RBCiv Epic 18: Potluck Duet, Game B

Pregame rambling? Sure, why not. This is my now second game of Emperor, ever, the first half of this Epic being my first game. It's gone well so far, but that was on a Wet/Rugged/Pangea map, which is about as good as it's ever going to get. This is about the opposite. I suck at dry maps, I suck at 'pelago maps, and half my civ trait is going to be useless because I blew it winning the first game. Space race may in fact be too much to ask here. But we shall see.

For In the Beginning...

For lack of a better alternative, Berlin is founded where the settler is. The standard 2 warrior start happens, and it becomes quickly apparent that arid really does mean arid. Ye gods this land sucks. Some dotmapping is done:

There are some depressingly awful choices there, with purple, red, Berlin, and Liepzig being good, pink being marginal, and everywhere else being crappy fishing villages. I probably would have been better served by a denser build, as well, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I'll be interested to see what other people do, and if anyone wants to comment on this dotmap, feel free: I'm practically a 'pelago newbie.

2110 BC, barbarians start popping out of the woodwork right as I snag the Wheel. This of course should have been Alphabet for Map Making, but I'm an idiot some days, I suppose. Fortunately, my island has no horses.

1950 BC, Hamburg is founded on red dot.

1910 BC, my warrior goes up against a barbarian camp and gets slaughtered.

1625 BC, barbarians sack Liepzig for 61 gold, and I can do nothing about it. Alphabet comes in, however, and we zoom for Writing.

1500 BC, barbarians kill my spear-guarded worker. This is not going well at all.

1425 BC, Konigsburg is founded on turquoise dot.

1275 BC, barbarians kill my fortified spear in Leipzig. This is not my game for barbarians, evidently.

1125 BC, Frankfurt is founded on green dot. The next turn, Writing comes in, and Pottery is begun. Four turns after that, Pottery comes in, and Map Making is begun.

875 BC, Munich is founded on pink dot. Word comes from Greece that the Colossus has been completed.

In 730, Heidelburg is founded on purple dot. One more to go. And the people for some reason want to build the Forbidden Palace. Uh, no.

550 BC, I cannot win a $%#$%^ barbarian combat to save my life. Spear goes down to horse, Munich sacked, worker and settler destroyed. I retaliate by sending a spear after the camp.

490 BC, Map Making comes in, and I begin working on the Great Lighthouse and Literature. Just for kicks, I whip a galley in Frankfurt, figuring it's not going to matter much.

370 BC, Nuremburg is founded filling out the home continent, and my galley begins exploring some really nice looking land up north. And of course it's good land - it's infested with Zulus. Great.

In 130 BC, I go explore some more likely-looking land, which turns out to be infested with Iroquois. Score. On the other hand, said Iroquois don't know about the Zulu yet, so I trade communications with them and 40 gold for Masonry, Iron Working, Horseback Riding, and their territory map.

Guess who got royally screwed in the land grab?

On the plus side, I have tons of iron. And Literature comes in the very next turn, meaning libraries should I want them. I've got the chance for a four turn run on Ceremonial Burial as well, so I take it. And on a whim, nobody has Literature at all. Dearie, dearie me. Hiawatha gives up Math, Ceremonial Burial, his territory map, and 30 gold. Shaka, by contrast, gives up only Mysticism. Ouch.

In 30 AD, I come across some land, with a river, that appears to be unoccupied. Hopehopehope...

Giant wonder cascades in 130 take out the Pyramids, the Hanging Gardens, the Great Library, the Great Lighthouse, and the Great Wall. Berlin switches from the Great Lighthouse to a temple, losing 130 shields. No, you can't get the ancient wonders, self, even if you try.

In 170, I found my first city in the new land, Cologne.

In 230 AD, I chance across the Romans, who somehow already know not only the Zulu and Iroquois, but the Aztecs and Greeks as well. Curses.

In 310, I drop off 210 gold with Hiawatha for contact with the rest of the world. 310 more gold goes to Alex in exchange for his territory map, CoL, and Currency.

And the world after this:

In 390, Hiawatha gets smart and builds a harbor, so I can trade him Wines and 30 gold for Construction. A further 120 gold to Greece gets me Polytheism. This of course gets me Monotheism, which NOBODY EXCEPT GREECE HAS. Trade Monotheism and 2gpt to Caesar for Feudalism. Monotheism to Monty for Monarchy, the Aztec territory map, and some gold. And boy this stuff sure does devalue fast. Monotheism to the Zulus for their world map. And it's not even worth trading to Hiawatha. Feudalism, now... That, 6gpt, and 10 gold will get me the Republic from Alex. And with that, the entire world is, uh, poor. Muchly poor.

By 470, the land grab down south is all but complete. I've got most of it, but the Aztecs snuck in a galley at the last moment. With my last settler on the way, I revolt, drawing...7 turn anarchy. Ouch.

In 510, Salzburg is founded in the southern part of the second continent, and the land grab is all but over:

By 540 AD, I'm out of Anarchy into Republic.

In 590, I trade wines/170 gold to Hiawatha for Engineering. It occurs to me somewhere in here that I ought to have whipped a bunch of temples while I was in despotism, because I'm surely being owned by unhappiness at this point.

In 670, wines, 230 gold, and 2 gpt to Alex for Theology.

Seizing the day, as it were, in 700 AD, I go for a few more gems:

Bad, bad news in 780 AD:

That same turn, Hiawatha gets Wines and 200 gold for Education, and Alex gets my map, 225 gold, and 11gpt for Invention.

In 810, I finally hook up some iron, and I dial up Monty, who doesn't have any. What will he give me for it? Gunpowder? Sounds good. Oh, and he doesn't have saltpeter, either? And he'll give me 130 gold for mine? Sounds great. The Dortmund Temple Fund rapidly increases, and there's a bright shiny new one there by end of turn. A few turns later, all my wine deals run out, so I extort 186 gold out of Monty for some, thus proving that Monty did indeed find El Dorado out there somewhere. The cash is immediately used for the "I Really Need Some Temples About Now" fund. Once Caesar gets some cash, I immediately drain it from him by selling more wines. It all pours into the "Temples? Yeah, Still Need Some More Temples" fund.

In 980, after denying the Zulu wines for a while because they were poor, I offer again, and Shaka's like "Here, have Printing Press!" Uh, ok. Meanwhile, it's all about the "Say, Sure Am Needing Some Courthouses Here" fund.

In 1050, my iron/saltpeter deal with Monty runs out, and the recontract is about like this:

So the routine goes. Use money to rush as much infrastructure as I can while selling resources to the highest bidder. I break the cycle in 1190, buying Physics from the Zulus, there being no good infrastructure to spend on just then.

1240, the iron/saltpeter deal is renewed with the Aztecs, and I toss in gems and 2gpt to get Metallurgy and ToG. I want Magnetism, but can't afford it. And, uh, hold up. Greece doesn't have ToG? <pauses> That and 16gpt to Alex nets me Magnetism, and suddenly I'm in the Industrial Age with Nationalism. And lo and behold, nobody can afford Nationalism. So...

Nationalism to Shaka for Democracy, Military Tradition, World Map, 50 gold, 2gpt.

Nationalism to Monty for Economics, Navigation, Dyes, 60 gold.

Suddenly, life got better.

In 1330, I realize that there's about no better time for me to declare anarchy and move to Democracy, so I do. This time I draw a much nicer 5 turn anarchy. By 1355 I'm in Democracy just as my Aztec deals start wearing off. Sadly, Monty seems to have picked up iron somewhere. Does that mean someone else lost it? In any case, Gems, Saltpeter, 330 gold, and 16 gpt will get me Steam Power, so I get it. Miracle of miracles, I even have coal. Shaka will give me lots of money for wines, and since he can't actually pay full price, I have him toss in Music Theory because I can. In 1375, I pay Caesar Wines, 230 gold, and 21 gpt for Medicine (ouch), and Wines and 25 gpt gets me Sanitation.

In 1400, Wines, 490 gold, and 44gpt to Hiawatha gets us Industrialization. My hopes of trading it for Electricity are dashed when I realize everyone wants more than I have for it. Next turn, of course, I can't even trade Industrialization, and the whole this is some colossal weed on my part.

1460, I can trade Shaka Wines and Gems and 13 gpt and 390 gold for Electricity. So I do. I then trade the Aztecs Saltpeter for Free Artistry and Chivalry because I can, and because if I do so, they'll keep buying from me - somebody else jumped in the iron gap I accidentally left.

Finally, in 1495 AD:

Bah.

1505 AD, 1030 in cash, 1 gpt, and wines gets me Replaceable Parts. I even have rubber, wonder of wonders. Seizing a very small day, I trade RP to Greece for the Corporation, his maps, and 5 gold. Since somebody else will just trade it next turn anyway, why not?

In 1530, I FINALLY get the option to build Wall Street. In 1545:

In 1560, I trade wine, 1000 gold, and 15 gpt to Shaka for Refining. As it so happens, I have two oils. Saltpeter, Gems, and 270 gold will get me Sci Method from Monty. ToE already got nabbed by Rome, but it's one step closer to another goal... A couple turns later, 1100 gold and wines go to Caesar for Steel. That same turn, I notice the reason why Iroquois ironclads are tooling all over: They're fighting Rome! Why didn't I know this? Probably because I forgot embassies, AGAIN. A bunch of cash is expended, and...Zimbabwe is pulling 99 shields per turn? Ack. Wines and 1700 gold in 1605 get me Atomic Theory (ow), and Atomic Theory to Greece plus 110 gold will get me Combustion and Incense.

In 1660, my deals start running out again. Now, however, I'm pulling in almost 350 gpt, plus my luxuries. Wines and 1950 gold will get me Electronics. That to Greece will get me Flight and some couch change. Saltpeter, Gems, and 950 gold will then get me Mass Production. And, uh, whoa. Caesar hasn't got ELECTRONICS? I give that to Caesar in return for 715 gold, 4 gpt, and Espionage for the hell of it. Very suddenly, I'm down, uh, Communism and Amphibious Warfare.

With absolutely nothing better to do with the cash in 1680, I start rushing infrastructure again - a few assorted banks, cathedrals, a marketplace or two... We're back to the Eternal Infrastructure Christmas. The world is also back into having massive wars with itself, which is great as far as I'm concerned. Just for kicks, I check science, and I can get Radio in 15 turns, or Motorized Transportation in 11. I start in on MT. Rome gets it a few turns before I do, and soon the whole world has it, so I pick it up from Hiawatha for 300 gold and wines. Remembering why I don't run science like this, I go back to pure cash.

In 1720, Caesar comes offering an MPP. Well, no... But somebody cut his iron, and I'll be glad to offer him mine for 20 turns. It'll cost him 90 gold and Amphibious War, however. And, uh, the Aztecs must REALLY need Oil...

And lo, it was another Eternal Infrastructure Christmas...

And in 1730, a couple people get Radio, catapulting them into the Modern Age. Seizing the proverbial day, I dial up Monty, and pay him 1400 gold along with another 100 gpt for Radio, and suddenly I have lots of rockets and such things. Expensive, you say? Well...

And of course nobody else in the world can even afford it. The worrisome thing here is, I have no aluminum. What does this mean to me? It means 15 turns to Fission and a Palace prebuild in Hamburg.

In 1772, Fission comes in, and I start on the UN. Being me, I lack uranium.

In 1780, aluminum randomly pops up from somewhere.

In 1792, with one turn left on the UN, I gift a bunch of gold and resources to people, thus making everyone love me. And it's a wonderful life. ;)

And since the world just so happens to love me...

Watching the replay, it occurred to me that I probably could have pulled off the ship, since everyone else was in Communism and fighting giant wars. Browsing the demographics post-game, I was first in production, productivity, and second and third in almost everything else. Ah well. I wanted the game done with. It was boring me to tears. In any case, I'm rather proud of myself - this was a serious underdog game, and I managed to pull a win out of it. On Emperor. I'm 2 for 2 on Emperor, too. Amazing.

In any case, I'm RBCiv-18B the Lion-Hearted with 2514 points. 5th on my high scores list, right below Epic 18A. ;)

And for the scoring section, A was a conquest win for 5 points. B was a diplomatic win for 3 points. 5+3=8 total. Ain't 10, but ah well.