Chapter 1: As It Began... – G1

Hello everyone, my name is /u/ExplosiveWatermelon and welcome to my CivGrandRoyale! It’s a large-scale Civilization 5 game, but with a twist- there’s 60 Civilizations, and all of them are controlled by the AI! Without further ado, let me introduce you to the world.

The Shoshone take our preliminary top spot, and with good reason. Every game they’ve been in, they’ve been a top contender. A wonderful mod by Leugi and More Civs, Washakie leads this variant of the vanilla civ.

Here in the heavenly submarine is where we, the observers, get to watch over the world. Our leader, Kamehameha I, watches carefully through his thousand monitors all the events of the world. Look carefully over this moment, for it will soon change dramatically.

In the Sea-addled city of Seattle, the Doug Flag flies proudly over the citizens of Cascadia! Osborne Russell leads this proud territory. While a tourism-based design might not carry it far, the ability to steal other civs’ territory is a nifty bonus. They hold a high position at #4 in the preliminary rankings!

To the Southeast, in Wind River we find the Shoshone! Led by the alternate leader Washakie, these guys have proven themselves strong warriors in the tests, but we’ll have to see if they can keep the momentum up for the final game! As previously shown, these guys topped the preliminary ranking at #1.

Finally, in Salt Lake City, we have the Deseret settlers under Brigham Young! A lot of Americans find proud heritage in the Deseret region, but let’s hope the settlers prove themselves. They start at a middling #26.

Texas in Austin I assume needs no introduction, especially to those familiar with Sam Houston through CBR Mk. II! I personally think of him as some sort of wildcard that really shakes things up, but not everyone is fond of them. Another middling civ at around #28.

The Choctaw under Pushmataha starts in Bok Chukfi Ahilha. The great Indian General found himself success in early tests, but now he finds himself in an uphill battle to reclaim that glory. In fact, that hill is more of a mountain- these guys find themselves at rank #50.

Centered in Ville de Quebec is New France under Louis de Buade. Another strong performer in North America, New France will usually eat up their neighbor to the south. That alone would get them the ranking, but to earn the #3 spot they claim, they’ve gone even further and put up a fierce competition in one of the deadliest regions.

Speak of the devil, it’s New England under William Stoughton. Centered in Boston, they’ve got eyes on the prize- if that prize is a participation trophy. They have the opportunity to win, however, but it remains to be seen whether they will seize it. They sit low at #48.

In Tilantongo are the wonderful Mixtecs under Eight Deer Jaguar Claw. Despite the leader’s intimidating name, the civ is actually fairly dormant. Perhaps they’ll take this opportunity to erupt onto the world stage? Probably not; rank #51 was deemed fitting for them for a reason.

The United Fruit Company, based in San Pedro Sula, is bananas- and I mean that literally. They grow a lot of bananas, which isn’t too helpful for domination. However, potential certainly exists in the banana republic, but for now they sit at rank #53

We’ve got a lot to talk about here.

First off, let’s go over the Inca in Cusco. This is not the vanilla version, however- this is Tupac Yupanqui leading a more naval-focused version. Unfortunately, their odds sink rapidly due to a very passive nature. Perhaps it’s time for them to brave the waves? They rank at #58.

The Omagua under Payoreva are centered in Cararies, which is a prime jungle location that this civilization can and will take advantage of. The Omagua are usually one of the main competitors in South America, and I should hope no different from them in this game. They rank at #25.

Marajoara under P’kuee, centered in Camutins, are a familiar face to those who have been watching CBRX season 2. I personally think they’ve got decent odds, but only time will tell. The PRs decidedly put them in rank #23.

Brazil brings the heat! Led by Lula de Silva and based in Brasilia, they have plenty of opportunities to succeed in this game- even before getting their uniques in the late game! However, the slow start can be crippling, and the PRs know this, putting the civ at a middling #35

The Guaycuru are led by cultural hero Eso, and are based in Mision El Toba. What can I say about them? Well, they don’t really have much competition besides Brazil, are given plenty of space, and have a very opportunistic AI. I expect great things. They rank at #9.

Based in Jetarkte on the edge of Tierra del Fuego is the Kaweskar, under Terwa Koyo! Despite their dismal starting position, they have been able to claw their ways to powerful leads before. However, it remains to be seen whether they can match those performances. They rank at #10.

Moving over to Europe, we are introduced to Henry V’s England, based in London! Generally a strong contender who is actually able to break free from the infamous British Isles TSL. They’ve impressed me, if not the power rankers, in tests, but we’ll have to see how far they can carry it in this game. They rank at a middling #32.

Jeanne d’Arc’s France in Reims is one of those civilizations that should logically do well. Their leader and uniques are militaristic, and they get some pretty easy bonuses to faith. However, the reality is that they’ve underperformed in tests. Hopefully they’ll overcome those past performances. They rank at a measly #54

Centered in Nidaros, Eystein’s Norway is a civ based on settling overseas and building wonders- which isn’t too helpful in a domination game. However, they don’t have any harsh competition nearby, and can grow to impressive sizes. They rank at a decent #18.

Look fast, or you might miss it- it’s Christina’s Sweden, sitting at… Oh dear. Rank #59? That’s harsh. I guess it’s to be expected when you aren’t expansive, start in Stockholm in one of the worst regions, and notably fail to carve an empire in all tests you’ve been in. Don’t worry, it can certainly be worse…

Like Bogislaw X’s Pomerania in Stettin, who sits at rank #60. The biggest underdog of our competition, I personally don’t get the ranking too much. They’ve had decent tests. However, the main issue is that they’re still Pomerania, in one of the worst regions on the map.

Moving on, we have Elisabeth’s Russia in St. Petersburg. Decidedly not a very domination-focused civ, they rank at #55. However, with weak neighbors aplenty, they could seize the opportunity.

Centered in Obran Osh, the Eastern Finns are a competitor. Not exactly good, but not atrocious. However, when you sit near two monstrous expanders, you can expect to find yourself in trouble. Tyushtya of the Eastern Finns must plot a steady course out of rank #38.

Mother Anarchy’s favorite child enters the stage- it’s Nestor Makhno’s Makhnovia, centered in Huliaipole. Despite Makhno’s self-obsession, he’s proven himself worthwhile- landing at a solid rank #13. However, his biggest flaw lies in his overexpansion, and with the competitor to the east….

Bulan’s Khazaria in Atil, ranking at #11. Despite narrowly missing out on the top 10, they’re still one of the fiercest competitors, and part of that can be from their fierce opportunism. If they can take Makhno’s cities early on, they’ll carve out an early empire.

In Budapest, Hungary, we have Miklos Horthy at rank #48. Despite holding a low rank, they still tower over their neighbors who hold much lower positions. Perhaps they can pick up a few ranks by incorporating these bordering nations?

Teuta’s Illyrians, centered in Scodra, rank at #57. For a civ that focuses on offense, their main struggle lies that they start stuck in the mud- they don’t expand and usually fail to get out of the Balkans.

You probably recognize Dido’s Carthage from the base game- but this is different. This is JFD’s Dido rework, centered in Qart Hadasht, taken from the Hannibal pack. She sits at a low rank #44, but she still has plenty of opportunities in the Mediterranean.

Sitting in Lisbon is a not-so-lazy Portugal under Carlos I. They sit at a very low rank #56, but I don’t know if they’re all too deserving of that rank. Sure, they’re not exactly domination focused, but they have performed well in the past. Only time will tell.

The mad Almohads are centered in Tinmel under Abd al-Mu’min! Definitely a powerful civ based on colors alone- it’s gorgeous. However, they sit just narrowly in the bottom half at rank #31.

In Freetown we find Thomas Peter’s Sierra Leone- a wonderful mod that’s quickly become a favorite amongst the power rankers for their settling antics. However, they’re more than a joke- they’ve earned a solid #15 in the rankings.

Eponymous Sokoto houses the great Usman dan Fodio! Or, at least that’s what I would say if they didn’t rank at #34. Truth is, it’s a hard fight for them, either because of terrain or Sierra Leone.

King Tut, the famously ‘cursed’ pharaoh, is based in Memphis, Egypt. Well, it’s located where Thebes is, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to convince the people of Memphis to change their city name. They rank at a middling #33, but they’re typically the founders of some religion, so they’ll definitely leave an impact.

In Sana’a, legends speak of the great queen of Yemen, Arwa al-Sulayhi. Legends they are indeed, too. They rank at #16, higher than any Arabian civ would usually get. Only time will tell if they deserve the PRs’ faith.

The Azande under Gbudwe find themselves in Yambio, in modern-day South Sudan. Another high ranker, they find themselves at #12. Their love for Mpinga might be their bane, however, as they tend to build too many.

Ilunga Sungu of Luba holds a powerful center in Katende, surrounded by natural defenses (read: Mountains.) They’re poised to take the region, too, taking a very impressive rank #14. However, don’t count out their competitors!

Or at least, not yet anyways. The Maravi under Kalonga Mazula are centered in Manthimba. However, they hold a dismal rank #40. However, if they found a religion, they’ll found the unique Nyau cult, which also gives them access to their UU. However, it remains to be seen.

Finally, Lesotho. Poor Moshoeshoe I finds himself in Thaba Bosiu, sitting at a near-hopeless rank #46. Even if they can carve out an empire, they’ll still find plenty of competition- let’s hope the best for these underdogs.

Alright, another doozy of a region, and we’re starting with Shulgi’s Ur (centered in Ur) at rank #36. They’ve got plenty of food, but they aren’t a very militaristic civ and will often find themselves under Yemen’s boot. Hopefully they turn that around.

Tehran houses the great Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammed Reza, who holds rank #39. Their unimpressive ranking, however, can easily be challenged- these guys have broken out before.

Samarqand is the center of the very familiar Timurids, under their eponymous leader Timur. They barely break out above the middle line at rank #29, which admittedly makes sense. They’re a very underwhelming civ a majority of the time, but they finally have the potential to perform well in this game.

Finally, Toramana’s White Huns find themselves in beautiful Kapisa, right on the mountainside. With a wonderful rank #17, they can carve out a wonderful empire to rival the Huns they share their name with.

Amoghavarsha I of Rashtrakuta leads… Well, Rashtrakuta, centered in Manyakheta. At a low rank #37, they definitely are the weak link of India, and it’s easy to see why. They’ll settle cities in a lot of weird locations, and fail to defend them, thus carving up their empire like turkey on Thanksgiving.

In Murshidabad is Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan’s Bengal, sitting at a hefty rank #5. They’re one of the strongest tall civs, having been nerfed in the testing room due to their massive gains. However, it remains to be seen if they’ll stand the test of time.

In Siberia we find another very powerful competitor- Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Kazakhstan. Funnily enough, this mod was made back when the capital was still called Astana- but it’s now known as Nursultan itself. The rank #2 civ easily deserves this position due to the overwhelming amount of land they’ll settle. However, let’s hope they’re able to take advantage of this great boon.

Sitting in Kellog, Olgit’s Ket are here for a fun time- in that they are the middle civ of all 60, sitting at rank #30. They’ll definitely travel far, but whether it be up or down will remain to be seen.

South of Kellog is Mumo, the capital of Yugiulu Mugulu’s Rouran. Their recent addition helped round our cast to 60 civs, and they’ve proven themselves a great addition- sitting at rank #6, they can easily eat up and spit out their neighbor…

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj’s Mongolia, based in Ulaanbaatar. The Golden Sparrow will have to fly hard to beat its competing nomadic neighbor- the bird finds himself at rank #20. It just goes to show that you can’t win them all by settling like hell.

Jokuskai’s as cold as the heart of Tygyn Darkhan himself, leader of the Yakuts. You’ll remember this fellow from CBR Mk. 2, I’m sure, but this is a different version made by JFD. Let’s hope the needed upgrade proves to be an improvement on his predecessor.

Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo gets Gungae as his capital. This gung-ho guy is great at getting Gaemamusas, their UU, and gets a good grade at rank #8. GG.

Shu Han’s leader, Liu Bei, finds himself in the capital of Chengdu along the mountains to the west. Although they hold rank #21, things are still fiercely competitive for this romanticist.

Daji’s famous deer terrace pavilion overlooks Zhaoge, as she commands the Shang army into rank… Oh. Oh no. Rank #49? Yeah, that’s not good for her. I guess that’s what you get for being a brutal consort.

Sun Yat-Sen, based in Guangzhou, leads China into a deserving rank #7- and it’s easy to see why. Early production bonuses can carry this civ far, and hopefully we’ll see them carve out a large chunk of land.

Jimmu’s Japan, centered around Kashiwabara, is an interesting civ. They have an island start, and usually found a religion. However, interesting does not translate to success, and they sit at a low rank #45.

Siam, or modern Thailand, finds strong leadership under Rama V, otherwise known as Chulalongkorn. This ruler finds his palace in Phra Nakhon, along the beautiful Southeast Asian coast. However, he’s not the only one- but he does field a respectable rank #22.

Sri Jayanasa of Srivijaya has built himself a home in Palembang in modern-day Indonesia. I’ll just cut to the chase, though- he sits at rank #52 due to a seeming lack of desire to compete. Hopefully he’ll resolve this issue.

Finally, the white rajah James Brooke sits in Kuching as he leader the people of Sarawak to a measly rank #41. However, they do have plenty of opportunities to succeed! It just remains to be seen whether they’ll take any of them.

Mount Hagen is home to the Wahgi people, led by the mysterious Bol’im! At rank #43, it’ll be hard to see a path to victory for these guys, but it does exist. However, this existence is yet to be proven.

Jandamarra returns, leading a civ with an accurate name! It’s the Bunuba, centered in Junjuwa. The pigeon himself flies to rank #27, which isn’t all that impressive but is certainly welcome. If he founds a religion, he’ll prove to be one of the most fascinating civs on the cylinder.

Pomberuk, the capital of the Ngarrindjeri, is home to the great hero-leader Ngurunderi. The other aboriginal half to the Australian setting, they sit at a decent rank #24. However, the balance in the region could easily be disturbed by foreign presences.

Finally, our last introduction is Keith Holyoake’s New Zealand, centered in Wellington. Definitely one of the weakest TSLs, Kiwi Keith can certainly dig his way out of it, and fields rank #42 because of it.

Let the games begin! New Zealand is the first to 2 cities, settling Auckland right on the northern tip of the north island. This landmark moment shall be forever recorded in vivid imagery as the moment that the CGR truly began.

New Zealand is soon followed by Pomerania settling Wolgast along the coast of Germany. If you look at the map, other civs have joined along as well, including Sarawak, Shu Han, and the Omagua.

Baidicheng, Beijing, Yinxu, and Kyoto soon enter existence as well. They sit at 0 population with less tiles due to one of the active mods- Frontier Towns, made by yours truly. In addition to the aforementioned changes, these cities start occupied, but occupied cities generate less Unhappiness from population.

Much like real-life Portugal, Carlos I colonizes Africa by settling Porto right near Tinmel. Marrakech is settled further south, and Utique is settled in the middle of the desert.

Aden is settled across the red sea, perhaps due to help from an early Optics enhancement I added, while Thebes and Dungu are settled by Egypt and the Azande respectively.

Makhnovia makes a bold first move by forward-settling Khazaria, a move that usually does not end too well for the anarchists. But hey, what’s an anarchist without a bit of anarchy? Balanjar is settled to the south, and Russia and the Eastern Finns have second cities as well.

La Nouvelle Orleans and Plymouth are settled, both opposite directions from each other. It’s a smart move that’ll help prevent early conflict, but I’m sure we’ll see some wars soon enough.

Malte is settled along the tip of Tierra del Fuego, which isn’t the smartest settlement. Hopefully the Kaweskar can overcome this poor decision.

The Grand Mesa may prove to be an important political battleground between Texas and the Shoshone- Houston settles his namesake city right next to it, and the Shoshone settle Tukudeka right nearby. The map’s starting to fill in!

The Pahlavis are definitely slow starters, as they are one of only 2 civs left who need to found their second cities, the other being Cascadia. Who will win the race to a second city?

Debrecen, Orleans, and Lissos are settled to fill Central Europe. This could easily turn into a devastating battleground, but only time will tell.

In Mesoamerica, the two civs settle opposite directions from one another- the Mixtec’s Tutupec in the west and Puerto Barrios in the east. This is a distinct move for the Mixtecs, because if they had settled Yucatan, that city would typically fall to the UFC.

Bichos is settled upstream from Brasilia, and Sao Paulo is settled downstream from Camutins. This is good for both civs- Marajoara has some clear land which can be worked, and Brazil has jungle for future growth and science.

As we reach turn 10, the sub takes an expert analysis at the top competitors using JFD’s World Powers mod- a utility mod that helps rank a civ’s performance in games. At the top is Shang, followed by Srivijaya and Shu Han. However, these rankings aren’t exactly solidified yet- as you can see, Srivijaya ranks lower than Shang despite having only equal or higher stats. However, this issue will be resolved in future chapters.

Bunuba settles Darlngaya in a spot that’s not adjacent to any of the salt resources nearby, nor is it adjacent to Uluru. Uluru is a faith-producing natural wonder, and Bunuba is a religious civ, so naturally they would go hand-in-hand, but unfortunately this play does not raise high hopes for Jandamarra’s leadership.

P’kuee, on the other hand, grabs a very solid pantheon in the Sacred Path belief. Granting +1 Culture to Jungles, this pantheon turns the Amazon into Marajoara’s greatest benefit. It’s also our first pantheon, so maybe Marajoara will get a religion?

Osborne Russell, known to his enemies as the Lime Green Goblin, terrorizes Seattle with his poor leadership decisions.

“Keep the settler waiting by the cityside, so that the citizens can watch as it does nothing.”

Truly nefarious.

Thomas Peters sits in Freetown, waiting for his opportunity to shine. Be it in the light of victory or a blaze of glory, there is one thing Peters is assured of-

“Let’s enjoy this world to its furthest ends!”

Granville Town, settled right near a bunch of dye, claims itself to be the color capital of the world.

Mashhad finds itself on the doorstep to the Sumerian city of Uruk. Perhaps a future conquest, or a future conqueror? The two leaders, Shulgi and Mohammad Reza, know that these cities will decide the fate of their empires.

Sun Yat-Sen greets his settlers, the first Chinese Colonization Force, outside his capital of Guangzhou. The leader is met with great praise, but he raises a hand and the crowd falls silent. A leader only demands praise when his work is done, after all.

As Henry V sends out a force to colonize the mainland, an alarm sounds on the submarine. Our fine leader, Kamehameha I, comes out in a Hawaiian shirt and a flower necklace, drinking some guava juice from an equally extravagant glass.

“Let the celebrations begin!”

So begins our first golden age. Do note that Golden Ages add a filter to the screen that I just wasn’t able to remove, somehow.

Cascadia finally reaches the expanse of 2 cities, as Oscorp Russell finally begins to make his plays. At least, if he even has a plan.

Bengal’s already got a rather large village with Dhaka, which is bigger than some civs’ capitals. However, they have a lot of work to do- ever since they were nerfed in testing, things have gotten harder for Shuja-ud-Din. Early success may come easy, but the game goes on and on and on...

New England has some rather decent land, with two coastal cities to take advantage of, but their biggest issue? New France already has another settler, and they don’t. Despite having a larger expansion bias than New France, they are often out-settled and eventually outplayed by Louis de Buade and his bois. They’ll have to play smart if they want to overcome previous losses.

Khazaria gets the usual pantheon of Goddess of Protection, which is normally useless but could come in handy if that large Makhnovist army makes its move. Up north, you can see a glimpse of the Eastern Finns’ UU.

England settles Bristol on the northern shore of Brittany, their first city in the mainland and a future front should a century-long war between France and them occur.

Izumi has been settled upon the eastern coast of Japan’s main island, but the bigger gain for Japan is Mt. Fuji, which will help them get an early religion should they pursue it. Given Jimmu’s religious tendencies in previous tests, we should be able to expect the same here.

Sweden is also one of the first civs to three cities, joining England, Japan, and a few others if my eyes are telling the truth.

Port-Royal (no, not that one) has been settled right near Boston, hampering New English expansion north. The Choctaw also joined the 3-city club, settling Doaksville.

The Inca obtain the ‘God of the Open Sky’ pantheon, giving them culture from pastures (which they don’t have.) However, they’ve settled Quito near Cerro de Potosi which should heavily support their war funds in the near future. Unit Limits, which limits how many units a civ can have on the field, does increase with Gold as well as Cities and Population, so it’s somewhat more viable this game.

Goguryeo (as well as Texas) have entered the Classical Era. This gives us a good time to look at Gogurt Korea’s great… Well, I wouldn’t call it an empire yet. Maybe more like a county?

The Omagua enter a Golden Age, which is definitely nice to have early on but ultimately it’s probably not a deciding factor for this civ.

In the city of Samarkand, there’s tales of a wise woman named Scheherazade, whose words have astounded the otherwise uninspired masses. They can only reason that such mastery over language can be achieved through belief, and thus the Timurids found the Desert Folklore pantheon, granting +1 Faith to all desert tiles.

Tales amongst the citizens of Zhaoge speak of a simple man, known amongst foreigners as El Cid but unknown amongst the people of his own nation. Some say he could fend off the fiercest of foes, others say he diced his enemies with two swords, but amongst all tales- there were none who mastered battle so equally.

A local merchant, hearing rumors, asks some of his compatriots of this tale.

“Rodri, what would a man like you want to do with El Cid? You can hardly ride your horse!”

In the Eastern Finnic territory, Koja Eraltem is labeled as the first Tekshtai amongst the culture. However, there may soon be more to come.

Elsewhere, a similarly unique man appears: Napki Malka, the first Asborobido of the White Huns. Stories say they can lift a bull above their heads by the horns, giving rise to legends and, ultimately, poor decision making.

The Wahgi have a total of 2 settlers ready to go! This could be big for the nation which has struggled in tests. Should it overcome its faults with these settlers, it could be a big score!Elsewhere, the sound of a thousand hammers falls silent.

Yes, the Bunuba have built our first wonder: Sargon’s palace. This wonder enables them to found the first government and receive its many distinct benefits. They choose to become a Republic, having a strong belief in the representation of the people.

With that, we end our first chapter. Who will be the first to perish in the chapters to come? Find out more in the next chapter of CGR!

If you enjoy the show and want to see more, shout us out on Twitter with the #CivGrandRoyale and/or #OneMoreTurn hashtags! You can also join our discord at https://discord.gg/KvQfqEaE4X!Thank you for reading, and I hope you join us next time.

Shang remains the top contender, but everyone seems about equal in terms of power. Daji takes the masculine title of Chieftain, which isn’t too uncommon for women in power, but ultimately? It’s because I forgot to put in the gender tag in her text. Oof.

Jandamarra takes up the title of Lawspeaker, the first of many unique titles the leaders will take (after Chieftain, of course.)

Our first loser, and only civ with a white flag (the lowest rank) is the Mixtecs! Let’s hope they can overcome this humble beginning and grow into a proud nation.