Some Simple Rules
There are few simple rules to obey to really enjoy the game. I think.
- Always play Deity, after you’ve learned the game. The challenge is low anyway.
- Know what you are doing. You need a goal. If you just play, you’ll lose anyway. And run to that goal. No walking, no turning.
- The easiest civ to play is Persia. Immortals really slaughter your enemies. Iron can always be found. The second is Iroquois. Mounted warrior is fast, so they seldom die, and the attack of 3 can beat even the musketmen. The Romans are also quite good, militaristic and legions are effective, but clearly second rate to previous two. The rest are scrap.
- If you want to win, wage an offensive war. If you are going to wage an offensive war, build first barracks, only after that units. There’s no point in wasting your population or shields to build regulars.
- If you want to win, play despotism. Slave hurry is unblinkingly good.
- Wonders. Why should you build them? Just conquer them.
- When you conquer an enemy city, raze it. Unless it (a) has a useful wonder(pyramids) or (b) it has enough wheat/cattle to grow very fast or (c) you plan to do little trading with it(see 9) or (d) it has resources you want.
- Move enemy workers gained from razing or capturing to a nearby city and use them to hurry your armies. Either Immortals or Mounted warrior. Really speeds things up.
- If you have conquered a big city from enemy, don’t garrison it, if your enemy wants to talk to you. Then make peace and exchange that city for several small, secluded cities in the back. Then conquest it immediately back, it’s empty now. I have repeated this thrice, before enemy ran out of towns. I don’t think it’s fair, but anyway, what does it matter? We are here to win.
- Don’t care about your reputation. Just attack them first. Stab. Raze. Betray. And finally you will beat them.
- Always build roads right behind your invading armies. Always.
- Take advantage of the terrain. Drag the enemies towards some open place, they follow you obediently.
- Never build settlers. They aren’t needed except VERY seldom. Instead, build military.
I don’t know if I’ve forgotten something, but if I have, I’ll probably post it later.
Sample Game
How do these function in game? Let’s take a small look to game I played with Persians on a tiny map:
4000 BC found Persepolis. In city radius one wine and one cattle on grassland and few mountains.
Started to develop iron working. Built a second worker, spearman, temple and barracks in Persepolis. Invented iron working, found iron 3 tiles away from Persepolis. Used second worker to build a colony and the first to make a road. From then on, only immortals.
2390 BC Declared war on Indians, my nearest neighbor. Razed Bangalore. I had only one immortal at this time. Victory triggered the golden age, so I got an immortal every three turns.
2110 BC Razed Calcutta.
1750 BC Captured Delhi(7b) Made peace with Indians, extorted all the tech they had and city of Bombay, leaving only Madras to them.
1575 BC Stabbed Indians, destroyed Madras. Only two enemies were left: China and Japan.
1425 BC captured Beijing(7c)
1400 BC changed Beijing for Xingjian, Tsingtao, Nanking, Chengdu and Shanghai.
1375 BC Lost Nanking, Tisngtao, captured Beijing(7c). Started to reposition my immortals, I had lost only one until this date.
1175 BC Destroyed Canton
1125 BC Stabbed Japan, destroyed Kagoshima.
1075 BC Destroyed Tsingtao, end of China
1050 BC Captured Satsuma(7d). Changed Beijing with Japan to Osaka, Tokyo and Edo. Lost Edo.
1025 BC Captured Beijing(7a)once again, Chinese resistance ended completely.
1000 BC Captured Edo and Kyoto, end of Japan.
End of game. 18501 points. Easy, isn’t it?