Monarchy vs. Republic

[Flinx]

So which is better, Monarchy or Republic? I find that paying for all my units grinds my science to a halt when I switch from Despotism to Republic while under Monarchy the free units and extra content faces more than makes up for the increased waste/corruption. I do not remember that last time I have been a Republic.

Do you use Republic? How does it fit into your strategy?

[N. Machiavelli]

Ironically, I find having many short, rapid wars helps my Republic game. Most of the time you need only to concentrait on conquering one or two cities and destroying the majority of their offensive army to force them to capitulate. When they do, demand techs; which will make up for the lower science rate.

[N. Machiavelli]

Hot dog, I'm a Prince now.

[kimmygibler]

I usually go to republic if I don't have a big army and want to go for a tech lead. Also, republic becomes very useful if you have or are able to build marketplaces in several cities. Also, sometimes you just happen to get republic first. I'll often change to whatever of the two I get first.

[Cyclotron]

I always find republic to be the better bargain in terms of income, science, and happiness. Of course, I tend to have a small and efficient military force as opposed to a large one, so my games run more cost effective (but my campaigns are riskier). Republic may cause unhappiness, but it seems that I can almost always counteract that with extra funds towards entertainment while still having a greater income than a monarchy.

I tend to only switch from there to demo if I am religious... otherwise, there is often too little difference between the rep. governments to merit a switch.

[coryl]

I also find that marketplaces are key to my choice between the two. I go to Monarchy as soon as possible but only switch to Republic after I have half a dozen marketplaces in my core cities. They usually are my second building.

I also often wait until I can trade for one more luxury to counteract the loss of police units.

I've made the mistake of going Republic too soon and it's ugly.

[Sheik]

It depends on what style game you are playing.

I switch to Republic ASAP. I can usually buy Monarchy later or research it later and I almost never use it. republic is great if you are playing a builder game and have a lot of cities but Monarchy is good for early war. For later war you can use communism.

[Skanky Burns]

Going Republic before having market-places is a very good way to bankrupt yourself. I was losing money in one game where I wasn't even doing any research!

[Sheik]

really? I have never seemed to have this problem.

[The Pioneer]

Why did you post the same question in two different Forums simultaneously?! In my book that's called Spam!

EDIT: I saw your thread in a third Forum??? Why?

[The Templar]

I have to go with Skanky Burns on this one. I go straight for currency after litteracy, then right before switching to republic, I pop rush as many marketplaces as are feasible. Once I become a republic, the marketplaces boost my economy so much that monarchy just isn't worth it. Of course, I also try to avoid having too large of an army. Insufficient marketplaces in a republic in my experience will leave you broke.

[Destroyer]

I wait for as many luxuries and marketplaces in alll my cities before swapping, or you will need to set luxuries to more than 0% wasting tax and science.

[Skanky Burns]

I have never used luxuries though.

[dojoboy]

Originally posted by The Templar
I have to go with Skanky Burns on this one. I go straight for currency after litteracy, then right before switching to republic, I pop rush as many marketplaces as are feasible. Once I become a republic, the marketplaces boost my economy so much that monarchy just isn't worth it. Of course, I also try to avoid having too large of an army. Insufficient marketplaces in a republic in my experience will leave you broke.

I'm in agreement w/ these fellas. Switching to Republic without first building the infrastructure (marketplaces) is a huge mistake. I'm in Monarchy just as long as it takes to get Republic, usually through force. I research Monarchy first for a couple reasons: (1) I can usually get it before the AI and the AI civs pay handsomely for it (techs, gpt, etc.) and (2) monarchy allows me to produce offensive units faster than staying in despotism while beelining for Republic.

[TheStinger]

i always get republic as soon as possible, I make a beeline for it.

Then again i'm pretty rubbish