26-07-2001 19:36									#1
	The 'shrinking' strategy Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

It seems to be commonly admitted among warmongers that when you take a fat foreign city, you sell the improvements inside the city in order to get cash, which allows you to buy new strong units or bribe the neighbouring cities.
Dear friends warmongers, have a try at the 'shrinking' strategy!
(I have never read a word about it, so I suppose I am the author)
Here it is:

You have just taken a fat enemy city.
1) You sell improvements
For example you sell Stock Exchange + Bank + Market Place. This gives you 160+120+80=360 gold in 3 turns. OK?

2) You make use of the 'shrinking' strategy
This means you sell nothing, you keep Stock Exchange, Bank and MP, and you turn all your workers (up to 16) to tax collectors. This gives you 7.5*16=120 gold/turn (which means 360 gold in 3 turns, exactly the same as using the solution #1). But the great difference is that you go on receiving 120 gold/turn during many many turns afterwards. Your workers don't produce enough food and your city starts starving and shrinking, but you don't care, since you are bribing and conquering the rest of the world in the meantime .

3) This is the simplified 'shrinking' strategy. You can also micromanage to avoid shrinking too quickly, or use this strategy to increase your science, if that is your priority (16 einsteins + library + university + research center). I know you are wise enough to have pleasure while discovering those new possibilities.

	26-07-2001 20:55									#2
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Another war trick is useful if you don't expect (or want) to defend that fat city. Use spies to poison it down to size one and buy it for cheap. Sell all the improvements. You might get 800+ gold over eight or so turns. Not nearly as much as the 120g per turn, of course. Also not practical if there is a wonder in the city.

I think it sounds like a good strategy, altho the real world parallel is rather grim. Once or twice, out of spite for too many sneak attacks, I've captured and then starved/disbanded all of a civs cities, completely erasing them from the world. Their only remnants are the flatline on the power grid and the guillotined name at the end.

	26-07-2001 23:21									#3
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La Fayette - have a look at Xin's Size 5 Strategy in the GL which is a variation of the same theme. In the succession games when we wanted money quickly (instead of science) it was termed "Anti-Xin".

Used in short bursts - it's a very powerful way of obtaining an objective quickly - especially if you have 10 cities participating.

Glad to know you are joining the Crusades!

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SG(2)

	27-07-2001 00:03									#4
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quote: Originally posted by Marquis de Sodaq Once or twice, out of spite for too many sneak attacks, I've captured and then starved/disbanded all of a civs cities, completely erasing them from the world. Their only remnants are the flatline on the power grid and the guillotined name at the end.

Doesn't sound like a strategy at all. Carthage and Kiev suffered similar fates, but in the case of Kiev, the intent was as much to cow future targets as raw vengeance. The AI in Civ 2 doesn't cow. A one city remnant will send its troop to sneak attack the surrounding units of my 200 city civ without hesitation. Let Roman history stand as proof that vengeance has no value, rather than repeat the "stupid user tricks" of those who went through this the first time.

	27-07-2001 01:59									#5
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quote: Originally posted by Scouse Gits In the succession games when we wanted money quickly (instead of science) it was termed "Anti-Xin". ------------- SG(2)

Hey SG(2). Thanks for Xinning and Anti-Xin. How's the succession games going? I read from the threads that in the first AKC game you forgot to research trade until around 1500AD. What happend afterwards?

	27-07-2001 02:13									#6
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quote: Originally posted by Blaupanzer Doesn't sound like a strategy at all. Carthage and Kiev suffered similar fates, ... The AI in Civ 2 doesn't cow. ... Let Roman history stand as proof that vengeance has no value, rather than repeat the "stupid user tricks" of those who went through this the first time.

Of course it's not a strategy. Once or twice out of thousands of games is hardly a strategy. The AI doesn't care, and it hurts your score. It wasn't suggested as a strategy, either. No, vengeance has no value, tho I wonder why you even mention this. It's just a game!

	27-07-2001 03:19									#7
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quote: Originally posted by Xin Yu Hey SG(2). Thanks for Xinning and Anti-Xin. How's the succession games going? I read from the threads that in the first AKC game you forgot to research trade until around 1500AD. What happend afterwards?

Xin - I can't say a word on that because libel lawyers are everywhere.

I think that was the game where we built a couple of wonders using dips as "caravans" because Trade ...had ... been forgotten. Great fun ... but for the real whinge wait for the Memoirs!

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SG(2)

	27-07-2001 04:12									#8
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As a well known warmonger, i never , repeat never sell improvements which are helping the city...... i will sell a granary or something else if i feel the improvement is a drain on resources yah right one gold hehe......

anyways, that all aside, i for one am one of those warmongers who likes to capture finely tuned and large babylonian cities for me empire......

I make these cites the "new world" and bring in troops to protect them and/or defend against other civs...... often churning out settler after settler to fix some ai blunders

	31-07-2001 00:39									#9
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Scouse Gits,

What is Anti-Xinning? Marginalizing food and shields in 5+ cities to crank out gold for the front-line efforts? When the time to build and transport units from the center of your empire would be too long, this sounds like a great temporary alternative.

War4ever,
I sometimes do similarly. If I'm still expanding my empire mainly via colonization (as opposed to total world conquest) I'll use large captured cities as settler farms. I'm sure the residents hate their new ruler for telling them all to pack up and found new cities. The once great cultural mecca is gradually disassembled and bled into the ever-growing empire.

	31-07-2001 04:15									#10
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Edward - the "Anti-Xin" is filling your (5+) cities with Tax Collectors instead of Scientists. Useful for that short term boost to the Treasury when an important AI city has to be bought

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SG(2)