[Spoilers] Whosit is playing for second

[Whosit]

No major news. La Venta did move the Archer out of the city, so all enemy combat units have been destroyed. All my units to the north are beat up, but I think I can take the city in 3-4 turns.

Next turn, I'll pass on Boudica, and then see what Krill does. Hopefully he's not petty enough to pass as well, and lock up great generals forever. I also realized the Khmer will get the Great Merchant after this one. There's a 1 in 3 chance the next GM grants a Governor title, but I think it's better to take that risk than to pass. 200 gold and 1 envoy is still pretty good, especially to help me keep Zanzibar. The upcoming Great Scientist requires a Holy Site, and makes that site grant science as well. Will Korea pass? The GS would be incredible for the Khmer.

I finished the world's first Industrial Zone, so I will have a head start on GE points. +5 zone, and 4 turn Workshop due to Congress boost. I'll be laying down another IZ zone next turn at Aegean (but I think I'll finish the Comm Hub first).

Ah, and clearing that barb camp south of Chartreux still provided +3 era score for clearing a threatening camp. I wasn't sure if you still got points for that in the Medieval Era.

I need 23 more era score for a Golden Age in the next Era. I can prrrrobably do that.

Oh, and lighthouse in Burmese finished, so I have a new Trade Route available. Will go to a Khmer city. Not the most gold, but I can get bonus science and faith from the route.

[Whosit]

Turn 107

3 turn day!

International news from score gazing.

Korea got a new civic and may have adopted one of the military policies that add loyalty? Mo Li Hua is losing loyalty a little slower than last turn. I've found it odd that greenline has remained in Oligarchy. When the war ended, shouldn't he have at least changed to Autocracy?

Oh, if I didn't mention it, looks like Korea got a settler out last turn. Wonder where it's going....

Korea also dropped several points in science and culture, and I'm not sure what that's about. Could be a policy change, but I'm not sure what they could have been running as a policy that's worth 4 sci/cul to them.

Japan's 3rd city grew. I still have not been able to figure out the naming scheme. Google searches have remained inconclusive. Can't tell if it's anime, historical figures, or some kind of mish-mash.

Oh, and now all of Japan's cities have a full harbor+lighthouse combo.

Khmer have planted their 7th city, and have spent more gold and faith. Might be builders, but I'm not certain. Also, they adopted Monarchy. I figured they'd get a Tier 2 government before me since I took the long way to Exploration. Still.... I had some hope I might get there first. Silly me.  

I think one of their cities completed a building, but I don't have enough intel to know what it was.

Also of interest, Khmer has not yet built their Tier 1 building for the Government Plaza. Hm.

China gained 2 pop, and must have completed a building somewhere, but I don't know what. Krill is making 95 gpt. He's nearly as wealthy as me!




Passed on Boudica. Krill can claim her next turn if he so chooses. I can't quell the anxiety that he will pass as well just to spite me.




Yikes! Headed southwest. Hopefully there's a beach landing and not cliffs the whole way around.




Tourism.




Krill still has this scientist hanging around. Was he using it to scout?

Overall, I'm still pretty pleased with my position. I've confirmed that I'm the first player to complete an Industrial Zone, so hopefully that gives me a little head start on claiming the first Great Engineer. I noticed the Oracle only gives +2 writer points for a theatre, not +2 to artists and musicians as well. Boo!

Battle for La Venta is going well. I've pillaged a total of 264 faith from the holy site and stone heads. I'm sure I'll find a use for it. One unit attacked the city and knocked off 33% of the walls, so the walls should fall next turn. City shouldn't last much longer after that. Also, they made a new builder for me!  

My score is pretty inflated from all the wonders I've made. I'm sure I register as enemy #1 to everyone else. Oh well. In about a dozen turns I should possess every type of luxury on the map, so I won't need to trade with anyone. Hopefully I remain scary enough that no one wants to fight me just yet. Lack of diplo should make it harder to coordinate, I hope. I would be vulnerable if, say, Korea threw all their man-at-arms at me right now, but I think I have enough cash that I could manage a defense. Machinery remains 1 turn away, so I can upgrade a crossbowman and improve my walls' attacks.

Some of my cities are running out of good tiles to use, so I need to look around next turn and make some adjustments or run specialists as appropriate.

Exploration can't come soon enough. Gold boost will be nice, but +15% to district construction will be pretty handy. Gonna do a lot of cash buying of things that turn.

[Whosit]

Was doing a little more thinking about future plans. I really, really want to build the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. But it needs to be adjacent to a harbor and I don't have a lot of those right now.

Since I have to commit to getting a Holy Site at the capital next, I think when the capital hits size 13, I can put down a harbor and put the wonder on the wheat tile. Unfortunately, it'll be like 30 turns to grow that much.... But an extra charge to every great engineer would be fabulous.

[Quagma Blast]

Japan's 3rd city grew. I still have not been able to figure out the naming scheme. Google searches have remained inconclusive. Can't tell if it's anime, historical figures, or some kind of mish-mash.

I spent some time looking into it myself, and I think I have some idea what's going on. The first word in each name is easy, they're historical samurai clans, afaict all associated with the Tokugawa clan during the Sengoku period.

The breakthrough on the second word of the names came when I saw that "tekisanzu" pretty much only ever got used as a transliteration of the word "Texans"... as when talking about the "Houston Texans." That's a team in the National Football League. Other teams in the NFL include the Indianapolis Colts, which 'Korutu' is a not-quite-correct transliteration of; and the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans, either of which could be translated to 'Kyojin' (compare Attack on Titan, 'Shingeki no Kyojin')

I have no idea what 'Shiku' is supposed to be in this scheme. If you see a 'Baikingu', 'Buronko', or 'Sutira' in the future, that'll pretty much confirm the theory for me though.

[Whosit]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I'm not really into sports so I didn't see that connection!

Finally got the turn, and, well.... looks like Krill also passed on the Great General. I am disappointed but really, I should have known better. This does mean that there will be no more great generals produced in this game. Ughhhhh. I wish I could go back to yesterday and slap myself.

I guess I'll have to call that a lesson learned on passing on great people in a multiplayer game.

Walls at La Venta are down. Not sure if I have the power to capture it next turn, but definitely within 2 turns.

Otherwise, not much to report. Just waiting on things to finish.

[Quagma Blast]

I'm not into sports either, I just happened to stumble on a site that was literally using "Houston Texans" as the example use of 'tekisanzu' and then I was like "Hm... 'Korutu' could be 'court' or 'colt'... what kind of team are the Texans exactly...?"

Also, I've figured out what 'shiku' is, it's "four-nine"... using the readings that are homophones to "death suffering"

[Whosit]

Oh, good detective work!

[Whosit]

You know, I think my blunder with passing on the Great General has me bummed out even harder than losing the Colosseum by 1 turn. Probably because this mistake was 1) totally avoidable, and 2) I knew it was a bad idea at the time. It truly was a "I'm taking a calculated risk, but boy am I bad at math" moment. I knew Krill had very little reason to pull Boudica, but I guess my thinking was that there was an outside chance he would, and then that would save me a few turns on getting the next general!

Instead....



Things like this are why I think I still need a player 2 or ded lurker. Although I think my game has been solid overall, I still make insane decisions that baffle even me.

Anyway, just wanted to gripe some more to see if that would get it off my chest.

I also realized that I need to put together more of a solid plan for moving forward than "attack Japan at some point."

With only one source of niter available, and no chance of a higher tier Great General to lead more advanced units, waiting to upgrade my entire army to musketmen (strength 55) seems less appealing when I can still get effectively strength 50 units with my men-at-arms and current Great General. However, Japan definitely has Feudalism, so I should expect to face Samurai (strength 48, 10 iron), and I need to keep in mind that Japanese cities benefit from Defender of the Faith, so that's +5 strength to Japanese units.

Japan will also be able to utilize Limes to get Ancient Walls up quickly, and if they haven't already researched Recorded History, could still get Victor. So, I could be facing Strength 53 units that don't take combat penalties, and walls and reinforced garrisons. However... this time I have the chance to prepare for that.

Siege units. I never built catapults, so I will have to go straight for Trebuchets, but I think even one or two could help turn the tide. They'll still benefit from my Great General, as well. I'm going to need to trim some fat from my build plans, so here's some quick thoughts, city by city.

Bombay: I have like 5 billion things I want to build here, and I think I need to keep the capital on infrastructure. After Settler, will build Holy Site (6-ish turns), I think I'll just buy the shrine, and then I need an amphitheatre here. I may even need to run Commercial Hub investments depending on how things look with great people.

Bengal: Finish Armory, pop out a quick Archer to reinforce the area, then with the right policy, can produce 4 turn m-a-a. I can move my great general here so the new troops can march east a little faster. Once the city hits size 13, though, will put down an Industrial Zone and Workshop (if the current Congressional policy is still active by then). Will try to slot in Market (4-5 turns) if time allows.

Burmese: Will finish builder (6 charges, since it will finish after I swap back to Serfdom), then do IZ and Workshop, then just builders for days.

Persian: Will finish Workshop in a couple turns. It's then Trader, then Builders until I don't need anymore. Will produce any additional Traders when I get more trade route slots. Only then will it complete its Theatre Square.

Chartreux: Finishing Stable. I was going to go ahead with the Armory, but if I am trying to attack Japan this era, not worth the time. This city needs some MAJOR investment in tile improvements and will be a major focus for new Builders. Stable, then Trebuchets. I want to max production here, but they will still probably be 10 turn builds until industry is improved.

Aegean: Has a lot of districts and infrastructure to build, but has decent production potential in 2nd ring. Will need to buy a lot of tiles. Comm Hub > Ind Zone > Workshop > Market > Units. Probably won't finish infrastructure in time to help with the war, though. But with enough builder attention, might.

Minskin: Eh. Won't be very useful.

I'm going to rely heavily on existing units, reinforcing with a few new builds, and I will upgrade a handful of units into Musketmen as shock troops, since they are still a bit stronger than boosted Man-at-arms. Archers need to be upgraded to Crossbowmen. I'm going to need to be able to hit hard at the start of the war, because this listing makes it clear I will only have a couple of cities making actual combat units, and supply lines are long from Bengal. Will need to think about if I can make Aegean a more effective unit pump earlier.

(Also, I realized what's up with Korea's sci/culture drop. Obviously, Pingala has been moved. I even noticed that greenline had gotten a 3rd governor a couple turns ago.)

[Whosit]

CMF has taken custody of Hong Kong. Makes sense. I think I should at least be able to bring it to Neutral when I declare war.

I've hacked a plan together and I think that I will be able to mobilize on Turn 125, and reach Japanese borders on Turn 130. That is 21 turns away, and I am going to prepare for a slog. Learning from my brief foray into Korea territory, I need to be prepared for human players to take every possible measure to defend themselves.

And the clock is really ticking. My best timing to attack Japan was when I attacked Korea. CMF is making great use of his Heroic Age and is doing his best to play catchup. Although I don't think he could ever get into a winning position from where he is, he CAN make himself much harder to attack. He will likely have Machinery to make Crossbowmen, for example. I have to hope that I can hit before he unlocks, say, Mercenaries for cheaper unit upgrades.

I believe that I will end up attacking with 9 melee units (man-at-arms and a few musketmen), 4-5 crossbowmen, a trebuchet, and 1 or 2 light cavalry, depending on how much gold I feel like spending on purchasing units. A 2nd trebuchet will complete on Turn 130, and will hopefully be able to participate in the 2nd wave of the attack. 

Chev has put down a bunch of Feudalism boosted Farm Triangles and is no doubt trying to grow his cities beyond sizes 4 and 5. But growth takes a while in Civ 6. Even with 21 more turns to prepare, I expect that I won't see many (or hopefully any) new units produced by Japan. That means, in the short-term, CMF will only be able to upgrade existing units. I'm hoping that means that as long as I can hit with overwhelming force, I'll be able to smash through defenses and grind him down.

Guess we will see in 20 or so turns.


 




City state has been captured, and like four of my units earned promotions, so that will be pretty nice to have going into the next war.

The city itself is pretty garbage. It needs a lot of work to be useful, and I don't intend to put that work in right now. I conquered it for the Marble (and to make sure Fet couldn't Suzerain it literally behind my back). Keeping it small right now as fine since that means it will take up fewer amenities.




Glad I sent an Archer out instead of risking the Settler alone. That scout could have caused me some trouble, otherwise.

I believe that I calculated I will probably accumulate just enough Niter to upgrade two units to Musketmen if I use the card to halve the resource cost. They will be slower, since they will not benefit from the great general, but they will be overall stronger, so they will still spearhead my invasion.

Aegean will only be developed enough to start training troops by the time I march off for war, so it will only be able to slowly produce reinforcements, but that's better than nothing. Chartreux will build additional units after the 2 trebs as needed.

[Whosit]

Krill put another envoy into Zanzibar, making it neutral. Krill also got a new civic, late Medieval. Possibly Mercenaries which provides an envoy? I haven't really been counting science and culture for a while because most players don't go straight for a tech or civic, and it's hard to know if they boosted it or not.

Anyway, loss of cinnamon and cloves, and addition of Bambino means all but 2 of my cities dropped to Content. This actually, effectively, cost me an entire turn. Exploration would have been 1 turn away, but is 2 now, and most cities effectively lost a turn of production going from Ecstatic to Content. I've decided to swap to Theology since it still takes me 1 turn and will give me an Envoy. I'm assuming that Krill only had 1 envoy, otherwise he'd have become Suzerain. I'm also going to slot Charismatic Leader back in until I earn another "natural" envoy, since I'm clearly fighting for my life with these City State Suzerainships.

I'm hoping that getting Zanzibar back next turn will boost enough cities that Exploration will drop back to 1 turn to finish. I'll definitely be slotting in Republican Legacy as I can change to Merchant Republic. Bengal could even use the extra point of Housing to keep growing to size 13.

Galley detected a barbarian camp on the coast, so I'm going to want to clear that out ASAP.

I did get a Man-At-Arms to Level 3, taking the Commando promotion, so this one will definitely be upgraded to a Musketman. Also got an Archer to Level 3, taking Arrow Storm. So +12 ranged strength vs land units. Will be a good Crossbowman.

Korea finished their Industrial Zone. Did not complete Aqueduct first, so only +2 adjacency, no Era Score from it. My workshop completed. Getting Imhotep would be a HUGE deal for me, so I will have cities run Industrial Zone projects when possible. Losing Hong Kong's suzerain bonus actually sucks. I want to use Imhotep to get Petra in the yet-to-be-founded city of Sphynx. Depending where I put it, that would improve 6-7 tiles. I can use his second charge (I think he has 2 charges by default) for TerraCotta Army in Chartreux. +1 promo level to all troops would be huuuuge for me. Because both these wonders are from the Classical Era, he generate 350 production (each wonder is 400 prod).

Look at the map again, I think I'll put Petra on one of the desert floodplain tiles south of Sphynx. That would allow the city to place a +4 Theatre later, between Petra and the Oracle.

I'm kind of marveling at how I have decimated the rainforests in my territory. I'm not done yet.....

Fingers crossed for another save later today, but I know weekends are generally pretty dang slow.

Krill has Friendship with everyone (except me). I feel like my Rome is in a cold war with China, lol. I'm curious how Archduke plans to handle China, or not. Krill has two cities at size 10 or greater, and is reaping some major benefits. I may be #1 position right now, by some metrics, but surely Khmer and China must come into conflict with each other at some point?

EDIT: Archduke has FIVE industrial zones under construction, compared to my three (I'll have four when Bengal hits size 13). Looks like I'm going to be in some serious competition for great engineers.

Krill's capital also completed an Industrial Zone. Everyone is racing to Industrialize!