Epic 33

This is my report for Realms Beyond Civilization Epic Thirty-Three. For the full details on this game visit Realms Beyond Civilization Epic 33

This game is unique in that the primary discrimator of the winning scores will be the Play the World in-game timer. This means that decisions must be quick, and time away from the game minimized. It may also mean some compromises between games speed and sub-optimal micromanagement. We may even choose to use the governor!

Industrious Gambit

Normally, I do not choose to send the worker to a square that I am not immediately planning to improve. This game would prove to be the exception to the rule. Looking at the start--I do not at all like the starting location, but what to do. I could send the worker to the grassland to East, but that would not reveal much. I take a look around, notice that the water to the North is a freshwater lake, and that I can see a bit of coast peeking out to the Southwest. I move the worker west onto the hill, and spot both coast and a cow. EXTREME LUCK! Had I moved to the southwest, I would not have seen the cow. I have no idea what possessed me here. (EDIT: I think I specifically moved west versus southwest to see around the mountain. Since I was NOT taking detailed notes, I cannot verify with 100% accuracy). This was not a game breaker, but a significantly different result. The settler moves right after the worker, and Persepolis is founded in 3500 BC.

I set research on a beeline for pottery, and start to train some warriors to scout the lands. I decided to turn ON the "wait at end of turn" option. I do not keep track of things this well to know when my last move is about to be made. After several centuries of scouting, I happen upon an Ottoman warrior. Osman is up warrior code on me, but does not wish to part with it. So I sell him pottery for all his gold.

Meanwhile, with my industrious worker improving the land at lightning-speed, I finish the granery in Persepolis and start training settlers. Of couse, I must have been partaking of the pungent weed, since I mined through to the cow, forgetting that irrigation will track through a city. Ah well--I was still able to mostly outpace the AI in the landgrab--mainly because of all the good land to my south that the AIs could not reach.

I meet the Babylonians in 2190 BC, which sets up the following trading opportunity:

You Said, "Scientific", Right?

As you can see above, I was researching iron working. After the trade for mysticism, that research path was abandoned for a lone scientist/min science run at polytheism. That's right--all scientific--all cash. Would abandoning one of our two civilization traits work out?

In 1575 BC, I have met the English. This contact allows the opportunity for the first two-fer.

I had seven cities, with another settler in production in 1000BC. Persepolis was suffering from my weed of not irrigating though the city to the cattle, but it was still churning out settlers alternating with spears.

I played another two-fer with math, which netted me ironworking in the two-fer. And of course, the only iron in reach is smack near the Ottoman capital--this would lead to some interesting times--but more of that later. During the time between 2000-1000BC, I was running a min science polytheism gambit. The math two-fer was part of the buying of technologies two turns before the gambit completed. I knew that the AIs had mapmaking, and suspected they had more beyond writing, so I bought into warrior code (for HBR) and writing, as well as the math-iron two-fer. Now my fingers were REALLY crossed--hoping to complete the min science run with a monopoly. Would it work?