[Spoilers] rho21 follows the works of Homer... D'OH!

[rho21]

City site overview

I've numbered all the prospective sites. This is not intended to provide any sort of ordering, it's just to make referring to them easier. Prioritisation will be easier with a bit more scouting at the margins, and once iron is visible.

The West

C3: Decidedly mediocre tile yields but with loads of forests and a couple of stone to chop. Strategically valuable location, providing lots of cover to the capital's exposed campus. Has its own 4-science campus site in the second ring. Claims jade.

C4: Again nothing particularly exciting in terms of yields but has several hills to mine. Coastal site for the sailing boost, might also be a good place for a watermill (though harvesting the northern wheat is very plausible). Claims jade.

C5: A couple of 4fp tiles in the first ring makes this a reasonably strong candidate. Strategically valuable position, securing the river valley from the west. Claims jade.

The South

C6: Some very nice tiles. The b option looks rather more defensible. Only about 5 tiles from the Kongolese second city (presumably, might be Egyptian instead), so a pink dot location: would need claiming soon, and backed by some force.  Strategically strong for controlling access to the river valley from the south. Yet more jade.

C7: Even more pink dotty, at 6/7 tiles from the Kongo capital. Glorious site though, with great tiles and resources galore. The b location looks both more defensible and better in the long run, though it does preclude some sites off to the east.

The Southeast

C8a: Nice starting tiles, and several good ones in the second ring. There's another 4-science campus location here, though it means giving up the grassland hill sheep tile.

C8b: Rather weaker location, grouped together with C8a only because they're mutually exclusive, and it can't go further away due to Yerevan. Still, some reasonable tiles and very defensible.

C9: Possible stretch site down near Hong Kong.

The East

C10: Nice starting tiles, and more to come in the second row. The a option is coastal and also has the sheep in second ring. The b option is generally weaker but might work out better with another city placement near the sheep.

C11: Lots of possible city sites up here in the fog. There may be horses around here somewhere too. All the sites marked look to have fresh water.


Current thoughts
A lot depends on how aggressively we want to plant towards Kongo. Pushing out settlers to C6b and C7a with a large attendant military force would make a significant claim to land, and leave us with what feels like half the map to backfill. It's a big risk though, and needs doing quickly.

A less bold plan would be to claim C5 first, naturally staking a claim to C3 and C4 for later backfill. Then C8 would provide a secure border with Kongo without taking all their best city sites.

[rho21]

Urban planning

Pythagoras

I want a wonder somewhere before too long for the Drama & Poetry boost. The site east of the city would make for a good Hanging Gardens, perhaps. Looks like a farming triangle off to the NE is going to be the best use of that rather uninspiring land.

Euclid

Might not be insane to try for the Pyramids here as they're so great. If so, an Acropolis would be a good plan here too. Other than that, lots of mines on the hills, with a farming triangle off to the east to support them. Definitely a commercial hub here, possibly also an industrial zone. Might move both of those one square to the east from the depicted positions.

[Garath]

There are so many good city sites that I like settlers, and I think 20 turns is rather too long to wait for them.

With such an abundance of beautiful mountain-surrounded campus sites, I think allowing Euclid to not have one sounds perfectly reasonable.

The city-states feel too far away for capture to be reasonable at this point.

[rho21]

Turn 33

Score tracking:
Kongo grew a new population in its capital. It is also first to a second domestic tourist (i.e. 200 total culture), just 3 turns after its first. This will be thanks mostly to inspirations (including for Early Empire this turn), of course: they only have a total of about 82 naturally produced culture so far.
Kongo has also managed to meet Hong Kong and get an envoy there, presumably via a quest.

Operation Barb-B-Q:
The spear has moved onto the desert next to Euclid. I shoot it with the slinger for 25 damage, then hit it with the warriors for 39 damage (suffering 17) and the remaining 36 damage (suffering 18).

A notification says barbarians have been spotted approaching Pythagoras. Nothing visible, so probably a scout from a new camp somewhere east of Geneva.

Housekeeping:
Euclid finished its warrior (obviously, as I used it to attack!) and starts work on a slinger, due in 4. Irritatingly it ended up grabbing a useless river grassland with its cultural expansion. No idea why it picked that tile, unless it knows about hidden resources or something.
At Pythagoras, the warrior reports 37/40 . As planned, I switch back to the slinger to maximise overflow into the campus next turn. Not that it makes any difference, come to think of it: the city production and the harvest both get +50% and there's the same amount of production needed for military units either way.

[Garath]

I actually have seen the tile picker intentionally take an unknown-at-the-time Iron tile in priority over other tiles in the same ring in a private game recently. Though I'd have to go through that whole litany of tile picker that you posted in order to work out whether that was actually the determining factor.

I'd keep an eye on the tile anyway, though - it's definitely a possibility.

[Garath]

As for actual city site choices, your C5 and C6b are my currently leading preferences, depending on just how aggressive you're feeling. Though indeed C6b isn't actually as bad as it looks from the split pictures you've posted where you can see his city but not yours - it's 7 tiles from his capital, but only 9 from yours. So agressive, but not completely unreasonable, particularly if he doesn't know where you are yet. However, given that you aren't being particularly aggressive with your third city *timing*, there's a good chance that he might have settled north by that point anyway, and it will look or even actually be impossible.

I like those sites more than trying for the east which looks insufficiently scouted or the southeast, which just look a bit exposed without any currently-known benefit of claiming against other people. And I like them more than the safer C3 and C4, because you get those anyway as you said.

As for urban planning, the capital really does just look uninspiring. I mean, I agree with the tile assignments you've made, I think, but mostly it just makes me want to use it as a settler factory (not a very quick one though) just because it won't have good tiles to work if it grows anyway.

Euclid looks much stronger - so many grassland hills will give it huge production once it gets going. I wouldn't pass up the Industrial Zone with as many surrounding hills as possible, so the current suggested site looks good.

I don't really have much opinion on wonders - I've never played human multiplayer, but instead mostly higher-difficulty AI games where getting many or any is fairly implausible. Of the two you've mentioned, though, I think I'd be more interested in the Pyramids, which are both the stronger build and might have less competition just because there might not be good desert sites elsewhere. Maybe.

[rho21]

It was having trouble choosing between that tile, the rainforest next to it and the hill forest. Not that I have any idea what that means. I just hope it chooses the hill forest next so Euclid gets a good tile to work at size 3 without having to wait for a builder.

[rho21]

Ancient wonders:

Hanging Gardens	180	Irrigation	+2 housing, +15% growth (food surplus) in all cities	Adjacent to river
Stonehenge	180	Astrology	+2 , recruit great prophet	Adjacent to stone
Pyramids	220	Masonry	+2 , free builder, all builders +1 charge	Flat desert
Oracle	290	Mysticism	+1 , +1 , faith cost of patronage lower, districts here produce +2 great people points	On hills

The Pyramids could be particularly good for the Aztecs, so perhaps they are headed that way. The Hanging Gardens is a nice boost but nothing stellar. Mostly I just want something the capital can afford, given its limited production. The Oracle would actually be really nice on the desert hill E-SE of Pythagoras.

I like the general plan of settlers from Pythagoras, with military and the occasional wonder mixed in.

Anyway, on to:

Turn 34

Score tracking:
Aztec finished a second civic and a fourth tech. And jumped up in strength, probably another eagle warrior. Another big turn for them.
Egypt finished a fourth tech.
Kongo finished a fifth tech, and spent 60 on something, probably a tile purchase.

Barbarian adventures:
In the east, a warrior moves forwards to discover an empty camp (and a tundra horse behind it). I send the other warrior anyway, just in case the camp spawns something between turns. The slinger moves NE, with the idea of scouting a little. It spots the inferred barbarian scout NE of the capital.

That means I won't get a third barbarian kill right away, but either that scout indicates another camp for my warriors to attack or it came from the existing camp and will suicide itself into my slinger shortly.

Housekeeping:

This is the turn to harvest the stone and place the campus. Let's double check the numbers.
I have just finished a slinger with 13.2 overflow.
The part-built warrior requires 2.2 to finish.
The harvest will net me 40 x 1.5 = 60 (and 40 )
A campus currently costs 88 .
Pythagoras produces 12 (base) + 2 (working on a district) + 0.7 (amenities); no multiplier.

13.2 - 2.2 + 60 - 88 + 14.7 = 2.3 short of finishing the campus this turn.

Not as much production as I'd expected, which shows off a bug in my tracking spreadsheet. I'm happy with a 2-turn campus though. Going to need to land some boosts so I don't have to start paying full price.

Sadly Pythagoras now has to work the dyes - its third best tile. 5 turns until it grabs the wheat; the builder is heading back that way to drop a farm there.

I think it's time I organised resources more effectively, so I'm designating theatres with objectives and resources. These are intended to be fluid as circumstances and objectives change.

Initial expansion goals are C5 and C8, though I might decide to reach further if the going looks good.

Western Theatre

Objectives:

• Build campus at Pythagoras
  
• Defend campus from opportunistic passing scouting units
  
• Secure C5 site
  
• Settle C5 site
  
• Explore further to the west
  

Resources:
Warrior, 2 slingers, 2-charge builder, Pythagoras

Plan:
A warrior would be the ideal defence for the campus, as it won't be at risk from a wandering eagle warrior.
Prepare a reconnaissance in force for C5, ideally 2 melee units and one ranged, including a warrior to explore further. I don't really want to send a slinger out for exploration in that direction, as there is probably a barbarian camp that way somewhere, and quite possibly Aztecs (who might well attack a lone slinger).

I'm thinking to build a warrior next in Pythagoras (or possibly two), then switch to a settler. The builder will improve the wheat then perhaps follow the settler to C5 to connect the jade (as this boosts the wheel). Not sure where it's getting builder labour from otherwise.

Eastern theatre

Objectives:

• Clear any nearby barbarian camps
  
• Get a third barbarian kill
  
• Secure C8 site
  
• Settle C8 site
  
• Explore the remaining land in the north and east
  

Resources:
2 warriors, promoted slinger, Euclid

Plan:
Explore the immediate area as quickly as possible. If there's no second barbarian camp found quickly, send the warrior and slinger to secure C8 while the second warrior finishes off the scouting. This is all assuming that's the tip of the continent up there rather than a land bridge to the Aztecs or something.
A second slinger will be finished training in a few turns and can join the group securing C8. Euclid will probably need a builder before it produces a settler.

[rho21]

Turn 35

Score tracking:
Kongo gained a population in its second city, Frikandel.

Eastern Theatre:
No new unit in the barbarian camp, so one of the warriors clears it. Then with a second step Crater Lake is uncovered, deep in the tundra. Two boosts from one unit in one turn! Military tradition is now two turns away.
The slinger chases the barbarian scout, as it has finished next to a Genevan slinger. With the camp cleared, it should attack this turn if there isn't another camp about; perhaps we'll have the chance to finish it off.

Western Theatre:
The builder reveals a heavily damaged Vallettan warrior next to an undamaged barabarian warrior. We'll definitely need some force for the reconnaissance mission.
Pythagoras is correctly at 85/88 in the campus.

[rho21]

Turn 36

Score tracking
Kongo finished a second civic. We're all square there now.
Aztec has taken a big hit (17 points) to CQUI military power. Perhaps they're attacking a second city state. Concerning.
Meanwhile Egypt gained 18 CQUI military power. I'm thinking a warrior is the most likely cause, though some healing and a slinger or an archer upgrade would also fit.

Eastern Theatre
The barbarian scout moved adjacent to Geneva (which didn't even shoot it with its undamaged slinger), implying there's another camp to be found. So the plan now is to use one warrior and the slinger to explore the north and kill the camp. Meanwhile the other warrior will explore the east. The new slinger will hang around to defend Euclid.

Western Theatre
There's a barbarian slinger about too, and Valletta's warrior is very sorely pressed. Handily, that slinger is in range of both a slinger and a warrior.



The slinger hits it for 50 damage (a little below average), and the warrior completes the job, taking all of 1 damage itself.
Third barbarian kill, so both bronze working and military tradition are just a trickle away now. That worked out nicely. The boosts for those two have completed the quests for both Yerevan and Hong Kong, much as that matters.

The campus is complete, science goes up by ~50%, to 12/turn. Culture is rather lagging behind now. Pythagoras starts on a warrior (due in 2).

Housekeeping
With 5 slingers completed and none planned, I'm thinking to finish off Archery tech next turn, pick up Irrigation (just 1 turn, thanks to overflow and the campus) then work towards Horseback Riding (~5 turns) and Currency.

A single archer upgrade would cost 1 /turn maintenance but provide +2 towards units (including settlers and builders) in Pythagoras, thanks to Valletta. Probably worth it.

When I hit end turn, there was the sound of a barbarian camp being found / founded. Not sure whether that's for me or Aztec, I know hotseat does some weird things with sounds. Anyway, I'll have a look around for one next turn.