Pong 10: China

Summary

My report for Pong 10 is going to be very brief. In short, I had a bad start and made speculative choices that turned out very poorly, mostly due to bad luck. As a result, I never really established myself, fell behind quickly, and was dominated and then mostly wiped out. The game was interesting and fun, but I constantly struggled and barely survived to the end.

Two crucial mistakes were made in the very first session. First I decided to rush religion via Stonehenge when I discovered stone in my capital. This was a colossal mistake because it blocked one of the only grassland regions near the city, essentially prevented the city from growing, and the city continually starved at a paltry 4 population until the Industrial Era. Terrible.

The second mistake was really just bad luck. My opening exploration was west, south, and east. Unfortunately just two or three turns after turn 10 passed (and the chance to mulligan), Netherlands (Zar) and I discovered each other and that our capitals were really close in the southwest. We drew amicable borders, but diplomacy almost immediately broke down when he settled near Muscat, splitting western China from the homeland. War resulted, but his early tech lead easily enabled him to resist my Muscati mercenaries. The war dragged on another 25 turns or so without land changing hands, and while our relationship mostly recovered, I was basically divided and encircled thereafter. This, combined with the dense jungle of central China, starved off my growth and basically killed me in the womb. It also compounded the consequences of the first mistake - I'd have never considered a religious opening if I'd known I'd be at war 20 turns later.

The Dutch went on to conquer Macedonia (Spanarkle) and eventually Russia (Horselover). For a time it looked like Russia might win a religious victory, but the Zulu (Joe) were able to hold the line long enough for him to abandon it. Subsequently it looked like Russia might win a cultural victory, but Zar ended that with his conquest of St. Petersburg. As the Modern Era unfolded, Dutch Zar declared war on the global alliance and took China for its resources, enabling him to easily progress into the late game and eventually win the Science Victory. It was a tumultuous game full of twists and turns, even if China played a minimal role.

Screenies

The following screenshots are some of the few highlights of the game for China. 

Turn 8 - Capital and the jungle

I established my capital and started exploring. The dense jungle looks heavy but not terrible. 

16- Met Netherlands

Explored west, east, and south before meeting the Dutch in the southwest.

This is the furthest extent that I would ever see southwards until the very end of the game.

24- Stonehenge complete!

I rushed Stonehenge and religion, which turned out to be a huge mistake.

67- Dutch found Arnhem inside China

The Netherlands split China by settling north of our border. I believed that I'd be able to punish him for this, but the Muscati mercenaries were not enough. Iron and a tech lead easily wiped out the early army.

67- China map after session 1

78- Dutch brings the fight to me

Western China faces a heavy assault and just barely survives thanks to careful tactics, policies, and tenants. 

94- The Sino-Dutch war ends in stalemate

96- China stagnating

107- Falling behind

152- Religious saviors

The Sino-Dutch war destroyed my early focus on religion, and I was dominated by Russia's religion (Farts). Were it not for the valiant efforts of the Zulu, we'd have lost to them. Here my saviors arrive.

154- China's deliverance

170- Russian culture ascendant

174- The great Jiaodong Flood

In a picturesque metaphor of China's game, a great flood sweeps through virtually annihilating all of Jiaodong's development. Awesome for graphics. Terrible for tile improvements. 

176- The Great War begins

177- A world war

180- Dutch versus the world

207- Within 30 turns, China is conquered

217- Finale

In the end, everyone concedes as Dutch Zar is about to win the Space Victory. 

Congrats to Zar on his third Ping Pong Civ victory!