Pong 3: Turns 1-51 of Norway (Nate)

In the first attempt, I draw China in an arctic plain with very little production nearby. I almost immediately mulligan, so we try again.
In the second attempt, I'm dealt Australia, which is a weird coastal civ that I have no experience with. The start isn't bad, but very quickly we discover that Joe and I are neighbors, which is too similar to our previous game to be fun. We mulligan and try again.
Things stick with the third try. I am dealt Harald Hardrada of Norway. A naval focused, aggressive civ. I can't say that it is a style I'm very good at, but it is usually a lot of fun to play. They also got a slight buff in the Summer 2017 update.
Turn 1 - My start is weird! A long cliff-sided peninsula with tons of marble and ivory. It looks pretty authentically viking to me! I settle Nidaros and start my game.
Turn 7 - I discover my first neighbor: Toronto. This actually a pretty good one, but its biggest benefit doesn't kick in until the Industrial period. All the same, Industrial city-states can be awesome early in the game as they give +2 production to the capital to many things.
Here's my opening strategy:
Build order: Monument, builder, warrior, settler, holy site, trader, longshipCivic order: Code of Laws, Foreign Trade, Craftsmanship, Early Empire, State Workforce
Tech order: Mining, Sailing, Astronomy, Animal Husbandry, Pottery, Bronze Working, Masonry, Shipbuilding
The idea is to get on the sea as fast as possible and settle a bunch of good coastal sites as a base.
Turn 12 - I discover Crater Lake a major faith and minor science wonder. It's conveniently located next to resources and the sea. This is obviously where my next city shall go.
Turn 15 - Barbarians to the south. Good hunting.
Turn 22 - Pantheon is founded (because of God King). I struggle to decide which one to take as I'm still not sure what my main focus is going to be. The land seems to have less food than I would like, and there are a lot of luxuries, so I decide to go with Fertility Rites, which seems pretty Viking.
Turn 28 - Sarpsborg is founded on Crater Lake.
Turn 34 - The first Viking Longship sets sail.
Turn 39 - I find my first real neighbor. I'd met the Germans earlier, but this city is actually pretty close to me, and it's a super city already. They have Buddhism already, but they are on the coast, which my longships are happy about.
Turn 42 - True to his Bushido nature, Hojo is attacking Armagh, though I doubt Frederick cares very much wherever it is. (He also likes to gobble up city-states.)
Turn 45 - Policy update.
Policies: Maritime Industries, Urban Planning, Charismatic Leader, Conscription.
The plan at this point it to continue growing wide as fast as possible and to build a powerful navy to maraud with.
Turn 48 - Discover Scythia on the south of the Middle Sea.
Turn 50 - Hojo and I got off on the wrong foot and things just continue to get worse, which is fine by me. Vikings needed a target anyway.
Turn 51 - Found Alesund on Whale-Point. My goal is to get twin cities going on the twin feet of the continent here. One here, at Whale-Point, and another to the west, halfway to Kyoto on the Grease River.
Turn 51 - The state of the game at the end of session 1.
Kyoto is already a mega city of 9 in 1000 BC, more than my entire empire by 2 population points. But we are extremely industrious and I can build longships in 2 turns in Nidaros. Not sure if it's the time to build a super fleet, but it's functionally free with my current policies so it's very tempting.
Turn 51 - Score at the end of session 1.
Joe boasts of some military successes already, which would explain why his score is solid. Japan seems to be the early breakaway, which makes him an even more dangerous but tempting target.
Turn 51 - World Rankings
I'm decent in Religion and Military, which is what I decided to focus on initially, but my food-poor lands are going to make science and culture difficult long-term. I'm in last place in both, but that's probably to be expected since I'm focusing on colonization right now.
Plan
Looking ahead, my plan is going to be to settle the second twin city on Grease River and then build a massive fleet to hit Kyoto before its defenses render my longships vulnerable. I think I should have a shot with 6-8 longship. Scythia to the south isn't as appealing a target, and thanks to Shipbuilding and Knarr, I can already cross the seas, which should provide plenty of options for expansion and marauding. I'm not in a strong position, but I should have the ability to inflict some pain, which should equalize things by the end of the Medieval. It should be fun! No matter what, I always enjoy naval civs, and the Vikings are basically the apex naval civ.
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