Medieval Age

So, we got tricked out of a couple of good ancient age wonders, and we are very behind on expansion due to the wasted shields. This is how we get ahead again. Right ?

Also, we do not have any opponent eligible for blood enemy. This is something that really got me off beat. Normally when I play, there are demands everywehere, and the AIs declare war at every opportunity. I do not know if it has any connection with the dozen swordsmen/horsemen that were poised on the borders. Would love to have such peaceful neighbours in any normal game.

400AD Hiawatha tyries to blackmail us for 80 gold, but we decline. He decides he was just joking.... ( This time I wanted war, and of course he backed off. )

410AD We demand Iros leave our premises. He concurs. ( Another first. arggg. )

430 Start a 40 turn prebuild. This is hoping for Leos.

470AD Iros have not yet yielded to temptation and declared war on me.
They have managed to get a monopoly on Monotheism though. I do not intend to buy that unless I can get a 2fer.

520AD trade Iron + 60 gpt to Aztecs for Mono + worker No further trades are wanted. ( Monarchy is available. Would want it eventually, but not right now.

550AD Not a single war, and we do not have contact with the other continent. Weird with such a slow game.

560AD Forbidden Palace comes in self built. Iroqs start SunTzu

580AD Buy Feudalism straight from the Aztecs. Need to start next prebuild now. Starting to have real thoughts about just ruthlessly attacking the Iros while they have no iron. Problem is I would get a 25 % penalty on score. ( Mitigated by getting a large chunk of land. ) I would also not be able to sign in friends, since I am not battling my bloodenemy.

610AD Realizing that now is not a good time to give iros a Golden Age, I sell them iron ( To prevent them from attacking me) and move my forces to the english front. English are not as big as Iros, but still respectable in size. They will not get a Golden Age from combat at least.

650AD Iros are now up Chivalry on me. I hope my lone scientist gamble on Engineering will get me Chivalry from him.

680AD Put New York on Starvation diet, shaving a turn of off SunTzu. Aztecs start Sistines. Good. Lets hope I can get a monopoly on Engineering so I can get those techs.

730AD Engineering comes in as the English manage to get hold of Feudalism when they contact the Spanish.
Will see how I will handle this.
Send iron to Zulus for Spanish contact and World map. ( two luxes was not enough for world map. )
Ack Spain knows all techs I know. ( And five other nations as well. )
Buy contact with Arabs for 420 gold and world map.
Buy Contacts with Romans,Russians and Babylonians for my contacts and 200 gold from Arabs.
Buy Contact with Germans and Theology from Romans for 220 gold and world map
Get Territory map and 210 gold from Arabs for World map
Get Chivalry and world map from Russia for my contacts and 160 gold.
Get 180 gold and world map from Rome for contacts and world map.
Invention and Education is out there, but a tad bit to expensive.
Get invention anyway. really want Leos. Germany parts with Invention for contacts, map and 16 gpt.
Sell contacts and map to Babylon together with 28 gpt for Education. Hmm, other continent are up Banking as well.
This does not bode well. I may miss Smiths. Establish Embassies.
Rome has 12 turns on Leos ( I have 7 on SunTzu, and 18 on Leos. ) Ooo my, he has built a lot of culture.
Ack Babylon has only 4 turns on Sistine's. Hope I can run the cascade. He is of course in his Golden Age.
Fire up some Music Theory research. 20 % gives me some income still, and 19 turns to get results.

IBT: Russia and Spain decide they should spank Arabia together.
Romans start Copernicus :( Thought I had caught up to the rampaging AIs, but I suspect techs will fly by now.

740AD No blood enemy has materialized, and I cannot afford to wait any longer if I want to have maximum amount of space. I declare war with the English, them being the weakest nation. This will incur a 25 % penalty on my score, but with some luck, it will double my lands. Buy a RoP with Iros, mostly to entice them to stay out of the conflict. Since I am not fighting a blood enemy, but for greed, I may not buy help.

Lose one Medieval against the dual spearmen defending Richmond.
I am saving my knights, hoping to get a jump from conquered territory.
Two knights grab Hastings, defeating the dual spearmen that was defending, and we are behind enemy lines, as there are workers in the fields.
Manage to get my first promotion as my medievals grab Birmingham together with two workers.
It is a blighted country the English have. Mountains and Jungle. Will see how far I can get before I am gassed.
No 2fers for Banking, Astronomy exists. Possible 2fer for any of them and Gunpowder though.
Wont tie up most of my income while I am warring though. I tie it up researching Music Theory instead, speeding that research up.
Will hope for a monopoly. ( And then a gambit for Printing Press as well :) )

750AD Disaster strikes as Babylonian city of Nineveh completes SunTzu. I need Astronomy NOW, so I can secure a consolation price.
100 gpt buys Astronomy from Spain. I have to lower my own research into Music Theory.
To complete the 2fer I get Gunpowder from Germany. Notice they are up Chemistry as well.
Wonder how far up that tree they are.

770AD Finally capture Brighton. It was on a hill, and withstood my five knights tasked with conquering them.
This turn the last spearman died. Got four workers and a catapult for my troubles though.

IBT Hastings decide to revolt. Gah. Lose more troops.

780 Hope this gamble goes home. Looks somewhat bright right now.
Leos will save me lots of money in the short run. Hmm, this is a long long game, and I expect to be at peace for a long time.
Sistines would be better for those large size 20 cities. Will try for Sistines instead of Leos.
Gloucester falls. Hastings is retaken, but not before it has managed to kill one more Medieval. This looks like a costly war.

IBT Complete Copernicus in our FP city. No way I could have let the cascade live long enough for this to be Smiths.
Will start a new prebuild though.
Hmm, that was unexpected. Finishing Copernicus make our GA start. That must surely be a good thing
I will see if my GA can snag both JS Bachs, and Smiths. If cascade dies next turn when I finish Sistines, then I am all set.
Nope, did not get Sistine, as Babylonians finish that one turn before I do. Really got to love my luck, bad planning with wonders in this game.
Will get Leos though, and kill cascade. Will have to do the most out of Cavalry upgrade.
Ack cascade didn't die, as Spain Researches Music Theory and start JS bach.
I will probably miss that one then.

790Ad Smell a 3fer. Got some money as I nix research for a short while.
Buy Banking from Isabelle for 94 gpt.
Buy Chemistry from Germany for Banking and 30 gpt.
Buy Music Theory from Russia for Astronomy and we have parity.
Time to think if I want Leos or JS Bachs. Think I will take Leos, and hope the cascade will take out some of the cities building JS Bachs.
Lose a Mediaval taking the harbor city of Oxford. Get 6 workers in exchange for said Medieval though.
Will gamble 183 gpt self-researching a Printing Press Monopoly. Some AI will get the techs I need soon now.
Manage to capture London, using 7 of the nine knights I had in range. It contains the Oracle.

IBT: Complete Leos. Will have to go peace real soon now, so I can spend most of my GA building Banks.
Cascade eats up Bachs. Lets hope my palace prebuild lasts long enough to net Smiths.

800AD Give up getting a leader, and sign peace with the english, accepting Warwick as bribe for peace. You better prepare good now Elizabeth, because in twenty turns, I will be back with Cavalry.

810AD five turns on Printing press, and 12 turns on prebuild. ( Needed to speed up Printing press, allowing me to self research Economics should I need that. )
My gambit on Printing press, like my gambit on Music Theory fails. So, instead of finishing off Printing Press, I start Economics, due in ten .
Strongly suspecting Ais will go the way of Democracy, and I would not want my Prebuild to fail.
Get Printing press for Chemistry from Arabia. Metallurgy is out there, but out of my leage still.

860AD Navigation is known, and I get some lux deals swinging. Need to get rid of my 20 % lux taxes asap. They are costing a fortune now in my GA. I will not buy Navigation though, since I hope third time is a charm, and I will land a monopoly on Economics and grab Smiths as well as tech parity.

890AD AIs are warring so much that no one of those who have Navigation have started Magellans yet. Wow.
I have three turns on Economics, and four turns on my prebuild. I have started to build cheap pikemen now.
Will soon hook up Saltpeter. Have Salt available in old english lands.

910AD We get Economics, and Smiths is due in 6. Aztecs finally start Magellans.
Get Metallurgy and Spices for Economics and 21 gpt from Spain.
Get 900 gold for Economics from Rome
Get Navigation from Aztecs.
Get Dyes from Arabia for Iron.
Nix research, as I am fairly certain AIs will do the research for me. I will likely as not not do any research until I can research Steam.
Will have to keep a close watch for 2fers and 3fers though.

920AD Buy MilTrad from Isabelle for 120 gpt. ( Out of 630 GA production. )
Trade MilTrad with Babs for Physics, handing him 17 gpt to grease the machinery.

930AD Now that I have miltrad, I connect a Saltpeter. Time to build Cavalry.

960AD Income takes a huge jump as Smiths comes in. Now I will hope AIs complete Magellans before Newton's becomes available. Nope. Newton's become available this very turn. Cascade is still going strong, and I doubt I can get any more medieval wonders. ( Newtons and Magellans are available.) Help out Aztecs by trading Democracy for Physics and MilTrad from him.

970AD Time for a new 2fer. Techs really fly by now.
Buy Magnetism from Spain for 131gpt
Magnetism + 17 gpt gets me and Hammurabi into the modern age.
Blah, he gets nationalism as his free tech. Window for crushing the English is closing fast.
If I go full tilt, I can get Steam in 10. I am fairly certain AIs will get there before me, so I put a lone scientist on Medicine instead.