10-11-2001 17:22									#1
	The Zulu Disaster Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Hereby a summary of my first game of CivIII, as planned earlier as Zulu on a standard random map on prince (regent) level.

It was 4000 BC and we were a large group of nomads in the middle of a forest. Some wanted to settle, others wanted to work in the fields and having the expansionistic quality some prefered to scout. So before immediately settling down I, Shaka, sent the worker to the near north mountain to overlook the terrain. When the scout was sent east along the river. We decided (alright as chief I just said what to do), to settle on the grassland at the other side of the river and not in the middle of the forest. According to the farmers that would be a better place to start.

We were on a island, with just room for a few cities, but in the south through some small hills surrounded at both sides by sea another island was linked. And on that south continent the Persians were settled. They were not really friendly, interchanging knowledge took some time. After that we quickly produced Impi and archers and our attack force marched off. Without the ZOC you really have to take care that they do not sneak in your territory. Still a few hundred years BC we conquered the last Persian city. Not having any opponent anymore we went peaceful and on the request of my citizens we became a republic, my first large error. A militaristic civ should not sit still in a corner, they should build a large military and fight.

In some corners of the south of the empire, which was significantly larger than the north, we were several times attacked by mounted units, but these untrained barbarians were no thread against our trained Impi, so in revenge we destroyed several barbarian vilages.

Deserts, mountains and jungles made that large parts were difficult to use, still we built quite some cities, we thought.
Having filled up all habitable terrain with cities we built a galley to explore the world outside. From fishermen we heard that the Japanese were just across a little sea at the west of the south continent. They had knowledge of the Germans and the Babylonians, and their terriory was already larger than my whole double continent. The western continent was huge and the three of them were cooperating.

To the south the english were on a nice compact, but grassland rich, island. To the east the chinese and indians were also on large continent. Further their were some small islands.

By trading some knowledge and maps, suddenly I found out that our not so suitable areas were good enough for foreigners, and they claimed all some parts. Within a few turns I saw english, japanese and baylonian cities. That was the second lesson, fill up your entire tarrain with culture before giving away any map.

Horses were plentyful but iron was missing. Having invented gunpowder first we saw that also saltpeter was entirely missing. To get lucky in the middle hills between our north and south an iron resource popped up. Saltpeter I traded once for twenty turns with the Japanese and once with the Chinese.

When the wars already had started. Having been allied with the Chinese at the wrong moment, after having decimated the Chinese they came after me. I still allied with the germans but that was not enough anymore, they kept the japanese busy (and were decimated themselves in the porcess). But although I took a few english cities, as soon as the english started dropping troops on my shores, I was lost.

So long before the english reached my capital and probably would hang me I retired and moved to some small village with the hope that nobody would recognize me anymore. Anyway the other leaders had a good laugh at me.

Next game starts today.