Groundhog Day Mk. IX - Round 9

It's Groundhog Day again! My apologies for the hiatus; I was visiting friends in Canada. But now I'm back, and round 9 and round 10 are both pretty much ready to go. So let's set out onto the home stretch, as Sulu tries to maintain the lead it has held since round 3!

The second cities roll out—well, most of them anyway. Fillmore hasn't settled and is not moving his settler after Poland took the spot he wanted.

The first war is a dangerous-looking fight between Leon and Bohemia. Judging by the state of Vaclav's army, I don't think we'll be seeing a repeat of his exceptional round 8 performance.

Shortly afterward, Poland attacks America, and there's no way poor one-city-Fillmore can defend against this.

Another frequent early war breaks out as Benin attacks Songhai. Askia's brain-dead second city placement is probably a contributing factor.

Ten turns later, Gao falls. Amazingly, Songhai's ridiculous forward settle is still standing.

But while Askia survives, Fillmore is not so lucky. Poland takes Washington, eliminating Millard Fillmore of the United States in 21st place.

Konbaung decides to finish off Songhai, which should be a pretty easy task, all things considered.

Two turns later, Tombouctou is captured and razed. Askia of Songhai is eliminated in 20th place.

After a brief and inconclusive war, Wallachia makes peace with Poland and gives away Arges. Casimir burns the city to the ground.

Rapa Nui takes advantage of Wallachia's moment of weakness and declares war!

Five wars start on the same turn, including Maurya vs. Benin. Sulu vs. Bohemia could also be relevant.

Wallachia signs another peace treaty and gives away Campulung, this time to Rapa Nui.

The Shoshone declare war on Sulu! Dungun has no natural defenses and will be easy for Pocatello to overwhelm.

But this doesn't stop Sulu from sniping Prague with a Proa!

But the city quickly flips back to Bohemia and then to Leon.

Maurya manages to take Gao from Benin, thanks in part to a Konbaung invasion that's been forcing Ewuare to fight on two fronts.

Japan and the Massagetae launch a two front war against Rapa Nui! If nothing else, Japan should be able to take Rapa Nui's colony north of Kyoto.

The Shoshone take Dungun and then make peace with Sulu, as the armies of both sides are dangerously depleted.

Instead of going for the colony, Japan crosses the bay and captures Campulung instead! Didn't see that one coming.

The Shoshone attack Venezuela, but it's not clear to me that Pocatello is strong enough to pull this off.

Meanwhile, it seems that Benin has retaken Gao from Maurya and has held off the Konbaung attack.

Just as the Shoshone manage to beat down Caracas, they are suddenly faced with a serious declaration of war from Leon!

Caracas flips; can Pocatello secure it before his lands are overrun from the east?

Japan finally takes Mataveri, leaving Rapa Nui with only its two core cities.

And Rapa Nui makes peace, giving away Hanga Piko. Japan now has a lot of land, but they look dangerously overextended, and Scotland appears to be knocking on the gates of Glasgow.

Córdoba attacks Venezuela, and it looks like Valencia could be in trouble.

Just a quick look back down at this area, where Veneuzela has kept its capital and Leon is trying to take Moson Kahni.

Córdoba takes Valencia and then joins the war against the Shoshone.

Scotland manages to take Tokyo, which wasn't connected to the rest of Japan. Note that the Tanguts appear to have built the Great Wall.

Maurya tries again to attack Benin, this time with help from Burundi.

And Leon decides to finish off Bohemia, after having apparently been beaten back from Moson Kahni.

Japan builds up enough troops to not just fight off the Scottish attack, but to take Glasgow as well!

Indeed, Maurya is able to retake Gao! And this time, Ashoka has brought more than three units to hold onto it.

Leon finally takes Plzen, eliminating Vaclav II of Bohemia in 19th place.

Córdoba simultaneously and unilaterally attacks Venezuela and Leon. I find this move to be questionable.

The Tanguts and Rapa Nui decide to work together to halt the rapid rise of Japan! But with just three cities between them against Japan's six, is there any hope for this coalition of the brave?

The Massagetae and Benin form a similar coalition against Konbaung! Never mind that Benin is still at war with Burundi as well.

Sulu and Leon join the attack on Japan! Can Oda Nobunaga pull through?

Venezuela retakes Valencia with a naval attack. I told Abd-ar-Rahman that declaring war on two civs at once was a bad idea!

The Massagetae manage to take Inwa, despite a Burundian citadel robbing it off half its land.

Apparently Japan made peace with Scotland and got Tokyo back again. Nice.

Benin does its part in the invasion of Konbaung, taling Amarapura, which was built near the ruins of Tombouctou.

Japan absolutely annihilates the weakest member of the coalition, taking Hanga Roa and eliminating Hotu Matua of Rapa Nui in 18th place.

Córdoba makes peace with Venezuela and gives away Tulaytulah. Weirdly enough, Chavez seems to be on the rise, despite his earlier brush with death.

And the Massagetae take Shwebo, eliminating Alaungpaya of Konbaung in 17th place.

Two turns later, the Vikings sweep in and take Targoviste, eliminating Vlad III of Wallachia in 16th place.

The Shoshone decide to try again to kill Sulu.

Maurya and Burundi try teaming up against Benin a second time. With Gao now available as a forward operating base, Ashoka could make further inroads into his longtime enemy.

The Massagetae decide to make a move out of Córdoba's playbook and unilaterally attack both Poland and Burundi at the same time.

This elicits an immediate response from Oda Nobunaga, who declares war on Tomyris!

Second time's a charm, right? Pocatello finally rolls into Bauang, eliminating Jamalul Kiram of Sulu in 15th place.

Despite already being at war with the Massagetae, Oda Nobunaga opens up a second front by declaring war on Scotland.

Now, it's time for the stats. You might have noticed that I completely forgot the turn 100 stats. Oh well. Here are the turn 200 stats instead. Leon currently has the largest army, but Japan holds second despite being in a state of almost constant war.

Leon and the Massagetae lead in technologies, but everyone is fairly close together.

And Leon also leads in production, followed very closely by Japan, much like in military manpower.

Somehow, Leon manages to get units through to Tokyo and takes the city.

But Japan gets a bigger windfall elsewhere when Weiming Yuanhao gives away Xiazhou in a peace treaty.

Maurya storms into Beninese territory, taking Ife! Although Benin might be able to flip it back once, Burundian triremes are closing in from the north, crushing the remains of Ewuare's army between the hammer and the anvil.

The Massagetae lash out at Japan and capture Hanga Roa, with some help from a trio of Leonese galleasses.

Maurya seizes Edo! Benin is on its way out!

Meanwhile, Poland makes inroads against the Massagetae, capturing Inwa.

And Japan fairly conclusively retakes Hanga Roa.

Maurya captures Amarapura, eliminating Ewuare of Benin in 14th place.

Tomyris recaptures Inwa and makes peace with Poland.

Casimir then turns his attention to a different neighbour, Burundi.

The Massagetae now join the war against Burundi on Poland's side. The politics here are a real mess, I have to say.

And Maurya also joins the fun! Everyone hates Burundi, apparently!

But wait, there's more. Maurya also hates the Massagetae and declares war on them too. I guess for Ashoka, the enemy of my enemy isn't my friend.

Maurya strikes first, taking the island city of Aral.

Ashoka then snipes Bujumbura with a single trireme. That's a shame, considering Poland did most of the damage and probably deserved to take the city.

But Poland does take Gitega, leaving Burundi with a single island city.

And Poland takes that as well, eliminating Cambarantana of Burundi in 13th place.

Then, as if to reiterate how messed up the politics of this area are, Tomyris declares war on Casimir again.

Several wars break out all at once, but most importantly, Maurya has declared war on Poland! Can Casimir hold off the two other strongest powers on his subcontinent? Also note that Córdoba has declared war on its stronger neighbour, Venezuela.

But Córdoba has backup in the form of the Shoshone! Still, will it be enough?

Meanwhile, the Massagetae have taken Gitega from Poland, denying Maurya a city they doubtlessly wanted.

Venezuela easily kills Córdoba, eliminating Abd-ar-Rahman III in 12th place.

Maurya begins to make its way up the chain of islands off the coast, taking Muyinga.

Venezuela strikes back at the Shoshone, capturing Te Moak and attempting to raze it!

Poland loses its capital to the Massagetae! What a disaster! At the same moment, the Vikings declare war, sealing Poland's fate.

Poland retook its capital, only to lose it to the Vikings. Now it seems like Ragnar will be the one to finish off Poland.

And just like that, Poland is gone. Maurya takes Lodz, the Massagetae capture Krakow, and then finally the Vikings take Washington, eliminating Casimir III of Poland in 11th place.

Time for the turn 300 stats! Japan has risen to the top in military manpower despite many wars, while the Vikings, who until recently had been pretty quiet, have surged into second.

The Massagetae lead in technologies, but the race is still close, with the Shoshone and Leon both within two techs.

Maurya now has the most production by a fairly large margin, while Japan just barely edges out Leon for second place.

The Shoshone make peace with Venezuela and give away Dungun, creating some very strange borders. But Chavez chooses to raze the city, so those borders won't last long.

Maurya and Japan both attack Venezuela, and this ill-advised city seems to be the focal point of the dispute.

Indeed, Turmero quickly falls, and is razed.

Leon manages to capture Dungun before it's razed and then makes peace, ensuring that border gore remains possible.

Suddenly, the Massagetae attack Maurya! It's a real clash of the titans—can Tomyris' superior technology put her on top?

The Vikings join the war on the side of the Massagetae! The stage is set, it's time for the showdown!

Leon contributes the most to the world's fair by a pretty wide margin. I wasn't really expecting that.

Surprisingly, Maurya makes the first strike in the war, capturing Shwebo!

The Vikings manage to capture Lodz, but Maurya appears to have a stronger naval presence in the area.

The Massagetae take Bujumbura, and now the Mauryan navy appears to be out of melee units.

At some point Maurya managed to take Ciudad Guyana as well, but the two sides appear to have since made peace.

Maurya has also recaptured Lodz, and now this front is a ghost town. Bujumbura continues to flip off screen.

The Shoshone attack Leon in a bid to reunite the two halves of their empire. They might succeed, but only temporarily, as Leon clearly is in the stronger position.

The Maurya-Massagetae war finally ends, and Tomyris gives away Gitega. The battle is a major, if not decisive, victory for Maurya.

The Shoshone capture Dungun, and it doesn't appear that Leon has organized a major counterattack yet.

Turn 400 arrives, and now Japan has the largest military. Venezuela has risen to third.

Japan and Maurya are also now in the lead in technologies, outstripping the lesser civilizations that were previously on top.

The Massagetae declare war on the Vikings, but it's not clear that Tomyris has a path to victory anymore.

Nevertheless, she manages to take Warsaw, at least briefly.

But the Vikings retakes the city and the two sides make peace.

Meanwhile, Leon finally wakes up and takes Moson Kahnia and Dungun from the Shoshone.

Then Bauang follows, eliminating Pocatello of the Shoshone in 10th place.

Maurya declares war on Venezuela again, but unless Ashoka can get some more ships out here, he'll probably lose Ciudad Guyana.

Leon attacks Scotland in the next stage of Alfonso's effort to unify the centre of the western subcontinent.

The Massagetae attack the Vikings again, but can they be any more successful than last time?

Maurya takes Venezuela's pointless antarctic city of Ciudad Bolivar.

Once again, Tomyris takes Warsaw, but appears unable to hold it.

Meanwhile, Leon captures Edinburgh, eliminating James VI of Scotland in 9th place.

Maurya begins to make inroads on the Venezuelan mainland, capturing Barcelona!

Suddenly, Leon joins the war against Venezuela, all but sealing Chavez's fate.

Leon takes Turmero and snipes Caracas with a cuirassier that quickly fled the scene.

Leon also takes Maracaibo.

But then Maurya and Japan both declare war on Leon! Alfonso is in big trouble now!

But that won't stop him from capturing Córdoba, further neutering Venezuela. Maurya does its part too, taking Barquisimeto.

Maurya attempts to push inland, taking Turmero. On the eastern front, Japan has captured Edinburgh.

Caracas falls! Could this transoceanic invasion actually pay off?

Maurya takes Maracaibo! Make that MAURYACAIBO HAHAHAHAHAHA

Ashoka makes peace with Hugo Chavez and receives Maturin, giving Maurya full control over all the Venezuelan island cities.

The focus is now solely on Leon. Japan lands the most devastating blow yet, taking Leon itself!

The second Viking-Massagetae war ends with Ragnar back in control of Warsaw, as well as Krakow, which Tomyris held at the start of the war.

Venezuela recaptures Córdoba from Leon, but just when Chavez thinks he's on the road to recovery, he gets attacked by Nepal.

Japan has taken Tokyo but has lost control of Leon.

However, this appears to be only a temporary setback, as Japan captures Leon and Burbia while Maurya takes Bauang.

Japan captures Astorga! We might be on the home stretch of this war now.

Venezuela makes peace with Leon and gives away Valencia, which is basically the same as giving a city to Maurya.

Indeed, Ashoka wastes no time taking the city.

Japan captures Plzen while forces from both attackers surround Moson Kahni.

And Maurya gets Moson Kahni, as well as Dungun.

Japan drops out of the war and receives Burgos and Dueñas in the peace treaty.

Japan and Maurya then team up against the Vikings. This war will feature a huge naval battle in the northern bay, which both civs have almost completely carpeted.

But Vikings resistance quickly collapses under the double onslaught. Maurya takes Krakow, and Japan has already nearly destroyed the Viking navy.

Now the main Japanese force begins to roll in, taking Targoviste!

A crack detachment manages to get all the way in to Warsaw!

Meanwhile, Nepal has captured Tularytulah, but is unable to completely finish off Venezuela.

Japan tears straight into the heart of Ragnar's empire, taking Trondheim!

Japan then drops out of the war in exchange for Bergen.

And later that same turn, Maurya takes Washington, eliminating Ragnar of the Vikings in 8th place.

And now it's time for the turn 500 stats. Maurya now leads in soldiers again, but Japan is also fielding a very solid army.

Maurya is two techs ahead of Japan—not a huge gap, but it could be the beginning of a snowballing lead.

And Maurya also leads in production by a decent margin. Japan isn't out yet, but it will be an uphill battle.

Finally, Nepal manages to capture Córdoba, eliminating Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in 7th place.

Japan needs to take out all the smaller nations in order to level the playing field with Maurya, and it looks like Oda has come to the same conclusion, because he's launched a new war against Leon.

Leon actually manages to recapture Dueñas, but I can't imagine it will last very long.

Indeed, Japan quickly moves into both Dueñas and Prague.

But Oda decides to leave Leon's last city for later, and instead makes peace and attacks Nepal.

After a while, Oda Manages to take Córdoba, but weird borders and dense mountains are making progress difficult.

But eventually Japan begins to break through, taking Tulaytulah.

Nepal retakes Tulaytulah but loses Pokhara.

Then Kathmandu falls, exiling Nepal to an island off the Mauryan coast.

Then Oda goes back to finish off Leon. It's not how I would have done it, but it works, I guess.

Oviedo quickly falls, eliminating Alfonso of Leon in 6th place.

Turn 600 arrives with more stats. Maurya continues to lead in soldiers, now by much more than before.

Maurya's tech lead has increased from two techs to five.

And the production gap has grown too, despite Japan capturing more cities.

Japan moves on to its next target: the Massagetae. At this rate it looks like Japan really will take out all of the smaller nations before the final showdown with Maurya.

Four turns into the war, Japan absolutely smashes the Massagetae, taking both Oxus and Jaxartes.

Chorasmia follows shortly thereafter.

And finally, Inwa falls, eliminating Tomyris of the Massagetae in 5th place. In the background, Maurya declares war on Nepal.

One turn later, Maurya overwhelms Lalitpur, eliminating Prithvi Narayan of Nepal in 4th place.

Japan turns on the last minor nation: the Tanguts. They've sat in their mountains this whole time, just like Tibet from the CBR Mk. 2, only with the great wall. The wall is still active, but it probably won't save them.

Three turns later, Xinqing falls, eliminating Weiming Yuanhao of the Tanguts in third place. Talk about a turtle.

Maurya wins the international games...

And the international space station...

Finally, turn 700 arrives, which means it's time for me to declare world war. But first, some final stats. Japan's military is now marginally larger than Maurya's, but for all intents and purposes, they're even.

Maurya has eight more techs than Japan, but neither has finished the tech tree.

And Maurya has slightly more production than Japan, but a few city flips could send it either way. I'd give the advantage to Maurya, but it's not decided yet.

And now the war begins! This area should be easy for Maurya to conquer.

Inwa, which was surrounded by Mauryan territory, is the first to fall.

Warsaw soon follows as Japan struggles to assemble a defensive force.

Meanwhile, Japan is throwing everything at the Mauryan cities on the west coast, taking Maracaibo.

A Japanese naval detachment also manages to take Aral.

Those same ships sweep into Shwebo, dealing a surprise blow to Maurya.

Maurya makes an effort on the western front, retaking Maracaibo and capturing Dueñas. But Japan might have the upper hand overall.

Indeed, Japan makes a massive push, taking Dueñas, Moson Kahni, Maracaibo, and Valencia!

In the east, Maurya takes Oxus, but Japan continues to hold the coast.

The two sides make peace, so I restart the war!

Maurya strikes back, taking Moson Kahni and Oviedo.

Nukes begin to fly as the two sides try to end the war a second time.

Japan retakes Warsaw and Oxus, but loses Shwebo and Aral.

Oda has also recaptured Oviedo and Moson Kahni.

Japan takes Inwa but loses Warsaw, and I'm forced to restart the war yet again.

Eventually Maurya manages to make serious inroads on the eastern front, taking Inwa, Jaxartes, Oxus, and Izumo.

Maurya also takes Maracaibo and Oviedo again. I cancel another ill-timed peace treaty.

But in the east, Japan retakes Oxus, Jaxartes, and Shwebo. I shoot down yet another peace treaty.

Japan retakes Dueñas but loses Valencia.

Japan loses Shwebo, Jaxartes, and Oxus.

Maurya breaks all the way through to the northern bay, taking Trondheim and Targoviste.

In the west, Japan is making incremental progress, retaking Moson Kahni, Maracaibo, Oviedo, and Valencia, as well as Barquisimeto. Another peace treaty is cancelled.

The eastern front doesn't appear to have changed, but the two sides did attempt to make peace just one turn after I ended the previous peace treaty.

Maurya makes another modest effort, taking Campulung.

Suddenly, Maurya makes a huge push in the west, capturing Barquisimeto, Maracaibo, Moson Kahni, Oviedo, Dueñas, Astorga, and Córdoba. This is a devastating blow to Japan, and it seems to signal that Maurya has at last broken the stalemate.

One turn later, Maurya has also taken Valencia.

Tulaytulah, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Nagoya, and Leon all follow within the next few turns.

Maurya takes Maturin but loses Tokyo.

But then Ashoka retakes Tokyo and captures Glasgow as well.

Hanga Roa is captured...

Prague, Satsuma, Plzen, and Nagasaki are all captured...

Kyoto, Kathmandu, and Pokhara...

Hanga Piko and Osaka...

And with the fall of Xinqing, it's all over. Maurya has won round 9! Had Japan triumphed, they would have tied Sulu for the overall lead, but alas, it was not to be.

The score now stands as follows:

Sulu: 1
Venezuela: 1
Leon: 1
Benin: 1
The Vikings: 1
Burundi: 1
Maurya: 1
Japan: 0.5
The Shoshone: 0.5
Konbaung: 0.5

Thanks for reading, and round 10 (possibly the finale!) will be coming very soon.