Money Making Strategy

[regoarrarr]

So, I finally played a game that I didn't get my head handed to me. After several unsuccessful attempts at Regent, I moved down to Warlord and went with the Greeks. Early-game went well, and I was soon leading the tech race. Not by a whole lot, but I was usually the first one to get a tech. So I came up with this strategy. Don't know if it's been posted or not, and it seems pretty obvious but here goes:

Every time you get a new tech, hit F4 and go around the circle, trading it to every power. This does a couple of things:

1. Gets you insane amount of gold / turn. I could usually get world map, all the gold in their treasury, and 5-10 gp / turn from each power. The gold/turn lasts for 20 turns.

2. As a corollary to #1, this lets you set your science up to 100%, which lets you get the next advance faster than anyone else. I even managed to break the 4 turn / tech barrier and as my cities expand, I may even drop from 3 to 2.

3. Your treasury becomes enormous. I had anywhere from 3000-6000 gp in the treasury. This allows tons of rush-building of libraries, temples, universities which in turn produces more science and culture.

4. You completely hamstring the other countries' science research. Because I'm getting 10 gp a turn for each advance, in total I would be getting upwards fo 50 gp a turn from EACH power. Since they were giving me 50 gp a turn, that was 50 gp less that they could devote to science, which again just lets me keep ahead in the tech race.

5. Whenever you feel like not trading techs, you can. For instance, when I researched Sanitation, I decided not to trade that to anyone to give my cities the chance to build Hospitals and jump over 12 a couple of turns ahead of all of the other countries. And because of #4, they can't do anything about it.


I've been lucky in that nobody has wanted to go to war with me - all the countries are peaceful towards me at least so far.

Also, I haven't had any kind of a happiness problem. I've been building temples and other happiness improvements / wonders. Even in Democracy I have luxuries set at 0% and rare civil disorder, which I solve with entertainers.

Thoughts? Comments?

[Paradigm]

This is a very zen strategy; conquer your enemies by giving them tech, i like it

[eMarkM]

Good strategy when you're in a commanding tech lead. Less war because all the other civs love ya for trading tech. Though it will be more difficult at higher levels since you often lag behind in tech and don't have one that all the others don't already have.

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[regoarrarr]

Good point - I have yet to discover how it will work on higher levels. It does seem logical that you can use the strategy in reverse, get a tech from one of the tech leaders, and trade it to other have-nots for lotsa gold. Then, that will get you extra gold to increase research till you have a tech lead.

But like I said, I still have not tested it at higher levels - I'll be moving up once I finish this game.

[Rosacrux]

Works on Regent

I've figured out the very same approach (with the very same civilization too - Greeks seem so good ) actually those two strategies combined. Using it in a game I play on Regent right now - tried to use it in another game at Monarch and failed blatantly (fell back in the science race from the very beginning...).

I guess it's a top-notch strategy for the three lower levels and I guess it shall be my favorite until I move up to Emperor-Deity.

I hasitate doing so right now because a)I haven't mastered the game mechanics yet, and b)Looks like Deity would work only with very specific approaches that take alot of the fun out of the game (if you are not a great lover of chess, that is . )

For the record, my settings: Huge World, Medium land mass, pangaia, roaming barbs, Regent, Greeks, 16 civs (in 13th century turns go like 3min. each - extremely annoying )

[BLackraven42]

Good Strategy, but I find money very usless now because you can no longer rush wonders or even spaceship parts. I prefer to turn science up to 100 on the firts turn of a game and then immedialy strt getting techs in about 15- 8 turns until i expand.

[Jack_www]

I have found that tech trading gets you large amounts of gold as well. In my current game I am playing on huge random map, 16 civs, level is regent. I am playing as the Americans (Expansionist, Industrous). I used scouts to find huts early to get a lot of techs this way, help alot in the tech race and tech trading. Right now I am in the middle of the Industrial age and thanks to tech trading I am making 1200 gold/turn. This has helped me alot!!!!

[DK36]

Nice strategy.. however, I prefer more to keep most techs to myself to have an advantage over the AI if I'll ever need it. But, this works really well with stuff like music theory, etc.. because the techs are absolutely useless after their respective wonders have been built, and yet the AI is still thirsty for 'em.

[Admiral PJ]

I'd suggest you remember to spend your money too, in civ i often just pile up my money like a mean old Tycoon, not spending it on the poor starving unculutured peasants, only rush buying barracks in my conquered cities.
Maybe i'll play as a good leader in civ3 for once.

[Master Marcus]

Yeah, can work on Regent. But on MONARCH + ???? Don't think so yet, the AI is always ahead of me in techs until the end of Middle Ages on Monarch level. Unless you play an Expansionist civ with abundant barbarians on huge maps, you just can't compete the AI on Monarch+ in the early game. Quite the contrary in fact if you play peacefully: you must upgrade more in your econ and less in science to keep a positive income. Must build roads more rapidly than Regent.

[DrSpike]

Rushing to monarchy has several benefits, including that you can trade it for loads of techs. In my second game (king level with babylonians) I got monarchy asap but was miles behind on tech. However, doing the rounds over the next few turns I got _all_ techs already discovered by anyone, a load of maps, and lots of cash. It would seem the AI (usually very mean on swaps) values monarchy a lot. Hard to say after 1 and a bit games, but perhaps this a way to stem the AI's tech lead at the start.

[Skanky Burns]

Getting a tech lead early in the game is almost impossible, with the notable exception of an expansionist civ popping huts.
Generally I dont do any research during the ancient period, instead trading for what i want from the other civs, as they research very fast, especially on the higher levels.
In the meantime, build up your science infrastructure, and your bank account.
Once the ancient period is over, then i start cranking up the science, and try for a tech lead here. Once you get a lead, the other civs will have a hard time beating it, as they will be funding your research via regoarrarr's method.

[regoarrarr]

Right - I definitely agree that this is a strategy for the mid to late game. Case in point, I was in the early game and quite behind in the tech race. I kept researching, while using trading and money to acquire some of the many techs I didn't have. But once, I was able to get one unique tech (i.e. one that nobody else had - I think it was Literature), I was able to trade that, after trading with everyone, for every tech I didn't have along with a bunch of gold, both lump and per turn. From then on I was in the lead and constantly increasing my lead due to this strat.

[Jason]

I have to beat my regent games before I switch to monarch, but I'm assuming that for the first little while you use the 32-turn method with the tax rate at 80-90 percent to get cash.

That being the case, can't you artificially grab a tech lead by buying a tech or two and selling them, and using that to get you into the tech groove? Assuming you have good contacts. Diplomatic meanness on the computers part on higher levels could negate this I suppose. I should get off of regent.

[Jer8m8]

to catch up on techs, just trade a useless city, then go conquer it back/take it over by culture