Part 0 – CI

Hello and welcome one and all to Chandragupta’s Invitational! I’m NopeCopter aka u/daXfactorz, and this is an AI game that has been planned for years now. It was constantly delayed as other games took priority and there was always one more cool new civ on the way that I needed to wait for, but now, it's finally here!

Massive thanks to Coiot for offering to let me host this game on the official CBR website, by the way! You can consider this a bit of an experiment, to see how hosting other, non-CBR games works out.

Using a gargantuan map provided by the iconic Lungora, we're sure to have a hell of a game on our hands. But before we begin, let's meet all the contestants, shall we?

Starting off in the northeast corner of the map, we have our Afghan contenders. Kicking things off in... uh, Ghazni (it should be Zamindawar - it'll be fixed for all future parts!), we have the sun-loving Zunbils, led by Rutbil! The edges of the map are always the best places to be, but the Zunbils are boxed in by Ahmad Shah Durrani's Afghanistan in Kandahar, so they'll need to be careful. Fairly isolated to the northeast, meanwhile, is Toramana's White Huns in Kapisa! They have a strong, isolated start, so they could easily become a major power and sweep into India like so many Central Asian empires before them.

You may also notice that we have Barbarians active! As a special rule, no civ will be allowed to lose their second Settler to Barbarian capture (to prevent any early cripplings that would just be no fun), but aside from that, anything goes.

Moving south into the Indus River basin, we have the long-awaited Pakistan under Jinnah in Karachi, filling out a TSL that was, for a very long time, completely empty. They're not alone here, though, because just to the north is Went-Antu's Harappa in... Mohenjo-daro. While it does feel a bit silly to not start Harappa in Harappa, these two historically powerful civs will surely have a rivalry for the ages down here.

Now moving back north along the Indus River, we have another relocated civ: Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin's Ghaznavids, beginning the game in Multan! We also have Meneander I's Indo-Greeks starting in their alternate capital of Taxila. But to their east is none other than the brand-new Kashmir under Didda, beginning the game in Srinagar! Finally for this slide, we have another classic, Ranjit Singh's Punjab, beginning the game in the city of Lahore.

And on this slide, we have a surprise - a surprise kept for around three years, in fact, ever since the very inception of this AI game. Coiot reached out to me way back in the original planning stages of this game to offer a development build of an unreleased civ to help fill the roster: Ladakh, beginning in Leh. Since then, the civ has remained unreleased and unrevealed... until now, complete with Lua and an entire suite of art that was just recently finalized. How will they perform in their inaugural game? We'll have to wait and see!

Meanwhile, to the southeast of Lakakh, Yeshe-O's Guge arises in Tholing.

Moving south toward the Ganges River, we have a staredown between two MC civilizations, one old, one new. First, in Delhi is none other than the Delhi Sultanate itself, led by Raziyya al-Din (one of the civilizations I knew I just had to delay the game for). Staring them down just a few tiles away, meanwhile, is Akbar's Mughals in Agra - a classic civilization that hasn't gotten a chance to shine in ages, ready to prove they've still got it.

Moving south into Rajputana, we first have the Ghurids under Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad, moved to Ajmer in order to better fill space. To their south, they face down Mewar under Rana Kumbha, a very new civilization with a very handsome face, in Chittor. Mewar is somewhat boxed in, however, by the first of the three Kannauj Triangle civilizations: Pratihara under Mihira Bhoja, kicking things off in Ujjain!

Moving west to Gujarat, we first have, well, the sultanate of Gujarat under Mahmud Begada, beginning the game in Ahmedabad. Another newly-released civilization, this long-awaited civ faces down a true classic: Mahatma Gandhi's India (the MC rework), beginning in Gandhi's birthplace of Porbandar.

Moving south into the Deccan, we have another clash of old vs. new. The third of the iconic MC's India Pack civilizations, Maratha under Shivaji, kicks off the game in Raigad. Meanwhile, Ahmadnagar, a newer mod led by slave-turned-sultan Malik Ambar, begins in Khadki.

Now moving toward the center of India, we have one of the more packed regions of the map. In the north, in Nagpur, the British Raj under Mountbatten looks to reassert British rule over the entire subcontinent. Meanwhile, to the south are three fascinating and scrappy civs: Rashtrakuta under Amoghavarsha I in Manyakheta, the second of the Kannauj Triangle civilizations; Osman Ali Khan's Hyderabad in the city of the same name, a powerhouse princely state of the British era; and Kakatiya under Rudrama Devi in Orugallu, one of the many girlbosses in this roster (see also: Raziyya al-Din, Didda).

Moving back to the Ganges for a moment, we have two major empires facing down: Gupta under Kumaragupta in Ayodhya, and the iconic Maurya under Ashoka in Pataliputra. To the north, watching these two titans stare each other down from Kathmandu, is Nepal under Tribhuvan.

Now moving onto the Ganges River basin, we first have Pala, the last of the Kannauj Triangle civilizations, beginning the game in Monghyr. Then, of course, we have Bengal under Shuja-ud-Din, boxing Pala in from Murshidabad. Finally, in Dhaka, we have none other than Bangladesh under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - will they get the chance to duke it out with Pakistan, or will these two rivals remain separated?

Moving down the coast of Odisha, where the massive empty space in Gondwana and Chhattisgarh sits ripe for the taking, we have Kapilendra Deva's Gajapati beginning in Cuttack. Meanwhile, to their south (and helping to fill out this empty region) is the Dutch East India Company, beginning from the (admittedly pretty irrelevant) city of Bimilipatnam and hoping to build a successful colonial empire.

Heading more southerly still, we have two incredibly long-awaited civilizations, both finally brought to life by More Civs: the first, and the original reason for the game's delay, is none other than Krishnadevaraja's Vijaranagara, starting in the city of the same name. To their south, however, is another absolute modern icon: Tipu Sultan's Mysore, also beginning in the city of the same name, the pioneers of rocketry.

Finally reaching the southern tip of India, we begin with Chithira Thirunal's Travancore, beginning the game in the city of Thiruvananthapuram and hoping to recreate their success in the Years of Rice and Salt. To their east are two of the three Tamil kingdoms: Pandya under Alli Rani (another girlboss) in Madurai, and the last of the original MC India Pack civilizations, Chola under Raja Raja I in Cholapuram. Finally, we have our last colonial civilization: Robert Clive's East India Company, starting the game in Madras just a bit away from the VOC.

Sri Lanka has a civilization, too but it's not the old Sri Lanka: this is the brand-new Kandy, beginning in the city of the same name, led by Vimaladharmasurya I! An inland island start is always tricky, but can they break out and conquer the mainland?

Sri Lanka isn't the only island populated by a civ, though: in the Maldives, we have the as-yet-unreleased, uh, Maldives, led by Damahaar (another girlboss)! As a coastal civ with plenty of islands to settle, perhaps they can make some island civ magic happen?

Now jumping all the way back to the Himalayas, we have two Tibetan civs staring each other down: the Mongol-Tibetan tag-team Khoshuts under Gushi Khan in Dam, and the ancient kingdom of Yarlung under TIbet's first king Nyatri Tsenpo in Yumbu Lakhar. But to their southwest lies another classic civilization: Jigme Dorji Wangchuck's Bhutan, beginning the game in Thimphu.

Moving into Myanmar/Burma now, we have a trio of civilizations by EmeraldRange. Beginning in the north, we have the Shan States under Sawlon, beginning in the city of Mong Yang. Further south is Konbaung under Alaungpaya, kicking things off in Shwebo. Finally, in the south west, Mrauk U under Min Razagyi lurks in the city of the same name.

Finally, rounding things off, we have two more civs in southern Myanmar. The first is the recently-updated Pyu under Duttabaung, beginning in Sri Ksetra. And the second is also our final girlboss civ: Pegu under Shin Sawbu, beginning in Honsawatoi. Hopefully they can do a little better than their current performance in the CBR.

And that's everybody! Expect the first "real" part in the coming days, but until then, be sure to let me know who you're rooting for in the comments! Until then, I've been NopeCopter aka u/daXfactorz, and thank you for reading.