All of the violence was done at the behest of Bach! Gandhi came around to return peace and stability to the empire…
In regard to our particular game, if I was @SpiceTheCat, in a non-tournament game, I’d have forfeited when it was clear there was no chance of recovering (probably after the War on Territory, on even after taking the second Aggression).
As for yourself, you were left in a position going into Age IV where it was clear you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself (only enough production for 1 age III unit, not enough science to learn an age III tech, and only two military actions).
Yeah, one of the issues in multiplayer is not being to control whether one opponent takes advantage of another opponent’s weakness, but being able to either successfully defend yourself, or cast doubt as to whether a war would be successful against you is a key part of the endgame.I used to ignore culture early, and count on a big war to win the game, but as I began playing better players, I’ve found this strategy working less and less. I still struggle with getting culture earlier in the game, but I’m less likely to go all-in on military than I used to. I finished this game at a paltry 50 military strength!
I’ve mentioned it here before, but two Air Forces and 2 Age 1 Classic Armies (knights/swordsmen) is 58 strength. Add in a Military Theory to allow the MAs to declare war and build units on the same turn and you are at 63. When declaring war on the final turn, production isn’t that important, so you can abandon your mines and labs to build more troops.
Always be ready for your opponents to double their strength on the last turn!
Holy smokes, people! We finished what I thought would be the longest game in 22 days!
Kudos to all but I will need a few days to get my act together for the next round.
In the meantime, why not take the opportunity to learn or refresh on our next game, Race for the Galaxy, or start a practice game of Terraforming Mars?
Heck, play another game of Through the Ages now that you remember how to play and realize that 50 strength is actually not that hard to achieve if you play your cards right…
See you soon! (By the end of the week, I promise…)
Our seventh game is a different take on the economic/civilization building theme, ranked #64 overall on BGG (but obviously a Stately Play fave!) and should be a bit more accessible with its 2.99 / 5.00 Complexity rating…
The first player at each table will please create a “Custom” online game, add any expansions, and then invite the other two players (friend requests may need to be sent first, of course.)
Recommended settings:
4 weeks
Gathering Storm expansion (with goals) - there seems to be good consensus that this is a better experience for folks who know the game already
As always, each table can decide if they want to play with any, none, or all of the expansions and change any settings based on that.
The winner of each game will please post a screenshot of the final outcome, including scores.
If the creator of a table owns the expansion then the other players do not need to own it. I’d recommend each table work out who actually creates the game if it helps save on unwanted IAP purchases.
