Episode 1: Eternal Sunshine

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Happy Wednesday the 20th! Welcome back ladies and lads to the Civilization Battle Royale. We start off Season 4 following a stunning conclusion to Season 3 and what we hope was not a prolonged wait as we began to prepare what we hope is the best game yet. While it was not the most tiring development period, we still inevitably came across our fair share of headaches and hair pulling bugs that tested our patience. We are now on the other side of that struggle and are very happy to bring you all the most optimized and bug-free experience.

Special shoutout to Arilasqueto, who prepared for us a new set of portraits for all the competitors. As the season continues, we’ll have each eliminated civ dimmed out until only one remains.

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FionaDanger / Lungora starts us off with the first map of the season with a stunning tile-accurate map including all the competitors’ starting location as well as a neat tribal designation to denote the starting game government status. Looking forward to seeing the map evolve and get filled out as empires rise and fall.

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ECH has been running a popularity poll for this season’s competitors in the weeks leading up to today's release, culminating in one big final overall combined sheet. It is interesting to see who is getting all the attention and who is being looked past. Judging from the list, I expect much drama in the months ahead.

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Thank you all for your continued support throughout the years, especially during our production downtime between seasons. Each donation goes directly to making the show better as we continue to make improvements and always make sure you have the best viewing experience by using the most widespread CDN for the images and never delivering any ads or even website trackers. It is always 100% CBR here and everyone who contributes each month or only every once in a while I express sincere gratitude to you all.

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The Power Rankers deliberated for a long time as we are going into no doubt the most balanced and well distributed roster we’ve had, but one civ is favored above the others —the Selkups. The Selkups enjoy the usual ranking boost being in the middle of Siberia, but this time around there is some competition in the northern regions of Eurasia that might not keep them as #1 for long. I don’t know how the team will rank in the next several episodes, but I expect fluctuations in ranks to come readily.

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Time resets and we begin our journey anew in the sub at the dawn of history where the sun never sets. We have some new accompaniment this time around, a lovely perimeter of mountains to ward off any undue shenanigans, as well as a more streamlined Observer interface. JFD has cooked up a big update to condense the Observer with key stats for random cities around the cylinder while on Babylon, but most importantly a new menu to observe large tile-accurate maps of the state of the cylinder which we will be showcasing throughout the season. A glimpse of those maps will have to wait until the action starts to heat up but is one of the big upgrades to highlight this season. For now let us go through a quick-fire overview of the competitors. Be sure to take notes as these names will be on the test… though actually no worries everyone will become familiar in just a few weeks and learning new history is a big part of the fun.

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The Faroes led by Trondur i Gotu are our first civ on the cylinder starting on the top left. Do not let their tame and humble appearance deceive you, these are the Vikings you have long awaited for. Fearsome and expansive, this is one of several of the island civs that you should look forward to seeing make landfall and making inroads wherever their boats may take them.

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Down below are England led by Henry V, Burgundy led by Charles I, and Bavaria led by Ludwig II. It is essentially a classic England, France, and Germany face off and this time around each are tipped to be strong contenders if they can avoid each other for a little bit. That of course is impossible in crowded Europe but fans rooting for any of these are in for a treat.

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To the east are Rome led by Trajan and Royal Hungary led by Elizabeth Báthory. Rome of course needs no introduction, and should be a non-encyclopedic follower of history to easily gravitate to. The Italian peninsula got a good buff this season, as you can probably notice by the increased girth. Royal Hungary is a new face, but Elizabeth Báthory is an infamous serial killer well known for her sadistic craving for young female blood in pursuit of her own vanity. This time around she might be going after everyone’s blood instead.

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Up north are Ume-Sámi led by Rijkuo-maja, the Finns led by Kirmukarmu, and Latvia led by Karlis Ulmanis. Ume-Sámi and the Finns might feel like familiar faces, as the Sámi were featured in Season One and of course Finnish representation is a near constant in the CBR. The left-field new challenger though is Latvia, having been favored over many other contenders in their voting region. The civs up north might have a semblance of a corner advantage, but it is Latvia the wildcard that I am looking forward to seeing.

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Back west are the Visigoths led by Leovigild and the Alaouites led by Ismail ibn Sharif. We are used to quirky Iberian civs and so far from test games the Visigoths provide tons of fun making several fans in the pre-season. A surprise winner as well given the noise behind other civs in their voting block, the Visigoths have turned that shock around and have near universal hype coming into the season. The Alaouites are also a fan favorite, having missed out the previous season by the narrowest of margins in the vote. Ismail ibn Sharif is a beast, to say the least, and the IRL father of hundreds of children has all of the Maghreb to himself.

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Returning eastward are Makhnovia led by Nestor Makhno, Kazan led by the umalt pilled Möxämmädämin, and the Kalmyks led by Ayuka Khan. An eccentric trio to say the least, and starting close to each other this region is unpredictable and explosive. Makhnovia has a sizable following, and the Kalymks too are part of the popular Oirat trio. Expect Kazan to want to crash the rivalry, though.

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Pontus led by Mithridates VI and the Mamluks led by Shajar al-Durr both make their long awaited debut to the CBR. The two also have strong fan support behind them, and in the case of Pontus, a known history of success in AI games. Just in the immediate view both command large open domains so one or the other is guaranteed early triumphs.

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Further south are Saba-D'mt led by Makeda and Mogadishu led by Abu Bakr ibn Umar. Both civs got a fresh coat of paint coming into the game, and both are super qt I must say so myself. Personally I am a Saba fan but Mogadishu has their own meme on the Discord server so if you read ‘Mogchamp’ comments in our posts you should know that Mogadishu often leaves fans with their mouths wide open.

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To the west are Sierra Leone led by Thomas Peters and Kanem-Bornu led by Idris Alawma I. Of these two, Kanem-Bornu is the one that comes with the expectation of packing some heat and a nice open location, but Sierra Leone has also been left virtually unchallenged in their corner of nice looking tiles. Both might silently grow away from the screen’s main attention but will bring the action when the time is right.

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Below are Ndongo led by the ever returning Ana Nzinga, Rozvi led by Changamire Dombo, and Eswatini led by Labotsibeni Mdluli. Ana Nzinga is making her unprecedented third appearance in the CBR following the release of a newly created Ndongo mod and Rozvi as well comes to us courtesy of NopeCopter and Arilasqueto. In contrast, Eswatini is an old favorite having been released way back in 2019 with the 12 Days of Africa modding event. With the latter two in an immediate deathmatch, one of them can be propelled to immediate regional power status if they move fast enough.

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Back in Asia we have the Qarmatians led by Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, the Afsharids led by Nader Shah, and Harappa led by Went-Antu. All three civs should be able to build up a decent core before having competition, though it is Harappa which has been tipped to be the regional powerhouse. Harappa overcame a field of other popular picks through a concentrated campaign and is deservedly rewarded with high prospects. The Qarmatians also coming in with much hype during the voting period but has had its momentum somewhat dampened by less than stellar AI game performances. Perhaps it could be the lesser talked about Afsharids that can make Persia proud and be the real winner in the region.

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Above in the steppes are Bukhara led by Muhammad Shaybani, Kazakhstan led by Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Dzungars led by Galdan Khan. While these three seem to have space to expand and move about, the terrain they contested is not so stellar, so I think at best only one will be surviving past the mid-game. I will selfishly ping my own Dzungars as the more likely given their aggressive nature and ability to make it rain men throughout the hilly landscape. Bukhara is also militarily focused with an edge fighting outside their borders so they could also delight and expand beyond the edges of this screenshot. Kazakhstan is in a bit of a mess, they will need more than just a little luck to go with all that potassium to survive the onslaught.

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To the north are the Selkups led by Vonya and Mongolia led by Sorghaghtani. As mentioned above, the Selkups have a favorable forecast for domination, if they do not become more preoccupied filling all the lakes with fish. Mongolia is in a not too bad position themselves, also ranked high on expectations they can make proper use of their location’s vastness of tiles.

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Further east are Shang led by Daji, Goguryeo led by Gwanggaeto, and Ikko-Ikko led by Kennyo. A trio of competitors that might be more obscure to most of the audience, there is actually some neat things to looks forward for each. Shang can reduce population in their own cities to increase luxury resources and can become a cultural leader in the region. Goguryeo is a domination focused civ that is favored by many to be a regional power right from the start judging by their early opponents. Ikko-Ikki is a religion focused civ that converts its religious reach into military advantages with some rather neat mechanics if they can move into the mainland.

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Lonely Nivkh led by Umu are the Chukchi successors that have big shoes to fill but nonetheless start in a safe corner to turtle from. They have a unique ability that allows them to grow new forests which might be neat to see throughout the game.

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Down below are the Khoshuts led by Güshi Khan, Dai Viet led by Tran Thanh Tong, and Zheng led by Koxinga. All three civs are domination focused and have proven to be steady rivals in test runs that compete with each other for southern China and inland Southeast Asia. Khoshuts are the first Tibetan civ since Mk2 to return to the competition and like to expand beyond their mountains to bring the fight to their enemies. Dai Viet is entirely geared for war and yet also have bonuses for extra culture and science that aim to keep them in pace with their neighbors regardless of the situation. Zheng are one of this season’s pirate civs, and so therefore very based; as expected, they enjoy raiding coastal cities and contesting any waters in their reach.

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Vijayanagara led by Krishnadevaraya is our southern India representative this season and have a bit of a unique blend of bonuses which combine spreading religion, gaining wonders, and filling the map with their tile improvement the Durga to strangle and oppress other competitors. They start with most of India open to them so the strangling has to wait until they expand to meet their neighbors. On the other side of the Bay of Bengal are Siam led by Rama V, our first Thai civ in the CBR. It has been a long time coming and Rama V is a social policy hoarder that will convert a cultural advantage into bursts of border expansion, production, and food. Expect them to grow a decent chunk before being in any danger.

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Elsewhere are Singapore led by Lee Kuan Yew and Maguindanao led by Muhammad Kudarat. Singapore is an economy and trade focused civ that will make the empire the commercial hub the IRL city state is renowned for. Whether that measures up to success here is yet to be seen. Maguindanao are our other pirate civ and a definite rival to Zheng. Maguindanao is entirely focused on coastal raiding with a unique religious twist which makes them the most pious of bandits in all the seven seas. They will be plundering ships left and right while preaching the good word to their victims.

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In Australia we have the long awaited Noongar led by Yagan and Palawa led by Tarenorerer. It is a new kind of setup for the continent having both civs in the lower corners, and it guarantees they split the lower half between themselves and will leave the upper half open for foreign footholds. Strangely enough, both of these civs have a synergy with each other from pillaging tiles and repairing them, so war between both sides can prove to be mutually beneficial and we might see both these civs want to skirmish with each other but focus their true attention elsewhere.

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The Wahgi led by Bol'im come into the competition as a bit of an unknown but have proven to be competent contenders in AI testing. Their bonuses ensure that their units will begin with enough XP to get a nice set of promotions and gain food for every hill tile which might mean a big population of Wahgi will colonize the Pacific.

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Far off in the middle of Polynesia is Bora Bora led by Puni. Newly updated and a perpetual fan favorite, Bora Bora is known for their aggression. We might have come accustomed to sleepy Pacific civs but Bora Bora will be the exact opposite, hoping to making tactical plays happen and spread a religion that can influence both Asia and South America.

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In the North American Arctic we have Thule led by Javraganak and the Yellowknives led by Akaitcho. Thule is a culturally focused group that might be content in their isolated start to turtle up while war happens elsewhere. The Yellowknives are equally content with an isolated start but will use their abilities to spawn strategic resources to prep for a fight with rivals below. If both of these civs avoid each other, they can grow to a decent size before encountering trouble.

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The civs that wished they had as much room are the Pueblo led by Po'pay, the Crow led by Joe Medicine Crow, my homies the Osage led by Pawhuska, and the Shawnee led by Tecumseh. These four are set up for a gauntlet, the Osage and Shawnee in particular, being pitted against each other for even a chance to survive past the early game. Domination focused, each will not be shy to be in constant warfare, so should prove to be an entertaining bunch, even if they might not all be around for long.

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To the east are the Seneca led by Cornplanter and the Floridas led by Gregor MacGregor. Off-screen the previous slide, but Seneca is a common instigator in the North American war theater being a civ that benefits with bonuses from being involved in coalition wars. The Floridas are a wildcard civ that also benefit from being in a constant state of conflict though enjoy making a fortune from war as opposed to conquering, so will be in the middle of an odd dynamic wanting to tag along the inner continental action.

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In Anahuac we have Mexico all by their lonesome for the entire central portion of the Americas. They are a culture and military minded civ that will want to sit back until gunpowder units come along to really hit a noticeable power spike that they can exploit to become a superpower. Given their relative safe position, they might do just that while we are focused elsewhere in the episodes to come.

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In the eastern Caribbean we have Taíno led by Agüeybaná II. The Taíno come into the competition as the strongest island civ in the region since the Buccaneers. That is admittedly a low bar given the performances from others since then, so you’ll have to believe me when I state that Taíno will be a threat for all civs who settle along the coasts.

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In the Andes we have Ecuador led by Gabriel Moreno and Tiwanaku led by Huyustus. Going into voting, it did not seem likely that either of these would be the eventual winners, but have been charmed during tests. Both are religious focused civs that will be immediate rivals to each other, give it time and don’t be surprised to find them carving up the continent.

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On the Atlantic coast are New Holland led by Johan Maurits and Rio Grande led by Bento Gonçalves. New Holland is an early fan favorite even before voting and are our token Dutch civ of the season. They are a terrain benefiting civ that love jungle tiles, so don’t fear losing out on a healthy Amazon. Rio Grande are completely unrelated to Season 2’s Rio Grande and yet are also cowboys that are totally about herding cattle, both on land and on sea (you read that right).

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Finally down in Patagonia is Tehuelche led by María. The Tehuelche waste no time and start the first real turn with a denouncement of their immediate colonial neighbors Rio Grande. It seems the stage is set for conflict in region, but it will be a while before settlements come within striking distance so look forward for a few city settles between now and then.

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The first second settlement of the game is Almaty by Kazakhstan which is settled on a tributary for the Ural River. With the Selkups looking westward as well there will not be any forward settles here.

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The Faroes fancy moving south to the northern tip of Scotland for the second city. They will challenge England for the isles very early.

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Now here is a bold settlement. The Shawnee move to found Chillcothe aimed straight at the Osage. These two civs are one of the most cramped for space in the voronoi projection and this looks to ensure early conflict is on the horizon.

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Bavaria also feels lucky and settles Regensburg within range of Royal Hungary. Important to note is that this means most IRL Hungary is for now in Bavarian hands. Their respective militaries are already drawing up battleplans and lining up.

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On the Indian sub-continent, we have Harappa look southwards with Mohenjo-Daro in an effort to avoid the northern mountain passes and secure some favorable tiles. Vijayanagara is a little slow to move out but are moving up to lay their own claim.

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Singapore settle the eastern tip of Sumatra with Raffles Place, following their policy of proclaiming entire cities and regions after their own capital city’s neighborhoods. Strange I know, but it is a tradition I am sure comes as people from those districts go out in the cylinder to colonize new lands. Maguindanao also takes a chunk of Indonesia by settling Lamitan in Sulawesi island.

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The Visigoths aim to secure the entrance to their private peninsula with Narbo on the beaches of the Balearic Sea. Elsewhere Burgundy found Autun to their southeast, and Rome look to Sicily with Alexandria instead of closing off the entrance of their own peninsula.

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The Mamluks move south towards the Red Sea and Pontus also southwards grabs a tile of the Mediterranean with Sinope. This screenshot really makes it feel like these two civs have plenty of unclaimed land to contest between them with everyone around settling in directions away.

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Ume Sámi and the Finns race towards the Arctic Circle in a race to prove who loves the tundra forests the most. So much good terrain to choose from but we can see where the Scandinavian priorities are really at.

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Our other pair of close starters, Rozvi and Eswantani, both settle in similar westward trajectories from each other. This will surely be a north-south divide between these two but it is not clear each of these two will be worse off with this arrangement as Ndongo looks to settle in their direction.

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Thule settle Okak next to some Ancient Ruins and will be by their lonesome for quite some time. If I were them I would try my chances in the east as their west looks to be uncontested and best saved for when new prospective claims are tight.

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Mexico found Veracruz and Osage found Mo-he-ag-gra in safe pastures. Mexico is the better off of the two as Anahuac is all free territory for Mexico to explore and command.

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Ikko-Ikki settle Kyushu with Oyama Gobo. An odd first choice considering the usual rush towards Mt. Fuji, especially for a religious civ, but maybe this will be the first Japanese civ to control all the main islands early in the game.

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Ume Sámi win the arctic race as Árviesjávrrie crowds out the Finn settler and a pair of scouts eye each other further north. This is a good early victory for Ume Sámi over their immediate neighbors. The Finns will have to use precious early turns looking elsewhere.

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Zheng settle down the coast with a vulnerable looking city of Anping. Although at least the two nearby units should be able to fend off any immediate aggression. Dai Viet also appear to hug the coast but are a few turns away from settling on their own.

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Tehuelche safely settle Caleufu and explore more into their unknown bravely with their early unique unit the Bolas Thrower. They will have to keep traveling to warmer climates to find any worthy target as this whole region only has a Tiwanaku scout for company.

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Up in the Andes, Ecuador and Tiwanaku settle towards each other even though the distance between them is sizable enough that they have yet to make reasonable contact between their peoples. The western edge of the Amazon is theirs for the taking… although a visitor from the west is about to herald the first of many Polynesians to come.

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The Khoshuts settle Lhasa along the Himalayas. The Khoshuts do not receive any mountain terrain bonuses so it feels like a misstep to ignore all the more fertile tiles in the Bengal Delta.

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The Mamluks indeed take a Red Sea coastal city instead of along the Nile. A reminder that the Mamluk capital prevents the Suez canal from being a reality. Saba-D'mt have only just begun venturing out while some civs are probably already thinking about a third city.

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Ndongo settle Danji in the Namib Desert instead of well literally any better location. A slight mercy to Rozvi as their prospects of having Eswatini truly blocked in while they have plenty of settlement spots open looks secured

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Shang founds Yinxu near the confluence of the Jing and Wei rivers and Goguryeo settle Jolbon on the shores of the Bohai Sea. Both these civs are each other’s more immediate threats so while they have several comfy settling spots around them I will want nothing less than an epic showdown in the future.

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Royal Hungary finally settle and it is right next to Makhnovia’s new settlement of Ekaterinoslav. Latvia likewise wants a little piece of the pie with Leipaja. Europe will always be hotly contested and dense, we would not want it any other way. Just beyond the Kalmyks also found Saratov to close off the Caucuses from Makhnovia.

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Siam joins the two city club with Samut Songkram still within Thailand. Their settler went southwards but it seems like the Siamese military has been instructed to size up Dia Viet.

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Taíno settle the island of Hispaniola with Cubao. Taíno usually command the Caribbean uncontested in our test runs so this is bare the course. Floridas however are a little settlement shy as they bulk up the capital of Fernandina and even sport a spearman but no second city just yet.

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The Finns, despite losing out on their preferred city spot are not deterred and continued trekking around across the Bothnian Sea until they were satisfied with the current lands of Rapolan. When the Finns (and all the civs) started with embarkmentation, it was common for them to embark right away and city nearly the same spot, so it seems the Finns really like this unlikely vacation spot. Ume Sam settle Ubmeje as their third city and are surely confused though licking their lips at their new neighbors

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The sparks of religion begin to emerge on the cylinder as the Shawnee start a pantheon with Arboreal Communion, which grants them Culture and Faith for the nearby forests that they chose not to settle. Seneca have settled Nundawao in their direction and the Shawnee look very vulnerable with almost no military to fend off any early challenge.

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Mogadishu, having secured the doubtedly precious Horn of Africa have great reason to rejoice as they proclaim the start of a Golden Age. They are the first civ to reach this happiness milestone, and their cities do appear well balanced. Elsewhere the Qarmatian capital of Al-Ahsa looms quite massive so early in the game and their second city Ain Al-Kuayba looks to also blossom with all those surrounding farms.

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Bavaria is at four cities having added Nuremburg and Ingolstadt while most other civs are still at two. This would be a reason to celebrate if it was not for the growing Royal Hungary military amassing at their border. A wee bit more to the west we have the city of York signal to everyone that England is very interested in connecting with the continent.

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Mongolia had already settled Beshbalik north of the Khangai mountains and they now have Turfan on the shores of lake Baikal. The Selkups settled towards Kazakhstan so Mongolia has all the leg room to stretch safely even further in this direction.

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Seneca challenge the Shawnee with the own pantheon of the Rite of Spring which give them Culture and Faith for pastures and plantations. This might seem like an odd choice given the current state of their empire, but Seneca have a unique plantation which will get tile boosted even further now with this belief once they fill the map with corn.

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New Holland also gain inspiration to proclaim the worship for the God of the Sea, which will give them extra Faith and Production for several ocean resources. New Holland is not a seafaring civ to make the best use of this belief, so they might be more inclined to stay tight to the coast than move deep into the Amazon.

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Pontus move even more south into the Levant and settle Amisos in a very nice set of tiles and another private lake to add to their collection. The early Pontus empire will be a vertical slice of Purple on the cylinder.

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The Dzungars finish the construction of Sargon’s Palace, the first Wonder of the game, in Ili which grants them a very early government. Lacs did not highlight them with the Observer, but I’ve taken a peek and can share that they start a Kingdom under their monarch Galdan Khan.

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Thule begin worshiping the Goddess of the Hunt and will now receive bonus Food and Gold for camps. There are plentiful deer in their region, so the Thule population should explode as their city borders expand to work them all.

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Ikko-Ikki do not even need the typical Fuji bonus now that they will be focusing their prayers towards the Ocean’s Bounty which gives them Faith for each coastal tile. This is a good setup for Ikko-Ikki to become a religious powerhouse if they can spread their faith to the mainland.

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Taíno, having been beaten to the typical islander beliefs, chose from amongst the remaining pantheons Oral Tradition. This means no early bonuses for Taíno as this belief gambles on a more long term religious strategy that hopefully pays off for them.

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Burgundy decides to copy the Burgundy strategy with an early four city tally. Given that the only threat in the region is England’s sole archer in the mainland, Burgundy is in a more comfortable position to benefit from this risky over-expansion.

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It is rather worrisome for Saba-Dmt as they hold tightly onto now two settlers, and their own capital is dwarfed by even Mogadishu’s second city of Hamar Weyne. There are two caravans out bringing in foreign goods but what they really need is more land of their own if they hope to compete.

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Not to be completely neglected, but the Noongar and Palawa are settling in peace in Australia. Noongar just finishing settling Pinjarra in the Bight, look content to grow at their own pace without any worry as Palawa do the same.

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The Kazakhs lurk further towards the Urals with Shyment as the Selkups settle Kulayka to form a triangular core. Many fans fear of what might become of such open space though for now there is no sign of aggressive expansions.

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Maguindanao choose the belief Sacred Path, which grants them extra Culture for Jungle tiles. There is a bounty of jungle tiles around so I expect Maguindanao to be an early social policy leader if Singapore does not get in their way.

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The first wars in the game come in double sets! Nivkh and Shang come together in an unlikely alliance aimed at applying pressure on Goguryeo. All parties are not well equipped to do any conquering, but this sets a precedent for future partnerships that do not favor Goguryeo having to defend potentially from two sides from here on out.

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Likewise there is an early alliance war in Europe aimed at punishing Burgundy for stretching itself thin within troops. The Visigoths are very well equipped to swipe all of Burgundy away, though the distance between them presents a considerable logistical challenge. The same is even more pronounced for Rome which cannot field an army of the same size and has a few obstacles in the way.

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The Alaouites finish construction of Stonehenge in Meknes hoping to also become a religious powerhouse. They should also rush to claim the Rock of Gibraltar just up north for the Food and Gold bonus before the Visigoths do.

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Another pantheon in North America as Pueblo begin the worship of Stone Circles, granting them extra Production and Culture for quarries. There looks to be a few quarries in the region but surely not a significant boost for them until they can found a Religion. The Natural Wonders in the immediate area are a much more worthy prize for them if their settler turns around after bumping into the Osage.

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Ume Sámi gets the ideal Dance of the Aurora pantheon which grants Faith for each tundra tile, which are plentiful in their starting location. Expect a strong Religion to come from Ume Sámi as soon as the next episode. The Finns seem jealous as they have launched what could be a full military assault. Sadly for them that is a few troops too few to put a decent dent.

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Mogadishu nab the other typical Faith tile goto pantheon of Desert Folklore. Abu Bakr ibn Umar has even connected up his two cities before investing in more units other than one new spearman. Saba-Dm’t continues to sit on their settlers while they send out two caravans instead.

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Seneca continue settling in a southwest direction with Genundowa right next to the Shawnee. A single spearman accompanies the new city for garrison and this second forward settle might pay off big dividends as the Shawnee look to square with the Osage first before even thinking of punishing them.

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Kanem-Bornu goes for the curious pantheon of Blessed be the Cheesemakers, which I might remind you is actually to the benefit of all manufacturers of dairy products. I hope their followers mistake cheesemakers for peacemakers so that Kanem-Bornu can settle far and wide before having to worry about neighbors given all the empty space around them.

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Another civ that will be contempt sitting back and being ignored are the Yellowknives. They settle Ti Cho in between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis which seems like an odd choice given all the space around. The city is atleast a defensive stronghold if they think the Crow will come up north to cause them trouble.

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Harappa is the first to move into the Ganges Basin with Lothal. The Khoshuts move out east and Vijayanagara remain in place. Also on display is Harappa’s unique worker the Bullock Cart, reminding us the Harappa is full of bollocks.

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Mexico is safe to enjoy the newly buffed Meso-American region all by themselves. They sit back and celebrate by settling Guadalajara in the beautiful white sand beaches of Huatulco. There to celebrate is also an early Great General, indicating that Mexico is not all about fun and games having chosen the Warrior Code after adopting Honor.

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More war in Europe! Makhnovia declares war on the Kalmyks and the fighting begins in earnest. Both sides have amassed a sizable amount of units so don’t expect anything other than both exhausting each other before cities trade hands.

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Nivkh is generating several of their unique archers, the Kakh Tu, which generate extra food when stationed on forest resources. They also shapeshift in naval units in coastal cities to generate extra food when on coastal resources; although, looks like given it is such an early unit that we’ll see them more on land. One Kakh Tu in particular on the left side of the screen is definitely going to see plenty of land.

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We end this introductory episode with Noongar beginning to worship the Earth Mother for an extra boost in Faith from mines. Everything will start to heat up considerably from here on out, so come next week when the season truly picks up after the initial setup phase of the game.

This has been your show host Coiot, rushing to finish narrating being short on time as usual. Having now seen the first 400 turns of the game already unfold, the mission to produce an even better game each year continues to impress and delight. Season 3 was an outstanding achievement and this season could be better yet.

The final touch it really needs is you reading at home. Our community led narration gives the story the extra flavor that elevates the in-game events to the next level. If you would like to narrate an episode, be sure to sign-up on the sub when the posts come up every other month.

Episode 1: Eternal Sunshine – S4

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