Part of the campaign:

Hi everyone, I know it's been only a couple days since I last posted GHD, but you know, I'm making up for lost time here. And now we're down to the home stretch, because it's already round 10! If nobody surpasses 1.5 points this round, Sulu will win, and they'll be the only civ to win Groundhog Day with less than 2 points. And if someone ties them, we'll be heading into tiebreaker rounds.

Alright, let's get started. The second cities are founded, and it seems Wallachia has chosen a new location, while Fillmore has made his usual mistake of settling on the wrong side of Poland.

Leon gets the ball rolling early with a massive invasion of Japan! Rarely does a first war ever look as decisive as this one.

Leon overruns Tokyo within three turns!

Poland declares war on America, and Fillmore (as usual) is totally unprepared. This should be an easy war for Casimir.

Poland quickly captures New Orleans, and for once Casimir doesn't raze the city.

Washington falls shortly thereafter, eliminating Millard Fillmore of America in 21st place. I swear, America has finished dead last in more than half of the rounds. Their record might be even worse than Mk. 1 Burma.

Poland wastes no time declaring war on Benin, which has settled an indefensible city close to Warsaw.

Ife falls in no time. Poland is on a roll!

Wow, it's turn 100 already? The stats show that Poland holds a decent lead in military manpower, but their next door neighbour Wallachia is in second.

Poland also leads in crop yield, but is only slightly ahead of Leon.

And finally, Poland holds a significant lead in production. It's still anyone's game, but Poland is clearly the early favourite.

Leon decides it's time to play catch-up and invades Bohemia!

The tactic is successful, as Leon captures Prague.

But suddenly, both the Shoshone and Sulu attack Leon! Alfonso needs to abandon his Bohemian campaign and defend his western border, but is he smart enough to do so?

He is not! Alfonso retakes Prague but loses Astorga to Sulu!

Nepal declares war on Rapa Nui, which would be completely irrelevant if Hotu Matua hadn't settled a city on an island three tiles from Kathmandu.

Two turns later, Mataveri is in Nepalese hands. More importantly, however, Córdoba has given away Tulaytulah to the Shoshone in a peace treaty, and Poland has built the great wall.

The Tanguts attack Japan, sending an army through the dry hills toward Tokyo! Can Weiming Yuanhao pull off something interesting in his very last round?

Meanwhile, Sulu continues to cut deeper into Leon, taking Prague!

Japan strikes back at the Tanguts, capturing Xiazhou before making peace. Weiming Yuanhao's last chance appears to have been squandered.

More wars break out as Konbaung attacks Benin and the Massagetae declare war on Rapa Nui.

Leon makes peace with Sulu and gives away Oviedo. This gives Sulu an unreachable exclave and splits the Leonese empire in half, making it a questionable decision all around.

It's civil war Lefondesin as Poland declares war on Burundi! Which of Lefon's favourite civs will triumph?

Scotland takes advantage of Alfonso's weakness and declares war on Leon!

Five more civs get the same idea. Also on this slide: Japan makes peace with Wallachia and gives away Osaka.

Scotland quickly decimates Leon, taking Tokyo and damaging the capital!

But first, Burundi loses its capital to Poland! As all the intrigue on the western subcontinent plays out, in the east, Poland is just steamrolling everyone.

Okay, at least Konbaung is doing something too. With the fall of Edo, Ewuare of Benin is eliminated in 20th place.

And finally Scotland captures Leon itself, eliminating Alfonso of Leon in 19th place. For a civ that was contesting the lead in most areas at turn 100, a turn 161 elimination is pretty catastrophic.

Venezuela declares war on Sulu, which really looks like a great way to lose Valencia.

The Massagetae attack Konbaung, which appears to already be at war with both Poland and Burundi. Also on this slide, the Shoshone join Venezuela in the war against Sulu.

Several more civs join the anti-Sulu coalition, including Scotland, which is well positioned to take Oviedo.

Poland captures Inwa, dealing a massive blow to Konbaung!

Indeed, Sulu has captured Velencia.

But, in a miraculous turn of events, Konbaung recaptures Inwa and makes peace with Poland. Better luck next time, Casimir!

In his anger, Casimir lashes out and accidentally eliminates Cambarantana of Burundi in 18th place.

Scotland crushes Oviedo! Is James VI positioning himself as a dark horse contender for the western subcontinent?

Looks like he is! Scotland has captured Prague!

Sulu recaptures Prague, but now they're cut off from reinforcing it because the Shoshone have taken Astorga.

But Sulu retakes that as well, and attempts to burn it.

The Shoshone hardly seem to care, and they go straight for Bauang instead. Astorga is no longer burning, and Scotland has retaken Prague.

And Scotland takes Astorga as well!

Venezuela takes Dungun, while Astorga somehow belongs to Sulu again.

This time Rapa Nui takes Astorga, probably for good. What a weird turn of events.

Anyway, it's turn 200, which means more stats. Poland has the undisputed overall lead in soldiers, while Scotland is the top power on the western subcontinent.

Poland and the Shoshone are tied for the lead in tech, while Scotland and Wallachia are tied for second.

Poland has the most production, with a big drop down to Scotland in second, followed by a smaller but still significant drop to the Shoshone in third.

Sulu recaptured Dungun from Venezuela, only to lose it to the Shoshone.

And finally Venezuela retakes Valencia, eliminating Jamalul Kiram I of Sulu in 17th place.

Poland declares war on Konbaung again! Maybe this time Casimir will be smart enough to keep Inwa when he inevitably captures it. Right?

Scotland decides to finish off Bohemia. This should be fairly easy.

Meanwhile, in a war I didn't even know was happening, Maurya captures Songhai's capital!

Rapa Nui joins the war against Bohemia, and there are an awful lot of blue and pink units in the area...

Suddenly, Pocatello declares war on James VI and launches a huge army straight at Scotland's undefended capital! James needs to act now to prevent a disaster.

His current distraction is thankfully removed, as Rapa Nui captures Plzen, eliminating Vaclav II of Bohemia in 16th place.

Nevertheless, catastrophe strikes Scotland as the Shoshone roll into Edinburgh! It's looking like James' time in the limelight might be short-lived.

Meanwhile, Maurya captures Tombouctou, eliminating Askia of Songhai in 15th place.

Konbaung gives Inwa to Poland in the peace treaty and Casimir burns it. Please! How many times ahve I told you that razing cities is not the path to victory!

Casimir certainly isn't done conquering shit, though, so he declares war on the fortified Massagetae.

Venezuela attacks the Shoshone after Pocatello spent a large portion of his army failing to make any further progress against Scotland.

Despite being at war with Venezuela, however, Pocatello declares war on Scotland again!

Venezuela makes short work of the Shoshone coast, taking Dungun and damaging Bauang.

Meanwhile, Poland has taken Oxus after a period of intense flipping.

Venezuela captures Bauang, cutting the Shoshone off from the coast entirely.

Turn 300 arrives bearing stats. Poland still leads in military manpower, to no one's surprise. Maurya in second is definitely interesting though.

The Shoshone are really pulling ahead of the pack in technologies, but it doesn't seem to have helped them a great deal.

Poland's lead in production is enormous now. Despite losing its capital, Scotland remains in second place.

Poland continues its destructive rampage, capturing Jaxartes seemingly without breaking a sweat.

The Shoshone declare war on Córdoba, and their superior production should allow them to win in the end even if it turns into a war of attrition.

Bored with the Massagetae, Casimir launches a massive new invasion of Wallachia! At this rate, Poland seems unstoppable, as the western subcontinent is still divided into many small factions with no clear superpower.

Suddenly, Rapa Nui invades Scotland! Prague is already half way surrounded, and the Scottish army doesn't look capable of defending it.

Maurya awakens and uses its very large army to invade its only neighbour, Konbaung. After that, Ashoka won't really have anywhere to go though.

Rapa Nui takes Prague, uniting Hotu Matua's string of cities on the southern coast.

Just as Córdoba's army finally disintegrates, Nepal joins in on the action. Now it's a two way race to capture the capital.

Meanwhile, Poland begins to make inroads against Wallachia, capturing Arges.

And Nepal gets Córdoba, even though the Shoshone did most of the work. Classic. Abd-ar-Rahman III of Córdoba is eliminated in 14th place.

Maurya captures Edo, but Konbaung is putting up some surprisingly tough resistance.

Venezuela attacks the Shoshone again, right as Pocatello takes Astorga in an unrelated conflict with Rapa Nui.

Soon, with Venezuela's help, Astorga is restored to Hotu Matua's control.

Poland finally captures Campulung, after a heroic resistance by Wallachia.

And Targoviste itself falls shortly afterward.

Out of nowhere, Nepal captures Glasgow from Scotland with apparently only two units. Most curious indeed.

Maurya finally manages to continue its conquest of Konbaung, taking Amarapura.

Scotland has decisively recaptured Glasgow from Nepal.

At turn 400, to no one's surprise, Poland still holds a massive lead in military manpower.

The Shoshone are still three techs ahead of everyone else.

And of course Poland's production lead is still huge. Venezuela has risen into second.

Venezuela's rise is about to get a lot steeper and the Shoshone give away Te Moak to Chavez in a peace treaty! It's kind of weird timing, as Venezuela was just a turn or two away from taking Moson Kahni, but I guess it'll do the job.

Rapa Nui attacks the Massagetae and sends a large fleet toward Tomyris' island stronghold.

Maurya declares war on Konbaung again, and this time Alaungpaya might be facing elimination.

But first, Rapa Nui captures Aral, eliminating Tomyris of the Massagetae in 13th place.

Pocatello decides to nurse his bruised ego with another invasion of Scotland.

The invasion is successful, as Pocatello takes Glasgow. But now Rapa Nui is threatening to take some of the core cities that he plans to capture.

And Maurya swiftly takes Shwebo, eliminating Alaungpaya of Konbaung in 12th place.

I must have missed when this war started, but it sure is important. Venezuela is launching a massive invasion of Nepal and has already captured Pokhara.

And a couple turns back, the Shoshone captured Osaka, eliminating Vlad III of Wallachia in 11th place.

Shortly afterward, Pocatello attacks Japan, although this seems like a great way to lose Osaka.

Indeed, Oda easily retakes his former city.

Rapa Nui, which has struggled to make gains against Scotland's inland cities, now faces a much bigger danger: a declaration of war from Poland!

Maurya joins in as well, further imperiling Hotu Matua's overextended empire.

Maurya takes Aral, but now it looks like Rapa Nui's navy is launching a counteroffensive!

A few turns later, Aral is safely back on Hotu Matua's hands, and the two sides make peace. Now everyone's favourite Polynesians can focus on Poland.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's navy pushes even farther up the coast, taking Mataveri, while their land army remains bogged down at Córdoba.

Nevermind, Córdoba soon falls!

Poland takes Hanga Piko! Fortunately for Hotu Matua, Casimir has virtually no naval presence in the south, so it might be possible to hold Hanga Roa.

And Venezuela captures Kathmandu, eliminating Prithvi Narayan of Nepal in 10th place.

Whoops, I spoke too soon. Poland captures Hanga Roa without too much trouble.

The Shoshone capture Astorga for the third time this round. Maybe they'll keep it now? (Side note: the Shoshone have a really weirdly shaped empire.)

Actually, I would say there's no way Pocatello is getting it back. Rapa Nui has recaptured the city, only to face a DOW from Venezuela that has completely flooded the area with units.

Indeed, Venezuela captures Astorga almost immediately.

Just making a note of the fact that Poland captured Aral some time ago.

Venezuela continues to chew through Rapa Nui, taking Anakena, while Scotland attempts to join in the fun.

But Scotland is quickly cock blocked as Venezuela takes Prague.

And now James has other issues to worry about, because Pocatello has declared war on him yet again.

The turn 500 stats show that the top spot in military goes to... GUESS WHO?

Poland has also finally overtaken the Shoshone in technologies.

In production, however, it's almost a contest! Venezuela has gained a huge number of hammers since turn 400 and is now just 51 hammers behind Poland.

Back to the action! The Shoshone are making short work of Scotland this time, taking Leon.

Oviedo soon follows...

...And the Shoshone capture Tokyo as well, eliminating James VI of Scotland in 9th place. He had a good run, at least.

Japan declares war on the Shoshone! Now, I'm really not quite sure what to think of this... on the one hand, Shoshone lands are really sparsely defended, but on the other hand, Japan's units are weak as fuck.

Wait, what the fuck? Venezuela is at war with the Shoshone? Why didn't I take a picture of the DOW? Well, there's nothing else for it now but to watch how this unfolds.



Note that the Shoshone have taken Prague, while a huge Venezuelan army is encircling Moson Kahni. Also in the background: Japan has retaken Tokyo.

Like a giant yellow vice, Venezuela squeezes Moson Kahni to the breaking point, and the city falls.

In an effort to establish a beachhead on the western subcontinent, Poland declares war on Japan!

Osaka falls almost immediately. Note the enormous tech difference visible in each side's unit composition.

Oof, fucking hell. Venezuela absolutely destroys all Shoshone resistance, taking Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Leon almost simultaneously.

Oviedo falls, leaving the Shoshone with just one city...

And with the fall of Tulaytulah, Pocatello of the Shoshone is eliminated in 8th place. Venezuela is now the undisputed master of the western continent, and (on the minimap at least) is starting to look even scarier than Poland.

Poland takes Tokyo and Kyoto. Winged Hussars terrify the Japanese defenders into submission.

Concluding a war that started off screen ages ago, Venezuela takes Xinqing, eliminating Weiming Yuanhao of the Tanguts in 7th place.

Oh my goodness! What a sight to behold! Poland has declared war on Maurya, and if this initial shot of the two armies is anything to go by, it will be a sight to behold.

Poland's massive air force goes straight for the cities, and a single winged hussar knocks down the walls of Shwebo. Imagine that, winged hussars backed up by bombers...

Venezuela decides to finish its war with Rapa Nui that was cut off by the war with the Shoshone.

Plzen quickly falls. There's really no way for Hotu Matua to resist.

Meanwhile, Poland takes Amarapura and swarms toward Edo.

The Polish navy moves in the from the northeast at the same time, taking Tombouctou.

And Venezuela captures Orongo, eliminating Hotu Matua of Rapa Nui in 6th place.

Edo is captured as wave after wave of Mauryan units fall before the Polish air force.

Venezuela initiates the next step in its cleansing of the western continent, declaring war on Japan.

And Xiazhou quickly falls, eliminating Oda Nobunaga of Japan in 5th place.

Poland opens a second front against the Vikings, because one war at a time just isn't enough. Not that it'll be an issue for Casimir.

Gao falls. Maurya is reduced to its original cities.

Suddenly, Venezuela declares war on Poland! This is the best time to attack, while Poland is at war with two other civs and its western cities are undefended. This is Venezuela's chance: if Chavez can damage Poland now, he'll be in a better position to take control of the end game, and possibly win it all.

But Poland makes the first move, capturing Orongo with a naval attack.

Plzen follows shortly thereafter, as a huge number of planes based on aircraft carriers begin to bombard Oviedo.

Oviedo is also captured! Chavez's plan is backfiring massively.

But Venezuela soon gathers its forces and strikes back, retaking Oviedo, Plzen, and Orongo, and capturing Kyoto.

Chavez also takes Tokyo. The tide of the war has clearly shifted.

Osaka falls, and the Venezuelan army begins to close in on Hanga Roa.

But then the two sides make peace, stopping the war in its tracks. It's a solid win for Venezuela, but not decisive.

Now free to pursue other ventures, Poland finally takes Trondheim from the Vikings.

Poland now begins to work its way into the Mauryan heartland, taking Ujjain, while Venezuela tries to get in on the action.

Sarnath falls, but who will get Pataliputra?

First, Poland takes Bergen, eliminating Ragnar Lothbrok of the Vikings in 4th place.

And then Poland takes Pataliputra the very next turn, eliminating Ashoka of Maurya in third place. It's down to the final two! If Poland wins, Sulu takes the overall title. If Venezuela wins, then Venezuela takes the overall title. And if they tie, we go to tiebreaker rounds, as Sulu and Venezuela will both have 1.5 points.

Just four turns after finishing off Maurya, Poland comes back around and declares war on Venezuela! Osaka falls on the very first turn of the war.

The Venezuela navy makes a precision strike and takes out Tombouctou, albeit briefly.

Poland rushes in with tanks backed by stacks of bombers, taking Tokyo, while large number of Venezuelan units stand ready to flip back anything that Casimir tries to capture.

But despite the constant flipping, Poland pushes even farther, taking Oviedo and pushing on several major Venezuelan cities.

Chavez retakes oviedo but loses Kyoto. Poland has now recovered everything it lost in the previous war.

Turn 700 arrives after 34 turns of the Polish-Venezuelan war. Poland has the larger army by a decent margin, but Venezuela's force is certainly not small.

Poland has four more technologies than Venezuela.

And in production, they're fairly close, but Poland has more.

Still, the fight is brutal, as Venezuela retakes Kyoto but loses Xiazhou.

Poland gets enough tanks in to flip Oviedo and capture Glasgow.

Venezuela retakes Oviedo and Glasgow, and then the two sides make peace. Poland not only regained everything it lost in the first war, but got Xiazhou on top of it all.

Poland wins the world's fair by a large but not ridiculous margin.

Same with the international games.

Turn 800 arrives with the last stats before forced war is declared. Venezuela has now surpassed Poland in military manpower, but both armies are clearly enormous.

Venezuela has now finished the tech tree, while Poland has not. This is a significant reversal from turn 700, where Poland was ahead.

But Poland still maintains the lead in production; in fact, their edge is bigger than it was last time. This could be the winning factor right here.

On the dot at turn 800, I force war between the two remaining contenders.

Venezuela swiftly slams Poland with a veritable wall of units, retaking Tokyo within the first two turns.

Kyoto is the next to fall as Chavez absolutely overwhelms all the Polish border cities.

Xiazhou is retaken...

The two sides make peace, and I force them to fight again.

Poland builds the international space station, giving them a production and science boost.

Casimir begins fighting back, retaking Kyoto and capturing Orongo. Poland now seems to have the military edge, even though Venezuela is fielding XCOMs.

13 turns later, the only change is that Venezuela has retaken Kyoto and Orongo.

Eight turns after that, Poland has retaken Kyoto. That's it.

Poland takes Tokyo, and the two sides make peace. Venezuela gives away Glasgow in the peace treaty. I force war again immediately.

Venezuela promptly retakes Glasgow and Tokyo. Note how much of this area is covered in fallout!

Six turns later, Osaka has been nuked off the map, and I cancel yet another peace treaty.

Somehow, Poland has taken Xinqing, while Venezuela has recaptured Kyoto and Xiazhou.

20 turns later, the two sides have swapped Kyoto and Xinqing. That's all.

Another 11 turns, and Poland has retaken Xiazhou and Tokyo.

Casimir then makes a slightly stronger push, taking Glasgow, Oviedo, and Orongo as well.

Turn 900 arrives, so I show one more round of stats. Poland now has a clear lead in military manpower, for whatever good it's doing them.

Both civs have long since finished the tech tree.

And Poland's production lead has only grown. There's no way Venezuela will win this; it'll be a Polish victory or a draw.

Nevertheless, Venezuela takes back Glasgow and Orongo, keeping Casimir on his toes.

Six turns later, Poland has taken Orongo, Plzen, and Xinqing.

Aha, here's a big push! Eight turns after the previous slide, Poland has now taken Glasgow, Oviedo, Leon, and Puerto la Cruz, while losing Xinqing and Plzen.

Another four turns, and Poland has taken control of Plzen and Anakena.

On the next turn, Casimir also takes Prague!

Seven more turns, and now Poland has captured Xinqing, Edinburgh, and San Crisotbal. I'm calling it now: the stalemate has finally broken.

On the next turn, Poland takes Astorga and Tulaytulah.

Te Moak and Moson Kahni...

Ciudad Bolivar and Astorga...

San Felipe...

Bauang...

Dungun and Córdoba...

Um, oh shit, that's a lot of cities. I'm not sure which ones, but it's a lot.

Caracas itself falls! Kathmandu is the only capital left standing!

And finally it's over. Poland has won round 10, handing the overall victory to Sulu with a record low winning score of 1.5, after winning round 1 and tying round 3. Seems like I might have made this game TOO balanced! Anyway, see the final slide for details on the next mark.

So, Mk. 10. Mk. 10 will be a special one, because instead of selecting civs on a first come first serve basis, I will be keeping the suggestion thread open for 12 hours and then choosing the civs from the suggestion pool by lottery. That means that if you missed the thread by a few hours, you can still put your civ in, and have an equal chance of making it as the guy who got there two seconds after posting.



The thread will be up on MONDAY the 20th of August from 9 a.m. Pacific time to 9 p.m. Pacific time. That's noon to midnight on the US east coast, 5 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday in the UK, and 3 a.m. Tuesday to 3 p.m. Tuesday in Australia. Make sure to stop by the thread—but this time, there's no need to rush! Don't forget to congratulate Sulu, and I'll be setting up a new game before you know it. Cheers!