Part of the campaign:

Welcome back to another round of Groundhog Day! This time narrated by yours truly instead of outsourcing it to unpaid overseas labourers.



Last time, Australia once again pulled off a win, moving them into first place. Can anyone else even the score? Let's find out!

Second cities go out, and amazingly both North Kyushu and the Nuraghians manage to settle in their immediate vicinity. Astonishing I know. Also, check out that Bulgarian forward settle of the Garamantes—that's gonna go, I'm sure.

Rome breaks all kinds of records by somehow getting four cities out on turn 27. What is this madness?

The first war begins when the Zunbils attack the Achamenids. Cyrus must have decided that second cities are overrated because he ain't got one.

Rome uses the production from its large number of cities to build an army capable of assimilating the Sikhs. In the background, Kongo attacks the Garamantes.

Wuyue moves to take a Canadian forward settle, while North Kyushu and the Nuraghians spar over... something, i guess.

And Toronto easily falls, marking the first city capture of round 7.

On turn 65, Rome captures the Punjabi capital of Lahore! This might be the earliest capital capture of Mk. 11, but GHD has definitely featured some that were much earlier.

Meanwhile, Namibia declares war on Mexico, and the flat desert city of Guadalajara looks particularly vulnerable.

But Javob Morenga is a lazy man with mad diplo skills, so he just negotiates to get the city in a peace treaty instead.

Canada then decides that Mexico would taste better with maple syrup. Welp.

And King easily captures Mexico City, eliminating Porfirio Díaz of Mexico in 21st place.

The aforementioned Kongo-Garamantes war ends with a disastrous peace treaty settlement as Djalla signs over his second city to Nzinga.

Billy Hughes, ever the opportunist, decides to strike Kongo while Zinchecra is still in resistance.

And Zinchecra falls. Australia is definitely looking to add another point to its scoreboard with an aggressive early game.

Wuyue intends to expand further along the shore of the inland sea, attacking Canada! And there's a war between the Nuraghians and North Kyushu in the background... what, where have we seen this before?

Turn 100 arrives, which means it's time for the first round of stats. Megara and Kosovo are neck in neck in military, with Rome not far behind.

Rome has a decent lead in food, followed by Megara.

But perhaps most surprisingly, the Nuraghians have the most production, edging out Rome by four hammers!

Back to the action, where... oh my. Rome has captured Garama, eliminating Djalla of the Garamantes in 20th place.

Shortly thereafter, the Nuraghians finally manage to get the best of their neighbour, capturing Shimabara from Kato Kiyomasa.

The Philippines build the great wall to keep out... the Comanche I guess. Idk.

Nobody likes Australia because they're winning. Rome, Kongo, and Bulgaria certainly recognize that if they want to have a chance, Billy Hughes can't be allowed to pick up another point.

Elsewhere, the Zunbils try again to kill their one-city neighbour, which they somehow failed to do last time.

Kongo retakes Zinchecra, although this looks decidedly temporary.

It flips back to Australia and then to Rome, maybe for good this time.

Wuyue decides to get in on the action, launching its own attack against Australia. However the defensive geography favours Hughes here.

Nevertheless, Qian Liu somehow manages to take Sydney!

Aaaand FATALITY. The Zunbils capture Pasargadae, eliminating Cyrus of the Achaemenids in 19th place.

Australia continues to collapse as Kongo takes Adelaide! I have to admit this is kinda satisfying to see.

The Philippines declare war on the Zunbils in an attempt to take Pasargadae before its defenses have fully recovered.

Wow! After a joint siege by Kongo and Wuyue, Nzinga takes Melbourne, eliminating Billy Hughes of Australia in 18th place! Probably his worst finish yet.

Megara and Bulgaria attack the Comanche, and Quanah Parker's capital immediately takes damage. With Húpenúú exposed on open terrain, it won't take much for it to fall.

The USA joins the war against the Zunbils, while the Filipino attack on Pasargadae seems to have collapsed. Perhaps this new intervention will turn the tide?

Oh man, the Nuraghians did a thing! Sardus captures Kumamoto after a long and bloody siege, eliminating Kato Kiyomasa of North Kyushu in 17th place.

Canada attacks Namibia and immediately starts damaging Guadalajara, but if King wants to make real progress, he's gonna have to research composite bowmen. For fuck's sake.

Rome looks to expand still farther to the south, attacking Kongo! Those ballistae could make short work of Adelaide.

I guess the US intervention really did turn the tide of this war, allowing the Philippines to capture Pasargadae!

Meanwhile Canada manages to take Guadalajara, and surprisingly the Namibian army looks pretty spent.

Rome easily captures Adelaide and brings Melbourne to yellow with a handful of ships.

The next turn, Megara captures Húpenúú, leaving Quanah Parker with one city and few units to defend it.

Only six turns have passed since we last saw this front, but by god have things changed. The Roman army has been completely routed, and Nzinga has not only retaken Adelaide, but has captured Zinchecra as well!

And Bulgaria captures Kúhtsútúúka, eliminating Quanah Parker of the Comanche in 16th place.

The Zunbils make peace with the Philippines, giving away Jaguda in the peace treaty. Aguinaldo is doing quite well for himself so far!

Canada continues its rampage despite having very few units, managing to take Windhoek with no help whatsoever from those bloody useless archers.

It looks like things are about to go south for Nzinga as Bulgaria declares war on Kongo! However it also looks like Bulgaria is at war with Megara, so maybe it won't be that bad.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Megara, and Punjab all declare war on Rome! I can't speak for any of the others but Ranjit Singh is probably screwed.

Indeed, Gujranwala falls after only one turn, eliminating Ranjit Singh of Punjab in 15th place.

Julius Caesar cuts his losses and makes peace with Kongo, only to face a new declaration of war from the Nuaghians.

Bulgaria, now apparently at peace with Megara, turns its focus to Kongo and easily captures Kabasa.

However, Vasil Levsky now faces a new external threat in the form of the Philippines, whose forces are already bearing down on Kúhtsútúúka.

And Kúhtsútúúka falls three turns later. I'm honestly not sure how they didn't capture it immediately.

Anyway, time for the turn 200 stats. Rome has bounced back and now has the largest army, followed by Megara and then Wuyue.

Rome also leads in science by two technologies, about the largest lead you can expect at this point in the game.

And somehow the Nuraghians still have the most production! I was expecting the turn 100 stats to be a fluke, but no.

Anyway, Rome is now making inroads against Bulgaria, taking Plovdiv.

Kabasa falls three turns later as Aginaldo closes in on Varna from the other direction.

Varna falls, and the Philippines make peace with Kongo before that front gets any more complicated.

Oh for fuck's sake. Sardus throws away his production edge by gifting Shimabara to Rome in a peace treaty.

However, Rome is still at war with Kosovo, so Ibrahim Rugova quickly takes he isolated city.

And the Philippines capture Sofia, eliminating Vasil Levsky of Bulgaria in 14th place. Seems to me like this is really a great round for red civs—look at the minimap!

Rome manages to recapture Shimabara, and the Nuraghians declare war on Kosovo! Looks like Ibrahim Rugova is going on the defensive now!

Kosovo retakes Shimabara... could it be?

Yes! The Nuraghians recapture Shimabara from Kosovo, undoing their massive blunder.

I just want to show this very satisfying mountain. It's a Kosovar exclave in the middle of Nuraghian territory, and Sardus has built roads around all six sides. Nice.

Emboldened by a string of victories, Emilio Aguinaldo attacks the United States, but it's not clear that he can make any progress.

Lincoln responds by making peace with the Zunbils. Jimofuta gives away Zabol and the USA burns it to the ground.

The Nuraghian comeback is real! Sardus has captured Prishtinë, and Prizreni looks like it's next.

Wuyue and Rif team up against a lightly defended Canada. Could William Lyon Mackenzie King be in trouble?

The citizens of Zabol cry out to the Philippines for help as their city is put to the torch. Aguinaldo responds, storming the city and taking it from the Americans, only to pick up the razing right where Lincoln left off.

Woohoo! It's great to see an underdog succeed! With the fall of Prizreni, Ibrahim Rugova of Kosovo is eliminated in 13th place.

Julius Caesar decides to try his hand at an embarked invasion and declares war on the Anglo-Norse.

Sardus, meanwhile, moves to assimilate his weakest neighbour Namibia.

Farther to the south, Wuyue makes inroads against Canada, taking Mexico City!

Kongo and Megara seize an opportunity and attack the Philippines! Aguinaldo has committed everything to his attack on the USA, and he has hardly any units defending his northern core.

The Nuraghians quickly capture Kactchanas, eliminating Jacob Morenga of Namibia in 12th place.

And Rome takes Lundenburh, leaving Canute with only his capital.

Megara lands the first blow against the Philippines by taking Sofia!

Lincoln decides to try invading the Zunbils again. Could his new medieval navy help him succeed this time?

Amazingly, the Philippines appear to have summoned a large and very modern army, beating back the Megaran invasion with nothing more than the loss of Sofia.

Suddenly, Wuyue attacks Kongo, sending a massive contingent of troops right at Melbourne! Two cities are already taking damage!

But before we see what comes of that war, it's time for the turn 300 stats. Rome still has the largest army, now by a much larger margin than before. The Philippines come in second and the Nuraghians third.

Rome's tech lead has slipped from two back down to one, with most of the civs very close to one another.

And somehow Sardus continues to cling onto his production lead, just edging out Rome by five hammers.

We return to the action just in time to see Wuyue capture Melbourne, adding another capital to their roster.

Meanwhile, the Philippines invade from the other direction, capturing M'banza-Kongo.

Qian Liu had better watch his back—while his forces are off fighting Kongo, Canada takes the opportunity to try to recapture Mexico City!

M'banza Kongo flips back to Nzinga and then to Theagenes, even though Megara doesn't border Kongo at all.

Down at the end of the peninsula, Lincoln captures Zamindawar, eliminating Jimofuta of the Zunbils in 11th place.

Four turns later, Lincoln faces a joint declaration of war from the Philippines and Megara. His newly captured capital might be at stake!

As predicted, Canada successfully recaptures Mexico City!

However, this creates an opening for the Nuraghians, who team up with Rif to attack Canada!

Sardus first makes a push down the coast to take Guadalajara, while Wuyue recaptures Mexico City.

Windhoek also falls to the Nuraghians as Canada begins to collapse.

William Lyon Mackenzie King decides to give up and gives away Montreal to the Nuraghians in exchange for peace. (Offscreen, the tiny snow island of Vancouver is handed over as well.)

The Philippines momentarily flip Zamindawar, but both sides look pretty exhausted right now.

However, the Megaran naval invasion of America has begun, as a group of frigates and galleons capture Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Wuyue continues to push against Kongo, taking Adelaide.

Here we see history repeat itself as a coalition forms against the Philippines while Aguinaldo is distracted invading the USA.

Lincoln manages to retake Philadelphia, at least for now.

Wuyue is the first to make progress against the Philippines, sending units through Megaran territory to take Varna.

Varna flips back to the Philippines and then falls to Megara.

Qian Liu decides a better course of action would be to attack Kongo again.

This time Megara is making more progress, taking Kúhtsútúúka, although Aguinaldo has recaptured Varna again.

And Wuyue captures Zinchecra, eliminating Nzinga of Kongo in 10th place.

Sardus is not slowing down! Now that the peace treaty has expired, he attacks Canada again, and this time he's going for the kill.

But first, the turn 400 stats. Rome still has the largest army but Megara is rising fast.

Megara has caught up to Rome in technologies.

And the Nuraghians have drastically widened their production lead, with 72 more hammers than second place Wuyue. Rome has fallen to fourth.

Canada actually draws the first blood of the new war against the Nuraghians by recapturing Vancouver.

However, Rif is able to quickly take the city for itself.

A large Megaran force tears through the Philippine core, capturing Cavite el Viejo.

And Sardus is caught by surprise as Rif captures Ottawa, eliminating William Mackenzie King of Canada in 9th place! The Nuraghians have been denied!

Aguinaldo, having made peace with Megara, decides he hasn't learned his lesson and attacks the US yet again.

Still smarting from his failure to kill Canada, Sardus attacks another weak neighbour: the Anglo-Norse.

But this invites a coalition against him as the Nuraghians face declarations of war from Rif and Rome!

This time, the Philippines are finding a bit more success, as Aguinaldo's cannons and line infantry roll into New York.

To make matters even worse for the Nuraghians, Wuyue joins the coalition, sending a sizeable force up from Mexico City.

The Philippines capture Washington at long last! Lincoln is now exiled to the islands.

Wuyue storms the Nuraghian coast, capturing Guadalajara, while two armies bear down on Windhoek.

Abd-el-Krim's surprise backdoor squad captures Kumamoto, while Sardus makes peace with Rome and Wuyue before they cause any more damage.

Megara decides to finish off the United States, while Sardus makes peace with Abd-el-Krim, allowing Rif to keep Kumamoto.

But before long, Wuyue attacks the Nuraghians a second time! Can Sardus hold the line?

Lincoln appears to be on his last legs as Megara captures Philadelphia and ships from two nations surround Albany.

And Albany falls to Rif, eliminating Lincoln of the United States in 8th place.

Sardus actually manages to not just hold the line but also to recapture Guadalajara! Could he survive this intact?

No, he can't! Wuyue takes Montreal and Guadalajara continues to flip.

Sardus makes peace and gives up Windhoek. That's a devastating blow.

Abd-el-Krim appears to have gotten very drunk and simultaneously declares war on Wuyue and the Philippines. Somehow I don't see this ending well.

Inspired by Rif's boldness, Theagenes simultaneously declares war on the Philippines, Wuyue, and the Anglo-Norse.

Here's the other front, where Canute is actually on the offensive, at least briefly.

Aguinaldo strikes first, capturing the newly settled city of Guagua and burning it to the ground.

He also manages to retake Cavite el Viejo, although it looks very vulnerable.

Indeed, Rif somehow manages to snipe the city!

The Nuraghians just can't catch a break—once again Sardus finds himself facing a joint DOW from Rome and Rif.

Wuyue quickly puts Megara on the defensive as a squad of riflemen rolls through M'banza-Kongo.

Sardus manages to recapture Kumamoto from Rif, but the situation appears very unstable.

Wuyue takes Ottawa from Rif. Abd-el-Krim has now lost two original capitals in wars that he started.

Withou much difficulty at all, Megara takes Roskilde, eliminating Canute of the Anglo-Norse in 7th place.

Megara snipes Ottawa from Wuyue and then makes peace, allowing Theagenes to keep the city. Genius move.

At turn 500, Wuyue has the most soldiers, followed closely by Megara.

Wuyue also edges into the lead in science by a single tech.

But Megara leads in production by some 60 hammers.

With the help of their UU, the Philippines push back against Megara, retaking Cavite el Viejo and Kúhtsútúúka.

Theagenes retakes Kúhtsútúúka and makes peace, cutting his losses.

Instead, he turns his eye toward Rome, sending a large army against Julius Caesar's lightly defended southwestern cities.

The war is quickly over as Caesar agrees to hand over Kabasa in exchange for peace.

Wuyue attacks the Philippines and launches an immediate aerial bombardment of Malolos.

Theagenes isn't satisfied with just getting Kabasa and declares war on Rome again.

Thanks to a large stack of planes and a few other advanced units, Wuyue manages to capture the Filipino capital!

Julius Ceasar kicks Theagenes out of Kabasa. That backfired!

Megara wins the world's fair by a large margin!

At turn 600, Wuyue has the largest army by a wide margin.

Wuyue also has a six-tech lead over the second place Philippines.

But Megara continues to maintain a nontrivial lead in production.

Megara strikes back at Rome, taking both Kabasa and Plovdiv.

The Philippines recover their capital, but give away Jaguda to Wuyue in the peace treaty.

Wuyue quickly turns to a new target, this time the Nuraghians. Su Nuriaxi is already taking damage from airplanes.

Two turns into the war, Kactchanas falls.

Su Nuraxi swiftly follows as the Nuraghian defense crumbles.

Shimabara is captured...

Meanwhile, the Philippines move to get revenge against Megara and retake their lost cities!

Kúhtsútúúka falls, but the two sides are starting to look a little more evenly matched.

Wuyue takes Kumamoto...

...And Sardus sues for peace, giving away Prizreni in the process.

Aguinaldo manages to lash out and seize Philadelphia, but the number Megaran ships nearby suggests that this will be short-lived.

Megara retakes Philadelphia and agrees to make peace, losing only Kúhtsútúúka.

Wuyue attacks Megara again, opening up combat on several fronts! In the background, the Philippines declare war on Rif.

Ottawa quickly falls as Megara had little ability to reinforce it.

Varna is the next to go as Wuyue's rocket artillery and bombers hammer the front lines.

However Megara does get a consolation prize in the form of Prizreni.

Back at the main front, Wuyue keeps pushing forward and takes Sofia.

Kabasa somehow flipped to the Philippines, and I can only assume Rome killed the unit that did it.

Wuyue strikes back in the far northeast, taking Prizreni and Roskilde.

San Pedro de Makati and Obzor soon follow.

Megara retakes Sofia and liberates Bulgaria... for fuck's sake.

At turn 700, the might of Wuyue's military is uncontested.

So is their technological prowess, with 9 more techs than anyone else.

And Wuyue now leads in production for the first time, and by an enormous amount too, almost three times more than #2 Megara.

Theagenes utterly surrenders to Wuyue, giving away Húpenúú, Selinunte, Narocci, and Herculea in the peace treaty.

Oh, and Astacus too. Couldn't fit them all in one picture.

Rome makes peace with the Philippines and gives away Kabasa (which they had previously recaptured).

Next, Wuyue invades Rif!

Annual swiftly falls.

Albany is captured.

Qian Liu takes Ajdir, exiling Rif from the mainland.

Emilio Aguinaldo attacks Theagenes again, and this time Philadelphia might fall for good.

Yep, there it goes.

Tangier falls...

...And peace is made, with Rif giving up Chefchaouen.

Aguinaldo manages to push through the constricted borders in the area and takes Byzantium.

Megara then makes peace and gives up Megara Hyblaea and Chalcedon.

Wuyue attacks Bulgaria and somehow doesn't insta-kill poor Vasil Levsky.

And just like that, he's back in the grave.

No surprise here as Wuyue dominates the international games.

Rome attacks the Nuraghians, ensuring an elimination any second now.

Yep. Rome takes Prishtinë, eliminating Sardus of the Nuraghians in 6th place.

Next Wuyue attacks the Philippines! Qian Liu is just taking down one civ after another!

Wuyue quickly takes both Malolos and Kúhtsútúúka.

Aguinaldo retakes Jaguda, but it's a consolation prize.

Cavite el Viejo falls...

Byzantium is captured...

The Philippines managed to take Narocci and it looks to be holding for now. Offscreen, Aguinaldo also appears to have taken Qiantang.

Pasargadae is captured...

Guess who built the international space station!

Megara Hyblaea and Chalcedon are captured...

Jaguda falls...

Washington, New York, and Zamindawar are all taken.

Wuyue retakes Qiantang but not before the Philippines recapture New York.

And with the second fall of New York, Emilio Aguinaldo of the Philippines is eliminated in 5th place.

Now Wuyue attacks Megara and immediately takes its capital.

Chersonesus falls...

...And with the fall of Silivri, Theagenes of Megara is eliminated in 4th place.

And now Qian Liu attacks Rome! He's going to finish this without any intervention at all!

Garama and Plovdiv fall...

...Cumae, Prishtinë, Lundenburh...

...Rome and Neapolis...

And with the capture of Lahore, Wuyue has all the capitals and wins the round! Congrats Qian Liu!

The score now stands as follows:



Australia: 2

Wuyue: 1

The Zunbils: 1

The USA: 1

The Achaemenids: 1

The Garamantes: 1



Thanks for reading and I'll hopefully be back with more soon!