Sullla’s AI Survivor: The AI Wars Rage On!

By | April 7, 2026
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Season 9 Game Two!

Sullla’s AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Game 1 Recap (click for write-up): Did I say peaceful leaders?! Well, this game proved far less peaceful than expected. Surprisingly, our good friend Mansa started the first ill-advised war in this game, and it all just got worse for him as he shockingly became the first leader to bite it. Meanwhile, our favorite underachiever and connoisseur of fine headwear, Hatsepshut (Hatty), got off to a reasonably promising start but failed to capitalize on any advantages. Hatty did survive the game, though, so she will get another chance to get that first win. Ultimately, Asoka pulled off a well-played and impressive Turn 298 Spaceship victory over a fierce challenge by Elizabeth. Cyrus of Persia and Kublai Khan were the other casualties.

I’m pleased to mention that our favorite resident CFC bovine, Plains-Cow, finished second in the Game 1 picking contest!

GAME 2 ON APRIL 10TH

The competition heats up in Game 2 as we see a clash between high-tier traits and volatile personalities. With four Financial trait leaders on the map, the economy will be the primary engine of conflict.

In the world of AI Survivor, the Financial trait is widely considered the gold standard for success. This game features a heavy-hitting lineup of economic powerhouses:

  • Willem van Oranje (Netherlands)
  • Hannibal (Carthage)
  • Ragnar (Vikings)
  • Victoria (England)

Victoria is a particularly interesting case. She pairs Financial with the Imperialistic trait—my personal pick for the second-best trait in the format. Despite this “God-tier” combination, Vicky has historically underperformed. Will this be the season she finally lives up to her potential?

While the economy wins games, aggression defines them. Alexander of Greece enters Game 2 having recently fought his way into Tier 1 status. Alex is a notorious “one-trick pony”; if he successfully snowballs his early war machine, he is nearly impossible to stop.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the rest of the field:

  • Hannibal: An underrated strategist and always a threat
  • Joao II (Portugal): He possesses the raw traits for greatness, but lacks the heart to win.
  • Ragnar: “Rags” often acts as his own worst enemy, sabotaging his position with ill-timed aggression.

Enter the AI Survivor Picking Contest

Who will dominate Game 2 and who will face early extinction? Don’t forget to make your picks in the picking contest before the game goes live!

Also, note that our favorite CFC Warrior Queen, Mylene (My), hosts her own friendly betting competitions (with fake ducats, of course..ha): a standalone single-game challenge and a season-long tournament. Make sure you join in the fun S9G2 Single Picks and S9G2 Contest Picking.

Sullla’s AI Survivor Season 9 continues Friday, April 10th, on Sullla’s Twitch Channel at noon EST. You make track the completion with the Current Bracket & Standings.

We welcome you to join the fun by discussing here.

Play the new Civ7 “Game Of The Month” #20

By | April 3, 2026
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In case you got a lot of time over Easter, then we challenge you for the next Civ7 “Game Of The Month”! In this GOTM you play as Amina of the Maya on a standard size Fractal map with medium disaster intensity on Immortal level. You may choose any following civ on your own. You must win via a Science Victory in the Modern Age in the least number of turns, and prevent any other civ from reaching another victory. You think you are up to this challenge? Then get your savegame here and send in the winning savegame before May 1!

Sullla’s AI Survivor: The Wait Is Over!

By | April 2, 2026
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Season 9 Has Arrived!

AI Survivor is an annual competition of all Civilization IV AI Leaders by long-time Civilization enthusiast and streamer Sullla. CFC is very excited to announce that the popular series returns after almost a two-year hiatus with Season Nine. AI Survivor has become quite an event over the years for both old and new Civ IV fans.

Game 1 will feature a mostly peaceful bunch of leaders led by the Mansa Musa, a generally peaceful leader, who has been extremely successful. Mansa is a very popular pick in the picking contest regardless of his starting position. Kublai Khan, likely the only true warmonger present in this game, is another leader who has had success. Then we have poor, sweet Hatty (Hatshepsut) of Egypt, who has never won a single game in the entire series. Will she finally win her first game?!! Be sure to make your picks in the picking context.

Also, note that our favorite CFC Warrior Queen, Mylene (My), hosts her own friendly betting competition (with fake ducats, of course..ha). Make sure you join in the fun Picking Fun – S9G1.

Sullla’s AI Survivor Season 9 continues Friday, April 3rd on Sullla’s Twitch Channel at noon EST.

We welcome you to join the fun by discussing here.

[April Fool’s] Firaxis, Mohawk Announce Sid Meier’s Older World

By | April 1, 2026
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Just two days after releasing the Empires of the Indus expansion, Mohawk Games has announced what they are working on next – a dinosaur-themed strategy game.

Sid Meier will be on loan to Mohawk to create the game that he described in 2022 as his “holy grail” game. Meanwhile, Soren Johnson will be spending the remainder of 2026 working with Firaxis on the design of future expansion packs, whose names have not yet been announced.

“Soren spent seven years with Firaxis in the early 2000s, including leading the Civilization IV design team, and we’re excited to have him back to contribute to Civilization VII,” said a Firaxis representative. “He has some really interesting ideas on how to fuse some of the ideas from the Firaxis Feature Workshop, his own and our team’s ideas, and the core elements of the game, and the future will be brighter for having him with us this year.”

From Mohawk, technical director Alex Mantzaris said, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Sid to help him realize his lifelong vision of creating a dinosaur strategy game.”

Meier himself commented that design discussions over the past year convinced him that a solution had been found to the challenges that he had noted about a dinosaur game in his 2020 book. He will remain an employee of Firaxis on loan to the smaller studio.

No release date had been announced for either the Civilization VII expansions or Sid Meier’s Older World, and as of this time we do not have confirmation on whether this also means the end of future expansion to Mohawk’s existing title, Old World.

Discuss the announcement with us in this thread.

Old World – Empires of the Indus DLC Released

By | March 30, 2026
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Mohawk Games has released the next DLC for Old World: The Empires Of The Indus DLC. The new DLC obviously brings 3 new civilizations from the Indus valley (the Maurya, the Yuezhi and the Tamilakam), as well as the Huns, four new wonders, Hinduism and Buddhism, a new terrain type (jungle), new events and more.

The latest episode of the Mohawk Podcast covers Empires of the Indus as well, with longtime forum member (and current Mohawk employee) Dale being one of the panelists.

The expansion is priced at $20, with a 10% discount for the first two weeks. You can buy it at Steam, GOG, or Epic. If you are excited about the new DLC and want to discuss with us, the join us in this thread.

Sid Meier’s Civilization II 30th Anniversary Celebration

By | March 22, 2026
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A few years ago we celebrated Civ1’s 30th at CivFanatics and since time flies when you’re having fun playing Civ, it’s now Sid Meier’s Civilization 2’s 30th Anniversary so it’s time to celebrate again! Civ2 was the result of Brian Reynold’s genius taking Sid Meier’s brilliant formula to the next level and beyond turning Civilization from a one hit wonder to a world conquering series that would stand the test of time! Similar to our previous big MoM, SMAC, CtP, Col & Civ1 anniversary celebrations we’ve put together a huge thread talking about all things Civilization 2 and take a look at what’s been going on in the Civ2 fan communities over the last few years covering fan patches/mods/scenarios, similar games, communities, remasters, videos & more! So pour yourself a cup of coffee/tea, sit back and enjoy the big read! And feel free to share your own Civ2 memories in the thread below… 🙂

Celebration thread: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/attention-sid-meiers-civilization-ii-30th-anniversary-celebration-fan-mods-similar-games-communities-remasters-videos-more.702423/

Civ2 anniversary tour video:

Old World update #144

By | March 20, 2026
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Mohawk Games, the developers of Old World, have released the latest update for their game! Key features include tech tree search, buffs to the Enlightenment and Redemption theologies, and flanking conferring protection from counterattacks.

With the next update, on March 30th, the Empires of the Indus expansion will arrive.

Discuss this update with us here (and read the full list of changes too).

Old World is currently available in the Epic Store, on GOG, Steam, and on Stove.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri Thinker mod v5.3 released

By | March 13, 2026
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CivFanatics member Induktio recently released Thinker mod v5.3 for Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri that dramatically improves the game with much smarter AI, improved base management & unit design, better terraforming & expansion behavior, a rewritten more configurable map generator, many adjustable gameplay settings, UI & quality-of-life improvements, higher resolution support, and numerous compatibility & bug fixes. If you want to see the Thinker mod in action then CivFanatics member SuedecivIII has created a tour video below, and you can download the mod via our forum thread here. Alpha Centauri is currently available on Steam & GoG.