Part of the campaign:

Welcome back to Groundhog Day! It's Miles narrating again. Last time the map was painted in watermelon colors. What will we see this time around?

After doing slightly better last round, Beowulf's back to his usual terrible start, as he's the target of the first war by Sonora and Maurya. A Geatish warrior dents Taxila, but this isn't looking good for the Geats...

Sure enough, Maurya quickly snags Lodose, ensuring the Geats are crippled early.

Maurya is immediately faced with twin DoWs from Sonora and Thayae Khittaya. I guess Walker didn't want to give up his chance at Lodose?



In the background, the CAE attacks Ezo.

Indeed, Sonora takes Lodose, trying to block Maurya early.

Bokassa's failed to do much to Ezo, and now faces an Albanian invasion.

Numidia gets Kharkiv from Ukraine in a peace deal, and torches it. This city always gets the short end of the stick, it seems.



Sonora and Maurya make peace, with Walker keeping Lodose.

Albania takes Mbaiki from the CAE, and razes it. Bokassa can't save it, and his capital's in danger too.

A few turns later, Bangui falls, eliminating the Central African Empire in 21st place.

Albania tries to keep up its hot streak by attacking Ukraine, using the newly built Elbasan as a forward base. Meanwhile, Ezo declares war against Switzerland.

Albania's not quick enough, however, as the Aleuts take Kyiv first and eliminate Ukraine in 20th place.



Ezo unjoins the anti-Switzerland bandwagon.

Skanderbeg didn't get Kyiv, so he tries to attack Ezo instead. Takeaki's navy is denting Bangui slightly.



Ashoka realizes Beowulf is still alive, and decides to deal with that.

He'll have to be quick, though, as Thayae Khittaya wants to beat Maurya to Skara.

Ezo soon capitulates to Albania, giving up Sapporo to the red-and-black in a peace deal.

Both participants in that peace deal now face new wars, as Uzbekistan takes aim at Albania and the Qin at Ezo. The Uzbeks are really trying to punch above their own weight here.

But Karimov has allies in this war, including Numidia, the Inca, and the Aleuts. Can Skanderbeg handle this coalition?



Vietnam ends a coalition war against them from the Blackfoot and Sonora, which seems to have gone nowhere.

Skara falls to Duttabaung, eliminating the Geats in 19th place. Maurya's blocked from expansion yet again.

Turn 100 stats show the Inca eking out a military lead over the red-and-black civs of the southwest of the continent.

Albania's winning in the food department...

...as well as production. No surprise given the number of Albanian cities.

Vietnam attacks India. Can the Trungs overcome the awkward approach to Bombay?

Uzbekistan picks up the Great Wall, which ensures that even if their war against Albania goes badly, they are less likely to lose cities from it.

Ezo gives away Asahikawa to the Qin. If you want to do well, Takeaki, stop giving away cities!

Karimov makes a breakthrough, taking Durres!

Having lost Durres, Albania makes peace with Uzbekistan. Skanderbeg then gets a new coalition against him from... the Qin and Newfoundland?! Newfoundland's too far away to matter, while the Qin are throwing away their newly acquired city!

Unsurprisingly, Asahikawa falls to the Albanians.

Not sure if Vietnam took Bombay and then immediately made peace, or was in the process of taking it and then got it in the peace deal, but regardless, it's the Trungs' city now.

The Blackfoot see the depleted Vietnamese military as an opportunity to invade! Dufour is dragged along.

Turns out, 24 turns later, that the Blackfoot DoW was a bust and Crowfoot surrenders Kainaa for peace.

The bad news for the Blackfoot continues as they lose the island city of Aapatohsipikani to Vanuatu.

The Swiss-Qin wars restart, but neither side looks to have a decisive advantage.

Turn 200 stats show the Aleuts have ascended the ranks to the military lead, with rising stars Uzbekistan and Vietnam as runners-up.

A three-way tech lead shows nobody pulling ahead quite yet.

Albania still has a slight production lead, but Vietnam's catching up.

The first breakthrough goes to Dufour, as Jiangzhou flips to Switzerland!

Uzbekistan goes for another invasion of Albania, with Massinissa's endorsement. Skanderbeg's military is busy on the Incan border and he's left himself quite exposed.

The Aleuts join in on the opportunity to attack Albania, and the Swiss send their regards too.

Even Ezo, with its one city left, decides to get in on the action.

Switzerland has also taken Nanzheng and is sieging Xianyang. Qin resistance is crumbling.

And with the fall of their capital, the Qin are eliminated in 18th place.

Uzbekistan is making inroads against Albania, taking Sapporo! I love that goofy triangle of water tiles associated with it sticking out like a sore thumb.

Takeaki's dream of getting back out of the city-state life is dashed as a Swiss battalion takes Asahikawa first.

Meanwhile, to the north, Agugux picks up Elbasan. It probably would've fallen faster had it been on the coast.

Vietnam seeks to finish off the Blackfoot, and Duttabaung approves.

5 turns later, the Trungs take Siksikawa and eliminate the Blackfoot in 17th place.

Vietnam then decides to gear up for round 2 against India, and the Aleuts join them. Indira's about to get sandwiched.

Switzerland makes peace with Albania, but Ezo desperately declares war on Dufour in an attempt to get their old lands back. I don't think this will go well for Takeaki, though...

Hint: it didn't. Hakodate falls, and Ezo is eliminated in 16th place.

The Albanian military pushed back against the Aleuts, either retaking Elbasan or having been given it back in a peace deal. Either way, these two don't seem to be fighting anymore.

Vietnamese cannons pave the way for the capture of Delhi! It looks flippy, though.

A little while later, Vietnam still holds the Indian capital. Numidia's also getting sandwiched as the Aleuts and Uzbekistan attack.

Agugux takes Bangalore, eliminating India in 15th place.

Oh, were you expecting Uzbekistan to get Cirta? Nah, Switzerland got there first.



Navarre and the Inca go to war.

Turn 300 stats put the Aleut in the lead on military once again, and the rest of the runners-up are about as you'd expect with the exception of Maurya.

Maurya's gotten a slight tech lead over Vietnam, but it's not much of a difference.

Vietnam and Switzerland are neck and neck in production, but the Trungs have the lead for now.

The Aleuts take Auzia, eliminating Numidia in 14th place. Albania declared war right as Numidia was dying, as a final "screw you" to Massinissa.

Maurya's been building up its military, and throws it at Sonora. Still upset that you missed out on Lodose, Ashoka?

Vietnam backstabs their Aleut allies, pushing for Auzia.

Walker decides that if Ashoka wants Lodose that bad, he can just have it. So that ends that for now.

Uzbekistan and Vanuatu decide to try and knock Vietnam down a few pegs. Of course, Vanuatu is also trying to declare two wars at once, as they attack Papua on the same turn...



Also check out those population numbers on Vietnam, dang.

The anti-Trung coalition grows with all four civs in the northeast of the map joining in. Apparently nobody wants a repeat of last round.

Switzerland and Papua join in the next turn, while Vietnam builds the Red Fort to buff their defenses. They sure aren't going to go down easy, at least.



Navarre attacks the Aleuts, which may also pull Agugux's attention.

Agugux does indeed push back against Navarre, taking Barakaldo... and getting four DoWs as a result. Mostly irrelevant ones, but Switzerland does share a border in ex-Numidia.

The Aleuts take Delhi from Vietnam, and get another distant civ's DoW as a result.

Newfoundland's navy decides to take Delhi before Vietnam can get back to it, and Bangalore may be next.

As if these coalitions weren't confusing enough, Navarre declares war on Vietnam while the Inca and Uzbekistan declare war on the Aleuts.

Vietnam pushes back into Delhi, as the Newfie navy is starting to run out of ships.

Morris's ships take Bangalore while the Aleuts push back into Delhi. What a mess.

Agugux is losing ground to the south, as Uzbekistan has taken Kyiv!

Another push from Karimov and he's taken Adamagan, too! Meanwhile, Agugux has surrounded Bangalore with crossbows and can't figure out why he can't take it.

Karimov's so confident that he pulls Pachacuti into yet another anti-Albania war.

It seems to be working out for him, as Kruje goes green...

...as does Bangui.

The Aleut navy keeps up the pressure on Navarre, taking the island city of Tudela.

Tirana falls to Uzbekistan, and Elbasan's on its way out! Who'll get it?

The Inca do, that's who. Albania's eliminated in 13th place.

Pachacuti's feeling confident now, too, and attacks Navarre.

The Inca advance went quite well, taking Vitoria and having sieged Pamplona into the red before making peace.

The Aleuts finally get a melee unit into Bangalore, pushing Newfoundland out.

Another coastal pickup for the Aleuts as they take Pamplona while it's weak! Navarre is down its capital.

Content to have taken the capital, Agugux makes peace with Sancho. Pachacuti, on the other hand, doesn't want to let him have it.

The Inca actually take Pamplona this time, instead of stopping short.

Vietnam and Uzbekistan team up for another round against the Aleuts. Dufour has citadelled Auzia into oblivion.

It's not worth much at this point, but Karimov will still take it.

Thayae Khittaya sends some ships over to attack Agugux, taking Tudela!

Vietnam gets Corner Brook in a peace deal with Newfoundland, slicing Morris's territory in half.

Of course, that exposes it to Duttabaung's navy...



The coalition against the Aleuts switches things up slightly.

Uzbekistan takes Delhi, blocking Vietnam from getting it back.

As turn 400 rolls around, Maurya somehow has the largest military.

And the best tech...

But it's Switzerland who emerges with the production lead.

An Aleut caravel somehow makes its way back into Delhi...

...allowing Vietnam to snag it back.



Are those Uzbek missionaries attempting religious warfare? Hm.

Vietnam takes this once-Blackfoot city from Vanuatu. The Vietnamese military tech lead is showing.

The islander civs of the southeast go back to war, while Delhi flips between Uzbekistan and Vietnam, who are as much at war with each other as with the Aleuts.

The Swiss navy engages Papua near the snow city of Getxo, while Vietnam gets Sonora off its back.



Cloudberg's note: Getxo was founded by Navarre, I have no idea why the Swiss have it. This was the main takeaway from this slide.

Uzbekistan decides they need more enemies, and attack the Inca! Pachacuti's military is depleted and/or well away from the border, so this doesn't look good for the Inca.

Elbasan falls quickly, although the many citadels west of Tirana will likely slow Uzbek progress.

Karimov keeps opening new war fronts before the old ones are done, as he's attacking Switzerland now, too!

Unsurprisingly, he loses Bukhara, since most of his military was off fighting the Inca.

Auzia falls next, as Dufour mops up the under-defended garrisons on Uzbekistan's border.

Vietnam goes back to war with Newfoundland, aiming for St. John's.

Papua finally takes a city off of Vanuatu, and it's even the capital, but their hold on Teouma looks tenuous. Sapporo falls to Switzerland in the background.

The Aleut end their war with the Inca and get Machu in the peace deal, which also cuts off the Inca from Uzbekistan (by land, anyway).

Uzbekistan's lost a lot of ground here, and Tashkent is even taking damage!

Pachacuti and Duttabaung attempt to take out what remains of Navarre.

Durres falls to Switzerland, and Tashkent is surrounded!

Uzbekistan loses its capital! What a fall from glory.

Vietnam, not to be outdone, takes a capital only a few turns later. Newfoundland is down to Mount Pearl.



Uzbekistan retakes... Auzia.

Bangui is now Swiss, adding another capital to Dufour's scoreboard.

Samarkand falls!

Navarre loses Bilbao to the Inca, and Duttabaung's navy is denting San Sebastian.

Kruje goes to the Swiss next. Will Uzbekistan even survive this suicidally overconfident war?

The Aleuts attack the Inca, whose military is pretty depleted. Duttabaung sends a hilariously huge force to take San Sebastian.

Pachacuti's no slouch though, and quickly reclaims Machu!

The war in the southeast is over. Vanuatu got its capital back, but gave up Mangaas to Papua.

Walker decides to put Morris out of his misery.

Elbasan is the next Uzbek city to fall.

Finally, Karimov surrenders, giving up Adamagan too. Uzbekistan started that war as a major frontrunner and now has only 2 cities.

Dufour crushed the World's Fair.

Mount Pearl falls to Sonora, eliminating Newfoundland in 12th place.

Tudela falls to... Papua? Who saw that coming? Thayae Khittaya also adds the Aleuts' island cities to their hitlist.

A new coalition forms against the Aleuts, most importantly including Switzerland.

Sancho actually takes Tudela back! Good for him.

Because now it's Duttabaung's. And the wars in the west go through another cycle of stopping and restarting.

Thayae Khittaya takes San Sebastian, and Navarre's eliminated in 11th place.

Uzbekistan is still trying to be relevant, taking Machu off of Pachacuti...

...and Pamplona off of the Aleuts!

Bangalore falls to Switzerland, as Swiss troops approach the Aleut capital.

Wars end, wars restart... None of these peace deals seem to last for more than a short while.

By turn 500, Vietnam leads the way in military...

...as well as tech.

But Switzerland, as ever, pushes production hard.

Vietnam attacks Sonora, and Ensenada's in the red immediately. The Trungs have also brought along cavalry to make up for their UUs inability to take cities.

In the northwestern islands, Thayae Khittaya's taken Barakaldo and Chaluka's in the red.

La Paz falls, and Ensenada's still on the chopping block. Should Walker be grateful that Maurya's citadels block the way to Cabo San Lucas?

Switzerland and Papua team up against the Inca, and both are in a position to make that DoW meaningful.

Sonora loses Mount Pearl, and their troops are pushed to the sea!

Mount Pearl flips, as Ensenada falls. That may be all the Trungs can get to for now.

Agugux gives up his last non-capital cities to Dufour in exchange for a few more turns of survival.

The Incan capital falls to Uzbekistan! Karimov may be far from his peak, but he's still a force to be reckoned with.

Oh, Maurya gave Vietnam open borders, so Cabo San Lucas wasn't so safe after all. Sonora is eliminated in 10th place.

Three armies converge on Tiwanaku, but Switzerland walks away with the city.

Papua picks up Vitoria...

...and Switzerland takes Bilbao, eliminating the Inca in 9th place.

Things get messy as the naval powers of Thayae Khittaya and Papua decide to expand their holdings in the west of the continent by attacking Uzbekistan.

Dufour's ready to be rid of the Aleuts, and quickly takes Anangula to the black.

Switzerland easily takes it, eliminating the Aleuts in 8th place.

Duttabaung snags Pamplona!

Dufour's ludicrous production wins again. Who's surprised?

Switzerland decides to take out Uzbekistan before any more of Karimov's cities go to anyone else.

Duttabuang still manages to get into Machu first, however.

Uzbekistan retakes Machu, only to lose the former capitals of Tirana and Kyiv!

Thayae Khittaya retakes Machu and Papua takes Cusco, eliminating Uzbekistan in 7th place.

Gee Dufour, how come your mom lets you have 11000 hammers?

By turn 600, Switzerland's surpassed Vietnam in military strength...

...but the Trungs retain a major tech lead.

With a production difference this big, though, will it matter?



Cloudberg's note: for like 100 turns, Vietnam could have demolished Switzerland due to the tech difference alone, but they never did, and they let Switzerland reach a point where an 11 tech lead means much less. Totally threw the game honestly.

One turn after those stats, the giants go to war.

Hai Phong, the Trungs' lake fort, is the first city to fall.

It flips back, with Vietnam nuking the hell out of Bern in retaliation.

Hanoi gets nuked too.

Delhi goes Swiss, and Vietnam's troops look outnumbered.

Hai Phong flips, and while the Trungs have heavily damaged Xianyang, they are losing their hold on ex-Blackfoot lands.

Kainaa and Xianyang trade hands.

Both flip back, but Siksikawa also falls to Switzerland. Vietnamese GDRs take to the field but I'm doubting that will be enough to stop the Swiss.

Sensing weakness, Vanuatu throws itself at the Trungs' flank. Hanoi's been nuked several times, by the looks of it, as have many other cities.

Vietnam gives up Bombay, Saigon, and Ensenada to placate Switzerland, only to face several opportunistic invading armies.

Before it loses anything more, Vietnam takes Corner Brook from Duttabaung, but...

La Paz falls to Maurya...

...as does Hanoi...

...and Corner Brook. Vietnam's on its last legs.

Corner Brook flips, but Mount Pearl goes to Thayae Khittaya.

Maurya pushes back, and Switzerland attempts to get into St. John's at the last minute.

And Dufour takes St. John's, eliminating Vietnam in 6th place. The five civs left at this point are Switzerland, and then four civs to the east...

Papua decides to mop up Vanuatu, and looks quite capable of doing so.

Teouma falls quickly...

...as does Falesa. Vanuatu's eliminated in 5th place.

Switzerland decides to target Papua next, starting with their western holdings...

...which crumple immediately.

Falesa falls, and Swiss XCOMs start to fall from the skies.

Teouma goes down...

...as does Mangaas...

...and Getxo, and Boera...

...and Napatau, and Elevala...

...and finally the Papuan capital, Hanuabada, elim-- wait, they're not dead?

No, Papua's still alive, as they got Getxo back before losing their capital.

Okay, now they're dead. Papua's eliminated in 4th place.

Switzerland next decides to take out the other civ with holdings on the continent's western end: Thayae Khittaya.

Duttabaung does briefly take Cusco, but...

...only a single turn later, he's lost both Cusco and Machu.

Switzerland also hits Thayae Khittaya's core with XCOMs, taking Mount Pearl.

Pamplona, San Sebastian, and Tudela all fall...

...as does Thayae Khittaya itself!

Then Hanlin and Skara fall to the Swiss juggernaut as well. I can't tell if Barakaldo survived, or if that means Thayae Khittaya's eliminated in 3rd place.



Cloudberg's note: yeah they ded

Who needs forced war? Dufour will do it himself.



Cloudberg's note: I filmed this a while ago and I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was actually forced (missed turn 750 because I wasn't paying attention and did it on 760 instead)

In literally the first turn of the war, Switzerland takes 6 cities from Maurya and has all the rest at 0 HP.

A few cities flip, but the outcome here's inevitable...

Pataliputra falls, and Switzerland takes another game!

Dufour gets a second win, putting him in the lead. Cloudberg, back to you.



Cloudberg: Thanks for narrating yet again my dude. Here's the current score:



Switzerland: 2

Vietnam: 1

Sonora: 1

The CAE: 1

Albania: 1



Thanks for reading, and I'm working on filming round 7 right now!