Part of the campaign:

Welcome back again to Groundhog Day! Mk. 10 really is drawing to a close now, and Switzerland still holds the lead with two victory points. This is one of two remaining rounds in which another civ could rise up to challenge that lead. Will it happen? Let's find out!

The second cities are founded, with no major surprises that I can see.

The first war begins fairly early, as Uzbekistan declares war on Albania on turn 29.

Some time later, the Central African Empire attacks Ezo. I'm pretty sure there were more wars between these, but they didn't go anywhere, so I deleted the pics.

Sonora doesn't like how Thayae Khittaya has forward settled them, so William Walker declares war. Duttabaung looks awfully vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Maurya attacks our usual last-place finisher, the Geats. Guess who's gonna win... nah.

Sonora easily takes Beikthano and begins to damage Thayae Khittaya as well.

Ezo makes peace with the CAE and gives away Asahikawa, only to face immediate declarations of war from Uzbekistan and Qin instead.

Thayae Khittaya forestalls utter annihilation by giving away Hanlin to Sonora in exchange for peace.

Beowulf does the same, Giving away Lödöse, although he probably didn't need to. Ashoka burns the city to the ground.

Seven turns later, Sonora and Thayae Khittaya decide to finish off the embattled Geats.

As seems to happen in every single fucking game, Ukraine gives away Kharkiv to the Numidians after an irrelevant war and Massinissa razes it.

Newfoundland nabs the Great Wall, which should prove to be a useful asset for this frequent super-turtle.

Maurya rejoins the war on the Geats, providing boats and elephants to the cause.

Boats and elephants are what the offensive side needed, apparently, because Maurya captures Skara in 8 turns. Beowulf of the Geats is eliminated in 21st place yet again.

It's turn 150 and I realized I never did the turn 100 stats. Fuck me. Anyway, here they are, albeit very late. Albania and the CAE are nearly tied for the lead in soldiers, with Vietnam, Newfoundland, and Qin making up the next tier below.

Newfoundland has an early lead in technologies, while Sonora holds second place. Third is a five-way tie.

Sonora leads in production, with Newfoundland in second and no one else particularly close.

The Numidians give Auzia to Switzerland after a mostly uneventful war.

The CAE and Switzerland then team up against Uzbekistan. Islam Karimov might make initial gains, but the numbers are definitely stacked against him.

Uzbekistan quickly takes Auzia from Switzerland.

Cities getting handed over in peace treaties seems to be a theme of this round, because India has now given Bombay to Newfoundland for no real reason.

A few turns later, the Blackfoot hand Káínaa over to Vietnam in a similar deal.

While we weren't looking, the CAE has absolutely devastated Uzbekistan. Samarkand has fallen, the Uzbek army has disintegrated, and Tashkent is under attack.

Somehow, Switzerland swoops in and snipes Tashkent. Incredible.

And Dufour quickly takes back Auzia as well, eliminating Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan in 20th place.

However, this incurs the wrath of many other civilizations, as Qin, Vietnam, Albania, and the Numidians all attack Switzerland.

The Numidians recapture Auzia, at least for now.

Albania manages to capture Tashkent, ensuring that Auzia is indeed secure.

Sonora attacks Thayae Khittaya, which is already struggling to hold off Maurya. Duttabaung is completely screwed.

However, William Walker doesn't really like either side here and declares war on Maurya at the same time.

Thayae Khittaya soon falls, eliminating Duttabaung of Thayae Khittaya in 19th place.

Now it's time for the turn 200 stats, which are thankfully on time. Newfoundland has the largest military by far, with Albania and Vietnam close to each other in second and third respectively.

Sonora and Newfoundland are tied for the tech lead, with two technologies over Maurya and Vietnam in second place.

And Sonora still has the most hammers, with Newfoundland still second as well.

William Walker's war against Ashoka appears to have backfired as Maurya moves in to take Hanlin.

In an unexpected twist, Vanuatu launches a naval attack that seizes Taxila from Maurya.

Bokassa declares war on Ezo, and his huge unit carpet should be able to beat through Enomot Takeaki's defenses eventually.

In a minor war off to the side, the Aleuts have captured Vitoria from Navarre.

As expected, the CAE army comes down like a massive hammer, overwhelming Ezo and taking Hakodate.

Albania and the Aleuts declare war on Ukraine. Tymoshenko is in major trouble.

Sonora has retaken Hanlin and is pushing on Skara, but Walker is running low on units, and now he faces declarations of war from Newfoundland and Vanuatu as well.

The Inca make peace with Navarre and give away Machu. More than makes up for Vitoria, doesn't it.

Several turns ago, Qin captured Sapporo, eliminating Enomoto Takeaki of Ezo in 18th place. However, there's some commotion in the background...

Yep, Albania has captured Kyiv, eliminating Yulya Tymoshenko of Ukraine in 17th place.

Later that same turn, Vietnam attacks the Blackfoot, so another elimination may be on the books here.

Indeed, Vietnam swiftly takes Siksikáwa, eliminating Crowfoot of the Blackfoot in 16th place.

Switzerland declares war on Qin, which seems like a mistake given how much bigger Qin is.

Vanuatu manages to make inroads against Sonora using its navy, taking Ensenada.

Papua declares war on Vanuatu, but this won't be an easy fight for either side. It could go either way, but my bet is on a stalemate.

Having retaken Ensenada, Walker decides that another war is just what he needs, so Sonora declares war on Vietnam.

As a result, Vietnam takes Ensenada but Sonora captures Saigon.

After a mostly uneventful war, Rajapapua decides that his side lost and gives away Boera to Vanuatu.

Switzerland does almost exactly the same thing, ending its war with Qin by giving away Zurich.

Qin passes on the favour by giving away Jiangzhou to Newfoundland.

Apparently Sonora has recovered enough to attack Maurya again. Good luck.

Maurya makes a curious move, giving away Mathura to Vietnam. I have no clue why they did this.

Navarre attacks the Inca in a renewed effort to gain full control of the western peninsula.

Turn 300 arrives with more stats. Vietnam now has the largest army, which I guess explains why Maurya gave away Mathura. Newfoundland still holds second.

Newfoundland also still has the tech lead, with the CAE close behind.

Vietnam and Albania are nearly tied for the lead in production, and Newfoundland isn't far behind either. After that it's a big dropoff.

Albania seeks to move up the ranks by taking some land from the embattled Incas.

Navarre takes Tiwanaku as both attackers close in on Cusco.

And Cusco falls Albania! Pachacuti of the Inca is eliminated in 15th place.

Vietnam declares war on Sonora again. Both sides seem about evenly matched.

Six civs all suddenly declare war on Papua, but the only one that's really noteworthy is Vanuatu.

Newfoundland wins the world's fair project, but it looks like lots of civs made decent contributions.

Meanwhile, Vanuatu captures Hanuabada, eliminating Papua in 14th place.

Navarre has apparently recovered Vitoria. Personally, I wouldn't have bothered.

Sonora has captured Mathura, although it looks like Vietnam is actually sending a few units to retake it.

Sonora has also dealt a much more massive blow to Vietnam by flipping Hanoi! However, this immediately incurs the wrath of Vanuatu and Newfoundland (although Vanuatu has declared war on Vietnam as well, oddly enough).

Sonora retakes Ensenada and makes a push to take Hanoi for good.

Navarre continues to chew through the Aleutian navy, taking Sanak.

Hanoi falls again, although Vietnam has retaken Ensenada.

Vanuatu takes Ensenada and Mathura, although it's not clear from whom. Hanoi flips in the background.

Navarre captures Chaluka, pushing the Aleuts back to the mainland.

Albania awakens after a good rest and declares war on the technologically inferior Numidians.

But first, Qin was apparently back at war with Switzerland, because they've taken Bern. Henri Dufour of Switzerland is eliminated in 13th place.

Newfoundland finally makes inroads against Sonora, taking Mulegé.

Newfoundland breaks through further south as well, capturing Hanoi!

But the two sides make peace before Edward Morris has a chance to capture Saigon.

Meanwhile, Albania has captured Auzia from the Numidians.

The Aleuts make peace with Navarre and give away Adamagan and Ounalashka. That's a pretty big windfall for Sancho.

I know it's hard to tell because of he colours, but that's actually Qin that has somehow managed to capture Cirta. Massinissa of the Numidians is eliminated in 12th place.

Sonora calls off its war with Vanuatu and gives away Beikthano in the process.

Yinzheng might be getting a little bit too bold, because he just declared war on Albania. This war is going to be impossible to follow.

Vanuatu and Newfoundland now team up against Maurya. Roymata should triumph in the end, but Beikthano is looking awfully squishy.

With the arrival of the turn 400 stats, we can see that Newfoundland is back on top in military strength, followed by the CAE, then Vanuatu, then Navarre.

The CAE has gone absolutely crazy with techs, rising out of nowhere to take the lead by no less than four technologies. Their neighbour and greatest threat, Albania, is tied with Newfoundland for second.

And Vanuatu now leads in production, with the CAE and Newfoundland very close behind. It's still not at all clear who will win this round.

Maurya strikes hard and fast, turning its defense against Vanuatu into a massive offense with the capture of both Mathura and Beikthano.

Albania captures Cirta from Qin, not that it's possible to tell. Just trust me on this one. In the background, Sonora and Qin declare war on Vietnam.

Vanuatu recaptures Mathura while Newfoundland takes Beikthano. Despite its early success, Maurya is beginning to collapse.

Vanuatu takes Pataliputra, leaving just one city...

And with the fall of Skara, Ashoka of Maurya is eliminated in 11th place.

Turns out Vietnam isn't as crippled as Yingzheng thought it was, because the Trung Sisters have captured Xianyang! It won't last, but the city will be totally wrecked.

By the time Qin retakes it and makes peace, it's lost almost all of its pre-war population.

Vietnam then faces a DOW from Newfoundland, an enemy it can't hope to defeat. This is probably the end for the Trung Sisters.

Meanwhile, Albania pushes harder against Qin, capturing Bern!

Newfoundland take Hai Phong, but it's tough going—Vietnam isn't giving up a single inch without a fight.

Vanuatu declares war on Qin. The residents of Xianyang see the advanced ships approaching and think, "oh no, not again..."

Newfoundland breaches the walls of Siksikáwa! The Trung Sisters are now cornered in their mountain stronghold of Káínaa.

In a surprise turn of events, Albania captures Delhi, eliminating Indira Gandhi of India in 10th place.

Two turns later, Newfoundland captures Káínaa, eliminating the Trung Sisters of Vietnam in 9th place.

Navarre begins its third war with the Aleuts! The question is: can Sancho fight his way in to Anangula before Agugux retakes the cities he gave away last time?

I'm gonna say the answer is no, because Albania has declared war on Navarre!

Skanderbeg wastes no time tearing through the Basque lines, capturing Chaluka and Adamagan.

Hey, look what's happened. Qin has lost its capital again, this time to Vanuatu.

Chaluka has flipped to the Aleuts while Albania has captured Ounalashka.

Skanderbeg also takes Sanak.

Vanuatu continues to eat into the Qin coast, capturing Chengdu.

Tiwanaku falls to Albania. That Basque navy would keep Skanderbeg busy if it included any melee units, but it doesn't.

The Aleuts make peace with Navarre and give back Chaluka. However, they did manage to take Sanak after it flipped offscreen.

Chaluka quickly falls to Albania, as expected.

At turn 500, Newfoundland still has the most soldiers, followed by Vanuatu and then the CAE. Of the big four, Albania has he fewest troops.

The CAE still leads in tech, but Newfoundland has slightly reduced the gap.

And Albania now has a significant lead in production, indicating that once they've had some time to rebuild, they'll probably shoot up the military charts as well.

Qin makes peace with Vanuatu, only to face a new declaration of war from Albania.

Albania is distracted taking Pamplona, however.

Vanuatu, meanwhile, turns its wrath toward Sonora. William Walker hasn't been skimping on military, but can he stand up to this?

Albania has taken Barakaldo, but other than that, they're struggling to pierce this mountain range.

The Aleuts seize the opportunity to take the isolated island city of Vitoria again.

Vanuatu seems to have absolutely smashed the Sonoran army, taking Hanlin and advancing on Thayae Khittaya! I did not expect Roymata to gain the upper hand this easily.

And of course the Aleuts have taken Vitoria, whatever that's worth.

Albania finally agrees to give up on Navarre, reciving Tudela in the peace treaty but otherwise leaving Sancho to lick his wounds for the time being.

Vanuatu takes Thayae Khittaya, and La Paz is threatened!

Albania makes peace with Qin and receives Zurich. Or maybe that happened earlier, it's hard to tell.

Vanuatu takes La Paz! Sonora has been absolute destroyed!

William Walker makes peace and gives up Saigon, leaving Sonora to live on as a city-state.

Two of the juggernauts duke it out for the first time, as Albania attacks Vanuatu!

Skanderbeg quickly overwhelms Xianyang, but it seems unlikely that he'll be able to cross the sea here.

Chengdu also falls to Albania, but that looks like the end of the line for this war.

Turn 600 stats! Albania now has a convincing lead in soldiers (saw that one coming!). Vanuatu and Newfoundland are not to be trifled with, however.

Newfoundland has retaken the lead in technologies, with the CAE one tech behind.

And Albania still holds the lead in production, but Vanuatu has made significant progress in closing the gap.

At some point during the last 20 turns, the CAE declared war on Navarre and captured all three of their remaining cities. And somehow, I did not notice this at all. For shame. Anyway, Sancho III of Navarre has apparently been eliminated in 8th place.

Vanuatu makes peace with Albania and gives away Falesa.

Newfoundland builds the international space station...

And he gets the international games as well.

Not a lot happened between turn 600 and turn 700 apparently, because we've got stats again. Albania still leads in military but Vanuatu is now pretty close behind. Newfoundland and the CAE can't really compete with those numbers.

Newfoundland and Vanuatu are neck in neck for the tech lead.

An Albania once again has a solid edge in hammers.

Shorly after that, Albania and Vanuatu team up on Qin. This won't last long.

And just like that, Albania takes Nanzheng, eliminating Yingzheng of Qin in 7th place.

Albania then decides to absorb the Aleuts as well.

Anangula and Vitoria are captured...

And with the fall of Sanak, Agugux of the Aleuts is eliminated in 6th place.

Vanuatu teams up with Albania again, this time to wipe out Sonora.

Cabo San Lucas swiftly falls, eliminating William Walker of Sonora in 5th place. All the rump states are now gone.

This means it's time for Roymata to move on to much larger targets. Vanuatu has declared war on Newfoundland—this is going to be enormous.

Vanuatu quickly takes Beikthano and drives off an initial push on Saigon. Albanian troops are starting to fill the gaps, however, potentially gumming up the war effort.

Vanuatu takes Mulegé, but now the Albanian troops are starting to get pretty thick on the ground.

Newfoundland retakes Mulegé and revives Sonora for some reason. Also, Albania now has more troops in this area than either Vanuatu or Newfoundland.

Newfoundland takes Cabo San Lucas, but doesn't return it to Sonora.

Vanuatu manages to punch through and take Hai Phong.

Hanoi finally falls as well.

As does Siksikáwa...

However, Newfoundland flips it and revives the Blackfoot. Crowfoot has been dead since, like, the fucking medieval era. This isn't right. Poor guy is probably so confused.

Turn 800 arrives with the war essentially stalemated, mostly due to all the Albania units in the way. So we have stats instead. Albania has continued to grow its army while Vanuatu's has barely changed.

Albania and Vanuatu have finished the tech tree. Newfoundland has one tech to go, and the CAE has five more.

Albania's production lead is still pretty significant. I would say the outcome definitely favours Skanderbeg here.

After inventing XCOMs, Vanuatu finally manages to break through and take St. John's! Could this war finally be ending?

Indeed, after 62 turns of fighting, Newfoundland gives in, surrendering Jiangzhou, Káínaa, and Conception Bay in the peace treaty.

On turn 820, once all the damage has been repaired, I force world war.

Newfoundland immediately sends Crowfoot back to the grave where he belongs.

Here's what this front looks like, since we haven't seen it in a while.

Another turn passes, and Albania has taken Siksikáwa from Newfoundland. All the Albania units in Vanuatu might have bitten off more than they can chew, however, since they're getting killed fast as they try to attack in every direction at once.

Vanuatu easily retakes Falesa from Albania.

It's absolute chaos on the front between Albania and Vanuatu as Siksikáwa and Conception Bay swap sides.

Vanuatu begins to eat into the west coast, taking Machu and besieging several other cities.

Albania secures Jiangzhou but loses Conception Bay to Newfoundland.

Vanuatu wreaks havoc in the west, taking Bangui and San Sebastian.

I am forced to restart several wars, because war apparently isn't very popular. XCOMs are flooding everywhere, but it seems like Vanuatu might somehow have the upper hand. Offscreen, Sonora has been eliminated again. Albania has also captured Samarkand and Asahikawa.

Albania takes Bangui and Machu...

Albania has also taken Bombay and St. John's, but Vanuatu has captured Xianyang.

Vanuatu takes St. John's and Mount Pearl; Albania gets Mulegé.

Albania has completely taken control of the west now, seizing every coastal city here that was held by the CAE and Vanuatu.

Albania takes Mbaiki, and Vanuatu captures Chengdu, and Nanzheng.

Albania takes Nanzhing, Chengdu, and Hakodate but loses Zurich.

Vanuatu takes Chengdu and Nanzheng again.

Corner Brook falls; Albania retakes Zurich.

Vanuatu has captured Conception Bay, eliminating Edward Morris of Newfoundland in 4th place. Albania has taken Sapporo.

Albania loses Sapporo but takes Bimbo, eliminating the Central African Empire in third place. It's down to the two top dogs now.

Vanuatu still seems to have the upper hand, capturing Bern.

But then Albania strikes back, retaking Sapporo, Nanzheng, Chengdu, and Xianyang.

Bern and Conception Bay soon follow. Asahikawa has been nuked straight off the map.

Albania takes Jiangzhou and Káínaa but loses Conception Bay.

Vanuatu retakes Káínaa, Xianyang, and Chengdu.

Albania recaptures Conception Bay, Chengdu, and Xianyang...

Both sides try to make peace, and I restart the war.

Seven turns later they make peace again. Both sides were simply seesawing back and forth, taking the same cities and then making peace. Their armies were about the same size, they had about the same amount of hammers, and there was no chance that either one would reach the other's core. So with that in mind I declared it a tie. The score now stands as follows:



Switzerland: 2

Albania: 1.5

Vanuatu: 1

Sonora: 1

Maurya: 1

The CAE: 1

Vietnam: 1

Uzbekistan: 0.5



Thanks for reading, and with the next round I hope to wrap up Mk. 10! The possibilities for Mk. 11 are starting to excite me!