Scorched Earth Succession Game

[Sparrowhawk]

I don't recall any requirement to stay spotless in this game so I don't see any problem here.

I am curious why you choose to take down all the improvements before the spies take down the walls. It seems to me from reading La Fayettes summary on spies that it is much more efficient to use spies to select city walls on a well developed city rather then to let her choose targets.

When I was playing I was doing as such, and if possible I was using vet's to take down walls and non-vets to poison (with many of the survivors becoming vet).

But perhaps La Fayette will be lurking and offer an opinion on this??

[Scouse Gits]

Interesting ...
I must reread the thread, I recall comng to the opposite conclusion - ie that it was more efficient to allow the ladies to have their own way. If you prove to be correct, young raptor, you have my apologies ...

Stu

[-Jrabbit]

SG[1] -- It's generally far more efficient to go directly for the walls with your spies. Even in a capital.

Not even close.

[duke o' york]

The chances of being caught trying to sabotage a certain target is much higher, yes, but I prefer the possibility of losing a couple of spies to ensure that I get what I want to losing the opportunity to use the spies again by having them take out random improvements and then either return to the nearest city or get caught. There is still a small chance of being caught without a definite target. Vet spies shouldn't (small chance again though) get caught after a successful sabotage operation.
Besides, we all know what the AI are like when building white goods in all their cities. Using the random improvement option could take ages if they've built loads of useless stuff.

[Julius Brenzaida]

Is it my turn now ?
I am not sure !
Please someone confirm
I shall be able to play on friday.

[-Jrabbit]

The playlist revisited...

1. STYOM
2. Old n Slow
3. Sparrowhawk (played)
4. Jrabbit (played)
5 Ben Kenobi (skipped)
6. SG [1] (played)
7. Julius Brenzaida

Confirming it's you, Julius....

[Julius Brenzaida]

1896ad : the empire looks to be in fine shape. Thanks SG [1]. A quick look overall and I hit enter. 4 units lost near Rheims !
1897ad : Wounded Knee razed. Reims razed (sorry for Cure of Cancer). It’s a spy’s feast : bribing, sabotaging and poisoning. There’s just some trade to reach robotics …
1898 ad : SKJ builds palace.
1899ad : We discover Robotics.
1900ad : 1st Howitzers seeing combat. Many fighting but cities are big. Patience is required.
1901ad : Cedar Creek razed. Avignon razed.

Well, it was all I had the time to play and I don’t want to slow the game too much. It’s actually a bit boring. Sabotage, poison … raze. I messed up with the shipchain, but it’s back in order. Many units will reinforce soon our offensive. It should be a long (but rather predictable) win. Bribing English units was a bright idea, but I am afraid I wandered too much with my spy. French navy put up some resistance, but they’re about to meet their last Trafalgar.
Here is the save.

[Sparrowhawk]

Looks good to me Julius. I assume you meant bribing Greek units, not English? Hopefully that wandering spy survives to bribe some more, otherwise we will need to move more units into Greece (though we may need to anyway, I am not sure that one spy will be able to bribe enough units to take out any more Greek cities.

I make it STYOM's turn next, and while he has been awol lately, he has also been posting in some of the other threads, so perhaps he will take his turn? (Also, as the starter of the game, perhaps he can offer an opinion on the numbers of turns.......I propose switching from 8 turns to 5).

If not STYOM, it would be Old'n'Slow, and then me

[Julius Brenzaida]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
Looks good to me Julius. I assume you meant bribing Greek units, not English? Hopefully that wandering spy survives to bribe some more, otherwise we will need to move more units into Greece (though we may need to anyway, I am not sure that one spy will be able to bribe enough units to take out any more Greek cities.

Yes the Greeks. The English were in O Sole Mio.
No a spy won't be enough. He can only poison one city once, providing he isn't already lost by my last wrong move.

[Julius Brenzaida]

Sorry for the double post
Posting in this forum with bad 56k connection is not a small feat

[Sparrowhawk]

You misunderstood me about the spy, I didn't mean using it to poison, but was thinking about using it to bribe Greek units (as many as possible) and then attacking cities with those units (and depending on their size and the number of defenders, destroying them that way). Unfortunately, it does not seem likely that we could get enough units bribed to destroy cities in that way, or even if we did, I imagine we would empty the cities with them still larger then size 1 and would still need the spies.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Sorry guys... I am still AWOL but at least now have time to read along and kibitz...

Go for it OnS...

[Old n Slow]

Save for now, story & log tomorrow.

Note for Six -- five turns took about 3 hours; figure the log will take the appropriate time for the appropriate length.

Teaser -- Embassy with the sioux; 26 cities going in...

[-Jrabbit]

OnS playing the tease...

That puts it to Sparrowhawk next.

[Old n Slow]

As of 1901, we have 11C, 72T (and with Robotics, really don’t need any more for conquest.)
Bab 5C, 47T
Fre 5C, 68T
Egy 2C, 61T
Chi 4C, 56T
Gre 4C, 47T
Sioux ? 4+C, no embassy. 20+ cities to go. Looks like all (?Sioux) but Greeks are on the same Rock -- that we are attacking on three fronts. At war with everyone.

Shanghai has the Pyramids & (GW) all other wonders are ours or destroyed.

Eight Tanks, 3(3) Howies, 14 (8) Spies, 11 (1) Eng, and other assorted troops.

Notice that a couple of cities only have two trade routes (oh yeah -- their customers bit the dust!) Sell temples in Spare Oval & Lago -- then buy them back to start Howies.

-----
Lose two Knights to Fr & Gr tanks; Sioux Marine, Cav, Tank, & Cannon all die vs our forces.
1902 (1) -- 7 new spies, 2 new skulls and a new engineer. Disband a very wounded cav & use shields towards a Barracks in Le Bunny. Build a Barracks in Oldburg as well. Move 2 combat Engineers & defense support near Shanghai (they will build a fort on the hill & road/rail accordingly -- a future player may want to claim this city -- I think that it is the last one of significant value.)

Establish an embassy with the Sioux = 6C, 57T. (Four cities are in view -- espy a square of irrigation, a later probe with partisan shows it to be target #5.)

Raze Giza + 23g. Raze Hangchow +13g. Buy a Sioux Alpine for 745g (only much later do I realize that this was way too expensive -- but he was in the way. Also buy Chinese Marine (-198) and Engineer (-264), much more reasonable. Hmmm only notice now that funds are “low” -- may have to build a truck or two someday…nah.)

Move out vs Marseilles (size 10) and Ashur (size 20) and start the poisoning vs Tsing (size 12?).

1903 (2) -- AI swap a bunch of techs. Chinese throw away a destroyer to make our cruiser a vet. Sioux throw away a cannon & cav vs our vet Alpine on hill (guarding our two engineers -- next turn they’ll be in a fort.) Lose three spies, but the walls come down and the population scatters. Raze Marseilles. +29g and NF. Really sabotage a boat blocking Keno (choose to buy another cruiser there to activate front #3.) Bring down Ashur walls & start the population relocation plan (out of the city and into the past…)

1904 (3) AI establish three new alliances -- all against us (well, maybe we’d better help them justify that activity…) Discover that it is more disciplined to rush buy at the beginning of the turn so that I don’t go out and buy units thinking that we’re rich. Continue trimming Ashur & Tsing.

1905 (4) Sink a Fr destroyer & Gr Frigate. Our cannon slays a Gr tank & makes vet! (and goes and does it again next turn!) Raze Amiens (+41g). Get the walls around Chartres (size 12). Raze Ashur (+37g). Raze Tsing (+18g). Get the walls on Nanking (size 14) with the first try.

1906 (5) Sioux MT nabs one of our Marines, but a later lose tank of theirs. Get walls on Nin (size 12) on first try. Raze Byblos (size 11, collect 34g, but they had 383 at the start of the turn (??!)) Egypt is gone.

Notes

Greeks have the fewest techs and are mostly contained -- I figure the best jump off point may be after we raze Dijon. There is some area north of France yet to be explored, so the last Sioux city may be there -- maybe a partisan can go looking. Boat chains are in place -- although I forgot to add another boat in the west (after I shipped off a half load in the east) so there are a few extra spies in the homelands a-waiting action -- maybe enough for two boatloads.

Still need to rush buy the spies for 1906 (left the choice up to the next player.) I think we have enough power troops in all three arenas, but that also may be a style “thing” -- should have Barracks in all three as well (I think that Gits *Re has one, know that Le Bunny & Oldburg do.) for healing the slight wounds for the Howies.

26 cities in, 19 cities to go.