Playing on Noble

[Eggolas]

It seems ages ago that I played the original Civ. Each one has gotten progressively harder (maybe because I'm getting older), but this one seems really difficult.

For my first game, I decided to play on Noble. My starting position was pretty good, a gold mine and iron it turns out next to London, along with some clams. I read about the CS slingshot and decided to go that route: it worked!

However, I'm now sitting at 50BC and haven't a clue whether I'm in good shape or where to go from here. I have made a lot of mistakes: misclicked a worker and lost it to a barbarian, didn't build more scouts after losing one, used a work boat to develop clams that were outside my useable area, etc. But I appear to be ahead in technology as everyone has asked for Code of Laws.

Problem: I just don't know where to go from here and how to use the Great People London is producing. Do I peacefully expand (not much room) or fight a war against the Americans?

I took a Barbarian city, but I'm not sure that was a great idea as it is close to another I built.

My research has a few holes in it. What is the best research path from here? I'm researching Metal Casting with the notion of having forges.

Generally, I'm not a warmonger, but I don't mind steamrolling my neighbors if they're hemming me in.

Any help at all much appreciated.

[fed1943]

Since you are"getting older",I bet you don't mind to read.
Read in this forum the Vel'strategies and workshops;read the DAR in University;if you want read the Civ.Fanatics for hard data( more than strategie),and first again and again Read The Fine Manual.
Best regards,

[Willem]

One thing you can do is build a city north of Guangzhao. There's a Corn resource near there that's not being used and you could easily take away Mao's Iron source by building there. Place the city due north of the Iron and along the coast.

Your research rate is high enough, you can easily afford to build some cities before all the land gets eaten up. There's a nice open area there you should try to grab.

[cynyck]

You are in fine shape with plenty of options. You're first in GNP, Manufacturing, Import/Export and soldiers. Don't worry about the clams outside your fat cross, you can always trade them. And put a workboat on the fish eventually so you can get the health benefit.

Get your Great Prophet out to York and build your shrine to start the coin parade. Build every gold modifier you can as it comes along, Lizzie is financial so you get a bank at half price. That barbarian city you picked up, Cuman, is going to rival your capital I think - two elephant, three dye, and rice inside your fat cross, plus three plains/hills. When I play a financial leader I often build a cottage on dye until I get calendar to build plantations because you start off with three commerce that way. But I like epic and this is normal, so getting calendar may not take too long for you. When you get plantations on them, dye bring in bags of money.

I agree with everything Willem said, but I wouldn't build a settler to take that iron from Mao, I'd take Guangzhou and get the iron with the pigs thrown in for the bargain. Plus, you then secure the wine which looks like its falling to Mao (only 78% yours now). You either do that as soon as possible with your swordsmen, or you grab machinery next and do it with macemen. But you will need to drop your science a bit to build up the cash to upgrade the sword in Cuman, the one with the City Buster II, to a mace. Just remember to let Guangzhou grow at least one pop first.

Another way to go is to leave Mao alone and expand south and east. There are some nice resources that way. I see incense, spices, bananas, and corn. By grabbing them you get them for yourself and you keep them from someone else. I know that sounds obvious, but one of my early goals is to lock out other civs whenever I can. That may be your first step and then knocking on Mao's door would be a good follow-up.

I also see some land to the west, which could be another landmass or islands. Either way, you can always expand that way if you have to. But keep in mind that exapansion means expenses so you need to work that religion by getting missionaries out to convert cities.

The real good news for me if I was playing this map is that Izza-bella-loney seems to be on the other side of Mao and is not a direct neighbor. More good news is that it looks like you will not have to worry about checking Monty's medication levels, unless he's in the game and you just have not met him yet. Of course, Ghengis will keep you on your toes.

There's more, but that's enough to get along for a bit. And I've never played as Elizabeth so I'm sure I am missing things.

Oh yeah, mistakes are no problem as long as you learn from them. If I start talking about my mistakes you'll have to make a pot of coffee. Good luck, have fun, and remember - just one more turn.

[cynyck]

Whoops. I see you already have calendar. See what I mean about mistakes? And about playing on epic?

Well, looks like I'm going to spend the rest of the night playing your save.

[marvinkosh]

As a Financial leader, Lizzy gets +1 commerce on any square which already generates 2 or more commerce. This means that coastal cities are a gold mine, and riverside cottages will start at 3 cpt each! Definitely something to take advantage of. That said, you can't take advantage of such locations if there isn't much in the way of hammers nearby e.g. hills that can be mined.

[Eggolas]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Ithe Game finished with a domination victory at 1968AD. Guangzhou and a Chinese city north of the iron flipped after a culture bomb. A city settled the corn, spices and bananas.

From there, it was taking out the Americans, then the Chinese, Mongols, Russians and finally Isabella for the win.