Picture this: Deity Level, Ragin' Hordes, and 7 Civs. All taking place on a random world. As Henry IV, first of the Bourbon Kings, I began to exercise my military influence over my neighbours from the moment I came into possession of a few units. The first few centuries found the French civilization at war constantly with her neighbours, the English, the Japanese, the Romans, the Spanish, the Indians, and the Americans. When I write constantly, I really mean constantly! No stop to the wars that were waged from 3000 B.C. to about 1090 A.D. I found myself at war with one civ or another every single turn. Some payed off, but others didn't. In the big picture however, the wars that were fought did not amount to a waste of resources. The French Empire had grown EXTREMELY rapidly, due to the amount of money pumped into the construction and maintenance of military units. I had switched from a monarchy to a fundamentalist government and my cities were churning out Fanatics which helped enormously. To make a long story short, I destroyed the other civs relatively easily by makin' and breakin' treaties, alliances and cease fires. Sure, my reputation suffered and no one trusted me. But hey, you don't get too far in Civ if you fight clean and worry about what the global community thinks about you. :) Besides, who's the ruler of the world now? :)

Benevolent Dictator for Life: Frederich Kleinhauffer (aka High Priest Henry IV) kleinhauffer@hotmail.com