[SPOILERS] Emporium For Sale. We Don't Rent Pigs.

[Commodore]

I hope you don't mind the color change. Yellow vs. yellow and all, and the Zulu insignia looks wicked cool in red.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Don't mind at all. I'm not a huge fan of yellow anyway and I'll be glad not to squint looking at HRE mixed in my border.

[Qgqqqqq]

Hmm blood-red Zulu, that reminds me of something...

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Much hand-wringing over this start. I had two choices. Either clearcut the capital with an early BW run and get up a ton of workers/settlers (typically a good thing), or get up early cottages. I ran several sims, all poorly documented for the sake of time, as I've had the save all day. The only bad thing about playing turns at work is that sometimes you actually have to work.

Code:

#1 worker/worker/warrior/warror, size 2, settler, worker opening

Techs: AH (T8), Mining, BW, fishing (EoT 24)

T0 move to PH
T1 settle, work cow
T2 work cow
T3-8 work GF Deer
2nd worker
T16 - GF deer camped, EoT growth to 2 (14/14), warrior #2 comlete
T23 settler completes
T24 - worker #3 EoT
T28 - settler #3
T29 - WB in city 2.

---

#2 worker/warrior/warrior/warrior/settler-swap warrior/settler
pasture cow, camp PH (done T13)


---

#3 - aim for grassforest camp first

T11 - warrior completes, camp completes, grow to 2
T17 - grow size 3 EoT
T25 - settler, 3 workers, revolt
T28 - settler #2
T29 - WB city #2
T30 - worker #4, city #2 size 2 EoT [4 workers, 3 warriors, 2 cities, settler, slavery, wb hooked] - wheel EoT

---

#4 the wheel/pottery/AH/mining/fishing/BW/Mysticism/Meditation/PH

T26 - city #2 founds, growth to 5 EoT, 2 warriors, 2 workers, fishing due EoT, BW due T33
T35 - settler #2
T37 -
T38 - settler #3, city 2 grow to 4 EoT or revolt
T43 - Oracle completes - 2 settlers, 4 workers, 1 WB, 2 warriors, Oracle, 2 granaries


---

#5 mining/BW/AH/fishing/wheel/pottery

T34 - revolt to slavery (T34), two cities (size 3,4), 3 warriors, 4 workers, 2 settlers


--
#6 wheel/fishing/pottery

worker/warrior, start warrior2 swap worker #2 @size 2, warrior3, granary, warrior (size 5), settler, worker, settle #2 T28

#3


T31: 2 cities, another settler built, 3 warriors, 4 workers. Pretty fast start. Ultimately, though, I think I like the pottery first plan better. Although I start off slower, it techs like a beast and I won't need to whip the capital much at all later on to keep pumping out workers/settlers at the happy cap.

#4


This is the Pottery first opening. Things just time out very well for this and I'm not lacking for tiles. I think I had built 4 workers and 4 settlers in this one. Obviously I should probably swap a settler for another 1.5 workers, as that would leave me short of labor to finish the wonder if I have to support additional cities. I need more scouting.

#5


I don't need or want Stonehenge, unless it's just sitting there for denial, but at this point in the simming process I was going through quickly. Obviously the Oracle is the real goal. T50 may be too late for both, certainly for Stonehenge, even though there are 3 CRE civs.

So, what I ended up doing:



Going for Pottery, then BW, and a run at the Oracle around T42/3 with three cities and 4-5 workers. I have a goal, now to make a micro plan that makes it happen. Maybe I regret this, maybe not. If I reached the wrong conclusion, for once it isn't from a lack of effort.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Lots of fast turns today, probably this is it for now though. I sent one save on to dazed after all of two minutes.



Annnndddd...I declare war on you for the entire game. Nothing personal. So, we apparently neighbor dazed, which is ok. I don't know much about zak, I haven't followed any of his games nor do I know which he's been in. So much for opposition research. But, Z has mackoti available to whisper advice, which avails me not at all. And, novice is a known known, in rumsfeldian speak. You know what you're getting with him: Tight micro and a preference to sit and tech, if possible. That is a decent neighbor, but he isn't afraid to fight either, so care is needed. I'd prefer he be my other neighbor over zackoti, who Rummy would classify as a known unknown, at least from my perspective. I just don't know what to expect.



As for the map, to complete the Rumsfeld trifecta of awesomeness, it's the known unknown, but I'm getting some guesses. First, I think the the world wrap is N/S. Second, I think there are only 4 more tiles visible to the east to defog, and my guess is that this is my backyard. I'll prioritize scouting toward my enemies for now. So, guessing then that to my north there may be another choke point similar to where I've met Dazed, maybe a tile or so closer to match with the map's dimensions. I will probably wait to scout it until after BW and I get an impi out to do the job, and maybe make an enemy while I'm at it.

That will be all for now. Someone in my office just played the Flintstone's intro. Apparently that means it's quitting time.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Scouting. End turn.



Time to update the sandbox, we've found what appears to be a mirror. Counting from the known eastern end of the map to here is 16tiles. Confirmed mirror boundary, confirmed 32E/W x 34N/S, wrap is N/S. Thinking about the map yesterday, I apparently forgot there's a wrap and that I'll border all 3 opponents.

Kinda wishing I had gone BW first anyway, just to scout everyone out with an impi. Oh well. I'll see what I can do with the wheel now that I've got it.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Welp, Dazed is going to make me play rough. He's decided to sit on my grass forest deer, forcing me to hook up the plains hill deer first. Even this one turn delay pushes back growth for a turn. Annoying. So, of course, I'm going to do the same to him. It would have taken him exactly 8 turns from his starting position to get to the deer, so he has bee-lined my direction straight to that tile. Nice play, I guess, just a bit unlucky for me. The good news is that Zakalwe could have jumped on my other deer, and then I'd have been stuck with nothing to do at all until I could kill the scout. +1 for Zak, -1 for Dazed.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

It's been a little while since I've updated. The turns have been flying and I've been busy. Novice went for an early second city, Zak appears to be settling his second city this turn (on the starting tile, for the double fish + plains cow). Dazed grew his city to size 3. I've been a turn behind on growth from the outset because Dazed's warrior was on the deer tile the turn I needed to move my new worker, but he moved away so I kept scouting rather than risk losing my scout dancing around his capital. Zakalwe beat me to circumnav by two turns. He must have scouted deep right off the bat. I started my scout off to the north of the capital and wheeled back around west, then southwest to dazed, then south to Zak. I've built two workers, 3 warriors, and am 3t away from completing my settler. Tech path has been AH/Wheel/Pottery, which just completed. I've built a couple of roads on tiles with the extra worker turns, but inevitably I mess up my own plans, which means I'll be delayed a turn settling the second city over what I could have done (and actually DID do in the sandbox ). This is what I get for not writing down my microplan and saving it where I could have access at home as well as at work. Anyway, some pics:



Interesting in this picture is what appears to be two islands that are one tile each. Hooray ICTRs at Currency! The map extends two tiles further east of those islands.



The only other thing worth mentioning is it seems that dazed is still putting 1 EP/turn on me. A couple turns I'd have graphs on him and then lose them. Then I'd spend a point, end turn, and graphs again. I would have thought he'd have graphs on me by now and spend on someone else. I know he has contact with others. F4 shows we are all at war. Hmm.



Demos don't look good. Guessing others didn't go for the second worker right away. I'll be using them to lay down early cottages since I didn't opt for early BW. We'll see how this goes.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

BW complete. Well, that was convenient.



I've been behind. My plan, apparently, is not as good as others.



All three are CRE so we can count cities. Novice got an early city first, then Dazed, and I've been slowest to expand. Novice settled his second city to share cow/ph deer with the capital, and to pick up horses and wheat. I saw him with a chariot when my warrior approached his capital, so I hastily retreated, in time to force Dazed to delete his scout, caught between two of my warriors near my borders.

All in all, I'm not super impressed by my play so far. My competitors aren't making a mess of this opening, as far as I can tell. I think Zak's early coast city and presumed early mining of the silver will serve him well. For me, I moved both of my workers to forests on rivers at the capital and will start chopping out a settler for a new city. I just finished worker #3 this turn, it will get a start on the bronze. I'm thinking city #3 will mirror what novice has done, settling on the location I marked early on near the choke point (ph marked x). Quick #4 after, to the original starting tile. Dazed settled his second city 1N of Austin, so he missed the bronze, but he's on the water and will seek to make a quick jump to the island. I like this map so far.

Other thoughts, my granary in the capital is complete, and I think I'm going to revolt to slavery after I get this settler on the move. Best guess (confirmed via event log) is that Dazed already revolted to slavery. Double checking that, I note that someone has founded Hinduism. Good job. My next tech is mysticism, then meditation, then priesthood for an Oracle to MC. Hopefully I'll get a religion at meditation, but it's looking like I may miss Buddhism there.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Here's the way things look EoT 35:


Two chops complete at Lonesome Dove and gets the settler to 65/65. I'm slow to my third city, but I have the granary complete and will swap to slavery T36 while the settler is on the move. I may put a couple turns into Stonehenge for the inevitable failgold, despite not having stone. I don't really want to build more warriors right now, I'm looking to get up some of those fancy haul ass spears and see what I can do with them. Probably not much, with Vultures to my west and Phalanxes North/South.


Ikhanda is a placeholder until I grow to 4 and double whip a worker. I'm looking to speed up expansion. A granary completed EoT 35 with the foodbox in good shape.

T36:

Settler completed EoT 35, swap to slavery this turn. It feels like novice is running away from us already. I guess I should have gone BW first and chopped out a swarm of workers and settlers instead of my Oracle/MC play. Lurking other games, I've usually thought workers/settlers >>> earlyish Oracle play, but I've fallen into the trap it seems. Nothing to do but get on with it. I think there will be an early forge in my second city and an Ikhanda. Novice's third city is where I would like to put mine, on the X in the picture below, but Dazed has other plans, it seems.



Dazed has a settler on the highlighted tile. His second city missed the grass/river bronze. I was hoping he'd settle for no overlap here so we could have a comfortable border and focus on the inevitable chase of novice. Guess we won't live comfortably, so I'll have to make it unattractive for Dazed to bother me. I may settle on the grass/forest hill 1N of the silk so I control my resource first ring. Plus, that would make him attack my city across a river. I really like the PH sheep/wheat/fish/dyes city a lot better, but I'll do what I must to secure my silks. Plus, dazed would have to take the attack to me under difficult circumstances. Not ideal, but workable. This way I'm not fighting over a fish, either. I haven't decided, so if anyone reads this tell me what you think. I'm about 75% sure that I'll take the silk first ring as of now.



The 40 crop yield is Novice. Last turn he was tops in MFG by a decent amount. Reading the culture graph, I think he's at 4 cities. I hope my granaries can help me catch up some, otherwise this is going to get out of hand earlier than I thought.