bronze nearby so I can place my second city by it. It also gets you ready to chop some cheap (expansive trait) graneries to get pop in your first and second city rolling. With an ag resource and a granery, pop rushing is actually very useful when you reach or surpass the happy cap.
Good strategy

[make]

Originally posted by bobshiznit
This is a good and safe strategy for any difficulty level. I really like the focus on early defense. The only thing that I tend to do differently is swap animal husbandry with bronzeworking if there is an agriculture resource in my captal. The reason for this is I like to know if there is bronze nearby so I can place my second city by it. It also gets you ready to chop some cheap (expansive trait) graneries to get pop in your first and second city rolling. With an ag resource and a granery, pop rushing is actually very useful when you reach or surpass the happy cap.
Good strategy

You have a good point about getting BW before animal husbandry, so you can place the second city according to where the bronze is (if its there).
But BW is an expensive tech. Dosnt it take to long to research bronzeworking? I mean, isnt it to long time to wait before founding youre second city? Do you get BW before youre settler is ready?

[Tsar_of_Cows]

After many, many opening plays as I play hotseat against a friend of mine, (and we both hate loseing, so restarts are many) we've both come to the conclusion that the best opening move is to build a worker.

The worst, ever, is to build warrior.

The worker gives you a head start in your economy, and in the opening stages of a game, simply by changing plots in your capital, you can effect how long your next bit of research will take, so the economy, and getting it off the ground is imperitive for development.

This also happens to make the Indian leaders, especially Asoka, utterly overpowered, as the fast workers give you infrastructure quickly, and have your country off the ground before anyone else can get teir act together.

[bobshiznit]

Originally posted by make


I mean, isnt it to long time to wait before founding youre second city? Do you get BW before youre settler is ready?

If you don't get archery first it times out about right, but you have to hope there is bronze for this to pay off. But the chop still makes it worthwhile.

If you do go the archery route you can simply make more archers and chop rush the settler when you get bronze allowing the city to grow first.

[unamablebuiler]

i quite like the pyramid grab if i can get stone early
makes' stategy is pretty good for most levels thoguh i would go for pottery if i had ag or fishing at the start and BW if i had mining

then i go for archery the best defense available if i don't have copper Feworking is too risky, you might not have iron and you will still need to hook it up bessides arcers make good defense till swords start apearing good idea to go for fuedalisim then but thats of track.

masonry if i have stone => pyramids never done it till tonight

next i go for writing then code of laws through the religous route you might want to go the currncy route but be aware it takes longer.
then i go for animal husbandry might go for it sooner if i had more than one animal

once this was completed i would look for ways to aleviate the happy cap

[Yosho]

Originally posted by Tsar_of_Cows
After many, many opening plays as I play hotseat against a friend of mine, (and we both hate loseing, so restarts are many) we've both come to the conclusion that the best opening move is to build a worker.

The worst, ever, is to build warrior.

The worker gives you a head start in your economy, and in the opening stages of a game, simply by changing plots in your capital, you can effect how long your next bit of research will take, so the economy, and getting it off the ground is imperitive for development.

This also happens to make the Indian leaders, especially Asoka, utterly overpowered, as the fast workers give you infrastructure quickly, and have your country off the ground before anyone else can get teir act together.

I don't know about that...building a worker is key, but if you have a lot of food and not too many hammers, it sometimes is better to let your city grow first and build a warrior instead. An extra warrior usually means more huts popped, which will probably give you some extra gold; that's already enough to pay for the cost of building the warrior. Besides, if you're smart and careful (and a little lucky), you can hold off barbarians for a long time with just a few warriors; a warrior fortified on a forested hill has good odds against an attacking barbarian archer, especally if he has combat 1 or woodland 1 (usually from early barbarian/animal fighting).

[PaganPaulwhisky]

Hmm. In my hot seat games (tiny pangea 1v1) building a worker first has lost me the game a few times. I think the right build is warrior first as scouting and harassing a human opponent are more important.

Against the comp though I almost always go worker first and beeline to bronze. If I have mysticism, I will go polytheism first. If I have cows or corn/rice in my capital then I might shoot for agriculture or AH before BW and then a follow up to pottery to maximize food. My usual build is worker, 2 warriors, settler (with chop). If bronze is available for my 2nd city I will start producing barracks and then follow up with enough axemen to conquer another city or two. I usually skip archery early unless I lack bronze or playing Malineese. The first build in my second city is almost always a barracks.

[Velociryx]

With Cathy, my general opening play is Scout, Worker, with Bronze being my first tech.

This gives me rapid exploration, lots of huts, lots of early contacts/deep understanding of continental geography, and advance knowledge of "where the copper is."

If it turns out I don't have any, then Husbandary is my next tech.

-=Vel=-

[uberfish]

I usually open with what I call Fast Food (quick worker or fishboat and improve a food resource asap.) It really depends on the position though.

[rjmatsleepers]

OK, I understand that there are going to be hoots of derision, but no doubt it will do me good to hear why my favourite opening is so bad.

I usually play with Lizzie - philosophical for those GP points and financial for the extra commerce.

1. Start building a warrior, but arrange my city workers for growth and commerce rather than production - I love flood plains.

2. Research mysticism. Once it is discovered, maximise production until the warrior is finished then switch to Stonehenge. Maximise growth (food) until size 3 or 4 depending on circumstances.

3. Research meditation, but switch to polytheism if budhism is discovered elsewhere. Carry on through priesthood, writing and finish meditation or research polytheism.

4. Fairly standard slingshot. First GP gives me CoL. Oracle gives me philosophy - I may have to delay completion of the Oracle to make it after 1st GP. Adopt a religion and switch to pacifism. 2nd GP gives me most of Civil Servce which I complete by research and switch to bureaucracy.

5. Begin expanding (worker followed by settler) and researching defence technologies - with a lot of sacrifices to whichever god helps protect you against barbarians and aggressive neighbours.

6. Research alphabet to try to catch up on the missing techs by trading and literature for the GL.

OK if you're not too busy rolling around with laughter, lets hear your robust criticism.

RJM at Sleeper's

PS. At higher levels (and with enough forests around), research BW and build an early worker to chop for the various wonders.

[make]

Originally posted by Tsar_of_Cows
The worker gives you a head start in your economy, and in the opening stages of a game, simply by changing plots in your capital, you can effect how long your next bit of research will take, so the economy, and getting it off the ground is imperitive for development.

This is exactly why I build a worker first. Nothing seems to beat buÃlding worker first. Developing tiles ASAP really helps keeping pace with the AI.

[make]

Originally posted by bobshiznit


If you don't get archery first it times out about right, but you have to hope there is bronze for this to pay off. But the chop still makes it worthwhile.

If you do go the archery route you can simply make more archers and chop rush the settler when you get bronze allowing the city to grow first.

I dont think I will go without archers first. They are my lifeinsurance when it comes to barbs. But I will seriously think about skipping agriculture, husbandry, wheel and pottery in favor of BW, dependend on map and resources.

[make]

Originally posted by unamablebuiler
i quite like the pyramid grab if i can get stone early
makes' stategy is pretty good for most levels thoguh i would go for pottery if i had ag or fishing at the start and BW if i had mining

Only time I would ever think about trying to build the pyramids, is if I get an Island start and I have stone. If you have AI neighbors, it is much safer to build units instead and try to dominate youre continent.
However If you somehow pull of the pyramids without sacrificing security to much, representation can really get you speedy on research with scientist.

[Crankiest]

I started outgoing for a worker first and had a lot of early successes. I've since started letting the city grow - finding other projects until it's around population 3 if it is in a good spot.

I've had some problems since I switched. By the time I get a worker on the job he's in danger of barbarian attack for one.

I also used to like to get archers right away. I changed that plan, and the game is much more difficult, again.

Probably not a coincidence.