Cripple the Strong or Crush the Weak?

[Edward]

EthnicCleanser,

You raise some good points. If I'm ever up against a decent AI, it's usually because that AI has gobbled up some smaller civs. A game with a bunch of relatively equal AIs is easier to win than a game with one AI out in the lead.

[Species8472]

only good answer is: whoever is closest

[Dr.Oogkloot]

I tend to kill the weaker ones first, though that's not so much a conscious strategic choice as laziness

[Jaguar]

I would pull the "Take the capital then bribe" trick on the 2nd strongest AI, then nail the littler ones, and finally assault the biggest AI.

[Blaupanzer]

I must agree with Colossus as his first two points are the same as my earlier post and his third makes good sense. Since the AIs share their techs profligately, having all six researching can keep their leader up with you in science. So, the good tactical advice is that each Civ you kill is one less avenue for the AI lead to keep up with your own research. Someone wrote a long treatise on playing at Deity that said that part of winning is to whittle down the number of opponents in a steady fashion. Given the less-than stellar transport of the early years, killing the closest is easiest path to victory (AC or conquest).

[War4ever]

Blaupanzer that is all sound but remember, 8 bab cities with the odd tank is easy to take out....... forty russian cities with 5 tanks per city is alot harder feat to accomplish.

I always go for expansionistic civs and militaristic ones if they are close by........they are true threats........ just by sheer numbers alone.....