Pong 6: America

Welcome back for another episode of Ping Pong Civ. Our settings are relatively unchanged this time around, but we decided to do a randomized draft for civ selection rather than full random.

The game settings for Pong 6:

Mulligan on Turn 1 (may request any number of restarts, first turn only)
Reincarnate rule in effect (defeated players may take over any existing AI civs to influence remainder)
Draft leader from 3 random (Each player assigned 3 random, player chooses one)
3 AIs civs
All players and AIs default to King difficulty (so AIs play reasonably well if human absent)
Players may use a lower difficulty if desired (note only lvls 1-3 help humans in MP)
Standard Fractal Map
Low Sea Level (due to 9 civs on 7 player map)
Timer: begins 140 seconds in first session and increases 20 seconds per session.

The draft and choices were:

Nate (Ayronis): Zulu, America, Australia → America
Joe (Inverse): Arabia, England, Aztec → Aztec
Pete (Nico): Sumer(ia), Norwegian, Mapuche → Norway
Justin (Tel): Indonesia, Russia, Kongolese → Kongo
Zach (Zar): Spanish, Scottish, Macedonia → Scotland
Darren (Pyre): India, Korea, Roman → Korea

The Tale of America in Pong 6

Session 1 – Turns 1-51 (4000 – 1000 BCE)

I am Teddy Roosevelt of the American People

I had three good options to pick from (Zulu, America, Australia), but I picked America because I felt they were more balanced. I don’t normally like American leaders in Civ games because their abilities usually come too late in the game to be useful, but the universal +5 combat bonus on my home continent is really good, especially early in the game. Zulu felt too offensive and Australia felt too defensive for me this time, and I like knowing that I can count on a strong culture game and resource-less fighters later if whatever I do early in the game doesn’t work. So I picked America.

Turn 1- Start

My start initially seemed pretty lackluster. I declined the mulligan because it wasn’t poor, just boring, and I’m glad that I did. It contains both horses and iron right near my capital.

3- Spain and

Initial impression

I immediately discover that Spain is right on top of us. Of course I would! I hate Phillip. He’s my nemesis in Civ6, appearing in almost every one of my games, and we always end up in endless wars. Well not this time! I immediately begin preparing the early rush. Two slings, two warriors.

22- Spain attacks Muscat

Spain seemed to have the same idea and must have launched an early attack on Muscat, because when my troops arrive they find Madrid totally undefended.

31- Madrid falls

The Spanish capital falls easily and our troops turn northward.

34- Phillip is defeated

43- Classical Era begins

Aztec and Scotland are in dark ages while we’re in normal.

43- The jungles of Tanglemess

I captured a Spanish settler, which allowed me to push south and found New York. I had intended to drive further south and take some of the luxuries, but along the way, I encountered an Aztec settler. I picked the spot because it seemed defensible, but I probably should have pushed a little further south because the expansion didn’t acquire much beyond territory. Still, I like it’s strategic location. The Aztecs begin to conquer Armagh and surprisingly become friends with Scotland.

51- The world in 1000 BCE

51- The World Rankings in 1000 BCE

Session 2 – Turns 52-82 (1000 BCE – 230 CE)

Session 2 begins and we’re looking forward to *finally* developing our land and starting some semblance of strategy for the game. Unfortunately this would not happen.

56- Scouts are starting to investigate our surroundings

62- Aztecs attack!

America was sneak attacked in the night by Aztec assassins. New York fell without even lifting a weapon due to administrative errors. The military was rallied but many (UI) mistakes were made in the chaos, adding to the losses. Many were captured and enslaved, and many more died. America, so nearly starved in the womb by the Spanish before they even began, once again fight for their very survival.

(When I saw the first Aztec warriors approach, I switched over to diplomacy because I wrongly assumed it was an error. My military score was a solid 50% higher than Aztecs, and I couldn’t imagine that they were really going to try to go to war so early when they had developed so little after their recent conquests. I was very wrong. I paid a really high price for that Discord message. I had switched screens to send it and tried a few different sentences before deciding on the one I sent. When I switched back, the Aztecs had already attacked, and the turn ended, and they were already attacking me again. Best of all, my screen had like three turn-start pop-ups blocking the battle. So I kept hearing deaths and sounds but couldn't see it. By the time I got there, New York was on its last legs. They took it the next turn. Brutal.)

64- New York fell to Aztecs

68- Our forces convene

This was the best I could do for defense after the shocking loss of New York. The jungle and hill near New York slowed any kind of meaningful approach, so we rallied around the coffee fields and marsh of Los Angeles. The fighting was brutal and there were heavy losses on both sides. My horsemen were proving decisive, but he continued to bring endless Jaguars from the jungle.

76- War Weariness is bad

My two major cities, Washington and Madrid, are reeling from all the deaths in the war, and I’m falling behind in pretty much every way now. Our fate will be determined by greater powers now.

I continue updating Scotland of our progress in the war. He waits until he has knights and crossbows to finally attack. He does so at the end of the session, but I fully expect him to just run through Aztec and then me now.

82- The Battle for Los Angeles

82- The World in 230 CE

82- The World Rankings in 230 CE

Session 3 – Turns 83-101 (230 CE – 800 CE)

Not much to say about this one. Scotland rolled through the Aztecs and then carved through us. I gifted the cities I could to Justin (Kongo) and conceded.