01-04-2002 21:31									#1
	Can the Americans Ever Win This Game? Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

I'm getting frustrated. I've achieved Cultural victory with the Greeks, Spaceship victory with the Germans, and Domination victories with the Russians all at the Monarch level.

The best I can do with the Americans is third best civ. It's getting so maddening

I recently tried the ICS strategy. Did fine until the middle ages when the Chinese came swooping with their riders out of nowhere, and the blasted French chimed in with the Musketeers.

Later, I allied with the Babylonians who were also allied with the French. I built up a mighty force of tank units and bombers. I attacked the French, and the doggone Babylonians, my allies, declared war on me. I was still doing fine until the largest civ in the game - the Chinese - chimed in too.

The Americans build a great railroad network which only seems to expedite your country getting ripped to pieces as your cities fall. Sometime in the distant future I'll get a UU. Maybe, I'll be a Chinese colony by then

Has anyone out there ever won with the Americans?

Very respectfully,
Jerry

	01-04-2002 22:53									#2
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Yeah, I just did. 100,000 point cultrual victory on warlord. I expanded like rabbit all over my continent. I ran into the Aztex and they went to war with me. I was a little light on military at the time, but had aroung 15-20 cites. I moved from infrastructure to war. sent about 20 horses down on them and after the dust cleared I had the whole continent to myself. I was playing on a large map. There were three continents 2 small (with the Iriquois and Egypt, 1 medium large with me and the Aztec, and 1 huge with England, Rome, Germany, Russia, Zulu, Babylon, and Persia.
I was very lucky in the start as my capitol was built right next to 3 cows. I was very lucky with the starting location! It can be done. you just have to expand really fast to do it. I was able to fit about 50 ciites on my mainland. Pumped culture and military. Egypt built a city right in the middle of my empire so war started with them and I took their continent. Pumped culture and infrastructure there.

	01-04-2002 23:32									#3
	Inflate your Upload Space

I did a culture victory, almost on a regular basis. What you should do is play as babs.

Build all the wonders in one city, and i mean ALL of them. To make easier, place your capital on the shore. The let it build a settler. Place the settler on a site where you can use that to expand your empire. Meanwhlie, build Closssus, Lighthouse, Pyramids, Oracle, GL in your capital. If you have at least those right away, you just got yourself a culture win by the 1800 - 1900's. Other wonders in the same city is just iceing on the cake.

	02-04-2002 02:43									#4
	Inflate your Upload Space

Though I have never played the Americans (I'm addicted to religious civs), I'm sure it is quite possible to win using them on Monarch. I would suggest building a bunch of scouts and using them to sit on the strategic resources, specifically iron, on your continent. See Aeson's notes on this. Then horseman rush your neighbors.

The Americans should be better on large or huge maps. Industrious/Expansionist would be strongest with lots of room to expand and build.

-Arrian

	02-04-2002 03:36									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Arrian,

I haven;t understood resource denial like that, even though Aeson keeps referring to it.

Don't the AI civs just come up and build cities there anyway?

R

	02-04-2002 04:22									#6
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

I have won with the americans many times. Here are some things to think about.

Grow, grow, grow, grow just keep building settelers
stay on a monarchy for a long time until you have only left civs quorling with each other and if they get to powerfull quickly overcome them
once you make it to the modern ages it becomes easy.

	02-04-2002 06:00									#7
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Yes they do build their cities there. But your Scouts can stay in AI territory for quite some time. If your Scout is on a resource, the AI cant get a worker on it to build a road. Without the resource connected by roads, it's useless to them.

	02-04-2002 18:55									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Thank you folks for answering my frustrated plea . The ICS strategy, coupled with scouts on resources on a large map, pursue a builder strategy until the development of tanks, and "loose the hounds" sounds like a winner.

I'll try it, just as soon as I take my lesson in Chinese diplomacy in this current game. The game is beyond redemption but I just can't seem to walk away from it.

Also, one last apology. I confused Warlord level with Monarch. I'm really playing at the Warlord level which makes the current dilemma just that much worse...

Thanks,

Very respectfully,

Jerry Sindle

	04-04-2002 02:20									#9
	Inflate your Upload Space

The only real advantage that the Americans have is they start with Pottery. Since it takes 2 pop to start a new city, it makes more sence to build up a few cities. If you use the whip, you can build graneries with 20 shields and 1 pop. I admit I haven't played America yet, but this should help.

	04-04-2002 02:32									#10
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I think the Americans get one of the best combination of traits in the game: expansionist-industrious. This means you have scouts & fast workers that give you:

- A quick map so you can plan where your cities will go.

- Speedy workers to quickly lay down roads to the places you plan for your cities.

I find my empire is always best designed and developed most quickly while playing as America. More importantly, it gives you help in the beginning of the game, a time when it is most difficult to keep up to the fast AI expansion.

Their UU comes late & while it is not that dominant, it can trigger a GA in the modern era. Therefore, you have an advantage early and late.

	04-04-2002 08:50									#11
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I played the Americans once on Monarch, and found myself on an island that negated their expansionist benefits. I won the Space race anyway, using a horseman rush to build a decent empire, and then going pure "builder." I think if you set your mind to beating a neighbor early and have the time to build enough horsemen or archers, you almost always win that first war.

In the mid-game, could you have had a defense that could have withstood the Riders? Did you have knights? Regardless, it seems that you were well past that point, and feeling like you were doing well in modern times, until the roof caved in. By then, any prior disadvantages that the Americans had are long gone, and being industrious is probably one of the two most meaningful modern-day traits (along with commercial). Did you focus on a cultural or Space race win, or were you having fun with your modern-day military at the same time?

	04-04-2002 16:35									#12
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

I "won" a game as the Americans on Monarch (I was miles ahead on all counts in the early 20th C, close to space ship launch when I had technical problems with my laptop and had to reinstall).

My start was on a river with wheat and trees, with a lot of high production sites in the vicinity, also on rivers. My scouts found dozens of techs (it seemed) and lots more good sites.

I eventually absorbed about 5 German cities with culture (due to dominating Wonder building). I pounded the Russians when they attacked with Cossacks. I was forced into blasting the Japs and CHinese to bits when they attacked me unprovoked, and all that was left were the reasonably powerful Aztecs and Persians, stuck on large continents miles away.

	05-04-2002 04:12									#13
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Try a Huge map with only a few civs. You'll romp through the game if you build cities fast. Once you get better with them, you can add more civs and/or reduce the map size.

	05-04-2002 08:26									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Yes, the Americans can win.

Just Edit the useless F-15 UU into a "Minuteman" unit - a fast musketeer with a '2' MP but no cavalry-style ZOC.

	06-04-2002 01:09									#15
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

I built the Hoover damn and started a Golden Age. Built most of my SS in those 20 turns. I wasn't really in a space race, but I could have really pulled ahead if I had been.

The posts seems to indicate that the US is the best civ for huge maps. With my PII - 400MH I will not be testing that theory any time soon.

	06-04-2002 23:29									#16
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Americans own large/huge maps, unless its all islands.

Simply put, build scouts, at least 5. These five will basically do all of your ancient era research and get you a small army of warriors. Set science to 0 and keep your people happy and the $$$ coming in. Save the money for the switch to Rep, you'll need it.

Second, never trade your map. Once you trade it, everyone will know where to find you. Only other expansionistic civs will have decent maps until midgame.

Unless you've modified corruption, ics wont work. You still want to expand like crazy, especially towards luxaries and resources, but not ICS.

Get workers working, remember they are a key bonus. I usually snag an early game worker and just start roadbuilding to the nearest civ, by the time he's close, I'll have an attack group ready.

	07-04-2002 07:45									#17
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Build several scouts. Send them out all over the place, followed by a warrior or two when possible. Hit every goody hut you find. Kiss AI ass early if at all possible. If you are forced to war, build well balances defensive kill stacks consisting of defensive, offensive and bombardment units. Wait for the enemy to exhaust himself on you then take some cities, but do not go "a bridge too far". Build lots of roads - use interior lines defence. Try to get the great lighthouse early, if not, still build galleys & ships, sendind settlers & explorers (any unit will do) out to find colony sites. Keep expanding as much as possible, but make your homeland an impregnable hedgehog. Utilize your industrious nature to develop the hell out of your empire, trying to find choke points to defend w/ massed bombardment units, defensive troops, with fast strike forces on roads/railroads behind to "get 'em" when they weaken. Concentrate on science wonders - try to put them in one city. Newton's U., Copernicus' Observatory, & Seti in a city w/ a libray and university pump out some research. Maximize productivity. Go for the Hoover dam. You can do it, just have too think long term.

	08-04-2002 22:11									#18
	Can't lose Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Use Marla's Map without Aztecs. Youu cant lose. You can own North and South America before any one discovers them.

	09-04-2002 22:15									#19
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I usually play as Iroquois, so the Americans are generally right next to me.

One thing I've found out about them is that they build a lot of cities quickly, but are not strong militarily until later in the game.

If you want to play as them, then, the key would be to keep everyone happy with you until at least the middle ages. At that point, you should be able to match everyone else and win the game.

If you start a war too early as the Americans, you're probably toast.

	10-04-2002 02:20									#20
	Full PM-box? Change here!

Has any one here edited one of the defalt civs?