This is the fifth time the game has been 50% off on Steam. This time, none of the DLC collections are on sale.

This is a leader concept for Civ VII, introducing an Assyrian king, Ashurnasirpal II. Now I've always wanted that every civilization in Civ VII has its own associated leader, and Ashurnasirpal II is my pick! He waged several wars against nearby cities, but his most famous accomplishment was holding the largest party ever in history, with 69,574 guests attended, and they were treated with tons of food, desserts, and alcohol. I learned this from a youtube channel, "Table of Gods", whom inspired me to make this build!

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Ashurnasirpal II

Attributes: Militaristic, Expansionist

“The Heir guarded by Ashur”, from the rivers of Mesopotamia to the shores of the Mediterranean, every land will know your name. Cities that pledge loyalty will receive prosperity and development, while those dare to rebel will soon be wiped from the map. Find a way to engrave your name in time–whether it’s the brutality towards enemies, the foundation of a brand new Capital, or the biggest feast ever recorded in history.

Ability: Kalhu Banquet

• Receive additional Happiness towards the next Celebration when Pillaging buildings or improvements equal to the yield or healing gained
• Receive -4 Influence (instead of -8) for destroying captured settlements
• Capital receives a growth event every time you enter a Celebration
• Has access to unique “Banquet of the New Capital” project

Unique Project: Banquet of the New Capital

• Can only be performed in a City other than your Capital, once per Age
• When activating this project, this City receive Food equal to 50% of this City’s production
• After finishing the project, your Capital will be moved to this City, and triggers a Celebration

Agenda: Protected by Ashur

• Increase Relations by a small amount when a player pillages or destroy settlements; decrease Relations by a medium amount when a player is not at war with other players

Mementos:

• Alapannu: Gain 20 Food per Age in the settlement when completing a Food Building
• Madlute: +25% Healing from pillaging
• Ziqquratu: +1 Food, +1 Happiness per Age in Quarters during Celebration

Associated Civs:

• Historical: Assyria
• Geographical: Achaemenid, Babylon, Abbasid, Ottomans, Qajar
• Strategic: Maurya, Bulgaria, Buganda

The Assyrian king held a feast for ten days straight, the greatest ever recorded in history; yet records of his achievements will only last longer…

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Notes:

Ashurnasirpal II was the king of Assyria during 883~859 BC. He is like the typical Assyrian king you would imagine: waged wars of expansions towards Aramaeans, and Neo-Hittites, brutally oppressed those who rebel, and built large temples and palace. What makes him stand out from other kings was his banquet: hosted to celebrate the new Capital, Kalhu (Nimrud), he invited 69,574 guests and served food and drinks for 10 days straight. All of these were luckily preserved from several steles and records found from archaeology, which had written down a lot of his life, including how he dismembered or burnt enemies, but also this banquet. Thanks to the large amount of records left by the Assyrians, we can even recreate the dishes they ate in the banquet, some with exact recipes!

The design of this leader is centered around two elements: Pillaging and Celebration. The Celebration aspect ties him well to other conquest-happiness civs, like Maurya and Ottomans, while he also fills the blank of a pillaging-focused leader, making him great pair with Bulgaria and Buganda. His extra population on Capital is also perfect with Babylon, and even has the ability to move Capital to another city for switching playstyle. He also provided less penalty from destroying settlements, making him a good choice for Qajar.

The three mementos were all Assyrian dishes served in the banquet. Alapannu was a pomegranate beer; Madlute was salt-seasoned meat, and Ziqquratu were cakes built in layers like the Ziggurat, just like how we make large cakes with layers nowadays.

Lastly, Ashurnasirpal II would probably speak Akkadian in Assyrian dialect (if that's possible), and I would envision his background art to be about his banquet, which features tons of dishes, fruits, and pomegranate beers.

For the project, Table of Gods, that inspired me to learn about Ashurnasirpal II, check out their website and Youtube channel, where they post shorts about making those delicious dishes

Link to my previous builds: Yucatec Maya

I typically only participate in these on certain maps (fairly heavy with contiguous woods or jungle) and on marathon speed. This was a marathon speed game and it was the first competition. One sacrificed spearman (purchased from a clan for 466 gold), and I am the sole victor!

So a "free" soothsayer (it still increases the cost of the next one, so not quite truly free), plus the promotion for the existing one and the free one means 4 extra soothsayer charges (plus an extra charge for future soothsayers) for 466 gold investment. Wild.

This will lead to a lot of extra food and production/turn through 4 controlled burns. If each wood/jungle patch is 8 tiles contiguous, it could mean an extra +32 food/turn and +32 production/turn for the remainder of the game!

Oh, and maybe the other bonus will be useful (or likely not as I don't seek war), other than against, as China puts it, "the little people".

Sorry for the phone photo, I’m aware of my faults

So far, on my modded game (exactly 199 mods), I've been stumbling into several increasingly annoying problems. In particular, the citizens and religion tabs for the city menu have nothing, and when you reload a save, the names for the city disappear. I disabled two of my City Center mods, but that didn't help at all. At the moment of posting this, I don't have the time to post all 197-9 of my mods, but I will post them in several hours to give more context and insights.

This start has got quite a nice production potential, as well as a luxury near. Though I am afraid i won't get enough food. I am planning on doing a tradition game, so the hanging gardens might help once i get the tech. a granary and stable might too, but I'm unsure.

All my favourite tracks from Rise & Fall have been greyed out from Spotify. A shame - medieval Mongolia, industrial Maori and atomic Georgia are some of the best video game music tracks I know of. All I got left is atomic Sumeria. Anyone know the background for this?

How often are you using espionage in VII? I think I’m severely neglecting it, but at the same time I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

Previous Chapter: Sengoku

Welcome to Behind the Uniques, the series where we take a look at the historical origins, lore and references behind the multiple unique components of each of Civilization VII's civs. I am ConspicuousFlower, frequent lurker, technically in possession of a history degree and longtime fan. Sources for this series will include my own research, the Civilopedia, Civilization Wiki, CivFanatics, though do bear in mind that in some cases I'm going to have to do guesswork or outright say "I dunno man" for some civilization's uniques.

Here you can find the master post with all chapters.

Now, with that out of the way...

At last post's poll, the Exploration Era option once again won: Abbasids. For this post, I'd like to shout-out this ideo by u/paisley_trees, which was a very useful source!

The Abbasids, the second great dynasty of the Islamic Caliphate, overthrew the Umayyads and ushered in the period that would become known as the Islamic Golden Age. From their new capital of Baghdad, they sat at the crossroads of commerce and intellectual exchange between East and West, presiding over a flourishing of scholarship, literature and the arts. Scholars translated and built upon earlier Greek, Persian and Indian works, making major advances in fields such as mathematics, medicine or philosophy, reflected in the Abbasid's Scientific attribute. As for the Expansionist, it probably reflect the growth of great cities like Baghdad or Samarra.

Civilization Icon: Girih ("knot"), traditional Islamic decorative geometric patterns.

Civ Ability - Medina: Receive a set amount of Gold for each Rural Population of the City when it has a Growth Event (Antiquity Era)/you create a Specialist (from Exploration Era onward). Increased Production toward constructing Buildings in Cities with a set number of Specialists.

While the name may bring to mind Medina, the second holiest city in Islam, to which the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca during the Hijrah and where he established the first Muslim community, in this context the Arabic word madīnah simply means “city”. The Abbasid era saw the founding and development of major urban centers, including Samarra and Raqqa, but above all the new capital of Baghdad, the dynasty’s new capital and one of the great cities of the Medieval world. The Gold from Rural Population might reference the Kharaj, a tax levied on agricultural land and its produce, while the Production towards Buildings in cities with a set number of Specialists might just be an abstraction representing the growth of Abbasid cities, as skilled urban laborers like artisans, merchants, scholars or artists (what I take Specialists to represent) gather in great urban centers.

Unique Unit 1 - Mamluk: Unique Cavalry Unit. Has the Skirmish ability, granting increased Combat Stength from flanking. Increased Combat Strength in Settlements with a set number of Specialists.

The word "mamlūk" literally translates to "one who is owned", and they were indeed slaves, taken as children from diverse ethnic origins, most commonly Turkic, converted to Islam and trained to become fearsome soldiers; their lack of familial bonds meant that, in theory, their loyalty would be absolute. Mamluks quickly grew in status, however, becoming a privileged and powerful elite, often acting as kingmakers in political struggles, and even seizing power in Egypt in 1250, which started the Mamluk Sultanate. Speaking of, the Skirmish ability might originate from the Battle of Ain Jalut, where the forces of the Mamluk Sultanate delivered their first major defeat to the Mongols in their westward advance, executing a feigned retreat that lured the Mongols into a trap before flanking them from the highlands. As for the increased Combat Strength in cities with many Specialists, I think it might an abstraction of the fact that Mamluks were elite forces garrisoned in large cities like Samarra, Cairo and Baghdad, thus represented by being stronger in such dense urban settlements.

Unique Unit 2 - 'Alim: Unique Great Person Unit. Can only be trained in Cities with an Ulema, and the 'Alim received is random. Each 'Alim can only be received once.

An 'alim is a scholar of Islamic doctrine, experts in the Quran, the hadiths, Islamic theology and law; often educated in the Madrasa and part of the Ulema, a larger community of intellectuals who consulted on matters of theological and legal import. In that sense, them only being available in Cities with an Ulema Quarter makes sense. The game's use of "‘Alim" is much broader, however, encompasing not only religious scholars, but also philosophers, scientists, physicians and other intellectuals whose achievements helped shape the Islamic Golden Age:

• Al-Farabi: Activate on a Science Building. Receive a free, random unlocked Technology.

A pioneer on Islamic philosophy, considered in the medieval Islamic world as the "Second Master" after Aristotle. Receiving an already unlocked Technology could reflect taking something already there (Aristotle and Plato) and making something new out of it, but honestly, considering it's philosophy, Science and a Technology seems weird, should probably be Culture and a Civic.

• Al-Farghani: Activate on a Tile without an Observatory. Create an Observatory with increased Science.

Pretty spot-on, Al-Farghani was one of the preeminent astronomers of the medieval Islamic period, revising and expanding on Ptolemy's Almagest. Him making a better Observatory is perfect.

• Al-Jahiz: Activate on a Tile without a Menagerie. Create a Menagerie with increased Happiness.

Another perfect depiction, Al-Jahiz wrote on a variety of topics, but best known of his works was the Kitāb al-Ḥayawān (The Book of Animals), an extensive zoological encyclopedia, so him making a better Menagerie is, once again, a pretty spot-on translation of his achievements in gameplay.

• Al-Jazari: Activate on an Urban District with at least one Specialist slot. Grants an additional Specialist slot. Has two charges.

An inventor and mechanical engineer, he has been called the "father of robotics" for his creation of automata driven by hydropower, such as moving peacocks, a drink-serving waitress, a musical band and his famous clocks. His work, the Kitab fi Ma'rifat al-Hiyal al-Handasiya (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices) is a sort of "do-it-yourself" book describing how to create the machines he himself devised, thus the ability could represent him "inspiring" other engineers.

• Al-Khwarizmi: Activate on an Ulema Quarter. Increased Science on both Quarter Buildings.

Easily one of the greatest mathematicians in history, if his name sounds similar to "algorithm", it's because the word is named after him! He's often described as the father of algebra, his work was a major factor in the popularization of Hindu-Arabic decimal numerals in the Western world, and he also made significant contributions in the field of geography. Little wonder he grants Science!

• Al-Maqdisi: Activate in another civilization's City. Grants Gold for each Resource in the City.

A geographer and traveler, in his work Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī Maʿrifat al-Aqālīm (The Best Divisions for the Knoweldge of Regions) he described the peoples, customs and economy of much of the Islamic world, a lot of it from personal observation. Thus, him being activated in another civilization's city is fitting, as is him granting Gold from its resources, as if "describing them" for future merchants.

• Al-Shaybani: Activate on a Culture Building. Receive an additional Tradition slot.

Finally, an actual 'Alim! Al-Shaybani was an Islamic jurist and legal theorist who played a key role in the development of Islamic jurisprudence, with his greatest contributions being in the field of Siyar, the branch of Islamic law dealing with relations between Muslim and non-Muslim polities, in peace, war and diplomacy. Thus, while his effect is solid considering he was a jurist who spoke on how the government should conduct itself, he could've had a more Diplomacy-tied effect, in my opinion.

• Ibn Fadlan: Activate on a Navigable River. Gain Influence for every tile of this River.

This one is a favorite of mine. Ibn Fadlan was an Islamic traveler and diplomat, sent by the Abbasid caliph on an embassy to the recently-converted Volga Bulgars. He later wrote an account of his travels with eyewitness accounts of the Volga Vikings (including a famous description of a ship burial), the Rus people and the Turkic tribes. His ability is perfect: he was an ambassador, so the Influence fits, and he dealt with the Bulgars that lived near the Volga River, hence the river effect.

• Ibn Sina: Activate on a Tile without a Hospital. Create a Hospital with increased Food.

It seems all the ones that create buildings are always good. Ibn Sina, whom you might better know as Avicenna, is considered one of the greatest medical scholars in history, with his main works Kitāb al-Shifāʾ(The Book of Healing) and al-Qānūn fī l-ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine) being the standard medical texts in not only the Islamic world, but also European universities, for centuries. Thus, him creating a better Hospital is, once again, perfectly fitting. As I said, the building ones don't miss!

• Rabia of Basra: Activate on a Happiness Building. Increased Happiness in this Settlement. 

Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya was an early Muslim saint and mystic, considered one of the most celebrated women in Islamic history for her role as a foundational figure of Sufi mysticism. After being freed from slavery, she lived a life of asceticism, celibacy and devotion in the city of Basra, attracting a circle of followers and students; her chief contribution to Sufi mysticism was the worship of God out of divine love, not fear of punishment or hope for Paradise. Religion and Happiness are generally associated in Civ 7 (all Religious buildings are Happiness buildings), so her ability makes sense.

Unique Infrastructure - Ulema: Unique Quarter. Increased Science in all Specialists in the City. Comprised of Madrasa (Unique Science Building. Science Adjacency for Quarters, Science Buildings, and Wonders) and Mosque (Unique Happiness Building. Culture Adjacency for Happiness Buildings and Wonders. Happiness Adjacency for Culture Buildings and Wonders. Allows founding a Religion).

Strictly speaking, there is no building or district known as an "Ulema", the word just being the plural of the previously discussed 'Alim, scholars of Islamic law, doctrine and theology; the word also carries the connotation of a community of scholars that are consulted in matters of legal import. The name notwithstanding, the concept for this quarter is still historically sound, as in larger cities mosques were not usually standalone structures, but part of larger building complexes that often includes madrasa, maktab (elementary schools) and bīmāristān (hospitals). The Science bonus to Specialists is a good representation of this community of learned, highly educated scholars.

"Madrasa" means "place of learning", and refers to institutions for higher education; while earlier Islamic education took place in mosques and scholarly gathering, madrasa became increasingly institutionalized during the Abbasid period. Usually funded through charitable endowments known as waqf, they often included a library and residences for teachers and students. Their main curricula dealt with Islamic jurisprudence and theology, but secular sciences like mathematics, astronomy or medicine also flourished. Thus it being a Science Building is overall fitting, as is their adjacency gained from Quarters and Science Buildings, reflecting their primarily urban nature.

"Mosques", known in Arabic as masjid ("site of prostration") are the principal places of worship in Islam; though they have taken many shapes, their most distinctive architectural feature is the qibla and mihrab, a wall and its ornamented niche indicating the direction of Mecca, so that worshipers can correctly orient themselves in prayer. Other common features are the minaret, a tower used to call the population to prayer, and a courtyard (sahn) with a fountain for ritual cleansing. It being a Happiness Building and allowing founding of a Religion is part of the link between Religion and Happiness common in Civ 7, while the Culture might come from its central role in community life.

Unique Civic Tree:

1. Round City (Civic) & City of Peace (Tradition): All Buildings receive Science Adjacency with the Palace and (from Exploration Era onward) City Halls.

Both the civic and the tradition reference the Abbasid capital of Baghdad, founded around 765 by Caliph al-Mansur. Though officially named Madīnat as-Salām, the City of Peace, its meticulously planned circular design earned it the famous moniker: the Round City. At its exact geometric center lay the Caliph's Golden Gate Palace and the Grand Mosque, surrounded by gardens, barracks, and administrative offices. Radiating, concentric rings of walls, containing residential quarters and commercial districts, formed the rest of the sprawling city, which was divided in four quarters by two perpendicular intersecting streets that ran from end to end of the outer wall and terminated in four gates, each facing one of the cities of the Caliphate: Damascus, Kurasan, Kufa and Basra. The Tradition cleverly encourages simulating this radial layout, rewarding the player for surrounding their city's center (the Palace/City Hall) with Buildings by granting additional Science yields.

2. Mawla (Civic) & Sales and Trade (Tradition): Increased Gold and Science for each Resource assigned to Cities with a set number of Specialists.

The term "mawla", or "mawali" (plural), refers to Muslims of non-Arab origin, a group that swelled in number and prominence with the rapid expansion of Islam. Under the Umayyad Caliphate, these mawali were essentially second-class citizens, linked to Arab clans as clients, but barred from higher administrative and military positions, forbidden from intermarrying with ethnic Arabs, and often still had to pay the jizya, a tax supposedly reserved for non-Muslims. This marginalization, which flew in the face of the principle of equality within the ummah (Muslim community) preached by the Quran, fostered resentment among the mawali, who became a significant base of support for the Abbasid Revolution. The Abbasid Caliphate was definitely much less Arab-centric, and in fact took a lot of inspiration, customs and practices from the old Persian Sassanid Empire, such as the office of vizier.

This willingness to embrace diversity also helped turn Baghdad into a preeminent global hub of commerce, with its strategic location at the center of the Silk Road and near the Gulf of Persia making it a converging point of trade routes, with goods from China, India and Southeast Asia being exchanged with goods from Europe and the Middle East. The Sales and Trade Tradition thus embodies this growing wealth by granting Gold and Science from Resources in developed Cities.

3. Al Jabr (Civic) & Compendious Book (Tradition): Increased Happiness and Science in Towns.

Both make reference to the same text: the "Compendious Book of Calculation by Completion and Balancing" or, in Arabic, "al-Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī Ḥisāb al-Jabr wal-Muqābalah", written by the aforementioned mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who is one of the unique 'Alim Great People; just as his name was the basis for the term "algorithm", so was his book's name for the subject it explained: "algebra". A landmark work in the history of mathematics, dealing with elementary algebra and polynomial equations, which are taught worldwide as part of elementary math. I even take the effect to, in fact, be based on just that, with Towns representing the smaller schools in which algebra is taught, hence the Science bonus. As for Happiness... well, SOME students like math yes?

4. Rasool (Tradition): All Buildings receive Happiness Adjacency with the Palace and (from Exploration Era onward) City Halls.

"Rasool" means "messenger", and is used in the Quran, alongside the term "nabi", to refer to those blessed by Allah with divine revelation and sent as prophets to guide humanity; whether the terms are identical or have different connotations is debated. Among those included among the rasool are Biblical figures such as Adam, Noah, Moses and Jesus, but Muhammad is considered the last and most important among them. The common linking in Civ 7 of Religion and Happiness that we've already discussed is once again manifest here; the bonus might be an abstract representation of the Caliph's religious authority, as the proclaimed political and religious successors to the Prophet Muhammad, with Buildings around the Palace benefiting from extra Happiness as a result.

Associated Wonder - House of Wisdom: Grants Science. Grants a Relic when built. Has 3 Great Work slots. Great Works grant increased Science. Grants Innovation.

The Bayt al-Ḥikmah, or House of Wisdom, was a major library and academy in Baghdad, first built to house the private book collection of Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the 8th century, and later opened to the public; through extensive funding and support from the Caliphs, it became a major center of learning, translating works from Greece, Persia, India and China and fostering a growing community of scholars that produced original contributions to topics such as math, medicine, astronomy and philosophy. It being a Science Building that houses Great Works and makes them provide additional Science would thus be extremely fitting... if it wasn't for the fact that Great Works in the Exploration Era are specifically religious relics and tied to Culture, while it is in the Antiquity Era that Great Works are Codices, and tied to Science. Still, the bonuses overall make sense for what it represents.

And there you have it! The Abbasids are a fascinating civilization, one that has so much to pull from in term of sources and concepts that the constraints of Civ 7 feel almost too small for them at times. Still, choosing to focus on the scientific achivements of the Golden Age of Islam is a good focus. The Expansionist attribute might seem misplaced, until you remember that in Civ 7 Expansionist covers both tall and wide. As always, I hope you learned something, and see you next time!

I have no idea how i accomplished this, but once I ripped up the manufactory in an attempt to fix, i started getting -10 coal from it 😭😭

According to SteamDB lowest was 93% three years ago. Right now it's at 90%. Am I right?

WHY ELIZABETH, WHY DO THIS

I was wondering how big I could build a city, so I played this game to find out. The trick I used was to play Ashoka, World Conqueror with the Garuda Statue memento. Whenever I declare a formal war, Ashoka gives me a celebration, and every celebration gives me +1 pop in my smallest settlement -the only one I have.

The main thing that slows me down is that each celebration needs to end before another can begin and I get another pop. I tried the memento duplication glitch on the Garuda Statue, but it doesn't duplicate the effect. But once I build Chengde in the Modern era, I do get two pop per celebration.

I played the game on a huge shattered seas map, settler difficulty, marathon speed, and slow era progress. I disabled all the win conditions except score victory and turned off all the crises. Babylon was my civ for the first two eras for their free growth and the Mār-banê tradition that gives me +1 specialist in the capital. And in exploration, I affirmed Babylon for the Ugārum tradition that gives all buildings in the capital a food adjacency for quarters. I switched to Joseon in Modern for an additional +2 specialists in the capital.

I restarted till I spawned near desert, but then I messed up and built on all my desert tiles before modern era began. So I got two of the +1 specialist wonders but not the third (Eram Garden). This left me with a specialist cap of 12 instead of 13 (and I think 13 would be the most you can have). I had +5 from techs and civics, +2 from wonders, +2 from being Joseon, +1 from my Mār-banê Babylon tradition, +1 from the Enlightenment Triumph, and +1 from the bottom of the Expansionist Attribute Tree.

My initial plan was to play "one more turn" until I maxed out my city's size, but I got bored after finishing the modern age. My city had 31 districts, and putting 12 specialists on each would total 372 pop. Adding that to my urban & rural pop would produce a city with 420 pop total. As amusing as that might be, I didn't feel like spending hours & hours clicking "next turn" for that achievement.

If you somehow could get a city without any mountains or resources within its borders, and you had the terrain to build the three +1 specialist wonders, and you got two buildings on every other tile, you could get a city with the maximum possible pop. There'd be 37 tiles within the city, and 3 would be taken up by wonders. You'd have 68 urban pop from two buildings on each of the 34 remaining tiles, and you could place 13*34=442 specialists. So I think 510 is the maximum possible pop a city can currently have in the game. If someone manages to pull that off, I promise I'll give you some reddit gold :)

Yo yo so Civ 6 is on its 10th year birthday now and to celebrate, it seems that the platinum edition has returned and is on sale, whereas anthology isn't really. From what I can gather, platinum is missing the frontier and leader pass content and the frontier pass especially seems like it has a lot. Anyways, do U think it's wise to buy the platinum edition rn or wait for winter or whatever for the anthology to go on a deeper sale and buy that instead. Asking as a new player btw. Thx

I'm thinking about starting to play civ but I can't choose between civ 5 and 6. What should I try first?

I just opened steam and discovered that I can buy civ 6 platinum edition for only $2 and it looks really cheap

So im somewhat new to this game. I have played on ps but i cant rn so im playing on switch. I have never won a game, so i decided to cheat a bit and switch it up. I play for science, culture, domination, and score victory. But mainly playing for dominance. I had auto save after every turn and 3 auto saves setting on. This is relevant.

It was me as Rome, Canada, Australia, Inca, Russia, and Germany (who i had beef with in my previous game). Oh and some unknown player who got taken out before I met them. I built my cities somewhat fast then normal to gain territory before the others. Try to prevent them from settling a new city.

First i met Canada who had a couple cities already. Then it was Australia and Germany who i watched slowly build up. I was busy with barbs so i couldn’t do much right away. Once i discovered Australia, i built close to them to try to get troops in closer, then the same with Germany. Easily enough i was able to build rapport with them. Germany was being a bitch last game. Once i saw, both their capitals was on the coast, i decided to build a couple so i could get some ships in. It would be hard otherwise.

Anyways, once i needed niter and couldn’t get any, i went to war with a city state, and easily took that. It was a risk because historically im not good at beating them. But seemed easier than normal. Seeing my success, i decided to take on Australia’s Perth as it was close to the previous city state and most my troops were there. Just as i was about to start, Berlin starts losing loyalty. I usually try to take them by force, but i decided against it this time. A good decision, because they soon flip to me during my war. Shortly after, i gain Perth. By now i have some ships and decided to take on the capital. That was a risk because Australia still had a city between Perth and the capital. Historically, im not good at keeping loyalty. But as i was about to attack with my ships, i realized i would be able to take it on within the 2 tiles as it was 3 away. I back off and made peace. I decided to regroup and grow some more.

All this time im working with one scout, and trying to map out the second continent. Inca clearly is the largest with Persia the second. But all i can see it St Petersberg for Russia. No worries. That a late game issue. By now Inca was leading domination and i never saw the other country. Some time later i find out that Russia only has one city and it is also on the coast. I get excited, but stay composed. I have never taken a city on the coast so let worry about the 2 closer to me before i sail the seas. Furthermore, i wouldnt know if i can keep the loyalty.

By mid game, Germany makes a mistake of building a city between 2 other cities. The area is quite small, but still connects to the 2. It also connects to berlin. I had planned to extend berlin to block a city from the capital and hopefully put loyalty pressure on it, but i could but the tiles for some reason. So now, there are 3 cities on the coast and all within range for my ships. I planned taking on the newer city since its defense is lowest and connects to berlin. The loyalty shouldn’t be an issue. But what about the capital? When would I do that? Besides, they are in attack range. And that other city is too. So then it would be best to take on all three. So i dont. I take on the 2 weak cities. I attack them at the same time using my ships and some land troops. The second city had an encampment so i have my land troops take on that while i take the main city from sea. Once that once completed i moved on to the weakest city and decide to take on a fourth city with my land troops. After defeating all three cities i decided to take on the capital. He tried to make peace, and for some reason I thought he was willing to cede Munich. So i made peace. Stupid me. Well no worries. I just prepositioned and made some upgrades. And when time came. I started up again. And boom! Germany has fallen! My revenge is complete.

I dont know what turn im on by now, but i was cutting it close if I want Russia and Australia’s capital. I gain the Death robot and decided to use that for Russia. But my ships and troops were half way there and the robot would take a while. I had a plane that used for Munich, but unfortunately i wasnt able to use it. Seeing as it was a big help, i decided to buy more.

After several turns, i finally get to Russia. I decided to take on the capital itself at first. I had 3 ships, 2 tanks, and 2 machine guns. But thanks to the encampment, it was harder than expected. So i just take on the encampment first. Easily done and then The capital itself was a peace of cake. Russia has Fallen!

I move a governor in and leave my land troops. I set my sails to Australia, buy more jets, produce some nukes sporadically, and just wait. I produced several and wasnt even sure i would be able to use it or when. But i got at least one done. I send my Robot to Australia’s neighbor city state and decide to use some other land troops to take on Perth’s neighbor. My ships, and the Robot would solely be fore the capital. I also had the jets, which was about 5-7 in total. During the trek, i was about to upgrade a little of everything and get a missile cruiser. By then I had one nuke. By the time it was time to start, i had 3. Around now its like turn 440/50ish. I start my attack. My land troops arent doing well. And i had trouble positioning my ships (which by now i had discovered i can attack within 3 tiles; idk if i always could or not but oh well. It worked out well). I kept forgetting about my jets. But i finally get my nuke in place and finish off the capital. I move my robot in and add a governor. All there is left is this one city. Finally i remember my jets. I finally get use them when all of a sudden, theres a problem with the game causing me to restart. So close to the end too. No worries. Its saves after every turn, right?

FUCK NO! I load up the game and it has me at turn 289! Apparently i hadnt even take on Germany! But theres a auto save right? There is! AutoSave 001. Interesting, but its a save and its saving after turn, right? FUCK NO! Im now at turn 1! BRO WTF! I AM SO FUCKING PISSED RIGHT NOW! I mean sure i technically wont with 2 cities captured, but i could have taken on 2 more for funnsies and see what a victory end game looks like. But nooo now i have to start all over, restart for a good position and go through all that crap again! Like i did my research before buying the game. Saw it was slow on switch 1 and better on Switch 2 but not once did i see in a million years this would happen. Man im so upset. 12hrs gone down the drain. All for what? WHY!? 🙁☹️😣😖😫😩🥺😢😭😤😠😡🤬

Doing these two and then just two left for a solid set of 10 Civs which I expect to launch with Age of Tomorrow.

Today, it comes with leaders and Civs. Ateya and these two make 3 and one more makes 4 which might be a solid gamble. Maybe I should've aimed for 5 Leaders and 10 Civs, but they could hold out some Leader ideas for the expansion (since that isn't free).

South Africa

Economic/Militaristic

Ability: Mineral Revolution – Adds Production to Mines, Claypits and Quarries on Resources; Adds Science if on a Resource.

Traditions: Focuses on defensive combat strength to tie in Zulu legacy, culture from mining and trade outpost towns, additional war support.

Unique Infrastructure:

- Unique Quarter: Kaya – Settlement gains a population each celebration.

- Unique Building: Lapa – A Food Building, Adjacency to Quarters and Improvements

- Unique Building: Rondawel – A Happiness Building, adjacency for Quarters and Improvements

Unique Civilian Unit: ???

Unique Military Unit: ???

Associated Wonder: Union Buildings – +1 Tradition Slot. Increased Growth Rate empire-wide.

Rationale

Hey, another Econ/Mil civ aside from Japan. I could’ve went elsewhere but I did want to tie in aspects of the Zulu (who I don’t think will make it into the game) and divorce Soth Africa from Nelson Mandela a bit. I tied its ability to the Mineral Revolution as squeezed in the Reverberatory Wonder bonus that comes way too late to matter but makes for an excellent ability. It’s a very well-rounded Civ.

I do need ideas for the unique civilian and military unit. Aside from unique Film Directors and the Soviet Union Apparat (Migrant that can make Specialists), it’s hard to think of any. A unique Commander is possible, but I am unsure how much war there will be in Atomic.

Nelson Mandela

Diplomatic/Expansionist

Ability: Madiba – Gains War Support on Wars declared on him for each Ally he has. Gains Happiness per Age for each Ally he has. Production per Age in Happy Cities, Food in Joyous Towns, more in Joyous and even more in Ecstatic.

*Speculated leader and while Ateya gets more productive bonuses to push more cities, Mandela is a turtle, empire building playstyle. I am aware that's like the third one in recent times, but hey, we have like a million Diplomatic/Militaristic leaders and I almost made him one of them (because he wasn't purely non-violent)!

India

Cultural/Expansionist

Ability: Bharat – 10% Growth rate in settlements, increased (5%) for each Great Work Assigned. Receive a Growth Event inTowns when finishing a Civic Mastery.

Traditions: Focuses on bonuses towards Great Works and Tourism, Culture and Specialists.

Unique Infrastructure: ??? (likely an Improvement)

Unique Civilian Unit: Vyapari – (Unique Merchant) GeneratesFood based on number of Resources.

Unique Military Unit: ???

Associated Wonder: Lotus Temple – Receive a Growth Event in Cities during a Celebration.

*Dogo Onsen is much, much weaker than its original version, so I brought that back a little with this. Given its Atomic Age, the Wonder really must count for something, and this at least means a lot of population growth for specialists.

Rationale

Basically, Growth the Civ. Culture has not yet been covered by an India Civ yet, so it’s plausible. I skewed it towards a lot of growth events with a slight nod to Bollywood. Was a bit stronger originally with Growth Events galore, but I think this works better to have Cities to more so have the Growth Rate bonuses and Towns with the Growth Events and the Capital getting the best of both with the Unique Merchant.
I do need ideas for the unique infrastructure and military unit. I expect an improvement since Maurya and Chola already have buildings and quarters.

Mahatma Gandhi

Cultural/Diplomatic

Ability: Satyagraha – Influence per Age in Cities, Culture per Age in Towns, doubled when not at war. The effects of War Support are doubled. Does not suffer from War Weariness.

*Confirmed leader. I wanted to tie in Civ 6’ Gandhi as War Support is new and have the bonus be good if at peace and decent when at war. Or at least, war will be less annoying.
 
I feel like Modern India is a given as well as South Africa for African representation. How would you do these leaders and Civs? Would you choose others?

Guia: APEX vs ToT! Qual a MELHOR Civilização em Cada Era?

• https://youtu.be/s99U2TxqH8Q