Episode 08: Old Enemies, New Friends – S1

Hi folks, u/Framonti is here, but more importantly, Episode 8 is here. I’m honoured to narrate this part, and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did. Each turn will feature some small actions; small action after small action, the Cylinder will appear quite different at the end. Who will rise, and who will fall?

Coiot: “Small actions.”

I don’t know why, but this dialogue cracked me when I read it the first time. And, for some reason, in my head Zenobia speaks with the voice of Hermione from HP. “Because it’s REALISTIC! It’s Leviosa, not Leviosar”

Thanks u/Doccit for the laugh.

Here we can see the map drawn by u/Vihreaa. Civs are starting to colonize even deserts and ice, but there still is some room for new cities in more fertile spots. Who will grab them?

Here we can see this strange representation of the world by u/Spherical_Melon. Somebody should tell him the world is cylindric, smh.

Anyway, I liked a lot of the fantasy behind the name of regions in his maps for Mk2, I hope he’ll be able to add them back.

For the third time in a row, Zimbabwe takes the first position in the Power Ranking. It’s easy to understand why: biggest army in Africa, WAAAY above his neighbours, biggest production in the whole Cylinder, first in techs (18), second in number of cities (12)... it basically has it all. Now the question is: will they be able to use their advantage?

We start this episode with one of the few areas on the Cylinder not (yet) crowded.  

“This is unacceptable” shouts Ivan, thus founding Vologda. “We’ll for sure win the race against the Goths. We won’t be surrounded, even if it means living on the ice,” he adds.  

Frederick seems to have given the same exact order to his Prussian settler. If he’s lucky, he’ll also have some stone or copper together with the ice. Not the best cocktail in town, I guess.

The colour contrast between this and the previous slide is incredible. The Turks are pushing against Ostrava. They have the number and the tech advantage against the Czech, since the latter are also fighting against the HRE.

But on the other hand, this exact scenario has already happened two times in the past, so I’ll wait before jumping on the Turk hype train.  

Goth navies are now wandering the Black Sea, without a target. Maybe, just maybe, razing cities to the ground is not the best choice in a domination game, but AI gotta AI.

Poor Canton, they really can’t catch a break, can they? Ba’arin is captured by Shikoku, and with no melee units around, it’s unlikely it’ll change ownership soon.  

Hong Kong is also taking damage and the Sulu have completely wiped out the opposing fleet. To make things even worse, Blu China is advancing, even if they are slowed down by the forest.

A lone neutral scout wanders, risking his life just to inform his leader about conflicts in faraway lands.

Speaking about scouts risking their life, it seems the Venezuelan one in the top left of the screen is going to be sacrificed to the ancient gods, in exchange for some culture. We can also spot two more Aztec settlers wisely heading North, escaping the horror of the war in Central America, only to find themselves trapped. In fact, Apache has declared war against the Aztecs (the notification is hidden). That’s why there is a wounded archer. There are only few units facing each other from opposite sides of the borders, but we’ll see how this conflict will evolve.

Palmyra is honestly terrifying. Gournia is besieged by sea and by land and I don’t think it’ll resist for long.

Zenobia has even brought to the front her precious UUs, the Clibanarii, a Horseman replacement with 12 Strength, 4 moves, Shock I, Cover I and Great Generals I.

Knossos is the first city, I believe, to reach 30 defence points, making the war between Minoa and Nubia a futile waste of resources and arrows, as both Civs don’t have enough manpower to take down the other.

Despite India's best efforts, Hyderabad seems to be doomed. The Marathan fleet is strong and is also reinforced by a Great Admiral. The +15% bonus damage (or the instant heal) may be exactly what is needed for cracking the walls of the enemy city.

Ndongo tries to concentrate its forces against the city of Akure, forgetting however to bring melee units (except for a trireme, which is not enough). However, the city is well protected by mountains, a river and is founded on a hill. Not the smartest move by Nzinga.

We can appreciate how Benin is spamming its UI, the Iya, which grants defensive bonuses to cities and units. For sure, it needs it.

The Kazakhs finally show why they didn’t send any support unit in their previous wars against Parthia and Nenets: it was all according to keikaku*. They made everybody think that they’re bad and then strike, what a bunch of geniuses. Or maybe they were just AI-ing around. Anyway, they’re taking this opportunity, and I feel it’s the right call: they need all the clay they can get if they don’t want to fade into irrelevance.

The love story between Korea and Japan continues, as it seems they can’t stop trying to be the closest possible. Since Japan were so nice to visit Korea a few turns ago, Seonjo decides it would be pretty unpolite not returning the favour, thus founding Jinju on North Japan.

The two German Empires decide they have better things to do and settle for peace. This actually allows the HRE to concentrate their troops against the Czechs, now with 100% more swords, even though it seems it’s still a bit impractical with this new technology (its swordsman was embarked, in range of Liberec). Frederick, instead, knows that iron and water aren’t best friends and orders his newly trained troop to stay on the ground.

The Czechs, on the other hand, only have one spearman in the whole screen, a very worrying situation.

Also, the Indians decides they want a participation trophy, and declare war on the Evenks. The latter is at war against, like, eleven different Civs. The World Congress doesn’t exist yet, but the whole Cylinder has decided that deer are immoral and should be banned.

The GH decides that the coasts of Caspian Sea are safer, since the Black Sea is too black at the moment. Even safer is the inland, they declare, and so Atil is founded. Again.  

We can also see for the first time (I think, but I may be wrong) a Funerary Tower, between Circesium and Palmyra,. This UI becomes available at Construction, can only be built on desert and provides +2 Culture (+1 at Archaeology) and +1 Faith (+1 at Philosophy)

I was a bit wrong a few slides ago, Canton still has three naval units. They’re lucky the AI doesn’t really coordinate troops with different moving speeds, but nonetheless their situation is not the brightest.

Bold prediction: the single Tongo spearman we can see on top of an atoll will snipe Canton’s capital, thus achieving maximum TONGA TIME. Place your bets.

Qing is continuing its exclave mission: after colonizing the north, it sends a settler towards the Indian Ocean.

Advisor: “My king, our foes are exhausting themselves in futile wars, we can gain a huge advantage by founding another city. With our UA, they’re an inexpugnable fortress in the wild”

Anetü: “Just found it on a three tiles island, lmaoo”

Just a bit east of the new city, there is a quick naval skirmish between Uruguay and Venezuela.

Madagascar is trying to do a Haitian cosplay, splitting its forces against two different cities at the same time. It’s a bold move, let’s see when it won’t payoff (spoiler: very soon).  

Our first rank still is equipping its troops with axes, a light of hope for all the other African Civs. I can confirm that at the end of episode 7 they still haven’t researched Construction nor Iron Working, but they’ll get there eventually.

The new city of Jahkamahkke allows Eadni’s troops to heal faster and advance protected by arrows. I don’t know if this will be a decisive move, but anything that can help break the stalemate in Scandinavia is welcome.

The Kazakhs capture Genhe and send a new settler just a bit south of their new city. At the same time, they also start attacking Ergun. With no defence troops in sight, they should be able to take this city. Finally, a good showing by our yellow-blue civ.

Four different blue Civs are present in this slides, even if we can say goodbye to the Sami Boazovázzi, suiciding itself against Yakesa. 

The proxy war between Prussia and Venice is over, after 40ish turns. Nothing interesting happened.

HRE and the Mans are now at peace. The conflict probably polluted the North Sea with the wood of sunken ships and the bodies of killed mariners, but in the end, it doesn’t even matter. No cities were captured and all this production will be lost in time, like tears in the ocean.

The Ottomans still are unable to advance, even with very few Czech troops defending in front line.

The GH, also, decided that the Black Sea is not so black, after all, and move a settler over the ruins of Majar.

We can appreciate one of the best known techniques used by an AI, the “attack one at the time”. To be completely fair, Oman is trying to move around his troops, but the mountains makes this operation very difficult.  

Beta Israel, on the other hand, observes the conflict and takes note from its new city of Degoma. I hope those sheep are worth all the desert tiles and salty water. They kind of forgot they’re at war against Nubia too.

I think we can say goodbye to the Oman settler west of Damascus, as there is a chariot archer ready to take him.

Shivaji had a dream: wonderful, virgin lands, unexplored, untouched by wars and other human activities. After waking up, he immediately ordered his men to conquer his dreamt paradise. I hope he asked permission from Taungoo before doing so.

Madagascar’s attack is easily repelled by Beta Israel. Wait, is that a Japanese boat? Well, I hope it’s enjoying its little tour.

The defeated troops of the Selk'nam are sent into exile in the new city of Yewux. You can’t disappoint your Lord and get away with it, but you can try to remind them that you were going to conquer your target if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids and their peace treaty. It likely won’t be enough to save you though.

The settler of a few slides ago founds Ashnas (bottom screen), while the Kazakhs continues their assault to Ergun. Some Evenks troops rush to try defending the city, but it seems too little, too late.

Nenets soldiers march towards Aoluguya, but they aren’t a big threat.

Honestly impressed by the defensive skills shown by the Cantonese people, even though for each great defence there must be an equal opposite shitty attack from your enemy (We can call it Forgie’s Third Law). Anyway, the Japanese are bringing a ton of ships this time, so our favourite (and only in this iteration of CBR, but that’s beside the point) pirates still need to hold their breath, at least for now.

And that’s what happens when you neglect your own island. Venezuela found Barcelona, taking advantage of the absence of Haiti. Shame on you Haiti, that’s what you deserve for making peace instead of conquering Caracas.

We can also see the Aztec pushing against Maracay, but the vegetation is helping the defenders.

The Iroquois settle Akwesasne and have unlocked their second UU; for sure he’ll be useful in their current conflict, if used properly.

And now, let’s jump into the spicy news of this turn, anticipated by the notification bar. Algeria is the victim of a coalition involving Palmyra (for the moral support more than anything), Venice and last but ABSOLUTELY NOT least Songhai. Mascara seems a bit in trouble, but it will be at the very least a distraction for the Algerian forces, now sandwiched from the south by Askia and from the north by Dandolo.

We can enjoy a better look of the Songhai core. Actually, is not exactly that scary, considering that both Tagdemt and Blida are surrounded by a good number of defending troops, while Taghaza is empty. Has Askia bitten more than it can chew?

In this slide we can see why I should not be even considered for a position as Power Ranker or similar. The attack against Hyderabad, even if not finished, is becoming an utter defeat for Maratha. Now I’m sure that, having said that, the next turn the city will be conquered.

I’d like to point out that all the three capitals in this slide are having food problems; the infertile and hilly land of the region is not helping for sure.

The Aztec are slowing pushing forward, bringing Ciudad Guayana into yellow. However, the window of opportunity for Montezuma is closing very quickly: reinforcements are coming to the battlefront at maximum speed.  

Also, Canton and Blue China are at peace now; we’ll see soon if the pirates have decided to give away Hong Kong again or have improved their diplomatic skills.

At a quick glance, I’d be prone to say these two nations are at peace, as only a few damaged units hint the opposite situation. Only two units are in enemy territory, south of Jahkamahkke (and I really hope this is the last time I need to write the name of this city, two is more than enough). The Vikings are using their horses to directly attack the enemy city. Another display of tactical brilliance, nothing new.

Madagascar has accepted that playing on its islands is better than exploring the main continent, and agree to make peace with Beta Israel.

At least someone is playing their cards well right now. The Kazakhs place a very good Citadel outside Ergun, now in the red. The survivors of Genhe’s siege are also approaching the city from the south, outweighing the tiny defensive forces.

On a completely unrelated note: happy birthday Sitting Jesus! We now are in the first Anno Domini. I wonder if we’ll see some resurrections like Mk.2

Canton keeps Hong Kong. The fact that I felt the need to remark it speaks for itself. It’s really a shame, the pirates are fighting very well given their position, but only have three cities and no more room for expansion. It’s difficult they’ll be considered actual contender in the future.

The previous turn, Libya has declared war against Nubia. The latter continues its personal challenge against the Evenks and Canton of “Most hated civ for absolutely no reason”. I have a theory: everybody dislikes Nubia because they didn’t settle the Suez Canal. I would be pissed too, to be fair. Anyway, somehow Nubia has destroyed a citadel outside Derna; Libya replies by attacking Nuri. Composite bowmen rush to defend the city, which is dangerously isolated from the rest of Nubian core.

The city of Gurnia still stands, but is brought into red. I wonder how many arrows the composite bowmen sitting on Cyprus have thrown against the city.

India and Maratha makes peace.

“I never wanted it anyway” declares Shivaji in an exclusive interview.

Gandhi has left an Aesop's fables as reply:

“The fox who longed for grapes, beholds with pain

The tempting clusters were too high to gain;

Grieved in his heart he forced a careless smile,

And cried, ‘They’re sharp and hardly worth my while”

I’d like to find a single positive thing to write for the Algerian given this slide. I’ll go with the beautiful shape of Tlemcen territory. Very aesthetic, it weirdly remind me of IRL India somehow. As for the actual fight, I’ll be surprised if the city won’t fall in Askia’s hands next turn.

“Is born, who?” say the Israelite people when given the announcement that now years will be counted forward and not backward. On the other hands, it seems they don’t really need another religion but Judaism, that has protected them pretty well from Madagascar.

Louverture: “Did you dare settle on MY island?”

Chávez: “Well, I mean, you didn’t really seemed to have any interest there, so, I thought…”

Louverture: “BRING ME MY SHIPS, I NEED TO SINK SOME OF THEM IN ORDER TO TEACH THIS LITTLE ARROGANT LEADER A LESSON”

The move from Haiti is actually smart on paper: most of the Venezuelan units were moved to Central America to fight the Aztec, leaving the area quite empty. Let’s see if the execution will be as good as needed. But maybe this is asking too much to the AI of this game, but you can never know; I still remember the perfect usage of the Panama canal by the Buccaneers in Mk2 in order to conquer Tulum.

Also, the battle for the control of Australia has ended. We’ll jump there soon, don’t worry.

Scotland builds the Great Hadrian Wall, declaring they’ll make the Manx pay for it. Now, if only you could also move those settlers you built like 35 turns ago. Just look at the Moors, how are they more willing than you to navigate in cold waters?

The notification bar is filled with agreements, friendships and denunciations, so two important notifications are hidden: the Goths and Prussia jointly declare war against the Turks. The shared border is short, but this still means our little green friend is now at war against three different Civs.

We can see the Venetian core in all its beauty. With the newish cities of Ragusa and Mazzorbo, the Doge has locked down Italy (beside a few tiles in IRL Puglia and Basilicata), and there is another settler near Burano. Eight cities is more than several Civs can say to own, tbh.

“Corsica is not part of Italy, after all” say the Moors, bringing a settler near the island. A Morricone’s soundtrack echoes in the air, as a three-way standoff takes place, between Venetian units, the Moor settler and a Shongai scout. I’d love to see Venice just buy the tile, tbh.

Venice seems a bit behind in tech. His strong navy, currently directed to Algeria, won’t be enough without more advanced units.

On the other hand, the Czech still hold strongly in Liberec and Ostrava, both in the yellow but at the same time not in danger of an immediate flip.  

Barcelona is not in immediate danger, but the same can’t be said for Maracay. Finally, the Aztecs surrounded the city, now in yellow. Only some Venezuelan triremes are floating around, and they could potentially flip the city a couple of times if needed.

When I said “using properly” a few slides ago, I didn’t mean “sending your UU alone against the whole enemy army”, for Hiawatha’s sake!

The assault to Tlemcen proceeds as expected. I honestly admire the dedication of Algeria to found new cities and not just roll over and die, but it could have picked better positions. Well, it probably was in a very long distance race against the Yup'ik.

“The one who founds further from home wins”

Ndongo relaunch its offensive against Esi another time, following one of the secret techniques of him, handed down from father to son: “bring a settler to the front”.

Well, it’s working for them, even if I’d give the merits to the actual militarized units. Still, the forest makes moving unit a headache, so Benin can enjoy the ownership of the town for at least another couple of turns, as no melee units are directly under the walls of the city.

Zimbabwe founded Bambandyanalo, therefore submitting his candidature to the context “Longest city name”. Does Nyatsimba need to compensate for something?

As promised, Australia. Papua has brought a lot of reinforcements to his recently conquered cities, while New Zealand is pulling a Scotland by refusing to move its settlers.

Cavanbah is one of the most populated cities on the island, reaching 20 population. This war has bought a bit of balance in the region, even if the Murri are behind the other three Civs.

I’m trying to find from the minimap if it’s Tonga Time, but I can’t see if their settler, last observed in this zone, has reached a new home. So, I’ll go with a “no”.

Since Apanuugpak has sent his settler down in America, Haida decides to replies with an indigent delegation of troops “merely passing through”. Maybe they’ll able to settle down their settler problems without using weapons. Or maybe not, it’s way more interesting the violent solution.

Again, the notification bar hides more than it shows. This turn, two relevant DoW are submitted to the Goth from Sami and, more importantly, the Kazakhs. Now the Goths are fighting against four Civs at once from three different directions. Have they made a step longer than their leg?

Also, not one, not two, not three, but FOUR other Civs decides to fight against Canton: Maratha, the GH, Parthia and Seljuqs. Xia smiles from heaven, as his revenge is carried out.

Ergun falls, but the Evenks can flip it back. Probably won’t be enough, the Kazakhs seems to push with increasing forces.

A bit more North, a stream of Nenets troops are bravely and stupidly throwing themselves against the walls of Aoluguya.

Liberec is now in red, and a bunch of swordmen are around Mainz. Will HRE be able to crack what is seems a very hard nut?

Also, can I start a petition? That poor Prussian trireme West of Roskilde has been blocked there for, like, thirty turns. Just let them go.

If we follow the well known definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”, we can totally declare Mehmed II insane.

“But this time it will be different” swears the Turkish leader. Everybody is too afraid to tell him the truth.

It appears that the GH has changed its mind once again: “The Black Sea, is, indeed, too much black and too few sea”, a spokesperson declares. They decided to relocate the settler elsewhere. Or maybe it was killed.  

Goths and Turks are fighting in the Black Sea, and the two navies seems equally strong.

Maracay is safer now, unless hidden Aztec reinforcements outside our view. Venezuela should thanks Montezuma, who has decided the best place for a Jaguar is on a boat.

Toussaint, please, tell me you’re not sending that poor spearman alone against Barcelona. He’ll just suffer the same fate of the Tomahawk Warrior near Jaketown. Why all those leaders are so indifferent for the fate of their armies?

This is a bit awkward. At the start of the episode, I predicted a quick Palmyra victory; six turns has passed and Gourina, although in red, still stands strong. Nubia is fighting with everything he has. Nothing but mad respect, considering Pyie’s empire has been at war with half world since forever.

It’s a shame, but the same miraculous defence isn’t happening at Nuri. Libya has a very strong army knocking at the doors of the city.  

Pedeme is just standing there, targeting the Oman troops that are so foolish to attack in queue formation. What a bunch of gentlemen.

“You do not fight with honour” complains Saif bin Sultan

“No… they did” simply smiles Pyie, glancing towards the direction of multiple lifeless spearman bodies.

We can also appreciate how Canton is making new friends along the way.

Illiam Dhone: “You know what, I didn’t care about you, Scotland, until now. You were not worth my time. Now that you have that huge wall, I consider you a worthy adversary. Prepare to die”

Robert the Bruce: “Are you stupid or what?”

The Manx declare war against Scotland (again), trusting their superior navy, which is currently attacking St. Andrews. On the other hand, it seems that on land the situation favors Bruce, at least defensely.

Castletown breaks the previous record and now we have a 31 defence city. This just to say that I expect this war to become a meatgrinder of great proportion.

The Nenets are indeed trying to enter in the Guinness World Record by creating the longest snake formation, an ancient military tactics. Their application is rejected, as Zimbabwe still holds the record. If our dear deer-riders will reinforce their new city of Burungda, they should repel the attack easily. On the other hands, by looking at the shape of the brown-green empire...

… they indeed recapture Ergun. Ablai Khan is so mad he decides to bully a bit more Canton. Lucky for him, his anger didn’t cloud his tactical decisions, and a good amount of melee units are approaching the enemy city, with a clear goal in mind: recapture it.

Jamukha sees everything, but holds his troops, stating “It’s not our moment yet”.

I swear, this may be the sixth or seventh time I see this exact part of Europe, always hoping for some interesting event and be forced to invent something to write. Like, Liberec is a bit more red, that’s it, I can’t really make more interesting than this after a while.

In North Africa, the Venetians are launching their assault to the enemy capital. They may kill a couple of citizens by standing there and denying the sea tiles, but I don’t think they’ll be able to take the city and keep it. The troops defending Mascara, on the other hand, were all killed but a catapult hiding in the city and a chariot archer behind a mountain.

The Moor settler is still stalled by the Songhai scout in Corsica. The collaboration between Askia and the Doge is indeed very peculiar.

Gournia STILL resists, even though there is a warrior in capture range. It’s a pity the same can’t be said for Nuri. Libya is playing well, it was able to correct a bit its bad start and now has a decent and rather modern army.

However, without a granary or a caravan, its new city will stay at one pop for a very long time; a puppet city focuses on gold and there is an incense plantation in the desert. Lot of income, zero food.

“The first time, splitting the navy was a disaster. Let’s do it again. Also, let me forget to move the land army”. Haiti just likes to play with our heart, by alternating good decision and bad executions, the right amount of aggressiveness against others and the not so right amount of expansion against empty lands, by overachieving (if we think about the initial expectations) and underperforming (if we focus on its current situation).

But, as a wise man once said: “If you don’t have faith, why are you even here?”

Soldier 1: “The moral support of the settler is doing wonders, don’t you think?”

Soldier 2: “Yeah, Esi is in the red. However, I can’t help but having this feeling we are forgetting something”

Soldier 1: “Like what? Our plan is foolproof”Narrator: “Sigh, a melee unit”

The land soldiers on both sides are basically in their same exact positions as the start of the war, but Bruce calls all his navy and drives off the attack to St. Andrews. On land, the huge amount of composite bowman fielded on both sides will make any push painfully slow.

While the two Civs are exchanging hugs, gifts and lots of love, the Moors claims some clay of the British Isles too, and the HRE is curious to see what there’s on the north, and sends a settler there.

Happy golden Era, fellow submates!

While champagne bottles are uncorked in the freezing Antarctic lands, the Kazakhs retake Ergun. The city’s situation is still unstable, however; we can expect more flips.

Both India and the Khamug found an outpost city near each other. But the Khanate has brought together with the settler a ton of soldiers. Gandhi wasn’t that smart, so she may have gifted the city to her enemy. 

Wait, is Canton really trying to retake Ba’arin? It probably won’t last, the Japanese navy is too stronk. You’d better try to research Construction for those juicy composite bowmen, instead. Just a suggestion.

Still, I want to congratulate them. Everybody and their mothers in the sub have already been writing epitaphs for the pirates, so it’s nice to see them go against all of this and fight well.

Like, this is cyberbullying at this point. Knossos continues to kill the troops at the mouth of Nile, Libya attacks from the west, Palmyra from the east, Beta Israel and now Zimbabwe from the south, and for some reason the fucking Golder Horde decides to declare war too.

Nubia is able to create a tiny defence line against Libya, but Gournia has fallen and the only melee unit in range is a nearly dead spearman. I wonder how many promotions the composite bowman on Cyprus has acquired, by shooting the city every turn.

Tlemcen falls, after just a few turns. Despite the capture of the city, I feel like Askia is not really playing very good right now: no composite bowmen, no swordsmen, a tiny carpet. The Algerian cities on the north won’t fall by themselves, sorry to inform you.

Haiti is slowly pushing forward, but Caracas seems more than fine. Chávez is producing and moving units very quickly, and now Maracaibo seems untakable.

On the bottom screen, Nazca really wants to remind us they are relevant and at war against Venezuela too.

The Evenks adds HRE to the endless list of their enemies.

The North Sea is the main theatre of the Manx-Scottish conflict. The land is a bit more empty than before, but no gains are made.

Big news is the new war between HRE and the Moors. Murano is between them and will make moving units a bit difficult, but they indeed share borders; also, HRE could try to take some coastal cities using its navy.

The Black Parade retakes Ologicus, lost at the beginning of the war. The GH is in a very tough spot right now: the road to their capital is free and the Goths still have lots of troops around. An intense push could be decisive here.

Even if the GH can stop their foe, this war for sure is leaving them very weak, as their carpet is so tiny in comparison to the surrounding Civs.

Despite the Kazakhs having declared war three turns ago, only a few units are around Taraz, even if at the very right of the screen we can spot soldiers approaching the city.

The Turks bring Ostrava in deep red, and actually have a warrior in capture range. Are we witnessing history?

The Goths have built (or purchased) a good navy, but the battle of Black Sea still carries on without a clear winner.

Palmyra has started assimilating Izmir, which immediately gains a citizen, after been blocked at 2 pops since the capture.  Still, they should start upgrading those tiles.

Is Askia going to settle in the middle of desert? While the location is not the greatest (a.k.a it sucks big time), it would completely cut down Blida from the rest of the Algerian empire… presuming Taghaza won’t fall, that’s it. Mascara is in deep red, but many Songhai troops are moving toward the city. Who will win this race?

“So, you’re saying we can also throw arrows against a city in order to make the capture easier? No way!”

Not only Oman now remembers how to fight wars, but also Beta Israel started damaging the city. Now, the question is: will the Oman spearman or the Israeli warriors conquer the town?

We can enjoy a better look at this part of the Cylinder. One of the few spots without war, killing and destruction.

Australia is sending a settler east of Brisbane, trying to reclaim full control of the island after their previous disastrous conflict.

Let’s also appreciate the first pikeman just a few tiles below Sandakan, courtesy of the Sulu. Indeed, by looking at the notification bar, more and more Civs are reaching the Medieval Era during this episode.

Haiti is throwing everything it has against the walls of the Venezuelan cities, without much success. Maybe the Nazca will be more lucky in their sieging of Valencia. Or, more probably, not.

We can see the new city of Al-Mariyyah, the first colony in Iceland. Right now, it’s under the control of the Moors, but HRE seems to be rather upset about the situation: the German navy is quickly moving to change the ownership of the city.

Haida have decided that it’s only fair to settle a city near the Yup'ik, since they have done the same in the West Coast, with Sirenik.

“We’ll have an apartment meeting soon, aren’t you happy?” says Koyah.

Apanuugpak is so delighted by this that builds three settlers and sends them west, trying to escape this social duty. 

… not ok. Havel, I get it, the Hanging Gardens are so nice to have, especially if you’re going tall since you’re boxed in by all your neighbour, but you can’t build it while your empire is fighting a two-front war. I don’t see the in-game representation of the Wonder near Prague, maybe it was built in another of their cities.

As additional “prize” for the Czech, Liberec is FINALLY conquered by the HRE. No Czech melee unit are near the city. Will the Germans now stop and focus their attention against the Moors, or they’ll try to push forward against the enemy capital?

The Horde is storming outside Bangalore, already in yellow. The whole Taklamakan Desert is filled with grey-blue troops, marching in full formation against the unprotected Indian city.

Pedme drops to nearly black, with an Israeli warrior in a boat ready to take it. Oman should have moved its spearman like, ten turns ago. With just three (not even great) cities and only desert tiles available, Oman is in a very bad spot. They could actually conquer Nizwa, even if not giving it away in first place would have been even better.

I can’t help but be disappointed by the lack of action from Taungoo. They have both a good army and navy, but they’re allowing Maratha to reinforce its cities, instead of taking them right away. In the game of Battle Royale, you either win or you die.

Ostrava is in deep black. Any kind of damage from a melee unit would be enough. But I suppose is better surround the city with composite bowman. Still, Czech position is quite unstable; losing this city would probably be the end for it.

It appears that the Hanging Gardens were actually built in Brno.

Frederick is nice and reminds us that he’s at war against the Turks, while Ivan is sending a settler to the only empty place left in the whole screen and Gothic triremes are still clashing against the Turkish ones.

The Metis have been on a settling spree since the last few parts, with Prince Albert being their most recent acquisition.

Canada tries to emulate them, by settling Calgary, returning to three cities. Yay?

Fighting against three different enemies at once doesn’t help when building an army. The Venezuelan core is quite empty, but at least there are soldiers where needed, and that’s all that matter. Aztec, Nazca and Haiti aren’t able to threaten Hugo Chávez in any significant way and… wait, is that a settler on Cuba, without any supporting unit? What a Chad move, Cháv.

Taghaza falls, and Algeria is able to keep its empire connected. However, Mascara is still in Askia’s hands, who founds Kano. The new city protects the reinforcements sent to protect Mascara. In general, Algeria is not able to train enough soldiers to replace the ones it loses, and both Blida and Tagdemt are under direct attack, even if they haven’t taken any damage yet.

I wonder how the Algerian capital is dealing with the Venetian navy right now.

Beta Israel leaves Africa for the first time, conquering Pedeme. Gudit now firmly controls both coasts of the Red Sea in this region, while Oman is left with nothing but dead soldiers.

“Impossible!”, shouts the Sultan whilst slamming its fist on a precious table. “Bring me the map, I need to make an important strategic decision. Now, put a bend on my eyes and give me a knife. Yes, keep the map there and let me think”, adds, while throwing his knife against a representation of the Cylinder.

“We’ll attack the Indian”, finally declares Oman’s Leader, after seeing where the knife have hit.

Venezuela founds Maturìn on the doormat of the second Haitian city. This is too much for Toussaint, who immediately sends a delegation for retaking control of what he considers his legitimate property.  

Alaric has set up not one, but two catapults in range of Sarai Batu. This could be huge, unless he decides to follow the Moors advices and use them to target troops and not the city. Are we going to see the second capital capture of the whole game?

The Kazakhs finally sends their army against the Goths; Ravenna appears very vulnerable!

Dear Gandhi,

I miss you. 38 turns has passed since we last clash our armies under the sparkling moonlight. Do you still remember when I citadel your capital? Those were the times. Anyway, my armies are sending to you this letter as a formal invite for a tea at my palace, I hope you’ll accept. Don’t mind the rocks and arrows from my troops, it was the quickest way to deliver the envelope.

Sincerely, yours

Narayan

The previous turn, Algeria and Songhai signed peace, just when Mascara were doomed to fall. Algeria didn’t face the crushing defeat we could have thought. At the end, they basically traded a city for a city. However Algeria seems exhausted, while Askia fields a healthy army. So maybe, even without Mascara, it was the best decision to sign the peace deal.

I wonder if the Venetian settler will found a city in Spain.

We finally find the Tonga settler, who seems to return home. It’s amusing, really. It seems they’re trying their hardest to make the worst decision possible in any moment. And not just the moment, but the momwoment and the momchildren too.

… why all those Murri troops are navigating towards Boera?

Haida wins the Bering Award thanks to his new city, Skedans.

“I’m also here, and I arrived before you, dear Apanuugpak. Aren’t you happy?”

“... maybe I’m still in time to settle somewhere else”

Also, from the minimap we can see someone has founded a city in Greenland. It seems the HRE, but their colour are so similar to the Manx that I can’t be sure. The BC team would probably answer this question.

Coiot: It’s Manx!

Overheard in Goths throne room after turn 124:

“He got me,” Alaric said of Ablai Khan’s attack to Ravenna. “That f***ing Khan boomed me.”

Alaric added, “He’s so good,” repeating it four times.

Alaric then said he wanted to add Khan to the list of leaders he’ll declare war with this era.

The Kazakhs aren’t messing around this part, honestly impressive. The Goths have founded a lot of cities, but although they have a massive army, they didn’t distribute it evenly. Ravenna will probably fall soon, let’s see what will be Alaric next move.

Raise your hand if you forgot Geronimo and Montezuma were at war. The lack of shots of this region in this part means nothing actually happened, but I’m perplex: how is it possible? I mean, the Apache have a lot of units, are they just standing still instead of trying to capture Tlateloco?

Well, at least they settled Lipiyanes and have three more settlers out, it’s something.    

Haiti isn't so great? Are you kidding me? When was the last time you saw a civ with such an ability and movement with triremes? Haiti puts the game in another level, and we will be blessed if we ever see a player with his skill and passion for the game again. Zimbabwe breaks records. Qin breaks records. Haiti breaks the rules. You can keep your statistics. I prefer the VOODOO.

Really, you can’t never know wether Toussaint is able to move smartly or badly his troops. This time, the coin flip declares “smartly”.

The worst thing about a Civ that is only good sometimes is that this can lead to losing, not winning, etc. I give this solid analysis to you for free, thanks me later.

Soldier 1: “...”

Soldier 2: “...”

Soldier 1: “... we should have brought a melee unit instead of the settler, shouldn’t we?”

Maturìn is gonna fall soon, possibly even next turn, as half of its health is taken out instantly. If Haiti will also concentrate his army against Barcelona, it’ll become somehow relevant. I’m a little afraid this war is slowly but surely killing too many soldiers for the Caribbean Civ. Toussaint needs to devote more production towards his military forces.

The Venetian attack to Algeria has been a complete disaster, but the Doge is still sending his triremes in a suicide mission. Before the war, every tile in the Tyrrhenian Sea had a boat on top of it. Dandolo’s frustration his evident, and he decides to denunce Minoa, the last obstacle to an Italian unification.

The HRE places such a good citadel outside Cologne, and the Moors replies with one between Saraqustah and Tulaytulah. For sure more defensive, but a German push is now very unlikely, also considering the Moors have way more troops in the region. Maybe the HRE should consider a peace agreement with the Czech.

Hiding in cities is for cowards, and the Evenks and the Nenet simultaneously declare war on each other.  Red blood will soon stain the immaculate ice.

Also, fourth city for the Nenets, Tarko-sale. There is some fish and two atholls, so the spot is not as bad as can appear at first glance. Given the Deity bonuses, obviously; a human player could never found a city there and get away with it.

The tea invitation was accepted, and now the two armies are waiting for orders. No, seriously, did they even move from the last time we saw this region?

I count units of eleven different Civs, not bad. The Evenks have founded two more cities, Tulihe and the one on the left corner, only partially visible (at least, I suppose is new given the defence points). While the war against the Kazakhs is not a success at the moment, they’re still expanding.

The Khanate, imitates the deer mounters and adds Oronar to its empire, with another settler ready, and even Korea has another settler out. I wonder where the Yup'ik colonists went, instead.

As weird as may sound, Poverty Point may be eliminated before Canada. They still have a good army and now Spartacus is helping with its military genius, but, spoiler, he died IRL as soon as the Romans sent a real Legion against him.

If Geronimo declares war and Hiawatha remembers to move his units, it would be the end for Táhera.

We have a Religion map! This is the first time, so let’s take a look.

Sunni is taking over not only Africa, but it starts spreading in Europe too. Libya stronk.  It’s competing west against Nestorianism, founded by Algeria, and Judaism in the south-east.

Mainland Europe is atheistic, as Venetian Catholicism isn’t spreading much and the blue Eastern Orthodoxy is followed in only three cities.

Completely different is the situation in Middle East, dominated by Oriental Orthodoxy. This is probably the only time I mentioned something done by the Seljuq in the whole episode.

A bit north, the brown region represent Samānism, the biggest religion right now in terms of cities, while the purple is Confucianism.

Oceania is slowly adopting Bogomilism, founded by the Sulu, even if part of Australia prefers Tjukurpa.

North America is divided into two groups; the majority believe in Orenda on the east, but on the west somebody thinks the true religion is Angakkunngurniq istead. I wrote it, so Dawkinzz will be forced to pronounce it. Good luck with that.

South America is instead monoreligious, as Catharism is spreading throughout the continent.

A numerical representation of what I’ve just described.

I remind you it’s possible to find the religion bonuses and a lot of other statistics in the info chart spreadsheet. I strongly suggest to take a peek, at least sometimes. You can find the link in the right bar of the Subreddit.

We complete this episode with the remaining religions.

I hope you enjoyed reading this part as much I enjoyed writing it. If not, I beg your pardon as it was my first experience in narrating. For sure, this was probably the biggest part so far, with over one hundred slides, and we saw a lot of action. And it’s only the beginning: as fewer and fewer tiles are free, war becomes the only solution.