Pong 4: The Khmer

Welcome to Pong 4, our first game with a large group of players. With five human players this time, we’re hoping to get a lot of multi-dimensional politicking and diplomacy.

Session 1: Turns 1-62 (4000 – 560 BCE)

Our first session was a blast and the game is already off to an interesting start. I got a good start and immediately befriended my closest neighbor, the Dutch (Acozi). We exchanged information about the world and agreed to consider the mountain range between us as a boundary of peace. I spent most of the session focusing on religion and defending myself from barbarians, but I managed to get three cities up and running before my southern neighbor, Japan (AI) declared war on me. He seemed to dislike the Dutch but really disliked me, probably because my military is weak, but the session ended before the conflict began. A great start to what promises to be a fun game.

Turn breakdown

I picked Jayavarman VII of the Khmer, even though I’ve never played them before, because I wanted a Civ with strong passive, builder-related abilities and religion, since I haven’t been able to play a religious game in the previous Pong games.

The game opens and I find myself in a fertile grass plain surrounded by a river, cows, and stone. Even better, I immediately discover that I am next to Yosemite Valley (+1 gold, +1 science to all adjacent tiles). This is a pretty excellent start! Definitely voting to pass the mulligan.

So I’m terrified of finding humans right away, so I open with Scout→Settler→Stonehenge to try and stimulate as many barbarians as possible. Oh sweet, sweet barbarians. Surround me and protect me from my enemies.

22- A barbarian scout signals the coming wave

22- But I get a second city up pretty quick

26- Barbarians. Barbarians everywhere.

27- Pantheon founded

I pick Divine Spark, which is probably the most general purpose, all around useful pantheon belief in my opinion. Even if all I do is take it from the others, it's a solid choice.

30- First policies

34- Stonehenge is finished and Simon Peter, who would be Buddha, is born. Unfortunately there's a swarm of barbarians all in my business that need dealing with. My slinger and warrior can handle things, but it's taking time and work.

Also, you can see that I met and befriended the Dutch in the SE corner.

This was our initial encounter:

36- Buddhism is born.

I pick reliquaries for triple bonus from relics in anticipation of the use of my Prasats. Tithe is my other choice since I expect to have high population and the first religion.

41- The Classical Era begins.

I avoided a Dark Age, unlike my Dutch neighbors. Not going to have to worry about loyalty yet, which is nice.

50- Japan really dislikes me. I rolled a -5 on his initial impression, so I expect him to hate me the whole game now.

62- Last turn of the session and Japan declares war on me.

62- The Japanese approach

62- Japanese allies announce themselves (look how far they are)

62- The first Buddhist missionary is born

The World and Timeline

The world in 560 BCE

Timeline 4000-560 BCE

Session 2: Turns 63-91 (520 BCE - 500 CE)

The game resumes in the Classical Age just after the Japanese declared war on us. Session 2 finds the Khmer in a period of development and growth as we focus on exploration and the establishment of a strong religious base. We beat back local barbarians, and watched as two waves of Japanese soldiers were punished with Khmer arrows in the jungles of Mahendraparvata near Rotterdam. Our nearest neighbor and friend, Acozi of the Dutch, did not show up to play unfortunately and was kick-banned, leading to his replacement by Wilhelmina (AI), but by the end of the session, our missionaries had reached all foreign shores, and we were the first to meet every civilization in the world: the Aztecs growled at us, the Australians were kind and welcoming, and the Koreans were quiet but brought us Sugar for trade. Undoubtedly the most exciting and promising event of the session was the birth of Hildegard of Bingen, who boosted our science a massive +14 thanks to Yosemite Valley. It was a quiet but important session.

Turn breakdown

63- Barbarians plunder my trade route.

Taking on too much at once leads to things being overlooked!

64- The new Dutch leader immediately sours on me because I don't trade with her.

71- Finding myself with 4 envoys, I become sovereign of Yerevan.

This CS boosts my already numerous Holy Sites, which is good, but it also makes my super-apostles even better by letting me take the best possible promotions in every situation. Strong stuff if I can hold on to this.

76- Japan sues for peace and I make out well in the deal.

77- Cereal Coast in 40 AD

77- Missionary activity in Azteca

81- The Medieval Era begins.

I absolutely crushed last era due to religious activities. I hope I'm not over-doing era points too early. I still don't fully understand how to maximize this part of the game's strategy.

81- I pick Exodus of the Evangelists, granting +2 charges to all my religious units.

The Medieval is shaping up to be a very successful, very Buddhist era.

83- We recruit Hildegard of Bingen.

This is THE major event of the session. Hildegard is normally pretty good, but in my super-religious, super-city, Angor Thom, where my Holy Site has a +14 adjacency to Faith, this bonus is going to be monstrous. A +14 boost to Science this early is better than a wonder or a free University. It is a game-changer that is going to make sure I keep up with Korea in tech just long enough to not have to worry about any mid-game shenanigans.

83- A Korean explorer (archer) discovers our lands.

84- Our Yerevanian ally helps us meet Australia (Justin).

84- We are the first to meet all the civilizations in the world.

84- Moksha makes our super-apostles even better.

Thanks to Yerevan and my UB, my apostles now choose two promotions from the entire list and begin with martyr for free. I am become Holy War, the destroyer of Religions.

85- Oligarchy and policies

88- Add scripture belief to lock our religion in wherever it goes

89- Sent a trader to Wilhelma (for a delightful 11 GPT) and the Dutch love us again

90- Decide to build the Audience Chamber

Although I have a fair amount of room to expand, I don't really expect to be very expansionistic this game. My lands are defensively situated and provide a very healthy mix of resources for the future, especially combined with my powerful religion. After much back-and-forth, I finally committed to the Audience Chamber and a Tall-strategy because it just seemed like the best way to take advantage of my Civ and start.

The World and Timeline

World Rankings in 500 CE

The World in 500 CE

Timeline 520 BCE - 500 CE

Session 3: Turns 92-119 (520-1160 CE)

The session opens as we return to the Medieval Era. The Khmer have a strong religious base at home and are trying to spread its reach as far as possible. We discover Greater Korea and Jerusalem, with its power to make religious spread faster. There is war in the East as the Aztecs invade the Dutch, mostly to collect slaves as far as I can tell because no land changes hands. The Dutch do not forgive this aggression though, and at the end of the session they declare war on the Aztecs.

The most exciting part of the session for me was recruiting an apostle unit with the proselytizer promotion. He reached the heartland of Japan and converted Osaka, their second-largest city, but when he reached the Holy City of Kyoto, he was greeted by a mob of (3+) apostles and killed. It happened so fast that I didn’t even see it, and it was only later, when I lost another apostle, that I realized how suddenly religious they had become. So much for expanding my religion unopposed.

Otherwise, the session was relatively quiet but laid the groundwork for the future. The other humans mentioned in chat that they (Aztecs and Australia) lost a couple cities each to barbarians this game, which is incredible if true. The game is shaping up to be a good one despite the fact that Korea is running away with science and score.

Turn Breakdown

102- We discover Jerusalem and Greater Korea (the southern Island)

102- War in the East between Aztecs and Dutch

104- A proselytizer is recruited thanks to Yerevan's CS ability

104- The Medieval Era officially begins and we avoid a dark age

105- Another apostle is recruited

I'm able to build these every 2-3 turns now.

106- We become friends with Japan

107- Our government becomes a Monarchy

I don't plan to stay with this very long, but the diplomatic boost with Japan will help a bit. I have no intention of becoming militaristic, but at least I'm ready if anyone thinks to sneak attack me in the near future.

107- Dedicated to religion, obviously

109- The translator discovers Japan's religious strength

110- Japan is really starting to like me

112- The Translator is horribly killed by Japanese religious units

114- The Dutch are fully Buddhist now despite briefly founding a religion

114- A debator is recruited to prepare for religious combat

117- Another apostle is lost... but this time he is a martyr. With reliquaries, these relics are triple strength.

118- The Dutch War of Revenge on the Aztecs begins

119- News of the world as the session ends

The World and Timeline

World Rankings in 1160 CE

Technology in 1160 CE

Civics in 1160 CE

The World in 1160 CE

Timeline 520 - 1160 CE

Session 4: Turns 119-134 (1160-1430 CE)

Session 4 was plagued with technical issues, but we sorted them out by the end and had a pretty dramatic round. (Special thanks to Pete @Nicodemonous for playing from a hotel room.) Zach joined us as the new ruler of the Dutch, replacing the AI, and he took the reins of the war with the Aztecs. The session begins in the Renaissance Era. The Khmer continued to focus on spreading our religion, as wave after wave of missionary, apostle, and the occasional guru surged out into the world. We’re producing over 175 FPT, which is enough to keep the assembly line going steady. The highlight of the session for us was when the Great Debater, an apostle with Theological Debate, reached Japan and proceeded to kill 3 apostles and a missionary before turning into a relic. His deeds converted Kyoto, the Orthodox capital city, and made a big dent in the Japanese religious wall. Otherwise our missionaries looped around the world, earning us the first circumnavigation award. In the Far East, the Dutch war of retribution succeeded as one by one the Aztec cities began to fall. The Australians and Japanese also moved against them and rapidly their heartland fell. It won’t be long before the Aztecs are a historical memory now.

Turn breakdown

119- The full set of Buddhist beliefs

119- A beautiful shot of Mahendraparvata in sunlight

119- The centerpiece of Khmer, Yosemite

123- The Great Debater begins his work

126- The Great Debater fells his first victim with Guru Nikki's assistance

126- Report 1 (during a pause in play)

126- Report 2 (during a pause in play)

126- Report 3 (during a pause in play)

127- The Great Debater drops all who would challenge him

127- Circumnavigated the world with missionaries everywhere

128- (connection problems)

128- The first Aztec city falls to the Dutch

Reports begin to pour in of Dutch purchasing scores of units to overwhelm the Aztec defenses at this point. The fact that a human is now playing the Dutch is making things much harder for Aztec Pete.

128- Australia and Japan join in against Aztec

The Aztecs are doomed now.

129- The Great Debater finishes off another two apostles (~4 now)

129- Adopt Theology, new policies

This pushes Faith Per Turn (FPT) from ~175/turn to ~220/turn. I can basically build an apostle every turn now, and with Yerevan's bonus, I can chose any promotion I want.

129- The holy city of Eastern Christianity, Kyoto, converts to Buddhism.

130- The Great Debater dies, but leaves a reliquary that will serve us well.

131- News of the world

131- Aztec capital falls

132- More Aztec cities fall, Malinalco panics

133- News of the World: Japan gets Nationalism

134- News of the World

The World and Timeline

World Rankings in 1430 CE

The World in 1430CE

Timeline 1160-1430 CE

Session 5: Turns 138-158 (1470-1660 CE)

The game resumes at the tail end of the Renaissance Era, as the last of the Aztec cities fall in the East. A new regime takes control of the Japanese Empire as Pete (formerly Aztec) reincarnates as Japan. The session was a relatively quiet one. Most of our Khmer efforts were spent improving our lands, expanding, and fighting religious battles against the Japanese. Our position has slipped in the world considerably since we did not gain anything in the Aztec Wars, but our religion and economy are strong. Thanks to our faith were were able to recruit both a Great Scientist (Dmitri Mendeleev) and a Great Writer (Shakespeare), and with the construction of the Grand Master’s Chapel, we can now rely on our faith to supplement our military needs the rest of the game (we can buy units with faith points). We are in last place though. Korea is safely isolated and continues to dominate science and technology, and has a strong diplomatic network with both city-states and the other players. I do not see any obvious way that I can make a strong play for victory in the current situation. With such parity among the other players, there is no easy target to improve my situation, but so long as I have room to expand and improve, which I do, the situation isn’t dire. Looking ahead, I expect the others to begin staring one another down and to periodically glance in my direction to consider me a target. Diplomacy is going to be very important.

Turn Breakdown

138- The scarred East

139- Dutch forces

140- Korea and the Dutch grow closer

This is very bad for me as I am far less optimistic about an alliance with a human-played Dutch than the previous AI-played one. The fact that the Dutch are willing to work with Korea means that they are more afraid of the civs in the East than Korea's tech leadership, which means that I will probably become a target for them both at some point.

This was the moment I decided I need the Grand Master's Chapel and can no longer ignore my military.

141- My apostles continue to make gains against Orthodox Christianity

142- Korea's City-state network is strong.

It's everything I can do to hold on to Yerevan right now, but I've managed to pull better than expected benefits from other CSs by completing a lot of quests. Great Person quests, in particular, are pretty easy with a lot of faith, which is nice.

143- Great Scientist is recruited with faith to help fix my flagging tech

147- Industrialization

147- The Enlightenment

147- The world enters the Industrial Era

Every single player achieves a Golden Age, probably due to the Aztec Wars, and Korea makes a disturbing comeback and enters a Heroic Age.

147- This was a tough choice, but the money felt more useful than the production

Korea shared this with our diplomatic channel (ugh!):

148- I lost the Colossus by 2 turns (to Japan, I think)

152- Shakespeare is purchased with faith, his works help boost my flagging culture

152- More religious battling: the Japanese generally flee as much as possible

153- Korea builds Kilwa Kisiwani, further boosting his strong CS network

The World

World Rankings in 1660CE

The World in 1660 CE

Session 6: Turns 159-180 (1665-1770 CE)

As the game resumes in the late Industrial Age, the peace-loving Khmer are still safe and secure, but we are slightly behind by most measures and are watching the world grow stronger and more militarized. We spent the session expanding, developing, and improving, but our gains are not keeping pace with either the conquests of the eastern empires nor the hyper-developed society of Korea. Our excitement comes from religions conflicts and conversions, and Buddhism continues to expand into the world. Despite the relative stability in Khmer, another great war erupts in the East. The Dutch and Australians joint attack Japan, and our missionaries watched as Japan was systematically pulled apart and conquered. The diplomatic landscape of the world continues to tighten as we move solidly into the Modern Age.

Turn Breakdown

160- Japan brings the religious fight to us

161- But we destroy them with overwhelming opposition

162- Policies update

163- News of the world

164- Korean Battleships spotted

167- The Dutch and Australians declare a Joint War on Japan!

167- The Dutch invasion

168- The Australians are without honor (we declined the emergency)

168- We patronize a Great Artist with faith: Andre Rublev

168- His paintings

169- We convert Kyoto (again) causing a religious emergency

Both Korea and Japan join the emergency, but it seems unlikely that Japan will live long enough to affect it.

170- Japanese cities begin to demand new government

171- The Australians liberate Kabul

171- The Dutch close in on Kyoto, the Japanese capital (and Orthodox holy city)

173- The Modern Era begins with most of the world plunging into dark ages

174- News of the world

174- Kyoto falls to the Dutch

175- Takamatsu falls to Australia

179- The Allied Invasion forces

The World

The World in 1770 CE

Session 7: Turns 181-209 (1775-1876 CE)

Our game resumed in the late Industrial Era, with Japan collapsing under the Dutch and Australian invasions. The situation was tense and continued throughout the night. Pete (Japan) conceded (again), but only a half-dozen or so turns before the last Japanese cities were conquered. The Dutch and Australians seemed to circle one another initially, but it started to become apparently that they were more interested in working together than attacking each other. I began to grow nervous when negotiations started to go nowhere, and as I feared, when my alliance with the Dutch came up for renewal, Zach refused to renew. I told him it wasn’t negotiable, that he must renew it or I’ll consider him my enemy, but he refused, which is how I knew that I had no friends left in the game. Two turns later, he sneak attacked Korea, just as I was beginning to build a new alliance with Joe (Korea). Surprisingly, the Dutch betrayal of Korea provoked a betrayal emergency, which we both joined, and we now have 50 turns to take Amsterdam for a large pile gold. I didn’t realize the emergency would force me to immediately declare war, which it did, but I’m not entirely sure it makes a big difference. I’d been building faith-made Infantry, which while dated, can hopefully hold the line for a few turns against incredible Dutch forces. Time will tell. I cannot see the fighting with Korea, but I hear reports of startling victories on land and at sea by the Dutch over the once technologically superior forces. If this is true, then we may all be in more danger than I thought. Can anything stop the Dutch juggernaut from rolling over the world?

Turn Breakdown

Turn 181 - News of the World as the session begins

186- First modern tech: Electricity

187- Korea conquers a Japanese free city

189- Angor Thom breaks population 20

189- Nikola Tesla recruited via patronage

I did this mainly to steal him from Joe (Korea) because the production would help him build the space components even faster. It also helped me push my factories to all my major cities.

190- Built St. Basil's Cathedral up north, making all that tundra useful

192- Trying to level my spy, but he got himself killed.

192- Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein

192- Finished the Statue of Liberty

Perhaps the last great act of our civilization before our violent neighbors overwhelm the peaceful Khmer. We construct the shining beacon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty in Cereal Bay, the site of the ancient peace between the Dutch and Khmer, where even the Japanese once established peace with our humble people. A monument of our hopes and dreams. Probably a fading dream.

194- We succeed at the religious emergency, having kept Kyoto Buddhist for 15 turns.

The religious explosion wasn't as great as I'd hoped since most of the surrounding cities were already Orthodox Christians, but the 1600 gold was pretty sweet. It bought universities in most of my small cities, and helped fund growth in all my new cities.

194- Zach (Dutch) rejected my alliance.

This is the moment that I knew war was coming.

194- Mary Shelley writes her follow up work, The Last Man.

195- A bold forward settle in the last open space

197- I buy my first archaeologist

198- Built Great Zimbabwe, improving our economy

Unfortunately this was started when I thought the alliance with the Dutch would last forever. It's virtually useless without them wanting to trade with me, but hopefully Joe (Korea) will take some advantage of it.

199- Policy update

200- Korea completes Cold War

200- The Atomic Era Begins

200- Archaeology!

201- News of the World

202- Archaeology!

203- Australia and Netherlands declare alliance

Things are going from bad to worse over here.

205- Korea starts the Space Race, and the Dutch freak out

205- Archaeology!

206- Zach (Dutch) declares war on Joe (Korea)

207- Betrayal Emergency against the Dutch?

I instantly decided to do this, but I didn't realize it automatically forced me into war with the target. Oh well, this was going to happen eventually.

207- A glimpse of the Battle of Ambergris Island

208- Joe and I take on the honor-less villain, Zach, as the World War begins

The World

The World in 1876 CE

Session 8: Turns 210-224 (1878-1905 CE)

Our eighth session began in the Atomic Era, but we humble Khmer remain in the Modern Age. It was a bitter session as the World War finally arrived at our gates. There was blood and tragedy, but our civilization perseveres for now. Dutch forces crossed the Cereal Coast and assaulted Mahendraparvata. The religious armies of the Khmer rushed to its defense, but our modern infantry were no match for the mechanized infantry and rocket artillery of the Dutch. Rocket after rocket fell from the sky as thousands of our troops perished. The loyalists withdrew to the Yosemite Line as Dutch forces rolled into Mahendraparvata. We could not have imagined the horror that would befall those brave and pious people. The Dutch massacred them in all in a slaughter that will never be forgotten and razed the city, including the Statue of Liberty, to the ground. The Yosemite Line held for most of the session slowing the Dutch advance, but by the end the capital was under siege and time was running out. The Australians finally made their move and attacked us in the west to seize the oil-supplies of Indrapura, which offered no resistance. The Khmer civilization is disintegrating.

Turn Breakdown

Turn 211- Archaeological successes

The last gasp of culture before the dark times.

211- The front

214- The Dutch invasion begins

215- The Mahendraparvatan Massacre

Dutch forces conquer the city and burn it to the ground. Our first university and the Statue of Liberty are reduced to rubble.

216- The Yosemite Line

Loyalists move to block the pass and hold the Dutch as long as possible.

216- The Australians seize Indrapura and our oil-supplies

217- Jet Fighters support the Dutch invasion

218- Close-up of the invasion

218- The Dutch cross the Ivory Channel

219- The Yosemite Line begins folding

220- The Yosemite Line collapses

The Khmer are now functionally defenseless. We did this to give Korea as much time as possible. To seek out a new world where peace can be possible, a place where Khmer survivors can live free of the endless bloodshed of Pongeria.

The dream of Mars is alive.

223- Angkor Thom under siege

The World

The world in 1905 CE

World Rankings in 1905 CE

Session 9: Turns 224-227 (1906-1912 CE, End)

The Final Session of Pong 4 was very brief but exciting. The game resumes as the Dutch invasion of Khmer continues. The siege of Angkor Thom continues, but the real events of the world are happening elsewhere. News reaches us of a nuclear attack! The Koreans dropped a nuke on their own territory to eliminate Dutch hostiles in the South. Refugees continues to stream away from Khmer to Korea in search of a brighter future, and their dreams are realized when Korea begins the first settlements on Mars. A few Khmer are among the support teams that put the Best Most Glorious Korea on another planet, and one day, hopefully, we too will join the Koreans and escape this blood soaked, sad and violent planet.