I move the scout onto the mountain and the worker onto the wheat, revealing nothing of note.
My city is founded on the starting spot. However, we are a people much greater than the silly barbaric Americans. We are the few, the bold, the cold...
the Canadiens!
With us already in possession of Pottery, no need for military techs without barbarians in the game, and under huge map research costs, a one-beaker research on Alphabet seems to be the thing to do.
On a huge continents map, of course the Pyramids are the most powerful thing one can do in the ancient age. And I want to make darn sure of getting it. So, either my capital or my second city would go straight for the wonder.
For the first time ever, I checked the F10 opponents list to make a strategic decision. Get this: there are no industrious civilizations on the list besides ourselves. This means none of them can start on the Pyramids early. And it's quite unlikely that anyone will cascade to it from the second-level-tech Oracle or the coastal Colossus. So I should be able to get the Pyramids pretty easily with my second city. Still, I sent out the first settler before even building the granary in the capital so as not to lose any time.
Montreal immediately started on the crucial wonder, while Ottawa supplied it with worker labor and a police unit. Ottawa built its granary, then sent out another settler.
Toronto is in that spot for the sole reason of getting that second cattle tile available for Montreal. Montreal can now grow every 4 turns once that second cattle is irrigated, reaching size 6 quickly, and then work the forests for plenty of shields.
However, that's all the workable land in our little peninsula. There's some tundra to the south, which I'd fill in time, but first we need to grab land in the direction of our rivals. And there's a gigantic mountain range between these three core cities and all the rest of the land.
So, my next settler went way over the mountains. Edmonton, next to a cattle resource, would be my front-line population farm, for both workers and settlers. It'd get the Pyramids effect soon enough.
Alphabet had finished at minimum science, and I started another one-beaker run on Writing.
Now, here's a tough call:
Wow. I'm sure this is no bluff, as my entire military consists of about three warriors. I could have the Iroquois eligible as Blood Enemy already, and then easily take out the civ right next door with cavalry before the Industrial Age. And I have Masonry at a monopoly still, so it's a fairly large item to hand over. However, I'm not ready to risk a big setback on my land grab, so I cave.
I'd contacted the English, Iroquois, and Aztecs, of course, and traded for their techs. I'd thought they would make up my roster of neighboring civs, but hello:
I'd later learn they got a horrendous start, choked by jungle and rugged terrain. Shaka does have Iron Working, which I can get for Alphabet and Masonry.
And in time, the Pyramids completed.
