Adventure Forty-five: Hannibal's Muse

So here is an overview. I've expanded well, out to 5 cities by 1000 BC. But now the expansion rate will suffer with whipping killed and Carthage's big food locked into just 1:1 conversion to production.

Ramesses founded and adopted Hinduism. I looked forward to easily sharing religion with him like in the culture game. But he also founded Judaism and spread only that to me. What are you doing? Are you TRYING to hate me?

"Jesus, please save me from these morons." One answer was Cristo Redentor. I bounced between No State Religion and Judaism several times, the former to get diplomatic deals done and the latter for times when my cities needed the religion happy. About 40 turns later, Hinduism finally random-spread to one of my cities, and I immediately converted and started spreading my own missionaries. Ramesses' idiocy actually helped me in the long run, since those Hindu missionaries were going to Mansa Musa, who came to my side as well.

About this time, I realized that ignoring tech was the wrong plan. The fastest way to diplo votes is "fair and forthright", from giving away techs. With Emancipation in effect, and UniSuffrage likely to come, cottages would work just fine.

In fact, I am slowly realizing that the United Nations may even be the strongest economic wonder! Back in the Mao's Muse game, Democracy for its civics was the single strongest tech choice. The United Nations can do all that and more. Plus the Single Currency trade route. Although it does need luck from the AI's drunken blindfolded dart-throwing method of selecting resolutions.

So I'm building cities and developing along, although it's kind of weird knowing that the game could just end anytime, either in my favor or not. But I suppose fear of the end of the world was pretty much the reason the real United Nations got founded in the first place. So it fits.

Researched to Civil Service the normal way, landing it at the surprisingly early date of 100 BC. Then realized that Bureaucracy was locked out by UN Free Speech. I did get the Hanging Gardens around that time too, for a nice boost in diplomatic votes, to 9 cities. Another project was to scout around the ring as much as possible to open up resource trade routes. That happened fairly quickly with a chariot going each direction. I made sure to start resource trades with every AI as soon as possible, to accumulate some "supplied with resources" diplo credit.

I researched up to Printing Press (lots of villages already from Emancipation), then to Astronomy, by way of Optics to add whales for happy, and started sending barb-killers and settlers to the middle islands. Some time later, I pulled Liberalism into Scientific Method. Alex had matched my pace to Education, so Sci Meth was the biggest beaker prize working towards Sushi. Researched Economics next to save the Merchant for Sushi too.

Great Person #2 came as an Engineer, so that's expected value from the two coin flips. I'm not chasing any wonders in particular. So just settle him again. GP #3 Merchant, trade mission. #4 a low odds Engineer some time later, rushed Notre Dame. #5 Scientist for an Academy.

Time again for another UN secretarial election. They come every 30 turns. I never had a chance in the first four, but now I've built up enough population and friends that I'm hopeful. And I've found myself on the right side of a 4-vs-3 religion split.

Argh. Somehow the 3 had more votes than the 4. That is a margin of 227 to 224. ARGH. I don't know what happened to Mansa. He expanded very slowly in both the culture game and this one. His start doesn't look weak or anything to me, and Spi/Fin are two traits the AI handles fairly well. So what happened to him? It looks like he built the Temple of Artemis starting too early in both games.

Like before, Ramesses built the AP in my religion for me. I won that election at least. So more time passed, just building and growing more cities. I continued to judiciously give away techs to keep up the "fair and forthright" diplo credit.

And of course I know how to take care of a stubborn AI, just couldn't manage the pieces in time for the previous election. Send some missionaries and spies (10-15 turns beforehand allowing for travel time.) Run the espionage slider for one turn. Hit the appropriate button. Instant Hindu ally. Just before it's time for another election.