Part 107: Trail of Tears

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Hello and welcome to another truly extraordinary episode of the Civ Battle Royale Mk. 2.1! Your host today is /u/Admiral_Cloudberg, r/civAIgames mod and contributor to CBRX, happy to come back for a second shot at narrating the CBR after being stuck with a filler part last time. And I can say with high confidence, this part is anything but filler. We begin with a piece of OC that is in fact a map: the wonderful Vihreaan Hand-Drawn Map by /u/Vihreaa. Like the other map artists, his map brings a unique style of drawing that allows us to see the world in a slightly different way.

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And we also have our usual installment of /u/DerErlenkonig’s Tile-Accurate Map, which is just the thing you’re looking for if you want to figure out whether Brazil controls your hometown yet.

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The power rankers once again put Brazil unanimously in first place, and there is little reason to doubt this decision. It seems that every part, Brazil absorbs more and more of the world. Now, let’s get to the action!

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Right on, jumping straight back into the second brutal Brazil-Boer war. It can be very hard to keep track of what’s going on here, but by my analysis it seems that Pedro has captured Gades and Olympia since we last saw this region, several slides before the end of part 106. Brazilian advanced destroyers did the bulk of the heavy lifting in those captures, while the Boers respond with a counterattack made up of roughly 50% robot infantry and 50% biotroopers. Has Kruger finally decided on the perfect blend of man and machine?

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Brazil has made important gains in... wait, did someone say GAINS? That’s right, Brazil has captured Dvin! With the critical canal now under Brazilian control, it shouldn’t be long before Pedro locks down the entire coast of North Africa. Not to mention that Brazil can now draw on the power of Leonidas and his magnificent loins. Brazil has also captured the minor Boer in-settle of Isafjordur, with is a minor footnote next to the fall of Dvin.

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On the battlefield between Sibir and Mongolia, Genghis Khan has managed to hold onto Mandalgovi by virtue of Kuchum Khan’s decision to put his ranged units in the way of his melee units. Genghis did not have any such luck at Shaoshan, however, which has returned to Sibir’s fold, at least for now. As a fun side note, check out how bleak the area around Khoro looks—this city strongly evokes images of Noril’sk, Russia’s factory city above the arctic circle. Now imagine if Noril’sk was home to 21 million people, and you have a pretty good idea of the hellscape that is Khoro.

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Over in the Gulf of Mexico, all seems to be quiet in the battle between the Buccaneers and the Blackfoot. Henry Morgan recovered Maracaibo near the end of the previous part, and no more Blackfoot units are headed his direction. That said, Morgan isn’t sending a counterattack beyond a fierce aerial bombardment of Austin, so it looks like this war might just end with what most people predicted: a stalemate. Further to the west, The Inuit-Brazil war also appears to be winding down, as Pedro struggles to reach Guadalajara and Laredo through all the Blackfoot peacekeepers.

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Another turn rolls by, and Brazil captures yet more cities from the Boers, including Kumasi, which a long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away was an original capital. However, an enormous Boer fleet comprised mostly of cybersubs escorting embarked units is forming off Messina, and an even bigger carpet of biotroopers and robot infantry is building in central Africa. This might be the first screenshot we’ve had in a long time that features more Boer military strength than Brazilian.

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Over in Egypt, Aswan appears to have been bludgeoned off the face of the cylinder, though it’s hard to say who was responsible. This is also the first time we’ve seen Sparta this part, and I’m happy to announce it’s back in Icelandic hands! At least Ingolfur will get to keep something, even though Pedro has taken most of Iceland’s former cities for himself.

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In Arabia, Brazil has recaptured Najran, which recently flipped back to the Boers, and has also taken Nova Iguacu. Ironically, Nova Iguacu is a Brazilian city name, but the city was founded by the Boers after they exhausted their city list. So does that mean it has met its rightful owner for the first time? Hard to say.

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Eagle eyed viewers—well, okay, almost everyone probably—might have already seen the peace declaration between the Buccaneers and the Blackfoot on previous slides. But this makes it official: no cities changed hands in the war, although Austin and Petit-Goave took quite a bit of damage and almost everyone in Maracaibo was killed.

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The Australia-Korea war is still ongoing, but it seems to have settled into a back-and-forth battle over Kyoto. But with Korean melee units having vacated the premises, this might be the last time we see the city in Sejong’s hands. What at first looked like a promising invasion of Japan has left Korea fans sorely disillusioned, but if Sejong keeps buildings units, he may eventually be able to force his way back into Japan.

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Okay, I know you’ve seen it already. But I will address the elephant in the room when we get there. What this slide shows is that Brazil has taken Konongo with the help of another wave of XCOMs, while that huge Boer force that we saw earlier has mostly failed to materialize near the front.

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In Arabia, Brazil has captured Medina, Basra, and Bethlehem; only Mecca itself holds steadfast in the face of the technicolour tide. Also of interest: Brazil has some biotroopers coming out of Baghdad, the first of their kind we’ve seen Brazil field in battle. (They’ve had some in their core for a while, but they never seemed to leave.) And what’s that? You’re distracted by something? Yes, we’re getting there...

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By some miracle of diplomacy, Korea has... wait what? Yes, it’s Australia who initiated the peace treaty, allowing Korea to keep Kyoto. That means Korea actually won the war, having gained one city out of it. At this point, if Henry Parkes wants to win wars, he should wait for other civs to declare on him, because clearly offensive wars aren’t working.

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Okay, finally, we see it: YES, THE BLACKFOOT HAVE DECLARED WAR ON THE INUIT! Despite being next door neighbours, the Blackfoot and Inuit have literally never gone to war at any point during the 1050 turns of this game, choosing instead to remain best buds... until now. And up until recently, few suspected that it would be the Blackfoot who would pull the trigger. It has been hotly debated whether the Blackfoot, who have a larger army that is nevertheless very outdated, along with a production base an order of magnitude smaller than the Inuit’s, could beat them in a war. At last, however, all speculation is swept aside, and we will find out for real. However, Crowfoot has done this in almost the smartest way possible: in coalition with Brazil. Now, you say, wasn’t Brazil already at war with the Inuit? Didn’t they make peace this very turn? Ah, yes, but diplomacy shenanigans have taken place. Brazil made a pact with the Blackfoot to declare war on the Inuit after giving them ten turns to prepare (you all know the diplomacy option). But while the pact was still in its infancy, the Inuit preemptively declared war on Brazil. But the two sides made peace before the 10 turns had been reached, allowing Brazil to sneakily circumvent the peace treaty by accepting the Blackfoot invitation to begin the planned war. It actually works; you can try it yourself.

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Another potential obstacle for the Blackfoot is that a significant portion of their army and navy is over here by Mililani. They need to get it to the mainland ASAP if they want it to count in their struggle against the Inuit. This does raise the question of why all these units are over here in the first place—was Crowfoot planning an attack on Australia? We may never know.

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Up in far eastern Siberia, Blackfoot overseas forces have begun their fight against the Inuit colonies in Asia. Although some Inuit cities are taking damage, the Blackfoot units here are too few and too outdated to have any hope of penetrating the mountainous and heavily-defended terrain in Kamchatka and Chukotka. At best, this front will serve as a distraction for the Inuit, and a poor one at that.

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In the heartland of North America, things may be a different story. Blackfoot units are pouring into Inuit lands, damaging multiple cities, most notably Corpus Christi, which is in the yellow. The Blackfoot also have air superiority: I count 39 Blackfoot airplanes in this shot and zero Inuit planes. But it’s important to keep in mind that the Inuit have not made their move yet, and a lot of Blackfoot units—especially damaged ones—can easily be killed in one hit by some of the future worlds units the Inuit are fielding in admittedly smaller numbers.

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In what we know as the southern US, the story is similar. The Blackfoot have made a strong initial push, damaging several cities, but the viewer accustomed to AI games will know that the force here is woefully insufficient to make any progress. Another noteworthy development is that the short-lived Inuit-Brazil peace treaty has forced all of Pedro’s XCOMs out of this region, eliminating a force that could have been of major assistance to the Blackfoot.

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But despite the action in North America, things are still happening elsewhere in the world. We can see in this shot that Brazil has captured Mecca, adding yet another capital to Pedro’s already extensive repertoire while also uniting all of the Arabian Peninsula under a single ruler for what I believe is the first time ever.

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We quickly return to shots of the Inuit-Blackfoot front, this time after another turn has passed. Up here, Blackfoot forces are making a heroic push against Michmash and Qamani’tuaq, but a large force of Inuit biotroopers and robot infantry is lurking just behind them to launch a counteroffensive as soon as Reon presses “next turn.”

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On the Great Plains, the Blackfoot are still pushing hard, laying siege to Mdewakantonwan and pushing hard against four or five other cities. Jaffna is actually all the way down to black, but the Inuit have surrounded it with a ring of powerful units to block the nearly-dead Blackfoot paratroopers from capitalizing on the bombardment.

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Over in Africa, peace is declared between the Boers and Iceland. Really, both civs lost this war; the Boers took several cities from Iceland, only to lose them immediately. Like what so often seems to happen these days, all the gains went to Brazil. The Boers do get one last parting gift out of it though: the 6-pop city of Isit, which has barely any tiles and will fall to Brazil almost immediately. Congratulations, I guess?

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In Africa, Brazil continues conquering cities left and right, seemingly unfazed by that large Boer army that we saw a few slides back and is now nowhere to be found. In this turn alone, Pedro has captured Mampong, Ciudad Guayana, and Kongo Dia Nlaza. Remember the days when Mambong was unassailable? Those days are no more.

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Down on the coast, Brazil has captured Denkyira, and it really looks like that elusive Boer counterattack has either been mostly destroyed or has retreated into the their core. There are a fair amount of units around Anziku and Loango, but less than before. I can only ask, what are the Boers doing with these units? It seems like they should be able to pump these out and push forward to start recapturing cities, but Brazil just keeps going and going and going...

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In Australia, it seems that Henry Parkes has almost completely carpeted his core with biotroopers and robot infantry. Almost all the Brazilians who were here embarked into the sea during the attack on the Kimberley, freeing up all this space for Parkes to finally build an army worthy of his reputation in olden days. For the first time since they declared war on Vietnam, Australia has a unit carpet, but will it be enough to pull them out of their doldrums?

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Brutal winter trench warfare continues in Siberia as Genghis Khan cedes Kazan to Sibir, but continues to make sure that every front line city is bombed to zero HP. But Kuchum Khan has struck back, launching nuclear attacks on both Hsia and Karakorum. With the front free of Brazilians and with Sibir now playing the nuclear card, Genghis Khan’s days are surely numbered.

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Back in the so far indecisive Blackfoot-Inuit war, we are reminded that Crowfoot has some large cities in the Aleutian islands. 41-pop Ahkaiyikokakinik (please please please never ask me to spell that again) has already fallen to the Inuit, and Kiy is sure to follow. This is a big blow to the Blackfoot, because one can only imagine how much science these cities were generating, even if they were doubtlessly low on production. Also worth noting is that the city-that-shall-not-be-spelled did not lose any population when it was captured, meaning that the Inuit are culturally influential over the Blackfoot.

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In Blackfoot Mexico, the situation appears to be turning a little bit away from Crowfoot’s favour. He has nearly captured Puebla, but his nearby melee units will be killed on the next turn. Some Australian and Brazilian units also block the way, all but ensuring that if anyone captures Puebla, it will be Brazil. The Brazilian units flooding Blackfoot territory will provide a boost to their strength, but nevertheless, Crowfoot is failing to seriously damage most of the border cities, and the Inuit have now conjured up at least 40 airplanes and are using them to bombard core Blackfoot cities into the black.

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Back over by the Red Sea, Brazilian XCOMs are beginning to flood into the Horn of Africa, capturing Helsingborg and Holualoa. The Boers have managed to recapture Medina, however, momentarily breaking Pedro’s unification of the Arabian Peninsula. What strikes me as odd here is that I don’t see any Brazilian planes on the front lines, yet there must be some nearby, or else they’d never be able to eat through cities this quickly. However, the range of stealth bombers is so long that they could very well be stationed in Europe and still bomb this area, so it’s no surprise that Pedro hasn’t moved them near the war zone.

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The Blackfoot war against the Inuit has allowed Brazil to finally move some XCOMs in and take Guadalajara, while Crowfoot has managed to capture Laredo, marking the first Inuit losses of the war I’m going to start calling the Buffalo Hunt. (Yes, I know they’re bison. Shhhh...) The White Walkers have been kicked out of Mexico except for some heavily besieged cities in Baja California, although Australian peacekeepers are starting to pour into Mexico—de ja vu much? We saw the exact same thing happening during the conquest of Mexico way back before the hiatus.

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Up in Egypt, Brazil has taken Hippo Regius and Cairo, netting Pedro yet another capital (I believe that brings him to 17 capitals total, which is more than a quarter of the original capitals he needs to win. I have to say, I never really imagined that a civ would reach this point, and yet here we are. Note the planes (likely stealth bombers) in Olympia—this is probably the leading edge of what has to be a very large air force.

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The tide seems to be turning in the Buffalo Hunt, at least up north, as the Inuit capture Kutaimik and push hard on several other Blackfoot border cities. Crowfoot is now almost entirely on the defensive, having failed to seriously damage any Inuit cities in this area, and now his entire army around Tsúùtínà and Ipoksimaik has all but vanished. You know I’ve been saying Blackfoot border cities, but the problem for the Blackfoot really is that almost all their cities are border cities and are therefore vulnerable.

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Crowfoot is also in trouble in the Gulf of Mexico, where his army is almost gone and Austin has flipped. Brazilian XCOMs and paratroopers are beginning to make their way back into the southern US, but none pose a serious threat to any cities yet, except maybe Puebla, which is somehow still in the hands of the Inuit.

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Jumping back to Egypt again, Brazil has taken Bilbais and Harar, though the latter is almost certain to flip. Pedro has also retaken Medina, ensuring that there are no orange splotches in his beautiful Arabia. The Boers clearly have a decent air force here, but by my reckoning it looks like they’re using it to bomb cities in Arabia rather than killing Brazilian units. This may be a fatal mistake on the part of Paul Kruger.

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The Inuit march into Austin, and this time they keep it! Laredo has also flipped again. On the front lines in Texas, Brazil seems to be doing the heavy lifting against the Inuit, pouring XCOMs into the area around Austin while the Blackfoot are only able to field a handful of paratroopers. But so far, there still aren’t enough XCOMs to make a major dent in Ekeuhnick’s forces, and all the Australian units hanging out here are not exactly helping. I can respect Parkes’ efforts to enforce peace, but this is the CBR and we like WAR!

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The hammer seems to be falling on the Blackfoot core as the Inuit capture Tsúùtínà and bombard just about every other city, including their capital Síksikáwa, down to red or yellow. Crowfoot has retaken Kutaimik and captured the Inuit city of Mdewakantonwan, but probably not for long, as their hold on almost every city in this slide is becoming rather tenuous. Seeing this now, it’s hard to believe that so many of us argued that the Blackfoot could win this war.

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The Blackfoot have also captured Torreon from the Inuit, which they will keep for now as the huge Ice Sheet Fleet off the California coast doesn’t have any melee units. It also must be asked what those Brazilian XCOMs think they’re doing. Guys, the Inuit are over there, you’re in the wrong place!

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Brazil makes more enormous gains in Africa, taking Ejura, Kwilu, Turinsk, and Baalbek. The next line of cities is already in major trouble as well. Also, take the time to look at the minimap and absorb the enormity of Brazil’s conquests in the old world. If those conquests comprised the entire territory of a civ, they would probably be ranked #1.

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The golden age that began in Babylon on the previous turn has now ended, which seems odd consider that hype levels are currently through the roof. Note also that not even Antarctica is safe from large numbers of powerful Brazilian units—visible here are XCOMs, biotroopers, robot infantry, arsenal ships, and advanced destroyers. This is a good unit composition if I ever saw one.

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Back in Mexico, the Inuit have taken Laredo and recaptured Torreon, but are struggling to prevent Austin from falling to Brazil. Ekeuhnick moves before Pedro, however, so he might still have a chance to kill those XCOMs. As for the Blackfoot, however, things are looking just as grim as before. Not only have they failed to take Puebla, but their cities are all being bombed into the red and yellow, protected more by Australian peacekeepers than by their own units. Their main saving grace is their air force, but they’re using it to damage Inuit cities they can’t reach instead of killing the units that are amassing on their borders.

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Farther north, the Ice Sheet Fleet, accompanied by a large contingent of melee land units. Aapahtosipikani is just barely hanging on, and Siksikawa is in serious trouble as well. The once expansive, if not might, Blackfoot carpet has almost completely evaporated.

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The situation is similar in Africa, where Brazil has captured Atebubu and Dire Dawa. At this rate, it won’t be too long before Brazil completely conquers the Boers, which would be... quite something. I honestly can’t believe this is happening.

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In Ethiopia, Brazil has also taken Safi, Axum, and a city whose name I can’t read because the end is off the edge of the picture. Still, this is a dismantling on an epic scale, and I feel like I’m watching history here. Real history. There are honestly no words, which is why my commentary on these slides has gotten quite short.

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At last, Brazil takes another city from the Inuit. It’s Torreon, the city that the Blackfoot and Inuit had been flipping back and forth for a bit. There is only one half-dead Inuit melee unit nearby too, so it might stay Brazilian for a while.

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An enormous Inuit unit carpet is descending out of the north like some kind of sluggish tsunami, capturing Aapahtosipikani and Tsinksistsoyik (and probably more cities offscreen, too). Several Inuit biotroopers stand at the burning gates of Síksikáwa, preparing to seize the capital of their last remaining rival in North America.

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Indeed, not only has Tsinksistsoyik fallen, so have Ipoksimaik and Káínáa, and Hunkpapa has flipped. The entire narrow strip of Blackfoot territory running northeast from Síksikáwa is now in Inuit hands, which seems to have proven right those who said that Blackfoot territory was not defensible when surrounded by the Inuit on so many sides, no matter how big Crowfoot’s army was.

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At last, the Blackfoot have captured Puebla, but it’s too little too late. The Inuit carpet has gone from only mildly concerning to downright apocalyptic, as Ekeuhnick churns out units at an unprecedented rate. And those units are easily tearing through the tiny handful of Blackfoot units that remain, while Brazil doesn’t seem to be contributing much in the way of assistance.

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In the name of Nebuchadnezzar, this is insane. Brazil has taken Bloemhof, Hartingsburg, amd the legendary Funniest City on the Cylinder, Klerksdorp. Not laughing now, are we? Brazil has also nuked the city of Virginia, and if there were ever any Boer units in this area, there definitely aren’t now. I count just 16 Boer land units, compared to 77 fielded by Brazil. How could Kruger let this happen? Did someone unplug him from Skynet? Has Mini Pedro sabotaged the servers?

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For the first time in a while, we get a good look at the Sibir-Mongolia war. Interestingly enough, no cities have changed hands since the last time we saw it. Sibir does have a bigger army on the front lines now, however, while Genghis Khan’s doesn’t appear to have increased or decreased significantly. That said, Khoro has lost a lot of people, but it’s still comparable to Noril’sk if Noril’sk had 6.5 million people.

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This slide is a mixed bag for the Inuit. Ekeuhnick has retaken Puebla, but has lost Austin to Brazil, giving Pedro yet another capital. And the Blackfoot have managed to sneak an advanced destroyer into Waipahu, although the city should flip back very clearly. But I know you’ve already seen the sidebar notificaiton...

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That’s right, Síksikáwa, the Blackfoot capital, has been captured by the Inuit. And it’s not just Síksikáwa; the Inuit have also captured Hunkpapa, Mdewakantonwan, Aamsskaapipikani, and Sikopoksimaik. (OH GOD MY EYES, WHY DID I HAVE TO SPELL THOSE...) Anyway, at this rate, if it weren’t for his Pacific colonies, Crowfoot might actually be facing elimination.

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In what used to be Texas, Oglala has flipped, but otherwise the only change is that there are somehow even fewer Blackfoot units than before. And for whatever reason, Crowfoot is still using his air force to bomb cities. When will he learn?

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For the first time this part, we are faced with an Africa screenshot where the Boers have more cities than they did the previous turn. Kruger has recaptured Safi and Klerksdorp, but given the number of Brazilian troops closing in on this area, it’s not clear to me that this is anything other than a momentary bump as Brazil speeds toward total victory in Africa.

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In the Horn of Africa, Axum and Holualoa have flipped but are back in Brazilian hands. Brazil doesn’t exactly have a huge number of troops in this area though, and the terrain is about to get seriously rough. If there’s anything that stops Brazil, it might be this, but I definitely wouldn’t bet on it.

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Oh, here’s a fun distraction. Australia has reformed Catholicism, which is the majority religion throughout much of East Asia. I can only imagine what a religious reformation might look like in the far future. Perhaps there’s been some edict on whether robots can go to heaven? Also of note is that Henry Parkes has fully carpeted Japan and is beginning to spill units into Korean territory. That’s interesting that the two civs have open borders.

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The Blackfoot are being whittled down into a narrower and narrower strip of cities as the Inuit claim almost all of the west coast. They’ve captured Áánin and Torreon, locking up most of California, and it looks like they have a biotrooper in place to flip Monterrey on the next turn as well. That will be a devastating blow, because the city is home to 10 airplanes, an artillery, and a missile cruiser. There’s no chance for the Blackfoot to move them or kill the biotrooper either, because the Inuit move first.

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Since Australia reformed its religion, here’s the religion overview. Parkes has selected Underground Sect, which causes his spies to exert religious influence in the cities where they’re stationed. This is unlikely to affect the game in any meaningful way, but it’s fun to imagine Australian spies covertly implanting Catholic thoughts directly into the brains of the cylinder’s futuristic cyborg citizens.

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Brazil has rounded the corner of West Africa and entered Central Africa, taking Messina, Loango, Kavanga, and Zabid in a single turn. I can’t restate it enough: this is absolutely unbelievable. This truly is the weirdest timeline.

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Sibir makes another push into Mongolia, capturing Darhan, but for some reason most of Kuchum Khan’s army is idling well behind the front lines. It’s worth noting that most Brazilian units have vacated the area, although some remain further back—perhaps they left to fight the Boers? There are also a few Inuit units engaged in a skirmish with the Brazilian peacekeepers near Mandalgovi.

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What’s this? Brazil sweeps up into the gulf of Mexico with renewed fury, retaking Austin and capturing Gonzales as well. Neither city looks like it will stay green for long, however, as Brazil doesn’t seem to have brought any reinforcements to the area, they will probably flip back pretty soon. And Ekuhnick has captured Mexico City from the Blackfoot, even as a few Brazilian XCOMs try to steal that city away as well. (Keep in mind that in this game, Ciudad Juarez is the Mexican original capital, not Mexico City.)

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The Blackfoot capital has apparently moved to the island megacity of Mililani, where most of what remains of Crowfoot’s army has congregated in a giant flotilla of sadness. Note that the Blackfoot still control Honolulu, but I guess Mililani is bigger. Also note that the actual biggest city in Hawaii is Hilo, which has reached 50 pop under the bountiful rule of Henry Parkes, putting it among the largest cities in the world.

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Brazil finally takes Caesarea, uniting the entire Red Sea under Brazilian control at last. That said, Pedro’s progress in this region has snowed down markedly as terrain gets in his way. But with more conquests incoming in the west, he could eventually choke the Boers out of the mountains of Ethiopia.

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Here’s a view of the... what’s this sea called anyway? Well, I’ll call it the Sea of Harrismith, in honour of a city that was once enormous but has somehow fallen all the way to 18 pop. There are few Brazilians to be seen in this area, and plenty of Boers, which just goes to show that Kruger still has a large and productive core even if he’s lost more than half his cities to Brazil at this point.

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The end is nigh for the Blackfoot, at least on the mainland. The Inuit have now captured Monterrey, Oglala, Ahahpitape, and Los Angeles, leaving just two besieged Blackfoot cities in North America (it appears as though Ciudad Juarez has fallen off screen as well). Who could have predicted at the end of part 106 that the Blackfoot would be reduced to a few scattered islands in part 107? I certainly would have been skeptical.

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Indeed, a broader look at Mexico reveals that the Inuit have taken Ciudad Juarez, while Brazil has captured Mexico City from the Inuit. Ekuhnick has recaptured Gonzales but has failed to do the same for Austin, ensuring that Brazil’s presence in North America remains for now. Also, the Blackfoot still hold Waipahu, meaning that they have three cities still on the mainland... for now.

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As usual, Brazil is also making progress in Africa, where Pedro has captured Matamba, Virginia, Gondar, and Klerksdorp. I have to say, the city of Virginia looks out of place here. And it definitely isn’t virgin anymore...

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Holy cow! One turn later, Brazil has completely broken through the wall in Ethiopia and taken almost every city here in one fell swoop. That includes Bloemfontein, Klein Vrystaat, Etchimadzin, Harar, Addis Ababa, Mek’ele, and Adama. If the Boers do not make peace soon, I could actually see them being reduced to a rump state or even eliminated. This is really beyond anything I could have imagined.

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But, as you might have seen on the previous slide, Brazil has called off its war with the Inuit after making only minimal gains. Ekuhnick remains in possession of Austin and Mexico City, while Brazil keeps Laredo, Guadalajara, Uxmal, and Therapne. It’s technically a win for Brazil, but the Inuit gained so much from the Blackfoot—including three capitals—that they’ll scarcely notice the loss.

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The war with Brazil may be over, but the Buffalo Hunt isn’t. Seeking to clean up what little remains in North America, Ekehunick captures Wahpekute—home of Petra—and makes a valiant attempt to squeeze past all the Australians and take Veracruz.

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Another view of East Africa reveals that Brazil has captured Adwa, home of Lake Victoria. Once upon a time, the natural wonder might have been worth something, but not there are many future worlds improvements that provide just as much food, and buildings that provide even more. Also featured in this slide: one of the last remaining significant stretches of forests in the world. Most of the world’s forests were cut down by the civs, leaving only the patches with deer or truffles, but many of those have since been nuked off the map. But not these—this is a primordial forest, possibly the last on the cylinder. And for the first time, possibly ever, it will soon see the horrors of war.

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With an ignominious whimper, the Blackfoot are expelled from North America. The Inuit have taken Veracruz despite Henry Parkes’ best efforts to preserve Blackfoot sovereignty, and now the enormous army of the white walkers stretches almost unbroken across the continent. One must wonder: will Ekeuhnick try to seek out the last Blackfoot strongholds in the Pacific, or will he call it quits and turn his attention to another weak neighbour? Will the Buffalo Hunt continue until no more bison remain?

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The Inuit appear to be bombing Honolulu with stealth bombers, which suggest Ekuhnick may be considering an aquatic invasion. But without a significant detachment of the Ice Sheet Fleet, Blackfoot Hawaii will probably remain secure thanks to the very large flotilla still hanging around Mililani, Crowfoot’s capital-in-exile. But we will see where this war goes in part 108, because it is now time for our end-game statistics review.

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In population, Australia holds the top spot thanks to the downfall of the Boers, but Brazil is rapidly catching up. Pedro’s cities are not large, he just has an awful lot of them. In fact, Brazil’s population has increased by almost 100 million just since the end of part 106.

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In production, Brazil is undisputed king, with 9,000 more hammers than the #2 Inuit even though most of Pedro’s conquests are still puppeted. The Boers, who once seemed so unstoppable, have fallen to 7th—below Korea, but still a hair above Iceland.

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Brazil’s military manpower, however, has suffered a drop of over 4 million, or 40%, while the Inuit have almost doubled their soldier count. If Pedro insists on conquering the rest of the Boers without spending some serious time and energy replenishing his forces, he might actually lose his top spot in military.

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The religion overview shows that the newly reformed Catholicism has spread via brain implant to over 220 cities. Unsuspecting citizens will periodically wake up to discover that they became Catholic during the night and that the “uninstall” button is grayed out.

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Unsurprisingly, Brazil now has the most wonders, while the Boers still cling onto 10, including Skynet. It was often said that Skynet was the most important wonder still in the game, but it doesn’t seem to be helping them much. Maybe it’s having issues? Do all the uploaded citizens just see an 8-bit blue screen with a cutesy Skynet logo and the words “Skynet is down for maintenance?”

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And lastly we have the religion map, which reveals the true extent of Catholicism. Australia has covertly converted almost all of Eurasia to its religion, which has spread as far west as Sweden and as far east as Alaska. One place it has not spread, however, is the Australian core, which remains a firm mix of Theravada and Atheist. Blackfoot Arianism, meanwhile, has spread to virtually every city in the Americas and has nowhere left to go. Anyway, that’s all for today! Thank you all for allowing me to narrate this frankly shocking episode, and I’ll see you in the comments!

Part 107: Trail of Tears – mk2

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