[SPOILER] The Steak, Beer, and Cigar Saloon

[Catwalk]

Turns out the answer is 9 tiles, don't know if that scales with map size. The inland lake sites between me and Jowy also suck balls

[Catwalk]

This is the only drunken post I'm likely to make on here. Lewwyn, I love you man. I'm going to hang you every chance I get, but I still think you're pretty cool (even if you're a bit of an ass). haphazard1, you're a great dedlurker (and you're pretty awesome too Dhalphir). I have high hopes for this game, whether I win or lose. Things are looking up for me lately, and I have high hopes for the future. Please stop me forcefully if I try to sign up for another one, but I should be able to manage this one just fine. I'm also pretty focused on kicking everybody's asses, in spite of my early promises to not take it too seriously. I haven't won a game on here yet so far, and as much as I cherish being good loser I want to win pretty bad. I have no idea how that's going to happen, my plan is to just not screw up majorly and not make anyone else hate me enough to make me lose the game. Based on observations, that's how games are usually lost. It's now 2:22 and I've been out playing pool for the past 5 hours, I shot terribly near the end (but sitll won the last one). RB is pretty awesome, and I'm glad to see a bunch of newbies joining lately.

[WilliamLP]

> Please stop me forcefully if I try to sign up for another one

If you ever feel like doing that, PM me and ask for my advice about whether that's a good idea. (Spoiler: no.) People who can disengage from these and play in 3-5 or more per day, I don't understand.

[haphazard1]

Nothing new in the west, but I get to move TWO tiles next turn Early turns are so much fun to wait for.

Plains tiles, blech. And is my fog-gazing fu weak or is that a hint of desert to the west? Oh well, find out next turn.

Also, red or purple dot should definitely be a hammer city. It has 4 grass hills to work + 1 grass copper hill. That's 19 hammers at size 6, working all the mines + pigs. Rice can be added for a small food surplus. I'll also have 7 or 8 forests available up here, good place to chop out a wonder. There's also the option of settling S of pigs and later on the rice. I feel this is better long-term, but it's crappy short-term. So probably a no-go on that.

South of pigs loses the ability to share fish with the capital and to get an instant trade route with the capital. So I would advise against it due to the short term issues, even if longer term it could work out well.

I rather like purple dot, grabbing the oasis once borders expand and having a bit less overlap with the capital. It is slightly further away so a bit higher costs and slightly harder to reinforce. A lot depends on what you are thinking for the northwest pigs/sugar area. You mentioned that isthmus plains hill as a possible site, but with the sugar and that flood plain I like something a bit further west. That would not be able to use the oasis, thus my preference for purple dot.

On the chop into the warrior, what will your overflow situation look like? This is a pre-Math chop so hopefully you will not overflow too much and lose hammers. It is true you don't have much choice if you want to grow this turn -- workboat (which you don't really need but which could explore after the new city is founded) or barracks (not a priority but would not decay for some time) is about it. Warrior seems best even if it feels a bit odd/wasteful.

The lakes do feel a bit wasted, don't they? The shape of the land is just not quite right for getting a coastal city with a lighthouse to turn them into three food tiles. As a FIN civ this feels like a lost opportunity for some excellent no-worker-turns 3F3C tiles.

I am enjoying ded-lurking your game so far, Catwalk! Drunk posting can be entertaining, drunk playing less so (usually, sometimes it can be hilarious ). Good luck!

[Catwalk]

Turn 30
And time for a hangover post... I feel like ass today, was miserable all day at work and trying not to be too obvious about it. I had fun, but that was a stupid decision!

Warrior finished and the capital grew, settler next. Nothing much revealed by the scout, going S now. I'm glad you're enjoying my reports I plan to keep up doing mini reports every turn, doesn't feel like too much of a time sink. I won't be doing C&D or really elaborate planning, I feel I can manage quite okay time wise with what I'm currently doing. I don't think I got off to a great start, and I wish I'd taken Victoria instead of Elizabeth. Much more straight-forward to play, I'm already getting bored with my elaborate PHI planning. I'll likely end up ditching those plans for simpler ones, getting an early academy and a mixed GP farm at the triple food site.

[Catwalk]

Turn 31
Still nothing much to report, disappointing scouting results.

That's a wolf, shouldn't be a threat. Our scout is at 80% health, but that should still be a 95%+ battle. Warrior is heading east, workers are busy chopping. Started Pottery after finishing Wheel.

[haphazard1]

Hopefully the RNG will be kind -- we want to get a lot more info from that scout still! Wolf, scout on forest, even wounded the odds should be heavily in our favor. But we will have to wait and see.

That was a desert tile...with incense yet. Not exactly wonderful, but even crummy luxuries are luxuries. The area more directly west of the capital is looking a bit bare of resources, but it is nicely green. I foresee many cottages.

[Catwalk]

I've been looking at the Jowy frontier some more. The closest ivory is equidistant between us, settling on top of it could be seen as a provocation. It's a decent site, but it'll take a while to get going. I can chop a monument with a single forest once I have Mathematics, that probably won't happen in time for city number 4. Delaying it is risky, as Jowy will definitely be settling in this direction with his first city and probably his second city as well. He needs the copper, but settling for it with his first city is not ideal. So I find it very likely he'll settle his first two cities there. We also know that he has full vision on the area due to the approach of his scout. I suppose I could camp the area with an axe and a scout, fortifying them N of pink dot. Mining the silver is probably not realistic, as I'd need a road leading through Jowy's lands Still, I'm very interested in pursuing peaceful relations with Jowy if he'll let me have pink dot and I think it's worth giving a shot. I hope that I have conveyed peaceful intentions with my early scout moves (I could have screwed his opening but didn't), and I know that he's very unlikely to do an Impi rush as hooking up copper right away doesn't look like a good idea. As an IND player he's also more likely to be in a builder mindset and want to use his Impis for defensive purposes. Also, if I provide him with early foreign trade routes he has even less incentive to try to mess with me.

[Catwalk]

Turn 32
Killed the wolf without a scratch, 3 XP on the scout now. Would be sweet to get to 5 XP and Woodsman II. Nothing interesting revealed with the scout or the warrior. Calendar will definitely be a priority, should I consider going for that before Monarchy? I can pick up 1 happy face right away from Calendar and another 2 up by the sugar and incense. Monarchy will give me wine right away and a happy face per unit after I revolt. I don't foresee being able to spare a GP for a GA to avoid the anarchy turn anytime in the near future. Early Calendar would also let me take a stab at the Mausoleum. It's only 225 hammers with marble, I can easily build it in 4t with 6 chops (requiring only 3 workers).

Short-term tech goals:
Hunting
Animal Husbandry
Mysticism

Medium term tech goals:
Currency (with Writing and Mathematics)
Monarchy (with Priesthood and either Meditation or Polytheism)
Calendar (with Sailing and Mathematics)

Any suggestions for research order?

[haphazard1]

Good news on the scout surviving. We still need lots and lots more map info.

On the ivory city, could you put a fort on the silver and get it connected via the coastline? I don't recall all the rules on forts for hooking up resources, but I think it would work and you would not need a road. No tile yield bonus, but that is a crummy no food tundra hill tile anyway and at least you would get the happiness.

For the Mausoleum, would you actually have marble in the necessary time frame? If not the wonder is 450 hammers which is quite a task to accumulate, especially competing against IND civs. (Maybe even IND civs with marble....) Calendar is a useful tech even without the wonder since you have silk at the capital and two more plantation luxuries nearby-ish, plus it would allow improvement of the banana. The tech path is easy too since you want Math anyway for other reasons, and Sailing is useful in its own right and not too expensive. Going for Calendar early-ish is worth it if you prioritize sending a settler (or two) for the sugar and incense.

Monarchy gives you wine plus garrison happiness which is flexible/expandable if needed. It does require a couple extra techs but they are cheap and have other benefits (temples, monasteries, path to Literature). A turn of anarchy to use HR is always a bit of a pain, but one turn is not that big a deal for the benefit gained especially if you plan for a double switch (OR maybe?). That depends on getting a religion somehow, though, but still one turn is not too bad.

Really I like both Monarchy and Calendar pretty early for happiness since you have resources for both. More happy cap == bigger cities == lots and lots of cottages working and growing. So I would choose based on how much you want a shot at the Mausoleum, and whether you will be gaining control of marble, sugar, and incense.