🚀 go-pugleaf

I really love this game and look forward to a sequel.

I have won with all the civilizations on very hard/very hard, except 
Carthage.  But in my recent game I have survived the initial onsalught 
partly through luck (no early war with Greeks or Numidia or Spain) and 
partly due to a new strategy.

I have recently read a history on the Republican Rome by H. L. Havell, 
where he covers the Punic Wars.  I was inspired by the First Punic War 
narrative.  The First Punic War was largely a naval action, where the 
Carthagenians started with a huge supremacy.

I have taken that to heart in this latest game.  Previously, I was 
doomed to lose when I tried building up an economy first, or focused on 
subduing Spain or Numidia.  Because Rome would land first in Sardinia 
with a full consular army, and soon would land in Parma and then attack 
Lilybaeum.  Just as they did in the First Punic War.  So in this last 
attempt I focused on the naval aspect.

I built up a large fleet and blockaded all the Roman ports.  The 
objective was to sink ships carrying an army to attack me.  This is a 
different perspective on the typical theme to succeed at very hard/very 
hard difficultly level, which is to go on the attack to gain money 
through city sacking and through subsequent trade routes from the 
captured city.

As a result, very few armies got through, and a lot of Roman resources 
when to the bottom of the sea.  I found the strength of Carthage, too, 
in the cavalry, and putting some in Sardinia was enough to defend 
attack from a full army that was landed there.  In this case, I admit I 
took advantage of the Roman AI, which its cavalry true to history would 
peel off and attack mine.  I had local numerical superiority, and won.  
Then it was a matter of isolating the Roman infantry.  The hardest part 
is controlling the Carthagenian cavalry, because they are undisciplined 
and attack places you do not tell them to attack.

Now, I have Croton and Tarantum, and all Sicily.  I belive I am at the 
inflection point.  Just wait until I get elephant en masse.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)