Deity for beginners: a flexible approach.

[Txurce]

Strategy

In my recent game as Egypt, I won the space race with a basically peaceful builder strategy centered around building the GL, followed by the FP, BC, and TOE. Afterward I realized that the same strategy could have set me up nicely for a domination win, even earlier than my original efforts as the Aztecs, in which the space-race option was off. Technologically, I was even with the AI; the question would have been whether I could keep the space racers from launching while I took the longer road of domination. (You can win much more quickly via domination than via the space race at every level from chieftain through emperor, but the opposite seems to be true in deity.)

In my next game, I decided to try to see if I could play deity with a more flexible approach, rather than devising a strategy for one specific mode of victory. My intent was to try to follow the Egyptian GW tack, starting with the GL – but to flex my military muscles whenever it was convenient, and see if this approach left me with more options than with either of my earlier ones.

Given these parameters, I wanted a civ with the trait most likely to get me the GL – industrious – combined with the best chance to win via domination if I missed that key wonder. Militaristic seemed like the ticket to me, over religious’ advantage of cheap culture and maximizing governments. That meant China, with a UU which would come in handy if the GL gave me chivalry shortly after its discovery.

The ancient era: expansion and the GL

China started on a pangaea-like continent with five other civs: Egypt to the south, India to the north, Rome, Greece, and then Japan to the west. The capital served as a settler factory, a river city started work on the GL, and I built three more to both stock the wonder city and build archers. By the time my wonder city hit size eleven, my luxury rate was at 50%.

In 875 BC, my archers attacked Egypt, and steadily mowed down their WCs. In 800 BC I built the GL, and learned that I had no iron. The war ended with the capture of Thebes and Alexandria, with Egypt paying 186 gold and 30gpt. China had doubled its size, and entered the Middle Ages competitive technologically.

[Txurce]

China's Egyptian gains:

[Txurce]

The middle ages: war for iron and happiness

In 550 BC, China became a republic, and started researching MT, since Greece had just built the SC. As expected, the AI started pulling away in tech. I settled on the iron source I needed: an isolated Greek city on my northeast border. I took the city with longbow and horse in 310 BC, then allied with Rome, Japan and India. The surrounded Greeks collapsed swiftly, and I missed Bach by three turns while building riders to join the fray. Greece kept disappearing as I approached, but everyone avoided far-off Athens, my ultimate goal. It was the lone remaining Greek city when I took it in 10 AD. The rewards? A totally corrupt size-12 city… with the Oracle, the Chapel, and Copernicus!

Amazingly, China was already in a position of consolidation. Taking advantage of my GA, I bought tech and traded tech, filled in the territory separating Athens from my borders, and wiped out Egypt in 230 AD. Reversing my usual strategy, I signed an MPP with India, in case Japan or Rome jumped me. This dragged me into a war with crumbling Japan, which ended in 400 AD with Japan’s collapse. I picked up one city… and my only GL of the game.

China upon taking Athens:

[Txurce]

The industrial age and beyond: TOE and space vs domination

I was still in position to go for either a SR or domination win. To keep my options open, I decided to invade Rome as soon as I got military tradition. Then, one turn before I was about to attack, Rome signed an MPP with India. I debated fighting both at once, and decided it wasn’t worth it; at best, it would take time and a lot of effort to wrestle India to a standstill, and make the taking of Rome too time-consuming. So I decided to go for space.

The GL promptly turned into an FP in Athens, revitalizing Copernicus, and putting China in excellent shape to overtake the AI and snag the TOE in 620 AD. By now I was first in size and mfg. Goods, and feeling very secure militarily with my MPPs, despite a military comprising of nine cavalry, four spears, one longbow, and one rifle!

In 690 I missed Hoover, but built Suffrage; Smith’s came in 810. I stayed on decent terms with almost everyone, even though one of those mysteriously broken deals ruined my rep early on, preventing me from making gpt deals. In 870 Babylon declared war, and this turned into a long world war fought almost entirely on water, which accomplished nothing except to keep me from getting bored.

1255 marked the beginning of my building the SS. Unlike my Egyptian game, I only gained one SS tech by trade, and that was from the French – the advanced Indians were unwilling to trade. Oddly, they also barely focused on the SS. Despite having to research virtaully the entire tree, I launched in 1415, at which point Babylon and France had built two SS parts, and India none.

China finished with 26 cities, none over size 12, first in productivity, income and mfg. goods, second in size, and third in population. Its culture was average, but not problematic. The score was 6277.

Conclusions

Combining an aggressive military strategy with the GL allowed me to be competitive throughout the entire game. There was no sustained period when I couldn’t take on the AI militarily, and once I built the GL, never fell seriously behind in tech. As a result, I think I could have won either by domination or SR. The balance and consistency of this approach - early rush, GL leading to chivalry and another rush, TOE leading to SR edge or tank edge in domination - is worth testing one more time, given its surprising success this time around.

Also noteworthy is the role diplomacy has played in all my deity games. The destruction of Greece and capture of Athens was key to my victory, and that was largely accomplished by an alliance I put together. Later, my MPP with India allowed me to not worry about not having even a midsized army.

China's lone Japanese city, and the apex of its growth:

[alva]

ahh, the (in)famous Txurce traits

And again very impressive and very informative

In my book you are one of the top players.

And one I'm hoping to avoid in MP

[Txurce]

Thanks, Alva, but you won't be facing me on PTW any time soon, given that I'm on a Mac!

I actually played this game a while ago, but hadn't written it up. I'm going to try to duplicate it soon. The trickiest part is getting the GL, because on a certain level, no matter what you do, it's slightly out of your hands. Or so it seems.