How Frequently Do Experienced Players Beat Monarch?

[DeepO]

Ouch... no luxs? Irrigation isn't that bad to miss, but if you don't have anything you can trade with, it's going to be hard to catch up in tech. Of course, you can hope that one of the AIs is missing horses, so you could trade away your only one, but still, this looks like quite a challenge.

Good luck!

DeepO

[DeepO]

One second view: are those white blobs in the South-East gems or something? I thought they were shields, but now I see some smaller white things in the central part... I don't recognise it from this zoom level.

DeepO

[vmxa1]

DeepO, I think they are cows, but my eyes are not what they use to be.

[alva]

hmm, they look like gems to me.

Best advice i can give:

build units that can be upgraded indeffenitely(spearman---->mech. infantry )
make sure you got a huge bank account for when you need to do so

it's somewhat simular to 'so very cold'

good luck , and keep us posted on this one

[Harovan]

They are gems, and are located where Rome once was. I have even 2 luxuries, the main part of the island has incense. So my chances aren't so bad after all.

The game went unspectacular so far. I blocked the Roman expansion with a fortified spearman on the isthmus and built cities on my part very dense, 2-3 tiles apart. Lots of coastal cities, as they are the only ones that will grow. The lakes will also help to make some bucks.

I succeeded to bully some techs out of Rome, but soon they turned to be rather a brake than an accelerator for me. I finished them, because I wanted their gems and they didn't offer me an acceptable trade deal. I begun to build an FP SE of the big lake, in the hope to move my Palace later to greener pastures.

Overall, compared to SVC, I have some benefits, that make my game easier:

• My island isn't completely cold, it has a green patch.
• SVC was on a huge map, while mine is only standard size. That counts, because the poor terrain makes it hard to go for a science victory, so domination and conquest gain importance and they are harder to achieve on a huge map.
• SVC was on deity, while this one is only monarch.
• I have some trade goods and the hope, that I have a monopoly on them.

2 factors make my game harder:

• I have no iron and only a small hope for saltpeter and rubber. This will make an intercontinental invasion very hard.
• And most important, I am not Aeson .

[DeepO]

Two luxuries even, you're spoiled However, I thought gems only appeared on mountains, you're playing with a modded game I guess.

Did you had any chance of building the GL? in this kind of map, on monarch, that would be the best bet. You have a very decent shot at it if you beeline, and after taking the Romans out all you need to do is make some money, build up culture from temples and libraries everywhere, and wait until someone finds you. After that, you're still not in a rosy position, but it should be doable. Without the GL, I would focus on the civ that has it: conquer the city with the GL before you discover education with everything you have (20 horsemen wil take out a couple of riflemen if they need to), and the boost you get from that should make everything possible.

DeepO

[Harovan]

Originally posted by DeepO
Two luxuries even, you're spoiled However, I thought gems only appeared on mountains, you're playing with a modded game I guess.

No, I play with standard rules, but gems can also appear in jungle. Just Caesar already succeeded to cut it, except the one eastern tile.

Did you had any chance of building the GL? in this kind of map, on monarch, that would be the best bet.

No . It has already been built.

[DeepO]

In that case, focus your war efforts on the city that has built it, and be careful not to get education before conquering it. I know, sometimes these cities are well defended, but you should be able to conquer it, using war chariots, longbowmen or knights. It will make your game much easier

I once violated a ROP in the industrial age just to get it on my version of the SVC, and it worked like a charm. It doesn't matter if the turn after that you lose the city again, you just have to hold on to it for the beginning of next turn... And immediately after gaining the techs, you can start trading them away to those who haven't got them already.

DeepO

[Harovan]

Originally posted by DeepO
In that case, focus your war efforts on the city that has built it, and be careful not to get education before conquering it. I know, sometimes these cities are well defended, but you should be able to conquer it, using war chariots, longbowmen or knights. It will make your game much easier

I'll probably need at least Astronomy (if not Navigation) to ship my WC's safely, which comes after Education .

[alva]

Sir Ralph, could you post a save?

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
I'll probably need at least Astronomy (if not Navigation) to ship my WC's safely, which comes after Education .

Ouch... a dead lock. Well, forget about the GL then, and do it the hard way. But keep us informed of your progress

DeepO

[alva]

Well, I just made the jump to Deity

No restart needed (so far)

As it turned it's a pretty small island with no one on it (yet)
(missed a wonder by a very narrow margin (and changes are very much against me building the great library )
Around 800bc, suddenly they all appear(one with setler, he will have to go , sooner or later )

[alva]

800bc and there all here

[Harovan]

Originally posted by alva848
Sir Ralph, could you post a save?

Of course I can. Here's the current savegame...

[Harovan]

... and here the 4000BC save.