The "Barren 'Burbs" Succession Game

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by Scouse Gits
Try writing the Log in Notepad or Word so it can be saved and then paste here. If Poly is having a bad day it won't be lost
---------------------
SG(2)

I know I should do that, but I am so accustomed to writing directly that I forget
Anyway thank you for good advice.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Can't figure it out anymore... Jrabbit, it looks like you're next, since atomant hasn't posted here lately, and SCG is missing...

If I'm wrong please correct me

1. atomant
2. Jrabbit
3. OldnSlow
4. SG(2)
5. STYOM
6. Bob_Smurf42
7. sirsnuggles
8. SCG
9. La Fayette

[-Jrabbit]

OK. D/L complete.
I'm also up in Silly Rules; will try to play both this weekend.

[-Jrabbit]

PLEASE CONFIRM NUMBER OF TURNS, styom.

Oh, and it's still 20 turns, 15 once we meet an AI - and stop when an AI is eliminated.

sO, 15 FOR NOW, UNLESS WE KILL AN ai CIV?

(-jRABBIT STRUGGLES TO FIGURE OUT caps lock KEY)

(eDITED TO ADD QUOTE)

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit

15 FOR NOW, UNLESS WE KILL AN ai CIV?

(-jRABBIT STRUGGLES TO FIGURE OUT caps lock KEY)

UNLESS you KILL AN ai CIV

(if you do that, you retire immediately)

[-Jrabbit]

I will do my best to kill an AI civ (even though this is NOT the Lazy Summer sxn).

[-Jrabbit]

Here's the save, from 1834. That's 12 turns.

With such a widespread empire on a gigamap, it's pretty difficult to work quickly (if you want to play well). I think 10-12 turns is plenty at this stage.

Summary -- Delayed attack factor so that the empire could grow to decent city sizes. Went to democracy, did some trading. The next player is in position to have some serious FUN!

Will post my log a bit later.

[-Jrabbit]

Hm. It's 1810 and Comrade Rabbit ascends the proscenium. Party functionaries surround him, each determined to be the one who provides the critical data that will be needed for administration of far-flung Barren 'Burbia.

The situation -- We're on a gigamap with a brief for workd domination. Treasury = excellent @ 4022 GP.
Population = 5.65 MM, 4th overall. We lead in land area, manufactured goods, and nothing else.
Research under Communism brings us discoveries every 6 turns (20/80/0). Electricity is next, and we're about 4 turns away at current research rates.
We've met only 3 other AI civs, each with exactly 15 cities. At war with 2, both Republics, and at peace with the distant Indians (Democracy). However, we do know the location of some Spanish and Russian cities.

Needs? Plans?
As previously stated, Tactics will be a trigger for us. And Fundy should also be available as our next choice.
In the World of WoW, Adam Smith is available (being built by AI). And while I'm a huge fan of Mr. Smith, this game requires nothing less than the United Nations, which will provide enforced treaties and massive intelligence. Other than that, Hoover's (Electronics) seems a natural for a civ of our ilk.

OK, so now to work. The treasury affords the chance to buy a few needed white goods (a temple, a couple marketplaces, and a 2nd rifleman in the precariously located city of Luxury Tax).

Comrade Rabbit notes that it's "just before" and OEDO year and decides to embark on a theme of GROWTH for his reign. Jacking the Luxury marker sky high, he calls for REVOLUTION. "Just like the good old days. Comrade Lenin would be proud." (...or not ) ENTER...

1812 -- Indians get explosives, start Adam Smith (again).
Barb knights land @ isolated frontier town of Boardwalk.
2 barb units killed near Luxury Tax.
French remain militant. Near Plainville, a fortressed horseman loses (barely) to our Dragoon, creating a vet.
French demand 400 GP. We refuse and remain at WAR.
Rabbit is named Prime Minister of the new Roadlessan Democracy. Settles on 20/10/70 tax plan.
Building program adds Courthouse in Bristol, Marketplaces in 3 other towns.
A chat with the Indians about whether Luxury Tax unfairly denies them their territorial primacy cannot be resolved. This means: WAR.
Hut = 100GP.
Bribe French cat (164), which kills other French cat.

1814 -- Prime Minister Rabbit struggles to figure out where the heck everything is, and if there really is any sort of working shipchain.
Indians open Adam Smith's Trading Company in Bengal.
Zulus get Democracy, cancel Chinese alliance.
Ngome rifleman makes vet as another French unit dies.
French become a Monarchy. Bribe French settler (now NONE) for 345 GP, spot 2 more ripe for the taking.
Hut = NONE musketeer.
Democracy fallout -- 13 cities declare We Love The Prime Minister. Blandville loses 2 remote dragoons it cannot support due to acute homesickness.
PM Rabbit notes that "Prime Minister Romulus and Remus 1814 A.D." is too long a name, even for the iMac, resigns himself to custom-naming each save. (PM Rabbit wonders, "Is Democracy worth such a heavy price?")

1816 -- Prolific spending on incremental rows and white goods continues.
Barbs land more troops @ Boardwalk.
Roving spy meets Chinese camel. The Chinese have all six golden arrows in their profile, but are Receptive and agree to Peace. We gift them Railroad and they become worshipful and agree to share maps.
Blandville joins WLTPM celebration.
Bribe another French Settler (NONE). French will have no more of this, sending 2 chariots to chase down and kill the Sett and our spy.
Hut = NONE rifleman.
Silk delivered to Delhi = 228 GP.
Pop = 6.59 MM

1818 -- Zulus get University.
Boring Bastard gets Courthouse, starts WLTPMD. Suburbia celebrates, too.
Exhausted, 8 cities end celebrations. Several start Xinning.
Indians show naval might, use a frigate and an ironclad to attack and sink two transports. Shipchain now in total disarray.
Gems to Ipswitch, 176 GP.
Bribe French legion (now NONE) near Plainville, take control of disputed fortress. Nearby city of Cherbourg revealed, 4 spaces from Plainville.
Pop = 7.08 MM

1820 -- Indians get Metallurgy.
We get Electricity!!!! Choices are Electronics, Tactics, Genetic Eng, Refining, TheoGrav. No Steel, No Fundy -- so we start studying Tactics.
Spy reveals Cherbourg has no improvements and is defended by a lone Pikeman. they will add a Settler in 2 turns. Revolt for 230 GP? Not worth it...
Hut = 200 GP

1822 -- Zulus get RR from Chinese, forge "Zimbabwe Pact" alliance.
Delivery service to Delhi (18) resumes. Silk, 224 GP, demanded Coal = 890 GP.
Pop = 8.02 MM

1824 -- Marketplaces erected in Stepford and The Institute. At The Institute (and in Coventry), they celebrate.
French return the The Republic.
We discover Tactics !! Choice include Electronics, Steel, and Fundamentalism (among the usual dross). Seeing the potential for some further celebrations and serious trade, we decide to go for electronics first.
Freight, Ngome to Bristol, delivers gold @ 150 GP.
Cavalry opens hut, barely excapes platoon of barb knight by leaping dramatically onto waiting Transport.
With Settler completed, we bribe Cherbourg (178 - 10 plunder).

1826 -- Pop = 9.09 MM
Remote hut yields Rifleman, but it is attached to Cambridge and must be disbanded to prevent civil unrest.
Hut = 100 GP
Rifleman in Luxury Tax kills Indian camel, makes Vet.
Copper to Delhi nets 908 GP.
French ask for and receive cease fire. Peace? Despite our Spotless rep, they are suspicious...

1828 -- Indians respond by using Dip to steal Espionage.
Indians make peace with Russians, Spanish. but not the Roadlessans...
Long-pursued barb king is surrounded and disappears.
Pop = 9.50 MM

1830 -- Zulus demand Industrialization. We decline, remain at war.
Wise men complete research on Electronics, start on Fundy.
Coal to Calcutta, 980 GP Silver to Calcutta, 1035 GP.
Barb dragoons land at Bristol.
Indians sink transport laden with 7 frieights. PM Rabbit hung in effigy for failing to provide destroyer escort.
Rallying for support, PM Rabbit induces the Zulu city of Tugela (10) to revolt (1935 - 119 plunder).
Gold to Delhi = 1210 GP Gems to Delhi = 526 GP.
Spoiled citizenry complain of empty treasury coffers.
Pop = 10.32 MM

1832 -- French gain Chivalry.
We get Fundamentalism. Choices = Amphibious, GeneticEng, ThGrav. Nah. We go for Refining.
Increments happen.
Transport with 3 freights and a spy start the long journey SSW to meet the Chinese.
Celebrations petering out. Citizenry near deliriious, but exhaussted.

1834 -- Zulus demand 650 GP. We refuse. They offer cease fire (accepted). No peace.
French break cease fire, killing fortified cavalry and spy with their nasty, um, chariots???????
Roadlessan scientist reveal the art of Refining. Now studying Steel.
Bribe barb dragoon for 102, netting barb king 150.
Hut = 8 Barb knights. Looks bad for our rifleman.
Hut = advanced tribe of Far Exurbia (2).
Deliveries to Delhi -- oil 546, silver 516.
Oh yeah -- 11 Food freights converging on Rhodes (now size 19 iirc).
Pop = 10.99 MM (2nd to India, and not by much...)

Prime Minister Rabbit, his finger poised press ENTER again, collapses. Aides transport the body to a waiting cryogenic chamber and a new leader is installed.

Successor notes to follow...

[-Jrabbit]

Whew. Time-consuming and confusing. So far-flung...

Progress summary and NOTES for Old n Slow

1. Domestic progress -- Went from 4th to 2nd in population. Also now 1st in approval rating (ex-7th), GNP (7th), annual income (6th), and productivity (3rd). Still 1st in land area, manufactured goods, and pollution.

2. Government -- Looked like a final window of opportunity for growth, so I took it. We are now poised to revolt to hard Fundy and start disassembling the enemy AIs.

NOTE: 1836 is an OEDO year,
so Revolution should be engaged BEFORE hitting Enter.

3. There's trouble in the Indian shipchain. Needs some patching. But we do have two Transports in the area, ready to deliver more goods. Note that the Wine is intended for Lahore (demanded).

4. Mea culpa on the lack of escort defense for the Transports.

5. Kinda saddened by not adding a WoW, but Democracy demands Happy White Goods. However, we will have 600 shields worth of camels available at Rhodes at the start of next turn. United Nations highly recommended, though the Hoover Dam is also available. (I was hoping to get both. :greedy: )

6. You'll find an engineer/cavalry combo sitting on an island in 4-special (2 whales!) sweet spot. My intent was to establish a city there. (With limited engineers, the attraction of large unsettled bodies of land is not so great in this game.)

7. Though I was spending constantly, I do believe I managed to leave over 1500 GP in the treasury.

8. If you feel you can spare an engineer, another lovely spot to drop a city is the "Buffalo Canal" square you'll find just west of Ngome. This would create swift access to the evil Zulu nation, which is in a geographically inconvenient location.

9. La Fayette will be saddened to hear that most of his dragoon builds were converted to freights and transports. Similarly, most of the troops afield had to be called home. Democracy demands restraint, but provides to tools to wield the mighty force we are about to build/unleash!


Have fun...............

[-Jrabbit]

A couple notes on military issues.

1. The French are relatively nearby, fairly weak, and very annoying. Put 'em in the crosshairs, I say!

2. Our city of Luxury Tax on the Indian continent is in constant jeopardy. The Indians are strong, and now have Espionage. I strongly recommend that a fortressed perimeter be set up ASAP after Fundy.

3. Converting the shipchain to attack the Indians makes a lot of sense. I'm fearful they will spread Espionage throughout the enemy ranks, especially after the dread year of 1850 arrives. Problem -- They are a democracy, so we will need to take all those Size 12+ cities by force.

OK, just passing along further thoughts as they occur to me. Carry on.

[Old n Slow]

Have the save & will look at it tonight. Sounds like we're in for a good time...

[sirsnuggles]

Nice post Wiley Wabbit. Scintillating to read.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Nice turns Jrabbit Now we can kick the poo-poo out of everyone


1. atomant
2. Jrabbit
3. OldnSlow
4. SG(2)
5. STYOM
6. Bob_Smurf42
7. sirsnuggles
8. SCG
9. La Fayette

Let me take this time to reiterate that if you do kill the French off, your turns end there. This'll probably mean that we end up with a lot of zoo cities

Otherwise, 15 turns... and building Engineers is still disallowed.

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit

4. Mea culpa on the lack of escort defense for the Transports.

A shipchain is much less costly than any escort and provides absolute safety to the commodities transported.
I left a complete shipchain ready to bring dragoons to Zululand and a second one, almost completed, designed to bring freights to India.
IMO losing 7 freights after that is worth a nice stay at THE INSTITUTE

[sirsnuggles]

I believe that his ship chains were disrupted so he attempted to complete a journey without an escort.

Ship chains only work if they possess escorts to protect them in hostile waters. Hence, they are still expensive propositions.

[Old n Slow]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit

NOTE: 1836 is an OEDO year,
so Revolution should be engaged BEFORE hitting Enter.

Have fun...............

In looking through the stuff (before I hit enter) I noticed that we have the Statue -- thus wouldn't every year be "an oedo year"?

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by sirsnuggles
I believe that his ship chains were disrupted so he attempted to complete a journey without an escort.

Ship chains only work if they possess escorts to protect them in hostile waters. Hence, they are still expensive propositions.

Agreed... and once disrupted, one has to either stop trading until the chain is reconstituted (more Transports purchased) or take some chances.

A Cruiser or Destroyer (or 2) might not have prevented the initial disruption, but it certainly could be used to hunt down the AI pirates (thus lessening the chances of further disruption)

[-Jrabbit]

After my initial delivery to India, 2 transports were sunk by Indian vessels (one ironclad, one frigate). That destroyed continuity.

As I put the chain back together, I had lots of freights, but delayed delivery of some so I could get a tech per turn. The loss of 7 freights was caused by letting that transport get too close to its final destination.

In retrospect, what I should have done is to download all freights, along with a defensive unit or 2, into an unused Indian fortress. At the very least, it would have reduced (if not eliminated) the losses.

The beginning of the session was very difficult for me. Over 30 cities, dispersed more-or-less randomly across a very wide map area. Since I tend to micromanage production, it proved very difficult. Constantly reminding myself where-the-heck-THIS-city-is in order to maximize production/etc, plus remembering the reason for various production decisions, proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Never did figure out the Zulu chain, La Fayette. Guess I just wasn't perceiving things well. With such a wide-spread empire, determining where such things start and end is not as obvious as in a normal game. (Well, for me, at least... )

While I don't deny it could have been better, I'm pretty pleased with my turns. Methinks La Fayette had some specific thoughts and plans for utilizing our Commie regime (probably vet-spy-with-plenty-GP-related) that were not continued. Me, I thought we should engage in a growth spurt first.

For this, and for the blatant loss of freights, I can only say...
mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
...and beg for mercy from the wardens of The Institute.

[-Jrabbit]

Originally posted by Old n Slow
In looking through the stuff (before I hit enter) I noticed that we have the Statue -- thus wouldn't every year be "an oedo year"?

[HomerMode]
DOH!!
[/HomerMode]

[Old n Slow]

I've started & am about halfway done. I haven't made up my mind if the researched tech of hard fundy is worth it (although I'm there now) -- am saving a few coins per rush buy by using the 20 shield fanatic unit along the way -- but was it worth the 2K beakers? We'll see.

No major surprises (yet).

[-Jrabbit]

Study historical succession Gits texts for how best benefit from a celebrating fundy civ.

In essence: Trade bigtime for your techs, get rich along the way, buy all desirable white goods, then destroy the opposition. (Well, it's actually far more intricate and diabolical than that, but that's the basics as I see them.)

[duke o' york]

When celebrating fundy, then I don't bother with science on the sliders, instead employing an Einstein and using the massive amounts of cash to rush all the caravans that boost my tech rate. If you have a ship chain set up then as long as your production can keep up you'll be able to plough loads of caravans into the target city each turn and make a fortune! And a - whatever a large number of beakers is called!
The only trouble is that you can't RR between your cities.

[-Jrabbit]

Thank you, duke o'york.

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by La Fayette
The 'military' shipchain to Zululand is complete (a lot of 'dragoons soon to be cavalry' under building)
The 'trading' shipchain to India (eastwards from NoWhales) is almost complete.
My successor should be able to crush the Zulus, I suppose.

Jrabbit,
These are the last 5 lines of the post I sent here after playing my turns.

IMO it is a good idea to read what the previous player has written, when playing a succession game, even if you have no intention at all to play in accordance with what he (or she) had written.

[-Jrabbit]

I read it. In fact, I always print the sxn rules and previous player's log before playing.

Obviously, you had a specific vision and I didn't share it. That's what happens in succession games, and certainly you're aware of it.

Send me to The Institute if you will, but let's keep the criticism robust and constructive.

[La Fayette]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Send me to The Institute if you will, but let's keep the criticism robust and constructive.

I am not a native speaker.
That is the reason why it can happen that I don't find the right words to give the right diplomatic touch to some of my posts.
If this happened, I feel sorry and I apologize.

I play succession games for fun and don't care at all sending anyone to The Institute (especially not you, since I have a feeling that you managed to listen to 'robust constructive criticism' enough to very much improve your gameplay since you started playing those sxn games).

Here is the background of what I tried to explain:

In the early game there is only one solution when you wish to minimize the risks related to transportation of commodities by sea: build LH.

Later on, there are 3 main solutions:
1) Be at peace with anyone and keep them friendly with (tech) gifts (e.g. early landing games)
2) Rule the seas (ideally take all enemy coastal cities)
3) Build shipchains

My opinion is that, if you don't rule the seas, escorting your merchant vessels is very costly and quite unsecure, while sailing your camels/freights only when your shipchain is complete gives them 100% chances to land safely ( of course you may be compelled to rebuild a number of transports, which brings you back to #2 'rule the seas' or #1 'keep them friendly', but at least you never lose goods transported).

Of course this is open to discussion, but I thought it was robust and constructive when I wrote it.

[-Jrabbit]

Your analysis is correct, La Fayette. Once the chain was broken, I would have done better to wait until the chain was fully rebuilt before delivering goods.

However, with "partial shipments" coming from different parts of our wide-spread empire, I found myself trying to do both things -- rebuilding the chain and consolidating freights -- en passant (which may or may not be a good use of a term I know from playing bridge). The American term would be "on the fly."

In the process of extending the final links in the shipchain, each freight consolidation would happen closer and closer to the Indian continent. finally, I found myself with two laden transports that were quite near the Indian continent. I elected not to deliver one (due to a full beaker box) and paid the price.

My reference to an "escort" was probably too literal, as there was no intent to physically escort single boats across the vast ocean space.

What I meant was the (fairly common, I think) practice of providing a protective boat (typically an ironclad, in this case destroyer) for those parts of a shipchain (usually only the far end) that are dangerously close to another civ. More of a "guard" or "sentry" than an "escort."

As I stated, given the situation I was in, I believe the best solution would have been to land and fortify all freight units in an open Indian fortress along with one or two defensive units. In fact, I had one cavalry available at the time, and there was an accessible, empty Indian fortress to use.

Once again, mea maxima culpa.
And I find your English to be quite good.

Edit: to fix rampant italics.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit

My reference to an "escort" was probably too literal, as there was no intent to physically escort single boats across the vast ocean space.

What I meant was the (fairly common, I think) practice of providing a protective boat (typically an ironclad, in this case destroyer) for those parts of a shipchain (usually only the far end) that are dangerously close to another civ. More of a "guard" or "sentry" than an "escort."

That's my interpretation, too. A nice sturdy Cruiser that can brush off AI Frigates.

[Old n Slow]

First the zipped save:

Some good things happened and some mistakes were made...

[Old n Slow]

Pre move look: Things seem good -- somewhat quiet -- but we don’t know about half of the ai’s. reread the rabbit advice -- makes sense enough to me -- revolt.

(Indians dev. Elec.; rifle dies but it takes three knights to do him in; French change to Monarchy.; Chinese start the UN. Cherbourg, Carlisle and 20 other cities all blow up (even with luxuries at 70%!)

1836 (1) -- Become fundy. Set the slider to 6.3.1, see how things shake out. slow Stepford’s work on a destroyer (hoping for the Cruiser soon.) move trucks.

(Zulu’s get commy from the Chinese. Rhodes completes the UN, Chinese abandon.)

1838 (2) -- Nail a barb leader near Boardwalk. Spice (FF) (d) to Calcutta = 966; (hold placed on five other trucks near India.) Hut = 100. (Indus in an uproar)

(Discover Steel; Opt for MT over AW, Comb, GW, Ref, Theo, TG.)

1840 (3) -- Rhodes gold (d) to Delhi = 1152; Glouster wine (d) to Delhi = 1200.

(Discover Machine Tools; opt for Comb over AW, GE, TG.)

1842 (4) -- Cambridge coal (d) to Delhi = 470; three none demanded trucks to Delhi average 200 each (190-220). Change slider to 8.0.2. Launch our first cruiser.

(Indians discover Comb, Russians discover Pot (NOW we know why they are advancing soooo slowly ) Indian destroyer slays an empty transport. Zulu discovers Econ. Pop = 11M

1844 (5) -- Steal Comb from Indus. Mall-o dye (d) to Bombay = 588, Blandville gems (d) (somewhere) = 312. Buy Fr settlers for 304 & 264; Buy Bayonne (-194, +6) and Rouen (-348, +22).

(Sci choice is Mini over AW, GE, GW, Ref, Theo; Discover Mini, opt for Theo over AW, Auto, GW, Ref, TG. (Want to postpone Auto due to Leo’s and potential future Settlers becoming Engineers.)

1846 (6) -- Hut = AT: Lost Northern; hut = 50g. Start Rhodes & nearby cities to add war materiel into their production mixes.

Roadless: 37 cities, 60 techs
Russians: 16C, 22T
Zulus: 15C, 45T
French: 14C, 34T
Spanish: 19C, 20T
Chinese: 19C; 45T
Indians: 16C, 44T

Indians seem to have the larger cities & thus the best customer market; Russians & Spanish are at war.

(Lost a Cav to a Fr Cat (exploring too eagerly). Chinese discover Conscrip.)

1848 (7) -- buy a Fr. settler for 508g Hut opened by spy = 5 barb knights -- spy later dies. Take Indus.

(Indians develop conscription. Transport with a (so far not demanded) dye truck is sunk off shore by a Fr Frigate.)

1850 (8) -- Hut = Musket; Portsmouth gems (d) to Yangchow = 174. Hmmm not so hot -- toggle to 5.5.0 -- let’s see some celebratin’ for future trade gains…

1851 (9) -- Rhodes builds a factory. Two huts yield 100g each. Buy a Settler for 588g. Take Besancon (+16g). Glouster cloth (d) to Kai = 52g (even with celebrating). Cav slays an Indian dragoon paired with a cannon. Move alpine, see Ind spy. See alpine smack spy. See spy die.

(Sulu acquire conscription from Chinese. Fr frigate smacks our curiser, dies & makes our boat a vet.)

1852 (10) -- (Avignon costs 1300; Chartres = 860 -- almost tempting, but -- hey wait; Genoble right next door is defended by four archers & has a PALACE! Hmm let’s hold on a couple of buys…) Take Poitiers (+16). Talk to Sapin (0 Rifles) and agree to peace -- we’ll see them later. Glouster copper (d) to Yang = 216, & cloth = 68..

(Fr frigate dies vs our cruiser; but a knight of theirs slays one of our spies. Spain develops Trade.) Rhodes completes the Hoover Dam & starts on a Bank.

1853 (11) -- Crank up the Lux -- we’ll have some trucks hitting markets soon. A rifle smacks a Fr dip; our cruiser empties out Chartres, & we walk in for 33g. Bribe a Fr Settler for 464g. Take Grenoble, get 21g -- now buy Avignon (-280; +27g, 4 infra & 4 units).

(Indians dev Tactics, Zulu dev. Med, Pop = 13M.)

1854 (10/12) -- (Doh! only now with the typing of the notes do I see the miscount -- I owe somebody two turns. Perhaps the group will let me atone in another way -- I have two ideas for future Succession games -- I’ll offer the first after Labor Day.) Cul-de-sac Cloth (n) to Delhi = 364; FF Oil (n) to Calcutta = 382 AND changes the demand so that Rhodes spice is now demanded & yields 1056g. Hmm now see Amiens -- only 8 more French cities to find. Drop off a Silk (d) from the Institute to the newly discovered Strasborg for 60g. since we are displeased with the poor payoff, we buy the town for 168g (+11). truck near Spain pops a hut & five barb knights appear (and yes they later slay the poor truck)

(Fr develop Eng. Fr Knight kills an Eng of ours (ARGH!) near Plainsville. Chinese dev. Med.) discover Theo, opt for TG over AW, Auto, GE.

1855 (11/13) -- BB spice (d) to Calc = 1266, leic dye(n) to Calc = 372; two more n deliveries = 466 & 450.

1856 (12/14) -- discover TG, opt for AW over AT, Fl, GE, GW, Ref. (Punjab is in unrest -- hmmm, maybe we can help it along & see if we can topple a certain democracy & so begins spy wars, north. Deliver three (n) trucks to Delhi for 356, 470, 492g Hut = AT, Quebec (near Fr.) buy Amiens (-397, +31). Land a cav who smacks an Ind cannon.

(Ind cannon follows up & slays our cav. Ind destroyer slays an empty transport. Ind Cav slays a rifle outside of Dacca.

1857 (13/15) -- Cruiser nails a FR galleon with passenger. Buy Toulouse (-179, +19) Still looking for remainder of France -- send a loaded Transport out of French west (with nearly cruiser for company headed south & east for suspected opportunities. Second transport (with a spy or two) are detailed south for search and annoy responsibilities. Hut = At = Montreal (near Quebec) Beachside (d) to Delhi = 636, two other (n) = 472 & 476. Pop = 14M.

(Ind dev AW, Russ dev Write; Zulus (3 rifles) want to talk -- hmmm Peace? Nah; hey how about some tribute (no -- they are now enraged)? Whoops the CF is surprisingly over. They sneak attack Tugela (how can they sneak when I’m not THAT surprised.?) some how their six dragoons empty out our two rifles, cav & two spies. We are not happy..) We discover AW & opt for GW over AT, Auto, Ref.

1858 (14/16) -- Found Bermuda in JRabbits “sweet spot” -- spent the last many turns developing the countryside beforehand. Cruiser sinks a Fr frigate, galleon + passenger. (Sell Tugela Aqueduct) Lei gold (d) to Delhi = 1122; Beachside Copper (d) to Madras = 1276 (It will be a shame to sacrifice these nice customer payoffs in the near future.) Hut = 5 barb knights.

(One of our Alpines near Dacca survives two cav attacks, another is bribed away from us. Zulus walk into Tugela and take 70g & Tactics.) Discover GW & opt for GE over AT, Auto, Fl.

1859 (15/17) -- Rhodes builds JSB. Demanded gems from Inc & FF to Kol yield 966 & 988. Two Artys die, but the third knocks out the defending alpine in Calcutta. Cavs destroy the two boats in side. We take Calcutta (and +121) -- the Indian Government escapes to Bang. Partisans spring up (too bad they’re not for sale.) huts = 200g & 50g. Buy two FR Settlers for 236 each, then buy Lyons.

Notes -- In the thick of things (only now as I am writing this up do I notice that I forgot to buy offshore stuff.) -- we may also have some truck opportunities around.

(1) I left a bunch of cash for the next player -- please buy a few offshore rigs to make me feel better.

(2) There are a half dozen French cities -- (at least four were revealed this turn on a rock --French East) for sale; buy some settlers (a third of ours speak with a heavy French accent) & then buy some cities -- it may not be too bad of an idea to leave one or two cities as ‘settler farms’…

(3) There are units moving over land to Mall-o-Rama & Blandville for adventures in Zulu lands. There is a laden transport or two south of French West -- they should probably also be re-directed to Zulu wars as I think that the rest of France can be bought up for a song.

(4) Speaking of Zulu lands, there were three to four dragoons that took Tugela -- there is a spy & Alpine waiting to purchase them for us.

(5) Delhi had two fortified rifles and an Alpine under construction as of last turn (I almost went that way, but I wanted to decrease the shipping threat & I felt that one Alpine & two boats were the weaker defense; not to mention taking out their capital). Madras had five units -- three defenders, a cannon & a wimp.

(6) Speaking of Madras, there is a food Truck (don’t ask & I won’t tell) hanging around near there -- we may want to build Isaac there to go with Copes (maybe in a few turns, I hope?)

(7) I’ve been sabotaging the bejabbers out of Punjab, hoping to keep it in disarray enough for India to revolt (and thus allow us the purchase of units and cities) -- their cathedral is gone as well as most of their other infrastructure.

(8) It is taking about 2200+ beakers per advance -- so a couple of nice truck payoffs should do the tick in the Indian market place -- haven’t found anything elsewhere even close to that level of value.

(9) There may be a gap of a couple of hundred beakers for the next advance -- since there is now a shortage of trucks en route, a re-toggle of less lux & and a couple of bumps up for science may make the difference of an advance next turn vs the turn following (not that we’re in a great hurry for GE.)

(10) A couple of our cities (Boring Bastard for one) currently support many units -- these should be re-homed should a change in government be desired. A bunch of Artys are on the way to Lei -- and the boat chain to India is about 90% there -- the trip seems to take about three turns for some reason.

(11) In the far west, we have a cruiser out on patrol and a few former barb knights are now ours (maybe that fool truck did something worth while after all) on a rock that contains a settlement of ours and some Spanish…

Just in time for some Friday night gaming...