The Iroquois Republic is formed in 1840 AD. My income turns out to be a whopping 12 gold per turn. Enough to judiciously rush badly-needed things, but well short of producing the swarm of on-the-spot rushed archers that I had envisioned.
In the same year, an Aztec archer advanced next to one of the Spanish cities. Naturally, I demand he withdraw, and Monty declares war. Good - he's the aggressor, I shouldn't see any war weariness this game. (Was he even going to attack? I have no idea. But I'll take it.)
Tlaxcala falls in 1850, but they've got a city on the offshore island near there. I've got 30 turns left, assuming the year-length doesn't change again.. can I do it?
I did pop one more Great Leader, for one more scenario point.
I want to rush the Great Lighthouse with him, to help my galleys supply troops for the mad rush to conquer Azteca. The only problem with that is there, uh, aren't any coastal cities of mine on that continent. It takes several turns to ship Cornplanter home...
So I keep advancing the rest of the troops on Tenochtitlan. Now THIS is what you call bad timing:
Or maybe not!
I made four archer attacks on the city, and none lost. I must mention that I believe the Great Wall works as advertised, and doesn't affect the defensive bonus of a city with no regular walls, which this city apparently didn't have.
And of course it's better to be lucky than good. That Great Wall, plus this:
equals this!
Thanks to an improbable combination of circumstances! This would not have happened, had Valencia been coastal, or if Cornplanter had gotten home ONE TURN sooner, or if my troops had reached Tenochtitlan one turn sooner. Sometimes it's better to be lucky. :) At any rate, now I can cash rush any quantity of units and galleys I need up in the Aztec lands.
The rest of the game is a formality. That island city is captured easily by archers ferried over by a rushed galley. The crushing onslaught continues.
And here's the crowning moment.
A most unexpected finish to this game: VICTORY!
Hey! Meek? MEEK?! I'll show you meek!
Scoring:
2: Great Leaders
8: Captured/Razed Cities (America)
6: Captured/Razed Cities (England)
15: Captured/Razed Cities (Spain)
21: Captured/Razed Cities (Aztecs)
80: Eliminated Civilizations (Four)
5: Found city on different landmass (just west of the start)
10: Did not use forced labor
---
145 points.
Quite a good result, I'm sure. Couldn't have been possible without all four of the enemy civs conveniently going to war and gassing each other all for me. :D
I didn't make any attempt at the bonus for bringing all tiles under your cultural control, mostly because I kept thinking the game would have ended sooner than it did. In 1400 AD, with what turned out to be 65 turns left in the game, I probably could've done it. But that's okay. :)
