Pre-Game Planning

So, Space without an Alphabet.  What would that mean?  Obviously, it would delay early tech trading, but it wouldn't prevent it.  The AI would research Alphabet on their own, and there was no restrictions on AI trades once they had it.  It just meant I wouldn't be able to control/predict when trading was available, so any early techs I needed I better research for myself.  It also meant none of the techs with Alphabet as a pre-requisite.  That included Literature (so no Epics!), Drama (no cheap Theaters), Music (no Cathedrals), and by extension no Military Tradition (no Cavalry!).  A lot of culture off the table, good thing we are Creative and get the free culture anyway.  Speaking of culture, removing those techs also means we will never be able to use the Culture slider, so happiness could be a real concern.  (Lack of Theaters and Cathedrals are two more happiness tools out of the toolbox).  And no building Culture (which I rarely do) or building Research (which I DO like to do, especially in the late game space race).  

Well, one of the things I have regretted about the last two Adventures was my lack of an early religion, and not really doing a good job of taking advantage of the ones I did have.  This game sounds like the perfect opportunity to do just that.  An early religion spread throughout my lands can provide some of the happiness and culture I will otherwise lack, and spreading it to my neighbors will help provide a buffer of peace so I can focus on what is truly important, getting to the stars!  Since I didn't start with Mysticism (even though I'm Spiritual), I had to be prepared to be beaten to the first couple religions (especially with Isabella in the game), but I felt I had a good shot at Judaism.  My plan was to peacefully (but quickly) expand to get a decent base of cities, lock in an early religion, then try to quietly tech my way to victory.

Here's the start location, after moving my warriors to the hill (the Ivory would come in handy as an early luxury).  \since my early Settler moves have cost me in the last couple games, I didn't really think twice, I settled on the spot, and built a worker first.  All those Flood Plains, food would not be an issue here!  In fact, I could see lots of early cottages (another shortcoming in my earlier games, I generally farmed first and built cottages later).  Settling also revealed a couple nearby huts, and Gold and Marble just out of reach to the north.  My first research topic was Mysticism to chase the early religions.  At least with the river I had a boost to my research, I might get to Polytheism first.  I completed Mysticism in 3720, and started on Poly, a couple turns later (3640) Buddhism was FIDL (is that Izzy out there?).  

Early Exploration

Meanwhile, my warrior had popped a couple huts, getting 56g and some experience (Woodsman II, very useful for a scouting warrior).  That would come in very handy, as he was attacked by panthers a couple turns later, and barely survived.  My worker finished in 3400, and I started on another Warrior, while the worker began farming one of the adjacent FP tiles.    I was rewarded for my early pursuit in 3240BC, when I researched Polytheism and Hinduism was FIML (Found In My Land! ).  With the early religion secured, I now started researching Hunting to make use of the Ivory, as well as allowing me to build a scout.  My borders expanded again in 3120, popping the hut by the coast and giving me a free Scout, so now I wish I'd gone for Animal Husbandry first, but oh well.  That was my next research target after I got Hunting in 3040. 

I built another Warrior to grow to size 3, then started my first settler in 2800.  My scouts had met a couple of 4-legged wolves, and then the 2-legged kind (Qin) in 2520.  Man, I'm getting tired of having him for a neighbor!  I had a pretty good view of my surroundings by now, though, and it was time to plan where my settlers would be headed.

The DotMap

I hadn't seen any nearby neighbors, the unit of Qin's I met was up in the Northwest corner, so it looked like I had some room to settle.  Now my usual rule of thumb is to try to get at least 2 bonus resources for each city, and a site with 3 (or two and FPs, like Thebes) can usually grow to be a powerful city.  But when I saw that site marked in red, my jaw dropped!  6 Bonus sites (actually 7, there was another dye covered by fog), ON A RIVER, that city could power my economy for centuries once I got Calender.  So even though it was further off than I like for my first city, it was my immediate priority.  And the best part was it still left multiple good city sites around it, with Pink being my number 2 choice (productive and fast growth), and Orange being #3.  There were some decent sites to the south, Green especially would be useful to get the Horses (I didn't see the horses in Pink's radius yet), but they could definitely wait.  The initial push had to be north. 

Here's Memphis, founded in 2160, the same turn Priesthood was researched.  Notice also I can now see the horses by the future site of Pink.  The next turn, I met Huayna to the south, it seems I am on the end of a horseshoe, with Qin on the northern arm, and Huayna on the southern arm, but both far enough off that I can claim most of this area if I'm quick enough.  In 2000BC Pliny proclaims me the largest civ in the world, suprising as I still only have 2 cities. 

This was a tragic tale, as my scouts popped a hut, gaining 6XP, but as you can see, their turn ended adjacent to the Barb warriors. 

I guess this would have been a good case for Autopromote, I don't know if the Woodsman II would have been enough to save them, but it might have helped!

They didn't live long enough to enjoy their new experience.