Hard Times Succession Game

[Bloody Monk]

Sizing up the situation

Fellow Cold Warriors

1) Comparing the previous save and this latest one, I feel -Jrabbit deserves a big for his choices. Roads were started and a fine corp of ellies formed.

2) At some point the Capital must be moved. Rivered glaciers = dead end, growthwise. Whale Woe could be our SSC.

3) We need Settlers for roads, irrigation, and new cities.

4) I like the suggested tech path: Philosophy, and Navigation.

5) Hutfinder indicates our east bound boat has passed up a polar hut. I hate backtracking, but there is a shot at a Nomad which we can well use.

6) Looks like we need some WOW's...HG, Mike's. HG will make our 'slease' possible. Mike's will be needed later and if built now will postpone the need for temples.

7) The good news is we have a force of ellies. The bad news is that we need them. The oportunity cost is lost Settlers and camels. So, this Zulu "Earl must die."

With that as a plan, I begin.

Monk

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

*STYOM roundly damns the SGs' insidious, mystery-spoiling hut machine* j/k

Seems like a good strat, Monk. I wouldn't have founded Woebegone where it is, had I but known that there was some decent land nearby. But that's part of the fun. As I said before, I wouldn't have wanted our 2 Settlers to wander too long - the Zulus might have wandered into newly founded, undefended cities!

Your plan seems feasible - I would vote for HG first, were this a democracy

[Bloody Monk]

Bloody Monk is installed as Medicine Man for Great Chief Hard Done By; looks around, and proclaims: "The Zulu's must learn to respect our Au-thor-i-tie!!"

In general, were gold allows, gentle, finish-the-row tickling always practiced.

650 Made a small change in build order for Woethe lake to horse to join the navy and explore South.

"Overnight" the Zulu's demand we leave their lands. We War!!

625 Zimbawe taken!! 11g. Two ellie's out of Cold Harbor survive, getting the flag down and the city taken with CH's horse. (hired elvis in Cold H)...backtrack boat to the east...Ellie from hut (66,0)

"Overnight"...Barbs around Woebegone turns to as they disappear on the ice...Mathematics discovered>Philosopy.

600 Zulu's give 50g for cease fire. We decline peace and use the timeout to move our ellie's into position around Ulundi. With the Zulu threat about to be elliminated, build orders changed to more defensive inward posture...Settlers and martial law units, then camels.

575 Nomad from hut (98,0)!! The backtrack pays off. Boat takes him to homeland (such as it is) while dip continues exploring.

550 Philosphy from hut to the South (78,30). Monotheism > Astronomy.

525 Provoke war by 'demand tribute' and take Ulundi, 5g. Offer a few prefunctory prayers for the extinct Zulu nation.

500 Checking horse on southern boat through its city screen reveals location as 'near Viborg.'

450 Meet Vikings. They are very bellicose. Give Philosophy so they will talk. Peace. Give Writing, Trade!, and Seafearing to get worshipful and Maps. They have many cities in a pretty fair AI version of slease, but none on the coast, yet. Knowing they were Supreme, I was a bit unsure about giving them navy techs. It means they won't be coming soon and that clads won't be needed for them, as of now.

400 Eastern dip explorer gets 50g from hut (110,2)

325 Crook from hut (84,58). Take a chance and send horse through Viking lands in hopes of it being sent home. The Vikings may well just eat the horse and enslave the rider.

300 Vikings build the Pryamids. How soon before they go a'Viking?? The world waits and wonders.

"overnight" we discover Astronomy > Navigation.

275 Sometime in the past I built a harbor at Fur Coat. It won't grow much, but it has food surplus, so it can supply settler/new cities.

Whale Woe has four camels, as of this turn, and is set for HG. In a few turns there will be four more camels if the next player would rather build Mike's. Allowing for more flexiblity (this would not be my choice), I made some of the camels trade worthy if you want to ship them to the Vikings. No guarantee the Vikings will not eat them while they are getting to their appointed place.

One of our great lacks is shields. Two mines are under way. Their cities can then supply the next round of martial law units. The one by Cold Harbor should complete within two turns. The one by 2 Whales has only two cycles going, so moving it would not be a problem...you choose.

There is a four-special site on trees (no grass or plains, except by irrigating) on the island between us and the Vikings. There are about five sites on our outcrop of "land". The thing to do might be to set up Whale Woe as SSC and grow it through "join Settlers, food vans."

One last thought. If war is inevitable with the Vikings, sooner is better IMHO. Vet Crooks will rule early on.

Bloody Monk feels the need for silence and meditation and steps down in favor of Hydey. Sorry I left such a thin treasury.

Monk

[Bloody Monk]

And here is the game....

[Bloody Monk]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man

Seems like a good strat, Monk. I wouldn't have founded Woebegone where it is, had I but known that there was some decent land nearby. But that's part of the fun. As I said before, I wouldn't have wanted our 2 Settlers to wander too long - the Zulus might have wandered into newly founded, undefended cities!

Your plan seems feasible - I would vote for HG first, were this a democracy

STYOM,

You did as you thought necessary and more "decent land nearby" may be overly generous. In any case, I think we are out of the woods, so to speak, now. And just think, 'Old Man, if you had built Woebetide one click NW, as you averred earlier, then, we might not now have the pleasure of Fur Coat and Frozen Vines.

That our core is tightly packed turns out to be a good thing. Nobody can grow much anyway. Without engineering battalions terraforming themselves silly, this will never be Eden.

Yeah, I lean towards HG as well (and quickly laying down 4-5 new cities); but Mike's has its points to consider. I'm just as glad to avoid the choice; and I did try to leave an array of choices. It will be interesting to see how this game unfolds.

Monk

[-Jrabbit]

FWIW, I like Mike's.
...and now that we have crusaders, I'm thinking STWA or a barracks building party.

Nice turnset, Blood.

[Hydey]

I beleive I am up next, I have the save and will play tonight (hopefully)

[-Jrabbit]

Go get 'em, Hydey!

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Play list:

12-15 turns each

1. STYOM
2. La Fayette
3. SG(2)
4. Jrabbit
5. Bloody Monk
6. Hydey
7. SG[1]
8. obiwan18

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by Bloody Monk Whale Woe has four camels, as of this turn, and is set for HG. Monk

BM - Hope you enjoyed your first term of office in a succession game. Nice work clearing out the Zulus

Whale Woe has 4 caravans for HG but three of them are commodity freights. It's always better to build food caravans for wonders, because you don't restrict the supply commodities of various cities. Given our geography I can see trading being an important part of future strategy.

-----------------------

SG(2)

[Bloody Monk]

SG(2),

Thanks for the acknowledgement, but as I noted to -Jrabbit a bit ago, this is not my first SXN game, just the first in MPGE format. Looking back you were a part of the game The Sticky Mouse Senate...(No comment from me about long term memory. It happens...)

Perhaps you did not read my log, or I was not clear. I made some of the commodities as trade goods to give the next player a choice. Use them for some wonder or for trade. Using them for the WOW will free up the slot for trade will it not??

Monk

[Scouse Gits]

Yes I remember you couldn't play in MPGE games a while ago.

Food caravans will free up slots (a trick best used when there are no goods a city can supply) but you can lose some valuable trading opportunities. For example if the caravan has a desired commodity like silk and it's used for a wonder, the chance of that city producing another silk caravan could be lost forever. Demanded silk in an AI city this early in the game is like a lottery win.

I tend to see the game very much in a trade perspective...as I expect you do after that terrific 715AD landing

------------------------

SG(2)

[Bloody Monk]

Thanks SG(2).

I did not know that. I've always thought the slot freed up when the van was cashed for a WOW. I always learn something from these SXN games.

Monk

[Hydey]

sleepy Hydey will stuff it up

275 BC Food van feeds wonder as King Hydey takes charge

250 BC Woebetide builds beads van, Pop now 300,000, hides van cloths wonder.

225 BC Vikings start Marco Polo

200 BC pop hut (94,66) Medicine

175 BC Found new city of Ironlake Valley

150 BC Exploration of the world continues while King hydey entertains the brave explorers wives

125 BC Whale woe builds Hanging gardens , Cold Harbour builds copper van, pop hut (130,0) Nomads

100 BC Vikings contact us and demand Monotheism or else
WAR with vikings

75 BC Silver to Jorvik 52 gold

50 BC Discover Navigation, pop hut (77,73) 25 gold

25 BC Beads to Jorvik 32 gold, pop hut (2,0) University

1 AD Pop hut (93,83) 50 gold


20 AD Ulundi builds Copper van, found new city of Mt 4 special.

King Hydey is very sleepy after years of entertaining his explorers wives so he must hand over control to the number 1 Git of our wonderful nation.

[Hydey]

Zipped for Mac rabbit