African Colonies, please... 590 BC to 300 BC

590 BC: My new Settler will soon arrive and I have to hope that nobody else decides to beat me there. I also need more Happiness before I create a new city and fortunately Paris will receive its Courthouse timely.

540 BC: Great news - Catherine of Russia declares war on Alexander of Greece. I also cannot see a Greek Settler.

Despite having the largest army, my forces are spread all over the place and I have no real reserve. Additionally, converting Warriors to Legions has depleted my Gold reserves so I also need more cash.

510 BC: A Barbarian Camp has been discovered - that's nice because it keeps my troops busy and brings in some badly need Gold.

490 BC: The Greeks denounce me so I return the complement - Genghis Khan now wants the horses for free, which I of course deny, but he is willing to buy some Iron from me. My Happiness is now at +5 and my Settler is en route to N. Africa.

 480 BC: Damn, Barbarians are in the Sirte which forces me to create my next city further west than originally intended - I must hope that Ramesses of Egypt doesn't interfere with my plans.

To compound matters Greece and Russia have made peace!!!

460 BC: Currency has completed research and I now enter the medieval age. I can now build Markets which enable my cities to generate more Gold. Horse Riding is my next research project - I need some Cavalry. Also, more badly needed business - Genghis Khan appears to like my Wine :-)

Russian and China denounce me - no big deal - and in 400 BC Horse Riding is completed. I need to concentrate on my Culture level so I opt to research Theology.

 390 BC: Russia declares war on the Ottomans - good - all's quiet on the Eastern Front....

360 BC: I can adopt a new Policy and choose Representation which completes the the Liberty block, starts a Golden Age and gives me a Great Person - I choose a Great Engineer.

340 BC: I use the Great Engineer to accelerate the construction of a World Wonder, in this case the Great Wall. Also it is time to fill-up my warchest.

 The Empire in 300 BC.

 My vital statistics...

Not bad at all - Ave, folks!!!

Consolidation and Exploration - 760 BC to 590 BC

760 BC: After the fall of Paris and the defeat of the French civilization it is time to assimilate the new territory in to the Empire. My Legions and Workers will begin by connecting Paris to Bilbao and Mainz. In the next turns a Courthouse in Berlin and several Colloseums will be completed and therefore relieve me of the Unhappiness problem however not enough to allow new cities to be built.

The solution lies in North Africa - there are two new Luxury Resources there - Ivory and Incense which will give +8 Happiness points.

700 BC: N. Africa is indeed empty - the Songhi Empire under Askia hasn't settled north of the Niger river and Ramsses of Egypt also seems to be otherwise occupied. Note also that my Empire is no longer unhappy and that means normal population growth again. There are also a lot of wars going on.

 690 BC: War in the Far East and that's fine with me. I am also build Libraries which increase my Research rate and my level of Literacy.

600 BC: Great news! Ramsses has declared war on Arabia so hopefully he won't be able to interfere with my N. African colonization plans. I already have a Settler being built in Rome. Paris is now connected to Rome via two routes and my Workers are busy developing resources in the East of the Empire.

590 BC: The Empire now...

 ...and future territories :-)

My statistics are great - 100 VP's above India, my nearest rival...

...and I am #1 in several key areas.

More later, folks. Ave!!!

Waterloo Revisited (II) - 790 BC to 760 BC

790 BC: Round 2  and the siege of Paris begins - first, three Ballistas bombard the city...

 A fourth Ballista is moved to a firing position.

 Two of my Legions assault Paris from the East and West

 A third Legion captures the French Worker...

 ...then a fourth Legion attacks from the South.

  Paris holds firm but has been badly bashed.

 End of my turn and the French retaliate - my Legion W. of Paris is barraged by both the  Archer and the Paris Garrison - and is destroyed.... Oh well.

780 BC: The siege goes on...first the bombardment...

 ...then an assault from one Legion is enough...

 Napoleon is vanquished - my Legions have conquered the French capital....

 I've captured some Resource Hexes so let's export some Fur...thankyou, Askia - Gold is always welcome.

 My vital statistics - still below average population but the libraries that I am building are beginning to show improved literacy.

 The Roman Empire in 760 BC. Note that N. Africa is empty!!! Has everybody been fighting each other so much that they have no time to colonize?

Ok, I have Unhappiness again but the Courthouse in Berlin will be completed in 3 turns and a Colosseum in Rome in 4 turns. There are also two Luxury items in N. Africa which I intend grabbing. The Roman Empire will soon be a happy Empire again.

Waterloo Revisited (I) - 850 BC to 800 BC

850 BC: There has been some good news from Africa - My Scout has survived and is heading North to link up with an Archer I sent from Italy. It bumped into Barbarian camp complete with Settler. It was captured and is now a Worker.

830 BC: I decided that it is time to take care of Napoleon. I embark the Legion N. of Bilbao and send thru the English Channel to ouflank his defences.

 In 800 BC I announce the attack...

I invade from all sides - shock & awe!!!

 After a barrage from Bilbao my Legion crushes the French Warrior...

 A second Legion passes through the line to arrive S. of Paris...

 The amphibious assault W. of Paris..

 My Ballista moves forward and sets up...

 The pesky French Scout is overrun - and from the East a Legion and a Warrior move forward

 A French Warrior NE of Paris is bombarded...

 ...then decimated by another Legion.

 After the smoke has cleared, Napoleon only has one Archer, (a Worker), plus the Paris garrison left.

A satisfactory opening move!

Empire Building - 1250 BC to 850 BC

1250 BC: The Germans have been defeated but war in Europe continues - France is at war with England and Greece and in 1230 BC Catherine of Russia declares war on Suleiman of the Ottomans.

I've renamed Warsaw to Krakow - more accurate, and wanted to start giving my units personalized names, i.e. 1st Legion, 2nd Archer, etc. but I can't seem to get the rename function working....:-/

Research: After Sailing I need Optics which enables my units to walk over water, to Africa. I also need Writing so that I can build Libraries. Writing leads to Philosophy = Temples, then Construction which enables the Colosseum = Happiness points.

I also need to build roads to connect my cities to Rome - luckily my Legions are not only great combat units but are also excellent road-builders. Cities connected to Rome bring in more revenue but each Road costs 1 Gold per Turn per Hex.

Then I need population growth and that is impossible with Unhappiness. Curing that takes time - and patience. I can build some more combat troops in the meantime and fill-up my warchest thru exports.

1200 BC: My first Ballista is ready and I start building the Pyramids - yes in Rome! If I finish it first I receive 2 Workers and a 25% construction bonus.

 1170 BC: I build a new city, Odessa on the Black Sea - that peeves Greece, Russia and Turkey but expansion is expansion, right?!?

 1090 BC: Optics has beeen completed so on to resarching Construction...

 1000 BC: Yeah, and I can adopt a new policy, Meritocracy, so at the beginning of the new millenium the Roman Empire is again a HAPPY Empire :-)

 930 BC: Construction is completed, next is Writing followed by Philosophy in 870 BC.

Things are beginning to look organized - only Odessa still needs to be connected to the Road network - in fact, Odessa Province is an island of Romeliness surrounded by wilderness and barbarians. I have +3 Happiness and almost 1000 Gold in the Treasury.

Until the next post - I can promise more action - my Legions will be marching and the earth trembles.

Avé, Caesar :D