Pong 4S: Scotland Turns 1-90

Hello readers! I'm Zach, and I recently joined the Ping Pong Civ group. Tony and I joined in the middle of a session so we decided to play a 2-man standby match until the main game is finished. To get into the true spirit of Ping Pong Civ I figured I would do a write up of our game. It's my first time so I'm sure there will be some mistakes, but hopefully you'll enjoy the read.

We basically copied Pong 4's settings, but at the last minute decided to switch to a Shuffle map type. (Not shown in this screenshot). We then chose our starting leaders. I wanted to try out one of the new Rise and Fall civs, so I spawn as Robert the Bruce of Scotland.

In my eyes Scotland is one of the strongest new additions to come out of the Rise and Fall expansion. Although Culture is now a stronger resource due to Governors being unlocked through the civics tree, I still believe that Production and Science are the backbone of any successful civilization. Luckily Scotland not only gets flat percentage bonuses to those yields, but also receives additional Great Scientist and Great Engineer points through their unique ability Scottish Enlightenment. However, these only apply in Happy or Ecstatic cities so I'll have to pay more attention to managing Luxuries than I typically do.

I'm also looking forward to using their unique Ranger replacement, the Highlander. I never really used Rangers for combat in vanilla Civ 6, but now that they can upgrade to Spec Ops they might be worth looking into. Plus, just look at how cool these guys are!

Tony goes with Gorgo of Greece, an all-around powerhouse civ with bonuses to culture upon killing units. I don't know his playstyle yet, but at this point I'm wondering if he's planning on playing an aggressive warmonger game... 

 I get a decent spawn on the coast with a few hills and some nice early game resources including horses and rice. I would prefer starting next to a river or lake for the fresh water housing bonus, but coast will have to do. As for luxuries, I have tea and furs within reach. Not my ideal luxury tiles (all praise hill spices), but the more resources the merrier. I found Stirling and get started on a scout.

By turn 12 my start is looking better and better. I find a nearby river and second horses tile, which looks like a nice city spot. I also get first-meets on Mohenjo Daro and La Venta, giving me boosts to Culture and Faith. On top of that the Galapagos Islands natural wonder is right next door! After making 2 Scouts I've started production on my first Settler, and he has some nice expansion locations waiting for him.

 I also first-meet Geneva and get the free envoy/science boost. City State luck is on my side this game.

After seeing the land around me I feel pretty safe to rapidly expand and push out as many settlers as I can in the early game. Due to the lack of aggressive neighbors I also decide to attempt a somewhat risky strategy using the new Ages mechanic. 

Essentially the goal is to get a Heroic Age as soon as possible. For those not familiar, in a regular Golden Age you can choose 1 of 4 powerful dedications. However, in a Heroic Age you can choose 3 out of the 4 which will all be active simultaneously! The catch is that the only way to receive a Heroic Age is to transition straight from a Dark Age into a Golden Age. Not an easy task. So if I can intentionally put my civilization into a Classical Dark Age I will have the opportunity to turn the tables and have a Medieval Heroic Age.

The Heroic Age dedications are not the only benefit to this strategy though. In a Classical Dark Age I will have access to some game-changing Dark Age policy cards, namely Monasticism.

Wow, what a card! I want to pump up my science as Scotland, and this is a great way to do so in the early game. I'll need to get started on some Holy Sites to take advantage of it though.

In other news, I select City Patron Goddess as my pantheon on turn 16. I plan to expand a lot so I should be able to make use of the extra district production in all my new cities.

On Turn 19 I found Roxburgh on the river north of my capital, and on Turn 27 Haddington is planted near the Galapagos to get those sweet, sweet science tiles. 

Right before my settler founds Haddington I also finish the Early Empire civic and grab my first governor!

Magnus, the Steward. He's the perfect choice if you want to crank out some Settlers early in the game. I plan to use his Provision ability to help me expand my empire without losing population in my capital when Settlers are produced. The fact that he has the most powerful chin of all the governors is an additional bonus.

On turn 30 my scout bumps into China's warrior patrolling southeast of La Venta. A few turns later he encounters the eastern borders of Aquileia.

I finally meet my neighboring civilizations: Rome and China. They seem to be a good distance away at the moment, but Rome is definitely an expansionist empire so I'm watching Trajan with a healthy amount of suspicion. 

China accepts my request for friendship.

Annnnd I make my first major mistake on Turn 34. I forgot that becoming the first Suzerain of a city state grants era score. Remember my whole strategy to get that Heroic Age? Well that has gone out the window as this achievement gave me exactly enough era score to enter a boring Normal Age... Not exactly a disaster, but I'll have to adjust my plans.

Yeah, "avoided". At the same time I unlock the Political Philosophy civic and choose Classical Republic as my new government. Extra Great People points and economic policy card slots are always welcome.

By turn 45 my civilization is coming along nicely. My 4th city, Ayr, is up and running and my next 2 Settlers are (almost) ready to expand further. I'm researching Celestial Navigation because Tony seems to be on a different continent. Getting my harbors and naval units working ASAP will be important to give me control of the seas.

The next 15 or so turns are pretty mundane to be honest. Basically I keep building up my cities' districts, including my Government Plaza.

  The only other interesting development is that Rome declares war on China. I'm not in a position to do anything about it at the moment, but I also don't want Rome to conquer them and start snowballing. That's my job!

I'm surprised I still haven't met Tony yet. He must be hiding from me.

Turn 63. As you can see, I've created 3 more cities: Dumbarton on the eastern coast, Forres in the far west, and Montrose along the river to the north. My land is filling out nicely. The world rankings show that I am first in Science! My culture could definitely use some work though.

I finally pick up the last Great Prophet in the game, and Scottish Taoism is born. It's a tough decision, but in the end I choose Zen Meditation (+1 Amenity in cities with 2 specialty districts) and Defender of the Faith as my beliefs. Zen Meditation has nice synergy with Scotland's unique ability, and Defender of the Faith pretty much guarantees that anyone who attacks my cities will be in for a world of hurt.
I also reach Apprenticeship tech, which will allow me to get started on my Industrial Zones and begin reeling in Great Engineers.

Harbors and Commercial Hub under construction on Turn 67. I need to improve my lackluster economy (only +14 gpt) if I plan on fielding an army anytime soon.

With the rise of Feudalism on Turn 77 comes the flood of builders. I immediately plug in the Serfdom card to give all my new builders 2 extra charges. Time to improve all the tiles.

Turn 81 ushers in the Medieval era, and my civilization earns a Golden Age. All of these except Exodus of the Evangelists would be useful at this point. If only I had been able to pull off that Heroic Age... Yes, I'm still bitter about that. 

While Pen, Brush and Voice would be a nice way to catch up in Culture, I opt to double down on my Science lead with Free Inquiry instead. Thanks to my 2 Commercial Hubs and 3 Harbors this boosts my Science from 51 per turn to a whopping 70! 

My delegates inform me of Rome's conquests. Although we have had good relations up to this point, these actions will not be tolerated by the Scots. I gradually begin to amass a force to keep the Roman empire in check.

On Turn 86 my galley makes it across the ocean, and I meet both Arabia and the Mapuche. Still no sign of Tony.

Getting my districts developed early with help from my pantheon is starting to pay off. I quickly recruit the first Great Merchant and Great Admiral.

My governor sets up shop in La Venta on Turn 87, stealing suzerainty from Rome. I don't need them poking at my units while I'm mounting an attack on Aquileia.

We decide to call it quits at Turn 90. I have to admit that I like my position at this point. I'm leading in Science and essentially doubling the next civilization's output. I've also moved into 2nd place in Culture. (This whole time I thought Tony's Greek empire was leading the Culture race, but in fact it's the Mapuche who have apparently been spamming their unique tile improvement.) 

Furthermore, my heavy chariots are poised and ready to be upgraded to knights so that I can attack Rome. Next turn I'll complete the Mercenaries civic and be able to get a 50% discount on unit upgrades. Hopefully 7 knights and a crossbowman will make short work of Trajan. If I can conquer him quickly it should substantially increase my lead. 

My first round of Ping Pong Civ is off to a fun start, and I can't wait for next Tuesday's action! I'm especially looking forward to encountering Greece and getting more information about what Tony's been up to for 90 turns. I guess we'll find out next week!