Pong 4: The Koreans

We’re back to Ponging! I’m really excited to be playing with more humans.

I don’t really like timed, simultaneous turns, but I’ve decided to suck it up in order to play with larger numbers of people. The mechanics of Civ 6 are too good to be wasted in games against an AI that simply can't play the game.

We chose leaders this time, and I wanted to go with one of the new civs. I decided on Korea, as their leader ability and unique district seemed fairly powerful, and easy to combine. With any luck, I’ll be playing a science-heavy game.

Hopefully I’ll be able to avoid the fate of my Russians in Pong 3, where Nate was just far ahead enough of me to get Steel and make use of the Battleships and Civil Defenses (free walls) before I could catch up.

Session 1

Decent start. A little lacking in food.

I’m excited about all the mountains and hills for my Seowons. I plan to make full use of the ability to have adjacent mines generate science. The rough terrain also looks pretty defensible.

General Plan:

Pottery -> Mining -> Writing -> Irrigation

Slinger -> Monument -> Builder

Bah. That’s a pretty shitty hut. It’s pretty easy to find a second continent. (Or so I think…)

A barbarian camp appears to my south.

The mountains and rough terrain make this a bit of an annoyance to deal with, as my Slinger has walked far to the west.

I plan to build another slinger after that monument (before my planned Builder), and have my warrior loop back.

Ugh. Another civic boost that I reasonably could have gotten on my own, especially considering that the Seowon is cheaper than a normal Campus.

My capital is nestled between two long mountain ranges, which I have named Seojjog Bohoja and Dongjjog Bohoja (West and East Protectors.) Both ranges appear to have very narrow mountain passes which have decent city locations nearby, allowing for a solid turtle if I’m cramped near another player. Nicodemonous’ Aztecs terrify me.

I meet Jerusalem to the east. I’m not planning to focus much on religion early on, and their suzerain bonus (pressuring as a holy city for you religion) is pretty shitty given how close it is to my empire. If anything, it’s a threat. Any other player with a religion could become their suzerain, and then I’d have a holy city right on my borders to contend with.

Still, the representatives of Most Glorious Korea behave themselves, and my free envoy as first to find them remains.

Even though I wasn’t planning on an early religious game, I chose the God King policy card over Urban Planning for the extra cash. I figured I’d have some decent production with the stone quarry and hills (eventually), and I like having cash on hand to rush traders and builders in my second or third cities, and to upgrade Slingers to Archers.

I struggled to decide which pantheon belief to go with, but ended up with Oral Tradition. I’ve seen five bananas and three sugars, so I figure I’ll get some mileage out of it, and the extra culture will get multiplied by leader bonus (10%) if the city has a governor.

I’ve met three more city states, and have been the first one to meet each. Free envoys!

Hong Kong is industrial, which I like as someone who spams wonders. Their suzerain bonus is +20% to city projects, which never really struck me as all that good, especially in the early game.

Vilnius is cultural, which I appreciate less than most other types, but Korea’s leader bonus multiplies culture, so I may make use of them in the future. Their new R&F suzerain bonus gives +50% adjacency bonus to Theater Districts if you have a “highest level alliance,” which won’t happen for a long while yet.

Geneva is my jam this game. Bonus science will get multiplied by Korea’s leader ability in cities with governors (10%), and the suzerain bonus is a 15% bonus to science on top of that while at peace is pretty great.

I haven’t given early aggression much thought at this point, but I do think that conquering Jerusalem is in the cards, and maybe Vilnius, just to reduce the number of city states near me that human players could mess with.

MOST GLORIOUS AND HONORABLE KOREA, TURN 25

My settler is out for my second city, and heading west, past the Seojjog Bohoja.

I’ve dealt with the barbarians to my south, and now turn to the north. A Scout and two Slingers are dispatched to find and deal with the threat.

At this point I’m surprised to have not found any other players, and figure I should spam some settlers with the Colonization policy card.

I keep Discipline in place as I continue my barbarian hunting.

11 turns later I get Political Philosophy, and have to choose between the three initial governments. I decide to go with Classical Republic, primarily for the two economic policy slots, and figuring that I’ll be generating a bunch of great people if things go right.

I wrote off Oligarchy quickly, as I don’t see anyone to fight with, don’t have that large of a standing army at this point, and hunting barbarians can only get you so far.

Autocracy is always tempting for me, as someone who loves to spam wonders, but I didn’t see myself making good use of two military policy slots.

Since I’m still on the hunt for barbarians in my north, I retain Discipline by using my wildcard slot.

Caravansaries was probably a mistake at this point, as I only have the one trade route. I was working on a Commercial Hub, and didn’t know about the rule change in Rise and Fall that made it so you only get the extra trade route after completing the corresponding Market.

With a game speed of Quick and 5 players, we flew through the first age at breakneck speed, entering the Classical Age on turn 41.

When I first saw the warnings that a new age was close to starting, I realized that I would be struggling to even eke out a Normal Age, let alone attaining a Golden one.

I took stock of the points I had and what few things I could remember generating Era Points, and found that I could get a Normal Age by clearing a single barbarian camp.

Not wanting to waste Era Points, I opted to delay the completion of my first Seowon, as building civilization-specific districts, buildings, and units for the first time generally give a good number of points.

For my Era Dedication, I decided on Free Inquiry. Doubling down on my desire to run down the tech tree quickly, I will be building Libraries, and I hope to pop a lot of Eurekas.

Monumentality was another solid contender, as I planned to build Seowons in most of my early cities fairly quickly.

I assigned Pingala, the Eggplant-Headed Educator to my capital, moving Liang to my second city. There’s no screenshot of it, but I recruited Liang first a while back for the extra Builder charge she gives. Magnus probably would have been a better move for first governor, with all the forests and rainforests I have, but I can always abuse his chopping bonus later, for wonders. Pingala will serve to further maximize my Science + Great Person play.

Seoul is founded in the north, on Jinju (Pearl) Lake. I struggled with the placement a bit, thinking that it could be a little further southwest, but I’m pretty happy with it. Part of me wishes it was on the coast, as I have yet to build a coastal city and cannot build boats.

At this point I’m fairly certain I’m alone on an island. There may be someone to the southwest beyond Vilnius, but the fact that no one has come past them to meet me seems suspicious.

If I had known I was on an island earlier, I probably would have elected to enter a Dark Age and aim for a Heroic age afterwards, since loyalty won’t be such a big deal for me early on. Oh well!

For my Government Plaza improvement, I choose the Ancestral Hall. +50% settler production, and new cities will start with a free builder. This will help me fill out my territory and get things improved quickly. Settler spam ahoy!

On turn 44 I drop 2 envoys in Geneva, becoming the suzerain and getting that sweet sweet 15% bonus to science in cities while at peace.

The next turn, I complete a quest for them by sending a trade route. Whoops. Could have saved an envoy.

Having dealt with my barbarian problems, I swap out my wildcard policy slot for Revelation. Only one religion has been founded so far (Nate’s, based on chatter on the Pong Discord), and while I wasn’t planning on pursuing one, being alone and isolated changes things. I think I’ve got a shot at a Great Prophet.

I’m still using Caravansaries with one trade route, like an idiot. At this point I think it’s bugged out and my Commercial Hub isn’t working, and hoping the trade route appears at some point. I don’t find out about the rule change mentioned above until after the session.

I’m tearing through civics and earning a bunch of Governor Titles. I toss two on Pingala, speeding up production of my first Library, and doubling the Great People points from my capital.

These are all the titles I plan to give him for a while. I also hire Renya and assign her to Seoul to speed up its tile acquisition. I don’t much care for her mid-level titles, but her later ability to buy districts outright seems pretty insane.

MOST GLORIOUS AND HONORABLE KOREA, TURN 53

I was juggling a baby on my lap while playing my turns for the last 20 minutes or so of the session, and missed my empire-wide screenshot at turn 50. Whoops!

Two Settlers under construction. Planning to settle East of Dongjjog Bohoja near those culture-giving bananas and sugar, and far west beyond the city states. There is Ivory and Mercury in the far east that I have my eye on as well.

My first great person is Hypatia, a scientist. She has seen the promise of the young People's Classical Republic of Korea (PCRK), and impressed with our Seowons has decided to practice her mathematics and astronomy here.

Hypatia is a perfect fit for my plans of spamming Seowons. She gives libraries +1 Science, and instantly builds a library in the district she’s activated in. I’ll be saving her for when my second city finishes its Seowon.

SCIENCE FOREVER!

END OF SESSION, TURN 61

Not much is different from the empire-wide shot from 8 turns ago.

Shipbuilding finished. Some of my units have embarked to discover new lands.

Fourth city is founded, settler on way to 5th. I’m not sure if I want to build on my island beyond the city states, or risk sending it off to sea.

As an isolated wonder spammer, I chose to build the Apadana in my capital. Now as I churn out wonders, I’ll get a pile of envoys to send to city states. I’ll likely pocket a bunch of them for when I meet new city states, hopefully being able to become suzerain of any of them that catch my fancy. I’m especially interested in more scientific ones to press my advantage.

I really like the new historic moments system, and the ongoing history that the game maintains. It’s real fun to look back!

My capital is currently generating 29.3 Science. I’m super stoked, all the multipliers are working well together and it’s crazy. I’m eager to bring up Seowons in all my other cities.

Various other reports.

I’m a turn away from a Great Prophet, and there are still 2 religions available to be founded! I seem to have forgotten to build a Holy Site, though. There are loads of mountains around for the adjacency bonus, but I’ll need to hurry up and get to constructing one.

I’m on track to overtake MYSTERY CIV and get the Great Scientist Euclid, but I’ve already triggered the Eureka for Mathematics, having built a Swowon, Commercial Hub, and a Government Plaza. I’ll be passing on him. The only other Great Scientist from the Classical Era is Aryabhata, which gives three random Eurekas, and any of the three Medieval Great Scientists would be pretty good.

Session 2

Having finished my Seowon in Jeonju, I activated Hypatia. She instantly finished a Library there, and made all my libraries an extra science per turn. This is the net result from that at this point, +55 science empire-wide with just two Seowons.

Reading closer into things and looking at my City Report, I realize now that Seowons do not get an adjacency bonus from mountains. I had been building them assuming they got the normal bonus from mountains, in addition to the effect they have with mines, and it appears as though I was incorrect. Apparently they get a flat +4 adjacency bonus, which made it look like the mountains were helping, but in reality they weren’t. It stings a little, as my first Seowon has 3 mountain tiles surrounding it, but it is what it is. Moving on.

The Natural Philosophy policy card is still pretty useful with a flat adjacency bonus of +4. Swapping to it nets me +8 science currently.

I decide on Colonization to push my settler spam even faster, and after getting my Great Prophet I change my wildcard slot to Conscription to save a little bit of gold on unit maintenance.

After finishing a Holy Site in Gyeonhju, I use my Great Prophet to claim the third of four available religions. Our people will worship at the altar of K-Pop.

For my belief bonuses, I choose Zen Meditation and Wat. The former is a free amenity for larger cities with more than one district, and the later is a faith-purchased building that generates faith and science. I don’t plan to spread my religion to others, and picked the beliefs that I thought would most benefit my little Hermit Kingdom.

All of the bonuses are combining well and really pumping my science. Three turns later, I’m at 67 a turn, 12 more than three turns ago.

As I mentioned last session, I passed on Euclid and was waiting for the next Great Scientist to come along. It ended up being Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi,who triggers a single Eureka in the Medieval or Renaissance era, and allows all my units to gain an additional +5 HP every turn they heal. I like that healing effect! I’m going to be saving him for when I finish off all the Medieval techs, so that his Eureka pops a more expensive Renaissance tech.

MOST GLORIOUS AND HONORABLE KOREA, TURN 53

An archer that I sent to explore found a few small islands, none of which are compelling enough for me to want to settle them. There aren’t any new luxuries to grab or anything like that.

I’ve got a Galley, and I’m about to finish Cartography, which allows traveling over ocean squares. My exploration continues in earnest.

I really like the new Casa de Contratación wonder. Three free governor titles is insane enough, even if I don’t make use of its intercontinental bonuses.

I dove for Cartography for a few reasons, but this wonder is one of them. However, I forgot about the part where it needs to be adjacent to the Government Plaza. I poorly placed mine, butting it up against some mountains. I can still build the wonder, but I’m a little miffed at myself for the bad placement. Additionally, it should probably have been in a city other than my capital for the loyalty bonus it generates.

Zhang Qain has seen the glory of The People’s Classical Republic of Korea, and is welcomed with open arms.

+1 Trade Route is a great bonus, especially so early. The bonus to foreign trade routes probably won’t come into play for a long while, if ever. I only have the one Commercial Hub right now, and even when international sea trade opens up, foreign routes would need to make their way deep into my empire. We’ll see, I guess.

I got a Golden Age, and I knocked it out of the park. You’d think that was good, but it’s actually pretty shitty: “Overshooting” a Golden Age like this actually makes it more difficult for me to earn one going forward, because you've used up potential Era Points and gained nothing for them. I probably should have held back a little near the end of the era, but I wasn’t paying attention until too late.

I thought about Monumentality for a long time. Being able to rush builders with faith would really help me improve the island fully in short order. Since I have no intention of spreading my religion to others, having something to do with faith would be very helpful.

I went with Free Inquiry though, pushing ever-harder on my science advantage.

Finally, after 83 turns, I meet another civilization. And of course it’s Nate. He rules the Khmer.

The People’s Classical Republic of Korea warmly greets the foreigners. They offer to send a delegation to our capital, but we decline. They then offer 3gpt for one of our three Sugar resources. A bit miserly, but our people are eager to make friends. We accept their offer.

I bought a trader in Seoul so that I could use it to build a road to connect my northernmost city with the rest of my empire, and it happened that Jerusalem had a pending quest for a trade route that would pass close enough to my other cities. I’m still thinking about conquering Jerusalem, but for now I play nice. I become their suzerain, and in doing so gain visibility on their units. Apparently they had met (AI) Japan!

Hojo doesn’t seem to like me very much, but he does allow me to send a delegation, and like the Khmer they too want some of my sugar. I accept another somewhat miserly offer, hoping that their open borders allow me to deeply explore their territory, and maybe help build relations. I started with a -4 First Impression, and another -4 from different governments.

Shortly after that, I meet the Dutch. They were originally played by Acozi, but after he didn’t show to the session today he got kicked and an AI took over his empire.

We have nothing to trade, but she welcomes a delegation.

I also meet Australia around now, ruled by the human player Telrenaur, but I forgot to take a screenshot.

END OF SESSION: TURN 91

I’ve filled out a bit more of the island with two more cities, but my settler spam was a bit slower than I thought it’d be. There are still three or four cities left to settle on the main island.

I also sent a settler southward, to the larger of the tundra islands. It’s got iron, salt, and rice, and should be a decent city.

I’m not sure how much more of the islands I’d like to settle, but I know that I don’t want anyone else dropping cities there.

Here’s what I see of the foreign continent. The Khmer and Dutch share a border, and there appears to be some gap between them and Japan. Part of me is thinking of cramming a city over there, grabbing those Furs and that Citrus, but I haven’t checked the Loyalty Lens. It’s probably bad news.

I’m spreading the governors around to make use of Korea’s ability, giving my larger cities +10% Science and Culture. I still need to build more Seowons and start my first Theater Square, but it’s chugging along.

Up to 100 Science/turn, with my capital up to 45. I still only have the two Seowons, having focused on Harbors in my third and fourth cities for more trade routes and to help build the navy my empire will inevitably require.

I feel that 40 Culture/turn is fairly respectable, but I haven’t done much there, so I’m not sure.

I really want to ramp up my Gold/turn next session, and my Production isn’t so great.

Having met everyone but the Aztecs, I can see that I’m doing exceedingly well technologically. The AI Dutch are on-par with me, AI Japan on our heels, but the human-controlled Australians and Khmer are pretty far behind. Perhaps even a full age?

Civics-wise I also appear to be doing fairly well. Tied with the Japanese and Australians, The Dutch a bit behind, and the Khmer left in the dust.

I wonder why Nate’s Khmer are so far behind in both trees. I’m fairly sure he focused on religion early on (probably dove for Stonehenge), but I don’t think it should have kept him that far behind. Maybe he’s playing the long game and going for Tithe and planning to expand his religion wide?

The only new Policy Cards are Insulae and Republican Legacy. Both are addressing the fact that I’m tight on housing throughout my empire. Most of my cities are “Slowed” in their growth due to the lack of housing. I’m working on building Granaries, Aqueducts, and improving the terrain, but in the meantime the Policy Cards are covering the gap as best they can.

I really want Isaac Newton. My Libraries are already supercharged, doing the same to my Universities would be crazy. Building a Library and University in the district he’s used in is also pretty amazing, as it would allow me to “bring up” a fresh Seowon the same turn it’s completed.

I’m reasonably sure I’ll beat Australia and Japan, but he’s so good I’m considering patronizing him once I get a bit closer so I don’t miss out.

I’ve been holding on to Envoys, and haven’t found anyone worth investing in yet.

I really should have dropped 1 more into Geneva though, as I’ve just completed two Universities. Next session, I suppose.

I’ve prioritized the science from Geneva and building roads in useful places over the higher-gold routes. I need to up my cash flow.

Doing well. Solidly far ahead of the other humans.

Interestingly, despite being fairly far behind in techs and civics, Nate is third in score.

NicoDemonous' Aztecs are still unknown to Korea, but their score implies they’re struggling. That said, there are AIs nearby, just waiting to be conquered and enslaved. There’s hope for him yet!

Session 3

I didn’t get a screenshot of it, but the first thing I did was send an envoy to Geneva for +2 science in my Universities. I currently have two, and will have a third soon enough.

As I was looking at the screenshots during the past week, I had wondered if settling south of Rotterdam would be possible. There’s some space between Japan and the Netherlands with at least two luxuries I don’t have, and thought it would be worthwhile to throw down a colony or two.

As I expected, the loyalty over there is oppressive. -20 pretty much guarantees that I’ll be unable to settle the area without an actual plan. I’m not sure that settling multiple cities, rushing Monuments, using Amani and another governor, and the Hic Sunt Dracones dedication for +3 population and +2 loyalty would be enough.

In a golden age, 4 population would generate 6 Loyalty. +2 from Hic Sunt Dracones is 8. A governor adds 8 to that, so 16. A rushed monument would be 1 more, so 17. I’d need Amani and/or cards to make up the difference. Settling multiple cities at once could also help, but would be a larger risk. I don’t want to just hand one of the AIs a bunch of cities.

I’m scouting around, and I’m making friends while I do.

I watched the Great Scientist race closely, and I was confident that I’d get Isaac Newton without having to use gold or faith.

I’ll be saving him, because I don’t have a fresh Seowon to use him in yet. Having him rush a Library and University will be pretty great though, especially with Geneva’s city state bonuses, and Hypatia + Isaac.

An alert came up letting me know that there were only 10 turns left in the current Era, and I’m 27 points short of a normal age. I look around and can’t figure out any easy way to make up the difference. I accept my fate: Korea will have a Dark Age during the Renaissance.

Additionally, you might notice that the Dutch have a Great Prophet, but aren’t doing anything with it. Turns out they didn’t have a Holy Site to pop their religion until later (much like I did last session!)

Ugh. I had figured I had a little more time before Nate's Khmer had the ability to cross the ocean tiles. His missionary comes to not only scout my land, but potentially flip Jerusalem to his religious cause.

At this point, I believe Jerusalem to have the old, pre-R&F bonus of acting like a holy city for it’s suzerain, but its effect has since been changed to “Your cities with holy sites exert pressure as if they were holy cities.” It’s not as bad as I thought to leave it around, but for most of this session I’m terrified of him taking it, and having it act as a Buddhist holy city on my island.

Nate flips Jerusalem with envoys, and I flip it back. This goes back and forth two or three times, but I always end up on top because I’m sitting on a pile of envoys. In the end, looking back, this was probably wasteful. Still, it was a fun little interaction with another human!

I meet the Aztecs, the last civilization left. They’re sieging Haarlem, and enslaving the Dutch (AI) defenders.

My archer explorer decides to stay out of it.

Again, I was sort of hoping that Nate and the others would be so distracted with the politics of Pangea that they’d leave the seas alone, but here Nate is exploring with a galley. My finding him by sea must have made him focus on exploring it.

Hojo doesn’t hate me! We continue trading, and he compliments me several times.

We are now The People’s Merchant Republic of Korea (PMRK)!

I didn’t notice that Merchant Republic no longer gives +2 trade routes like it did pre-R&F, and was really excited for them. The new bonus of +10% gold in all cities with an established governor is not at all close to the boost I thought I’d be getting for my economy. Most of my cities don’t have developed Commercial Hubs, my trade routes aren't very profitable, and I’m just now bringing up Lighthouses in my Harbors. It’s going to take a while for that +10% to pay off. Even my largest cities will only see a 1-2 gpt increase from this for the foreseeable future.

Building a Government Plaza building while in a Merchant Republic will unlock the Mercantile Legacy policy card, which will allow that +10% effect to be carried into other governments. Late-game (or stacked in the current government?) That bonus might be decent enough to warrant the card.

The +15% towards districts is very nice though, as my districts are getting expensive due to my tech lead, and I have some catching up to do with Theater Squares and Industrial Zones. I’ll be sure to make use of this.

Policy-wise, I take Press Gangs because I think I’m going to build some Frigates (I don’t) and Professional Army because I’m going to upgrade my Archers to Hwatchas (I don’t, for a while). Those were sort of pointless, in hindsight.

I keep Natural Philosophy, which is good for +4 Science per Seowon. Serfdom will combine nicely with my Ancestral Hall, which gives new cities a free worker.

Australia is making deals with the AI-Japanese! I wonder what sort of alliance this is?

I thought I’d be able to banish Nate’s Missionary with a military unit, but apparently it only works when you’re at war. Oh well.

You can see my third Seowon coming up in Gangeung, and Isaac Newton waiting to rush the Library and University.

As expected, Korea enters a Dark Age for the Renaissance Era, even though I have nearly every technology from it at this point. I didn’t do much to attempt to gain a normal age after realizing I was behind, and ended up 16 points shy.

Being on an island, I don’t think this will be a huge problem for me. My newest city in the east is close enough to Japan that their culture/loyalty is affecting it, but a quick governor placement there fixed things right up.

I don’t know a whole lot about Dark Age cards, but I’ll take a look between sessions. Monasticism seems interesting, further pushing my science lead but hurting my culture. I currently only have a Holy Site in one of my three cities with a Seowon, so I don’t think it’s a good trade at this point.

As I mentioned when I switched to Merchant Republic, I get a +15% bonus towards building districts, and I have a lot of catching up to do in some of my cities. I go with Monumentality because I think it’s the trigger I’ll be able to hit the most of all the options.

Seeing Australia making nice with the AIs reminded me to try my hand at Friendships. I find both AIs receptive.

I dropped Press Gangs without ever building a ship. I keep Professional Army and actually upgrade my Archers this time.

Medina Quarter sort of screwed me, as I didn’t have any cities with 3 districts and it obsoleted the older card that only required 2. Another housing crisis in Korea ensues as I play catch up on districts. Monarchy with its housing from walls is looking pretty sweet from here.

I pop Invention into a wildcard slot because I love rushing wonders. I’m also working on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which gives Great Admirals and Engineers a second use of their retirement bonuses, and double engineer rushes gives me the tinglies.

I sign a Research Alliance with the Dutch, because I love science!

Then I realize that I can’t send trade routes to their inland cities, effectively making this alliance useless at this point.

I’m currently trading with Japan in hopes that trading posts there will allow me to reach the Dutch later.

Hojo is friendly, and willing to sign an alliance. I go with religious this time, both to help keep his Eastern Orthodoxy away from me, and for a little extra faith for him to help prevent Nate from running over everyone with his Buddhism, which he’s been chatting about and roleplaying hard.

In hindsight, a cultural alliance might have been smarter, especially if I ever plan to colonize that area to his north. Maybe later!

Rajendra Chola’s retirement bonus is 50 gold (meh), and +40% rewards for pillaging sea trade routes (woo!) I don’t know how many sea trade routes will be in this game, since everyone but me is on the same landmass, but if there are any I’ll be sure to profit from pillaging them during wars. Since I have the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus now, I get to use the retirement bonus immediately and keep him around for use in my navy.

I’m pretty sure that his +40% bonus doesn’t stack with itself if he retires twice, but I guess we’ll find out when he becomes obsolete.

End of Session: Turn 119

I’ve continued to fill out my continent, but still need two or three more cities. I don’t have the luxury diversity to support all that though, if they grow big.

It looks like I’m a good deal ahead of everyone in technologies, but that may just be the way the tech tree is shaped in the Industrial era. There’s a large jump between the end of the Renaissance and the first Industrial techs. I could only be a handful of techs ahead of that mass of people.

I dove for Metal Casting for bombards to take Jerusalem, back when I thought their suzerain bonus worked the old way. I’m not sure I’m going to attack them now, but I still might.

Industrialization will hopefully help me patch what I see as my biggest weakness, production. I’m working on one Industrial Zone and I will bring up others quickly. There aren’t a whole lot of good sites on my island, but I’m making it work. I hope to use my tech lead to get Ruhr Valley.

Scientific Theory is next, and I’d love to get Oxford University, mostly to prevent the others from getting it and catching up.

I don’t have a single Theater Square yet, but I’ve managed to hang with the pack in terms of civics. I should really work on bolstering my culture though, as Nate’s Khmer can make a strong cultural play with relics and I’ll need to resist his tourism in the late game if he fails to convert everyone to Buddhism.

Not much to say here. I dove Merchant Republic for my peaceful, economic-centric government, and I’m not sure where I want to go next. I should take a deeper look at upcoming policy cards. Hopefully, I can get my gold and production up to snuff.

I finished the Forbidden City with Magnus chops but forgot to get a screenshot. In any event, it gave me another Wildcard slot, which I filled in with Trade Confederation. I’ve only just started sea-based international trade routes, but I plan to start more as soon as two new Lighthouses finish.

Doesn’t look like any of the current crop are mine to claim, but I’m second in line for a bunch. None of them seem worth paying for, so we’ll see what shakes out.

I went deep on Reyna when I finished the Casa de Contratación. I regret this a little, because I don’t have the gold per turn to make use of her district-buying power at this point. I really need to beef up my economy to benefit from this.

Top 3 cities for science: +52.5, +39.6, +35.1. Pretty happy with my science output, but I’ve obviously neglected my gold a fair bit.

I’ve all but ignored culture, but my wonders and monuments have kept me afloat. I’m going to start building Theater Squares soon.

I’m only paying token respect to faith at this point, as Nate hasn’t come calling to convert me yet. If he ever does, I’ll need more than this to defend myself. Then again, if he ever gets serious about it I can go to war with him, and beat up his Missionaries and Apostles with military units.

Everyone’s happy, but not ecstatic. Most cities are slowed due to housing issues.

I’ve struggled with housing all game, and it’s definitely stunted my empire a bit.

I’ve found it difficult to get other humans to trade luxuries with me. I’m not sure why, but mid-game a lot of them just ignore my trade offers. I assume my lead in science doesn’t help here.

The History of Korea

Scores

City States

I'm sitting on a pile of envoys. I don't have any Theater Districts, Industrial Zones, or Encampments, so most of the envoy bonuses don't do anything for me right now.

Session 4

Korean scholars have hypothesized the spherical nature of the earth for centuries, but these sailors are the first in the world brave enough to prove it.

The Japanese are eager to convert Jerusalem, apparently.

I worry a bit about them coming after my cities, but it never materializes.

I check in with Renya to see how much it costs to rush a district. As mentioned in a previous session, I went all the way down her title track without thinking it through fully, and I don’t have the economy to make use of her capstone ability.

These costs are out of reach right now, but not too oppressive. If I beef up my gpt I should be able to make use of her yet.

Limes chopping with Magnus is all the rage. Micromanging him is a little annoying, but with some patience I get decent use out of it.

Rationalism is pretty sick for Korea, because all their Seowons have an adjacency bonus of +4 as long as there’s not another district adjacent to it. My three cities with Seowons are 10+, which means I’ll get the full +100% to the yields on buildings in them, which are already boosted because of Hypatia and Isaac Newton. Rationalism makes their bonuses +2 to Libraries and +4 to Universities, respectively.

The Khmer also want to convert Jerusalem!

I make it clear on Discord that I will not stand for any Missionaries or Apostles attempting to convert Korean cities away from K-Pop.

I’m not too keen on the Great Merchant Jakob Fugger. The gold is negligible, and I’m sitting on a considerable pile of envoys, and I wouldn’t mind too much if the Dutch or Japanese got him.

I pass, hoping that a better Merchant comes along.

Nate’s got his Amani in Vilnius. I’m not sure if this is just to get the culture boost, or if he’s planning something more sinister. Messing with my loyalty probably won’t do much, and even if he doubles his envoys there and takes the suzerainship I don’t think it’ll matter much.

I guess when we eventually go to war he could drag them in, or levy their units.

I’ve still got 11 envoys sitting around to combat this if he tries anything.

Australia claims that the Aztecs attacked Japan, and that their military alliance dragged them into the conflict. The news as seen by Korea seems to tell a different story.

In any case, the majority of Pangea has aligned against the Aztecs.

The Dutch, under new (human) leadership, quickly mobilize against the Aztecs. Tenayuca falls to Zar.

I have an archer exploring the area, and all it sees is a sea of Dutch units flooding east. At some points it’s so surrounded that it can’t move.

The army of the Netherlands is terrifying indeed.

The Khmer are now ruled by a Theocracy. Doubling-down on his religion and presumably huge faith production, Nate can now purchase units with it.

Though not a military power at this point, Nate has set himself up to hold his own in a fight.

Passing on another Great Person, this time a Scientist.

Dmitri Mendeleev isn’t great. Two Eurekas that I could probably pop myself with minimal effort.

The other Industrial Era Great Scientists are Charles Darwin and James Young. Darwin’s science boost for adjacent natural wonders is pretty decent, though I don’t see a great place to use him currently. Young isn’t as good, but certainly better than Mendeleev, since his boosts can be applied to the Modern Era. I’ll wait for whoever comes out next.

My pass on the last Merchant has yielded Raja Todar Mal.

I consider passing again, because as before I don’t need the envoy. However, thinking forward, I assume that I’m going to end up using a lot of internal trade routes. The world will eventually be at war, and intercontinental trade will be risky, if even possible. Also, if I actually try my hand at the space race, the production from internal routes will help. 0.5 gpt per district isn’t a whole lot, even for larger, developed cities, but it’s something. I take him.

Okay. The Dutch have the beginnings of a real navy.

Korea can no longer rely on the seas to protect her. Time to get off my ass and build some ships and units.

Korea has secured a Heroic Age for the Industrial Era. There’s still some time before this age ends, but we’re good to go for the next one.

Triple Dedications will certainly help prepare for the inevitable wars that will come to Korea.

Look at that science. +8 from Libraries, +14 from Universities. Nearly 200 per turn, all told.

My GPT is up considerably, thanks to Harbors and Lighthouses finishing and allowing more trade routes, but still not where I’d like it to be.

My Faith and Culture are both abysmal, and both need to be juiced up if I want a chance at fighting back a Khmer religious or cultural victory.

My cities are all happy, but none are ecstatic. Housing problems persist throughout in Korea, despite our best efforts.

Japan has converted the most civs to their religion, but Nate just knocked out their Holy City. I figure it’s just a matter of time until the Buddhists overrun Pangea.

I’m reasonably sure, but not certain, that I could fend off a religious victory attempt by Nate by simply going to war with him and using my units to “Condemn Heretics.” He may be able to overrun me with religious units, but the sea helps, and the terrain of Korea is rough.

Still, he only needs to convert half of my cities, and many of them are coastal. With a well-timed surge, he may be able to flip my cities Buddhist. I need to start an inquisition and get some inquisitors going.

Hojo has overtaken me in first place, primarily by finishing a handful of Wonders during the session and spreading his faith.

I expect Nate to have a strong cultural game going forward, assuming he’s making good use of martyrs and relics. My wonders have given me a decent local tourism level, but I should really focus on some Great Works if I want to keep him at bay culturally.

The Dutch have more than double my military power. Eeep.

Next session I’ll focus on getting a bit of an army going, and hopefully some ships.

We didn’t get a whole lot of turns in this session, but I’ve achieved a few things that I wanted to going into it:

I’ve improved my economy by getting more trade routes up.

I’ve brought up two Industrial Zones and am working on Workshops in both.

I’ve started another Holy Site to help resist an onslaught of Buddhists.

I researched Flight up to the boost and swapped to Steam Power so I could get some Ironclads to resist the Dutch navy if needed.

Replaceable Parts is only 5 turns away, and less if I build some Musketmen first.

I’m hoping that Ironclads, Infantry, and Hwachas are enough to defend me from whatever comes. Biplanes, Observation Balloons and Battleships aren’t too far off either.

Hojo is running away here, but I’m still in the pack.

Civil Engineering is my current target for Public Works and Skyscrapers. Extra builder charges and bonuses to wonder production, thank you.

Though with how dangerous the world has become, it seems Nationalism may have been a smarter choice, for Grand Armée’s bonus to unit production. I may switch at the start of next session.

I’m on track for another Great Admiral, with an interesting retirement bonus. +4 Loyalty per turn for a city would be useful if conquering, but I don’t plan to do a whole lot of that. I’ll likely pass.

I have mixed feelings on the Great Engineer Bi Sheng. I already have Printing, so that’s worthless. An extra district in a city is decent, but not game changing. Getting a second charge out of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus makes it more tempting. I’ll still likely pass on him, and hope for someone better, preferably with a production bonus to wonders.

No one’s taken Mendeleev yet, so I’m sitting with a ton of Great Scientist points I can’t use. Get it together, people!

I’m not even in the running for any Great Writers/Artists/Musicians, having never built a Theater District. I really need to get on that.

The only promotion from this session went to Amani, for +2 Loyalty per turn to my nearby cities. This is mostly a defensive play for later, and might be useful if I choose to settle on Pangea, though that seems less and less likely as the game progresses. I feel a little regret about this one, as I think having Pingala and Magnus upgraded would prove better for a Space Race victory.

Still mostly internal routes, and two to Geneva because I think (not sure) that Korea’s +10%, Geneva’s +15%, and Pingala’s +20% apply to it. I’ve had trouble making sense of the totals in the City Report, but I’m hoping that +45% is stacking on top of the +2per turn from the trade routes. I’d probably be better served moving these international when they come up for renewal, as this is at most a +3 science per turn per route.

I’m still sitting on a pile of envoys, and I’m suzerain to every city-state on my continent.

I’ve thought about stealing Yerevan from Nate, because I’m sure he’s been using their suzerain bonus pick his Apostle Promotions well. I figure it’s better to play defensively with my envoys though, so I can flip city states back to me if someone drags them into a war with me I’m not ready for.

Session 5

I’ve built my first spy, and as the Netherlands are the most powerful civ militarily, I’ve started spying on them first.

Not much to report here.

NicoDemonous, the all-but-defeated Aztec player, has reincarnated as the Japanese, taking over their AI empire.

This is a bit worrisome to me, because the Japanese are in the best position to launch a naval invasion of my empire. They have a good number of coastal cities, and are reasonably close to me. In the hands of a human, they could be a thorn in my side.

It seems like Nico is not holding any grudges, and has made friends with one of his old enemies. I assume an alliance will follow shortly.

As I said before, I pass on Bi Sheng. His eureka is worthless to me, and I don’t much care for his extra district-building ability. I’m holding out hope for a wonder-rusher.

I get enough faith for another Apostle, and I consider launching an inquisition, but Nate hasn’t sent too many missionaries to my island. It seems like he’s quite occupied with Japan on the main continent.

So instead I enhance K-Pop again. The remaining options weren’t so great, so I opt for Stewardship, which is +1 Science/Gold in Seowons/Commercial Hubs.

Everybody is so friendly!

Based on talks with the Dutch, I believe that they formed an Economic Alliance shortly after, giving them both an economic boost.

My spy establishes a Listening Post in the Netherlands.

This is important not just for the gossip, but because it will confer a small combat strength bonus against the strongest opponent I currently face, should they sneak attack me.

I chop my way to the Great Lighthouse. I’m a bit surprised it’s still around on turn 140, but I suppose the rest of the world wasn’t focused on the sea.

Whenever war comes to Korea, it will first happen in the oceans. My ships are sure to be the fastest in the world.

I’ve had issues trading with the majority of Pangea, because there aren’t a whole lot of ports I was able to use. Finally, I finish trade routes with Nagoya and Sendai, which open up the larger cities of Japan and the southern reaches of the Netherlands for trade.

I try to sign an Economic Alliance with the Netherlands, but the game seems to get stuck during the offer. After talking with Zar, it turns out he already has one of those (presumably with the Khmer), and the UI just doesn’t reflect that well.

I sign a Scientific Alliance with him instead.

I considered passing on the loyalty-based Ferdinand Magellan, but I’m pumping out so many Great Admiral points with all my harbors that I decide to take him, if only for the bonus to the industrial-era Ironclads I’m working on.

I’m terribly worried that the Dutch navy will find me and see my weaker coastal cities as easy pickings.

There’s that alliance I figured would happen soon. Took them a few turns to sign it, and I’m not sure what type it is!

Jeonju just finished a Settler, which I am moving east of Jerusalem to claim a second Niter, and fill a bit of a void on my island.

It’s also the site of my first Encampment. Landlocked Jeonju will be producing a lot of the land units that will be defending Korea from any would-be invaders, while a handful of coastal cities will turn their efforts towards ships.

Someone FINALLY takes Mendeleev after I passed on him what seemed like ages ago. Thanks, Nate!

I would have much rather had Charles Darwin. I think things over a bit and decide to take James Young, planning to wait until I have only modern techs left to pop his Eureka.

I’m close enough to seeing Oil for that bit not to matter.

NO ONE EXPECTS THE KOREAN INQUISITION!

My faith production is actually somewhat respectable, and I was finally able to launch my inquisition. I plan to station inquisitors in all my coastal cities so that if Nate ever makes a play at converting me I have a bit of a defense.

Uh oh. My spy got caught trying to steal some gold. He gets away, though!

Zar did not bring this up at all. I assume he got a notification about it but didn't care.

There’s that Dutch navy I’ve been afraid of, and sure enough he finds a city without walls.

I’m rushing to Steel as fast as I can for the free Urban Defenses.

As expected, Korea emerges from its Dark Renaissance to enter the Industrial era in a Heroic Age.

I had previously pondered Hic Sunt Dracones as a means to get a foothold on Pangea (and access to some new luxuries), but I’ve long since written that off. Such settlements would be taken easily by anyone who wanted them, and wrestling against the loyalty would be a waste of time and resources.

So I pick the other three dedications, all of which are pretty awesome for where I’m at in the game.

Reform the Coinage will boost my economy through the roof. Finally, I’ll have some serious gold on my hands. Maybe I can even get some use out of Renya!

Heartbeat of Steam gives my three Seowons +8 production, thanks to my Rationalism policy card. Building more (or buying them with Renya!) in other cities seems like a great idea now.

To Arms is useful to produce the units I’m going to need to defend myself, and potentially to declare war preemptively if an attack is forthcoming.

Reform the Coinage is amazing. Just as I got it, I had three trade routes come up for renewal, and I was able to greatly boost my economy by trading with larger cities deeper into the heart of Pangea, including my Scientific Ally the Dutch.

I totally fucked this up.

I was working on building three Musketmen to trigger the eureka for Replaceable Parts, and had completed two already, with the third three turns away. I popped James Young too early, and ended up triggering that eureka. I should have waited a bit longer.

He also pops the eureka for Flight, which stings a bit less. I would have likely popped it by completing a wonder soon, but I’m happy to be able to build Aerodomes earlier, I guess.

If I had sat on him until I finished an Industrial Wonder, I’d have gotten “better” eurekas. Oh well.

My patience has been rewarded! Filippo Brunelleschi is a Great Engineer that gives production to wonders! With the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus he gets a total of three charges!

I use him to finish the Venetian Arsenal and get a good chunk of the Taj Mahal done during this session, with one more charge remaining!

There’s no way Nate sees Oil yet, right? Is he really going to settle on that tiny strip of desert?

Nope. He heads to the larger island to the north. Still an annoyance, as his ships have a place to heal if he goes to war with me, but I wrote that island off as not worthwhile a long time back.

If war comes, I can raze it.

Another Great Admiral! Yi Sun-Sin has the ability to create an Ironclad with one promotion level when he retires, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus gives him a second retirement. I retire him once immediately for the free Ironclad and then keep him around.

I’ve got four Great Admirals in the sea now, mostly on scouting duty in the seas between the Khmer and the Japan. Some of them are old enough to not be helpful in combat, but they can still see stuff!

Throughout the session, people have tried to flip Hong Kong and Vilnius from me, but I always flip them back. Still sitting on a pile of envoys thanks to the Apadana.

End of Session

The World

Pretty good overall. Science is insane, as always, and my heroic age is really helping to boost my production and gold.

I rush-bought one Research Lab, am building another, and plan to rush by one in my third Seowon shortly. Pushing that science lead as hard as I can.

I have two Theater Districts now, and am working on Archaeological Museums instead of Art ones. I figure I’ll go dig up some artifacts to beef up my culture, rather than compete for ever-more-expensive Artists.

I’m building Sewers to help deal with the persistent housing problems I’ve been having. It will only be a band-aid until I can get proper Neighborhoods.

I’m building Ironclads in two cities because I’ve got the +% production to industrial-era naval units policy, and I figure the melee sea units will help against Frigates and any land units that come my way. Another city is working on a Battleship. I’m thinking about building some Privateers to upgrade to Submarines, but I’m not sure I want to stray much further from the space race tech track.

The Venetian Arsenal means that whenever I build a naval unit I get a second one for free, so I will soon have an unrivaled naval force. Will that be enough to hold back any invaders? What if they all ally against me? Can Korea defend itself from attackers on all sides? Simultaneous turns and multiple enemies worry me.

I noticed in this report that I fucked up the placement of a Theater District in Gangneung, placing it adjacent to a Seowon and costing it 1 adjacency bonus. I was running out of time on the turn and placed it on a desert tile with +2 adjacency for the Theater and didn’t notice the Seowon was next to it. This stings especially hard because it also cost me 2 production with Heartbeat of Steam.

Happy and Slowed, the story of Korea.

I’ve got techs for planes, artillery, battleships, and infantry. I’m going for Radio for Rocketry and so I can see if I have any Aluminium. If so I hope to grab Advanced Flight before war comes. If I can get some Areodomes and Bombers up, it’ll really help beat back any lesser-tech invasion forces due to their lack of anti-air.

Combustion and Combined Arms are also on my mind, because I’d love to upgrade my Ironclads to Destroyers.

Rocketry is the beginning of how I would win the game. I’ve just been preoccupied with survival. I don’t think I’ll be putting it off much longer, though.

The gossip there that the Netherlands have completed Mobilization is a little concerning. I know they have a ton of units, and can now combine them into armies, and with Levée en Masse maintaining that army just got cheaper.

Armadas and Fleets of older ships are still dangerous to my slightly-more-modern navy.

This session, the Dutch overshot the Japanese, the former cultural leader. I should actually be tied with Japan, since Natural History is a single turn from finishing. My boost didn’t make it all the way and I didn’t notice, apparently.

I’m shoring up my culture a bit. Korea’s +10% from a governor has been helping, as well as Pingala and his +20% sitting in my capital with all the wonders.

I’m about to get Adam Smith. He’s not great, but this late in the game Governor Titles are going to be hard to come by. I’ll probably grab him.

It’d be hilarious to get Albert Einstein. I don’t think I’ll be able to afford him before someone snatches him up, though.

Not much has changed. I’m all about Housing and Seowon Bonuses.

I promoted Magnus to Black Marketer, but haven’t got much use from it yet. His top tier ability is really what I want, but thinking about it after the session I realize that my Industrial Zones aren’t overlapping very much, and I doubt I’ll ever move Pingala out of my capital. I'll have to work hard to make use of Vertical Integration later.

I’ve also recruited Victor, mostly so I can plop him somewhere and get Korea’s +10% science and culture. And when war comes, maybe he’ll see some use. I don’t know how much I’ll upgrade him, though.

Scores

The Science/turn gap between me and my closest rival, Zar of the Dutch

City States

Session 6

After finishing Advanced Flight, I discovered that I did not have any Aluminum in my territory.

I certainty want planes, so some expansion needs to happen. The one near Geneva is too close to the city states to be settled near, but that southern one near the tundras will suffice.

Fortunately, you don't need 2x Aluminum to build planes, since they all require an Aerodrome to build anyway.

I get Magnus all the way promoted to Vertical Integration. I really like this capstone ability, allowing a city to make use of the Factory (+3) and Power Plant (+4) improvements from nearby cities. Not all that useful yet, but I plan to have him in Jeonju, and to build more Industrial Zones around him.

This is a sketch I did after the session ended, showing possible placements of Industrial Zones within 6 tiles of Jeonju (sorry about being out of order.) Not including its own, Jeonju will benefit from four Industrial Zones, for a net +44 production if they all have a Factory and Power Plant. This should help for the Space Race!

Because I want that Aluminium NOW and I don't have time to waste building one, I rush-buy a Settler in the city Magnus currently resides in. He's in Seoul because I was chopping up some Ironclads.

I get the Taj Mahal and the Venetian Arsenal, sped up by my Great Engineer.

The Taj Mahal was less impressive than I thought it would be, as a lot of the Era Points you earn only give +1, which don't gain a benefit.

Nico-Hojo fears that he will be the next target of the Dutch Wermacht. He came to me offering this trade, seeking Gunpowder in trade for Amber. Hoping it can help my long-term faith ally defend himself against the ascendant Netherlands, I agree.

I was shocked to see an alert that the era was set to end a mere 23 turns after it began. What a short Heroic age for Korea.

Zar attempts to wrest Hong Kong from my sphere of influence, but I'm sitting on 20 envoys. I immediately take it back.

Rocketry marks the beginning of the Space Race.

After failing a mission in the Netherlands, I send my spy to Australia.

No techs to steal, and barely any gold. I go for a Listening Post.

The money is pouring in thanks to Reform the Coinage. I rush by an Archaeologist to help speed up research on Combustion, and to help my anemic culture production.

The war Nico-Hojo feared comes to Japan.

Australia, the Netherlands' opportunistic toady, joins the war for a land grab.

Australia's declaration of war against Japan triggers a Betrayal Emergency.

No one joins, leaving Nico-Hojo to defend himself.

Around the same time, Nate converts the Holy City of Japan's Eastern Orthodoxy again, and this time it triggers a Religious Emergency.

I join this one, even though I have no real way to influence the outcome. I support the resistance to the Buddhist zealots in spirit, and I'll take a chunk of the gold if he succeeds. There's no real downside for me.

In an attempt to help Japan in the Religious Emergency, I take Yerevan away from Nate. Not being able to pick his Apostle promotions is pretty much all I can do.

I'm about to upgrade a bunch of Ironclads to Destroyers, so I swap in Professional Army to save some cash.

Rationalism + Natural Philosophy is pretty sick for Korea.

I'm still starved for Housing. Nothing I can do keeps up with my growth.

Laskarina Bouboulina is a solid Great Admiral, especially since I can use her retirement immediately thanks to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, while still keeping her around for the combat bonuses.

Australia liberates Kabul from Japan! It struggles with loyalty briefly, but as Australia pushes deeper into Japan it maintains its independence.

Nearing the end of the age, I start to scramble to find Era Points. I was 2 short, and had assumed that filling out my roster of Governors would put me over the top. Nope! +1!

Out of ideas for era points and with no time left, I rush buy a Biplane, triggering First Flight for +6 points. Wasteful, but at least I stay golden for the next age.

Little salty about this one: I built an Airstrip to trigger the eureka for Combined Arms, but it did not trigger. Apparently the Airstrip must be within your territory, despite that not being mentioned anywhere. I build another one shortly after, but this delayed my Destroyer upgrade by two turns, at a point in the game where I was eager to set myself apart at sea to dissuade the Dutch navy from attacking.

Korea is like a bright, shining star! The rest of the world plunges into Darkness.

Heartbeat of Steam was really good as Korea, but the gold pouring in from Reform the Coinage was too good to say no to.

Our traders passing through Japan watch as the Dutch Wermacht descends on Kyoto. It seems as though Nico-Hojo has lost nearly all of his troops, and the siege progresses quickly.

Meh. I've already triggered the eureka for Computers, thanks to wonders that give extra policy cards, so Alan Turing isn't so great for me. Pass.

Listen, it's cute that you think you can take Jerusalem from me Nate, but it's not going to happen.

All aboard the upgrade train! Throughout my empire, many Ironclads finally become Destroyers.

It's the first time I've felt "safe" in a while.

Prepping my boy Pingala for the Space Race. He's been parked in my capital pretty much all game.

I'm building Spaceports in my capital and Jeonju so I can build the parts even quicker.

Oh, hey, Australia has a tech boost for me?! GIMMIE!

End of Session

I've started with my rockets, and now I'm going to get Nuclear Fission, both because it's required for the other Space Race projects AND because I've got some Uranium itching to be used.

Zar has closed the gap, tech-wise. I believe I have more breadth than him still, but he's at the same depth.

Culturally, the Dutch are way ahead of me. I'm hoping to get Democracy as soon as I can, for the boosts to production and housing.

Great People.

Robert Goddard is a decent Great Engineer, with +20% towards Space Race projects. I get to use him twice, but I don't think his bonus stacks with itself. I'll try anyway.

I don't care much about Erwin Schrödinger as far as Great Scientists go. I think Australia will beat me, but even if they don't, I'll pass for the next one.

I can has culture? Not really.

Full crew, and three Governors with their capstone abilities. Pretty happy with Pingala and Magnus ready to roll.

History

City Reports

Less Happy as they grow without new luxuries, still Slowed due to housing.

Scores.

Zar's war machine has overtaken me as he absorbed most of the Aztec and Japanese empires.

I still maintain a lead in science per turn.

After expanding and modernizing my navy, my military power actually exceeds the Netherlands! This will not last.

City States

Session 7

Thinking about it between sessions, I decide not to risk someone buying Robert Goddard out from under me. I use my faith to patronize him.

Policy shakeup.

Wisselbanken helps me with production, which I desperately need, and Mercantile Legacy pushes my gold even higher. I'll need it once my Golden Age ends and the money faucets turn off.

This place is not for you, Buddhist.

I did not bother fighting him when he flipped Jerusalem, but I warn Nate that any attempts to spread his heathenism into Korea will be met with force.

Nico-Hojo concedes and allows the AI to continue on in his stead. Japan is all but consumed.

The Dutch bear the brunt of the fighting and conquer the heartland, while the Australians mop up the extremities.

SUCCESS! GIVE ME YOUR SECRETS!

Someone then turns around and immediately steals it from me!

His empire in shambles, Hojo makes this offer to us. I see no reason not to make the trade, especially considering that Australia is set to wipe him out in a few turns. Free art!

Zar scouts with an Admiral. I've got a lot of ships spread out to hopefully catch an invasion before it comes.

Sendai revolts from the Dutch to become a Free City, which begins to flip to me.

To show off my naval strength, and for some free XP, I decide to take the city.

Because I figure I'd lose any stand-up land war with the Dutch on Pangaea, I decide to raze it. One fewer city on the coast near me, and pushes back the borders he can use to heal ships.

Finally, we are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK.)

New Deal helps a lot with housing, and I pick a few other policies to help the gold pour in.

I also elect for Police State, because I figure a lot of people are going to be using spies on me to steal tech boosts.

Well, that razing didn't last long.

I'm still working on getting all the Industrial Zones up around Jeonju, and I use Renya to help out in my not-so-productive city of Chuncheon. Finally getting some use out of her capstone!

RIP Hojo. RIP Japan.

He's definitely working on a navy to challenge mine. At this point, I know war is inevitable, and I figure that I'm his next target.

Someone assassinated Liang!

She was only a one-title governor, just for the extra builder charge, so it's not a huge loss. There are certainly other governors I'm glad they didn't pick. As Korea it means -10% culture and science there, though.

Ten turns, 23 points. I don't think there's any way to make that happen.

I accept that Korea will enter a dark Atomic age.

The Khmer sign friendship agreements with the Netherlands and Australia, who are also allies with each other, signaling to me that I'm on everyone's hit list.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Pass. That loyalty benefit is useless to me, as I don't plan to go a-conquering.

The Khmer attempt to inspire rebels and reduce loyalty in Seoul, but Korean agents kill him. I publicly denounce Nate's actions.

I don't really like the Statue of Liberty. The settlers come waaaaay late in the game. There's hardly anywhere to settle at this point, but I guess he'll find some use for them.

The 6-tiles of guaranteed loyalty seems a bit silly to me as well, because if you're having loyalty problems in a city near someplace safe and productive enough to build the statue, you're in deep trouble.

I guess it would make sense to use offensively, perhaps building it on a border you wish to launch an attack from?

Japan failed. I failed. Nate gets a religious boom, which he said was underwhelming, and some gold.

Again, no real downside for me having joined in.

Oh, hey there uncontacted antarctic tribe!

That's a better Admiral! I'll take 25% less War Weariness any day!

Solid. I have a museum with three artifacts, so this is worth ~703 science. I don't care about the tourism.

I sign an Economic alliance with the Khmer, as relations with the Dutch grow icy.

The Dutch expand their navy in the East. Intelligence from the Australians would have me believe that the majority of his army is parked in Japan, waiting to cross the narrow sea.

Korea goes dark, as my two greatest rivals swing to Heroic. Not a good time for Korea.

I struggled trying to figure out which dedication I'd be able to trigger the most. To Arms! would have been a solid pick if I were already at war, but I went with Sky and Stars because I could build a few Aerodromes and continue to churn out great people.

Meh. I don't think this did a whole lot.

In general, loyalty didn't have a very large impact on me at all this game.

FINALLY a human is willing to trade luxuries with me!

Most people avoided trading with me all game, presumably due to my scientific lead.

I offered a Military Alliance to Australia, in hopes of pulling him into any war the Dutch might start with me. I figured that as a united front, we might even dissuade him from attacking us, instead focusing on the Khmer.

He rejected my offer, and told me to offer another type instead. I chose cultural, since it didn't much matter as I didn't have any trade routes going to him. I was mostly interested in securing peace.

This was all but a declaration of war. I knew it was just a turn or two away.

His fleets and armadas made for imposing units. I had greater numbers, but his forces were more consolidated and stronger. I didn't have enough time to regroup and combine my ships.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

War were declared. At this point I was focused on moving all my units and getting shots in during the simultaneous turns, so there are fewer screenshots that I'd like of the events unfolding.

One of the things that I failed to get a screenshot of is that Zar's surprise attack triggered a Betrayal Emergency, and that the Khmer joined in! On Discord, Nate and I roleplayed a fair bit, and decided that our two peace-loving empires should stand together against the Dutch Wermacht.

Over two turns, his navy all but decimates mine in the Western sea. I am able to take out a few fleets, and most importantly ALL of his Battleships. I fall back with what little I have, and while his Destroyers are still alive, without the bombardment from supporting Battleships they can't do much to my cities. He hangs back and licks his wounds while I rebuild, reinforce, and upgrade my Battleships to Missile Cruisers.

In the Eastern Sea, we were able to beat back the Dutch navy. However, their Rocket Artillery effectively forced our ships to retreat out of the narrow sea between us.

End of Session

I'm still ahead technologically. I have better ships (barely), and the technologies to defend on land. If only I could find time and production to build the units!

I'm going to grab Telecommunications to upgrade my Submarines to Nuclear Submarines, both for the more powerful kick, but also in case I want to sneak a nuke into the sea near the Netherlands. I've also considered using a nuke to blow up the Dutch navy, if they were clustered tightly enough.

The Dutch are still ahead culturally, but I don't think it matters so much. Globalization is the only thing I'm really worried about them having, because of the bonuses to production.

Scores

Great People. Nobody I care about other than Stephanie Kwolek, who I doubt I have any chance of getting.

The gang.

History. We're in space, y'all!

Zar finally overtakes me in science per turn. Improving his conquests in Japan and forcing me to lose Geneva's bonus to science for being at war have taken its toll.

I still think I'm far enough ahead to hold my own in a war, and hopefully eke out a science victory.

City Reports

Now that my housing problem is fixed, happiness has become an issue. One that will only get worse as War Weariness sets in.

I plan to build some more Entertainment Complex and Water Park buildings.

Session 8

As mentioned above, I retreat with my few surviving Battleships and upgrade them to Missile Cruisers.

It sucks to see so many injured Destroyers out there, but I'm hopeful that Zar will be forced to hold back to heal and get some more ranged ships to the front. I also begin to shift some ships here from the East, where I've been doing better.

I finish the Royal Society, which allows me to use Builders to add production to district projects, including the components of the Space Race. Despite being at war, I actually start churning out workers in several cities to have them ready.

Policy-wise, the Royal Society unlocks the Democratic Legacy card, which effectively doubles the Democracy bonus to +4 production and +2 housing per district in a city. Both of these are things my empire desperately needs.

Pre-R&F, I was a big fan of Communism, but looking at the governments between sessions, it seems to me that the expansion has made Democracy categorically better than Communism, unless you have a wide empire with very few districts.

That's a bold move, Zar! I figured he'd fall back a bit, but he continues to push, shifting between my two western coastal cities. I manage to pick off a Destroyer with a Submarine after he finished a move, and escaped the next turn before it was destroyed.

Despite being a Police State, enemy spies run roughshod over Jeonju, pillaging its Industrial Zone and Spaceport in quick succession. Thanks to Vertical Integration, it's production is still pretty high, and work on The Manhattan Project continues in earnest.

Ecommerce + Arsenal of Democracy + Democratic Legacy = All Production Woes Gone.

Most of my coastal cities are working on naval units (producing double, thanks to the Venetian Arsenal), Jeonju is working on nukes, a handful of landlocked cities are working on land units, and my capital is working on Space Race projects.

I did not get screenshots of it, but Zar used Rocket Artillery with Drones to bombard my easternmost city from 4 tiles away, cross-continent. This also forced my navy to move completely out of the Narrow Sea, allowing him to sneak a Destroyer in to raze Daejeon.

I make him pay for it with a Nuclear Submarine and Rocket Artillery, but the damage is done.

The landing zone cleared, Zar pushes into Korea, the first enemies to tread on our island since the barbarians of antiquity.

We match them technologically, but they have way more units than Korea can deal with. The corps/armies are a good choice on his part, concentrating his power for the small area and rough terrain of Korea.

The remnants of my navy continue to pick at units crossing the Narrow Sea, especially while his Rocket Artillery are embarked, but most of his army makes it across.

I've scared off his fleets in the West and reinforced my own enough to fight him off should he return.

The strategy of taking out his Battleships seems to have paid off and bought me enough time.

Nuclear Fusion is the last tech I need for the Space Race, and I'm about to finish the Mars Habitation.

With workers using the Royal Society bonus, I can finish the Mars components in around 4 turns. I have +20% from a Great Engineer, +20% from Hong Kong, and +30% from Pingala. I never ended up repairing the Spaceport in Jeonju. A 3-charge worker gives me 457 production.

The game is in the end stages. I just need to survive, and keep my capital's Spaceport unpillaged.

Zar advances. My Jet Fighter's power is unimpressive versus a corps of Rocket Artillery, and I don't have much that could poke through and knock it out before it shells Gangneung.

I'm worried that he'll pillage my Uranium, but he walks over it.

I don't want this city to fall. Zar currently doesn't have Uranium, so him conquering it means he could upgrade to Modern Armors. Additionally, he could station planes there, and bomb the Spaceport in my capital.

The line must be drawn here. Somehow.

1 turn away from the Mars Hydroponics and my first nuke! 2 turns away from the last tech I need for the Space Race! I know I'm only 6-7 turns away from victory.

End of Session

It seems like the Dutch are throwing the majority of their forces at the Khmer.

Nate was surprised at the technology level of the Dutch Wermacht. When he joined the emergency, he had assumed that being able to Faith-Buy Infantry would be a sufficient defense, but Mechanized Infantry and Rocket Artillery are cutting through his forces.

There is little I can do to aid him, but I'm thankful that Zar chose to send those troops at him and not me.

The tech tree started glitching out a bit on me at the end of the game. It shows Nuclear Fusion as unstarted, but you can clearly see it as almost done in the top left.

I'm pretty much done with technologies. Stealth won't finish soon enough to matter.

I've all but finished the civic tree as well. Globalization was a great boon to my empire, and it got rushed thanks to the Moon Landing, which gives an amount of culture equal to 10x the science per turn, which was over 3,000 culture.

No interesting Great People.

John Roebling isn't especially interesting as a Great Engineer. I'll pass on him, not that it will matter much.

The Gov Squad.

I've given Victor the double-city-attack promotion and stationed him in the West, but he hasn't ever used it.

History.

We're going to Mars.

Scores.

Military Strength.

City Reports

War Weariness is wearing on some of my cities, sparking Unrest. I'm worried that rebel units will start popping up in my territory, but as long as they stay away from my capital I should be fine.

City States

Session 9

With Rocket Artillery and Mechanized Infantry armies bearing down on Gangneung, which was deemed too important to cede to the Dutch, Korean high command authorized a test of our first nuclear device. The explosion was larger than anyone could have anticipated, instantly vaporizing the majority of the invasion force.

I make short work of the Machine Gun army afterwards, and now feel confident that I have enough time to win.