[SPOILERS] PB7: Winning The Hard Way - Mao Plays Craps

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Originally Posted by SevenSpirits
Hey plako, let's try to have a bit of fun before this game dies. Two options I see:

1) Have a great knight (+ other stuff) battle in former X-com lands.
2) Race to see whether Mack and I can eliminate X-com before you eliminate HAK.

I prefer the second since as you know X-com ruined our game and we want revenge. But I don't choose for you.

So this is 2nd time you use: "Unless you do what I want I quit trying and just screw up your game" threat. Is this really how you think diplo should be handled in a game like this?

I suggest we try to find a acceptable deal concerning X-com land and continue trying instead of giving up.

Hey, Poland, they're talking about you. Are you just going to sit there and take it? If you've been saving your nukes, now's a good time. Just saying.

Here's to going down swinging!

[spacetyrantxenu]

So that's what Seven is crowing about? Whatever. I just want Plako to invade now. It would be great if he could figure that out without me telling him. I can't hold these beasts off forever.

As for the defense it's a pain in the ass now because of the turn reload. I had already played and moved forward my scant zone defense reserves, so they know what I have around to put in for this turn. I have a few other units that I could move into the city if I somehow play before them next turn, but all they will accomplish is delaying the capture for maybe another turn. We're about to die. Once this city falls we have no reserves except what we can whip every turn in the meantime. I hope an archer is a 2 pop whip from scratch, we can get in several of those on the way to size one cities. Also, it's time to start pillaging my own land but the units I need to accomplish that are busy on defense.

Oooooh I have an idea. I had a settler prepared to cram in a new city to use some farm tiles that had been whipped out of use (and whip anger was preventing their use again in the short term). Since that isn't a good idea now maybe I can send the settler toward Plako out in front of Cahokia and just plop down a city to entice an invasion. I really don't want him biting into HAK right now. If he lets Seven gobble me up he'll be boned later on, assuming Parkin's spaceship or Wonder Victory doesn't occur first (or the game ends...)

[spacetyrantxenu]

Forgot about the HAs, I went ahead and promoted everything in the city because I assumed the promotions would be wasted after they double moved me. There's no way I'll be able to beat these guys to the turn roll, unless I just didn't end turn and violated the two hour rule.

[spacetyrantxenu]

OK so the map now looks nothing like it did this morning when I played the turn the first time. They now have 23 hitters + 10 catapults on the tile adjacent to my city, two more knights in range to attack SE, E of the city. I have 21 defenders + 2 catapults in the city this turn. If I empty Cahokia I can add 3 more units next turn (if they don't take the city before I can play) and 2 more archers from New Foxwoods if I empty it as well. So if I somehow beat them to the turn flip I can have 28 defenders + 2 cats for next turn (will whip something this turn, probably another spear for all the good it will do).

Hey Commodore, if the turn rolls at a convenient time for us feel free to log in and shuffle the units forward into Mohegan Sun. Well...no. Only four other people need to play this turn (end turn really. I'm sure Parkin has played the turn about three times already), Seven is in Seattle and will be up much later than I will be. If the turn rolls when I'm asleep I won't have a chance to cram the extra defenders in. I'll hold the turn until the morning and play it then. I don't feel like moving these units again now anyway. I'm pretty sure at least one other person will have not played by then so I'll probably be able to reinforce without violating the double move rule. If not, oh well, at least I tried.

Screenshot:



I'll PMFT later. I need to remember to turn research on this turn to burn as much gold as possible before they take the city. I think Monarchy may be my last tech Damn it all....why did we ever tech Calendar?

[spacetyrantxenu]

I originally wrote this for the post I'm quoting below from the tech thread, but the other players don't need the whole history of our conflict for now and honestly I'm just whining about the same things as before. But whatever, I've already written it so I'm posting it anyway.

Parkin never technically breaks the rules. That's his thing. It's all "legal" and defensible. Just ask him. The thing is that no one else playing ever can be so available to log into the game to play first, last, and whenever else necessary in between during the turn to take advantage of a situation in game. In circumstances like that who cares if you lose? I certainly don't. You're not playing the same game as the other guy, you're at an obvious disadvantage.

The draft post in the tech thread continued:

MackSeven are about to roll a pain train through my territory through vastly superior firepower, it is inevitable at this point. We got to this stage because we couldn't do enough damage to them earlier to overcome their economic advantage they earned by building the pyramids (on top of them obviously being better players than I am). But at key moments in the early fighting with them their ability or willingness to be in the game to exploit double move opportunities more frequently certainly helped them beat back our aggression and win more battles than they otherwise should have. Double moves are an incredible force multiplier and if you have the time or availability to exploit them more often than your opponent can, that's a tactical advantage you really can't overcome (in an even fight I mean; given tech or numerical superiority you can hold out longer but good luck in the long run). I know that if this game had been played under a sequential timer eliminating double moves they would have beaten me anyway but I think it would have been more trouble for them under those conditions. It has to be nice to know you can move your units twice as far as your opponent can just about any time there's going to be a conflict.

Nothing new here. But seriously, enough of this game. I should have gone to bed an hour ago.

[spacetyrantxenu]

We did ban war elephants, right? Too bad that's the only unit I can build that counters knights whatsoever.

[spacetyrantxenu]

I attacked out with the two catapults I had on hand at Mohegan Sun. First one died and hit six units, second one died and hit only two. I guess that was likely since they have 10 cats in their stack to soak up the collateral. They're going to knock down my walls and shred me, not much I can do about that. I would think they should use a spy to send my city into revolt and then hit me with their cats, they could inflict more collateral on me that way and once I'm dead the EPs they've amassed against me will just go to waste. Surely they know this is the only city defended worth a damn? They have map visibility on me, if not city visibility. If they do they'll see five units completing this turn, my next goal after Mohegan Sun falls is stuff the capital full of units and maybe give myself enough time to pillage its cottages if I can. Speaking of that I can use my two move units at Mohegan sun to pillage the farms this turn and get back into the city to die uselessly, going to do that now. I can't remove the roads or the units won't get back into the city. That's all for now. The turn rolls in six hours, I'll be at work so it looks like I won't be reinforcing the city.

Commodore, if you're around and can log in when the turn rolls I have units near Mohegan Sun just waiting to die in a heroic last stand if you can move them in there. If not, they'll just be killed out in the open before I can log in again most likely. Hopefully this is the last time I have to play out this turn.









We're not the worst civ out there, probably just the next (second to next -- Rome?) to die.

[spacetyrantxenu]

Our ever vigilant invaders always log in to check things out after I play during war time, this turn is no exception. So consider my report from an hour ago obsolete, there is no telling what it looks like now. But we're for sure going to be doomed when the turn rolls if they have the stomach to throw in all their cats on turn one. I fear our reserves won't make it into the city before they attack on the turn rollover.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Two criticisms:

First, stuffing all of your units into your border city to meet an oncoming attack is a tactical decision and good play. Broadcasting essentially just that to another opponent and practically begging him to prevent your primary adversary hard fought spoils of war could be considered by some poor sportsmanship, if not an outright violation of the rules (no city gifting). I know you'll defend everything as best you can once the inevitable conclusion occurs in this first, deciding fight, but you shouldn't have telegraphed your weakness to Plako to deny MackSeven the fruits of their victory.

Second, razing your land (scorched earth) to deny advantage to MackSeven is also rather poor sportsmanship (IMHO). You gain nothing by it other than some coin that won't make any difference in this fight. In truth, you may leave units exposed that die in the open, so tactically it is poor as well as being poor sportsmanship. I rather wish you wouldn't do that, despite how you may feel about Seven.

---

Keep fighting the good fight. Good luck!

Inspirational closing:

One possible outcome:

[spacetyrantxenu]

1. Diplomacy matters. If they had just beaten me it would be one thing. But behaving like a provocative asshole gets you nowhere in life. Is it bad sportsmanship on my part? Who knows, maybe or yes are the possibilities. But I wouldn't be spite whipping my cities and being a jerk if Seven hadn't earned the behavior from me. This wasn't preordained. Plako on the other hand has not behaved like a jerk so I wish him success. I'll defend my cities on his front with what units I can spare. But once the HGs are west of the mountains it's gg Xenu anyway.

2. Would you believe me if I told you I was trying to cut the roads? No? Ok. I'll restate Mao's policy, learned from Stalin, learned from probably every dictator/tzar that preceded him: Scorched Earth - leave nothing behind that the enemy can use. I don't see how it is unsporting to pillage my tiles. He's taken enough workers off me, if he wants improvements he can build them.