Part of the campaign:

Come one, come all, to what should be the second to last round of Groundhog Day Mk. 7! Going into round 9, here are the things to keep in mind:



1. Great Qing is currently in the lead with 2.5 points. The Coast Salish are in the best position to overtake them, with 2 points.



2. If Great Qing wins this round, there will be no round 10 because it will be impossible for another civ to catch up.

The second cities roll out! They're all in positions we've seen before, though not necessarily at the same time.

However, this is definitely something new! South Korea jams a third city in between Hejaz and Montenegro, which seems likely to anger both nations.

The first war breaks out between Semien and Tuscany! However, early wars between these two often turn into stalemates, so I wouldn't get too hyped about it.

Another starts, this time between Great Qing and the Faroe Islands! This is definitely the first step that Cixi needs to take if she wants to end this mark here and now, but we'll see what happens.

Yet another war begins between Ethiopia and Liège, and it's quite clear that Amda Seyon has an overwhelming advantage.

Sure enough, that advantage allows Ethiopia to quickly capture Liège.

Montenegro attacks Algeria! Abdelkader will need to scramble a defensive force fast if he wants to survive.

South Korea takes its turn at attacking the Faroe Islands, who seem to have made peace with Great Qing without any major losses.

Algeria made peace with Montenegro and gave away Oran! Petar II is off to an excellent start so far. Algeria, however, definitely isn't.

The Kalinago attack Samoa in order to capture Salamasina's dubious forward settle.

But at the last moment, Calusa and the Coast Salish also attack Samoa!

And with a sneaky naval attack, Calusa takes Pago Pago.

The Faroe Islands make peace with South Korea and give away Klaksvik. Park Chung-hee, seeing that the city is north of Korea and therefore must be North Korea, chooses to burn it.

In response, however, Montenegro attacks South Korea!

Petar II quickly takes Incheon, and there's no hope of recapture.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia finally takes Tongeren, eliminating Erard de la Marck of Liège in 21st place.

The Coast Salish declare war on the Ilkhanate! It remains to be seen whether Ghazan can defend Tabriz.

Montenegro attacks Algeria again, only to receive declarations of war from the Kalinago and the Cherokee. Can he handle it? We'll see..

The Kalinago team up with Great Qing to attack Calusa! Caalus's army isn't to be trifled with, however, so it's not clear who might come out on top.

Well, for the moment it seems the Kalinago are winning, as they've managed to capture Pago Pago.

The Ilkhanate makes peace with the Salish and gives away Tabriz. Smooth.

The Salish then declare war on Calusa. They instantly take Pago Pago, which had flipped back to Caalus's control.

Moments later, Seattle also captures the Calusan island colony of Mayaimi.

Two turns after that, Montenegro captures Algiers, eliminating Abdelkader of Algeria in 20th place.

In a peace treaty (and a war) that I somehow missed, Hejaz gives away Medina to Tuscany.

The Kalinago build the Great Wall to keep out... well, everyone, I suppose.

Montenegro negotiates peace with the Cherokee and receives Tahlequah. Petar II is rising so fast at this point that it would take a coalition to stop him.

Anyway, time for the very late turn 100 stats. Ethiopia has the largest army, with their neighbour Denmark in second. Montenegro's army ranks eighth, but with their production, they should start rising fast.

I've stopped doing techs and the turn 100 interval, so here is crop yield instead. Unsurprisingly, Montenegro leads, with France somehow coming in only 3... what do you even call them? Apples? Whatever, France is behind by only three whatchamacallits.

Montenegro's lead in production, however, is entirely unambiguous.

Tuscany makes peace with Semien and receives Wolleka! If history is any guide, Lorenzo will soon declare war on Semien again and lose the city.

The Coast Salish capture Escampaha from the sea! Damn son!

Oh shit, Seattle fucked up. In response to this blatant aggression, the Kalinago and Great Qing declare war on the Salish.

Calusa immediately seize the opportunity and retakes its capital before making peace with Seattle.

Great Qing, meanwhile, uses its navy to take Mayaimi.

And as if one war wasn't enough, Great Qing decides to declare war on the Mughals as well.

The Kalinago take Pago Pago (hey, that rhymes) and prepare for a composite bowman assault on Old-Man House.

Montenegro has awoken once again! Seeing that Lorenzo is distracted trying to kill Hejaz, Petar II declares war on Tuscany.

Suddenly, France joins the war against the Coast Salish! Seattle has been trying to kill Samoa, but he might have to give up on that.

Regardless, it seems it's too late for the Salish. Kairouane captures Tabriz, and both Old-Man House and Spahbahdeed are under attack.

Apparently Great Qing took Gaur when I wasn't looking. Oops.

France takes Spahbahdeed as the Kalinago and Great Qing back out of the war. It looks like Napoleon now has exclusive rights to take Old-Man House.

Great Qing attacks Calusa! Caalus immediately drops Gaur to yellow, but it's not clear who has the long-term advantage here.

Calusa takes Gaur as Qing resistance begins to mount.

And finally France takes Old-Man House, eliminating Seattle of the Coast Salish in 19th place.

France decides the best way to expand now would be to declare war on Great Qing. Mayaimi is looking somewhat squishy.

Indeed, the city falls quickly, and Napoleon burns it to the ground.

Tuscany makes peace with Montenegro and gives away Medina, marking the second time this round that this city has traded hands in a peace treaty.

Anyway, Great Qing is bouncing back from the initial Calusan offensive by retaking Gaur and capturing Escampaha as well.

Two earlier wars suddenly restart later that same turn: Montenegro vs. South Korea, and Kalinago vs. Calusa.

And as if this turn didn't already have enough going on, the Ilkhanate and the Kalinago team up against Bosnia.

Six turns later, Ghazan's forces roll into Vhrbosna.

And two turns after that, the Kalinago take Muspa, eliminating Caalus of the Calusa in 18th place.

However, the Kalinago are at war with the Mughals, so Akbar takes the opportunity to capture Muspa.

Now, the turn 200 stats! Ethiopia still has the largest army, while Montenegro has risen all the way into second.

We see the tech race for the first time, and it's still very close, with three civs tied for first and three more tied for second.

And finally, Montenegro still leads in production, but Ethiopia has begun to close the gap.

South Korea makes peace with Montenegro and gives away Busan in the peace treaty. Incredible.

Montenegro then turns on its next target: Great Britain.

The Ilkhanate attacks the Kalinago, but based on their relative army sizes, this seems like a terrible idea.

Montenegro takes Birmingham as Petar II's enormous army overwhelm's Victoria's forces.

Four civilizations, including Montenegro and France, simultaneously attack the Kalinago! Clearly this is why Kairouane decided to build the Great Wall.

France begins by capturing and razing Pago Pago, and given the paucity of Kalinago melee units, they're probably going to get away with it. However, slightly off screen, Kairouane seems to have retaken Muspa.

The Faroe Islands attack Great Qing... yes, you read that right. Is it a good idea? Hard to say.

Meanwhile, the Kalinago capture Maragha, and have even managed to eliminated any melee units that Ghazan could use to sack it down to nothing.

But now, it's time for the turn 300 stats! Montenegro's military lead has shrunk even further, with Ethiopia now only 1,000 soldiers behind.

France has taken the lead in technologies, but only barely.

And Montenegro's lead in production remains largely uncontested.

Now, let's return to the action, where Denmark and Montenegro have just declared war on Tuscany!

Haralad Bluetooth swiftly moves to take Wolleka.

Despite the attack by the Faroe Islands, Cixi finds time to take Agra, eliminating Akbar of the Mughals in 17th place.

Montenegro takes London! Now I anticipate 452 turns of flipping as Victoria uses her navy to take it back over and over again.

After the success of the first invasion, Napoleon attacks the Kalinago again. He also attacks Samoa at the same time.

But that won't stop the Kalinago from capturing Vhrbosna, eliminating Ghazan of the Ilkhanate in 16th place.

Having finished off the Mughals, Cixi focuses her efforts elsewhere. And so she takes Torshavn, eliminating Tróndur í Gøtu of the Faroe Islands in 15th place.

Montenegro makes a major incursion into Tuscany, capturing Pisa, but at that moment the Kalinago declare war.

And moments later, Denmark takes Florence, eliminating Lorenzo de Medici of Tuscany in 14th place. That's now three eliminations in four turns.

Aha, could this be the coalition against Montenegro at last? The Cherokee and Great Qing have both declared war against Petar II, but it's not clear if others will follow.

Indeed, Hejaz and Ethiopia soon join the coalition. Montenegro is now in major trouble. Also on this turn: Ethiopia attacks Denmark.

South Korea piles on too. This is really bad.

Meanwhile, Denmark takes Qeste-nihb from Ethiopia, and the two sides make peace.

South Korea recovers Busan, marking the first city capture in the coalition against Montenegro.

Soon afterward, the Kalinago take Algiers with a naval and embarked attack.

And the Cherokee take Pisa, though it's not clear they can hold it.

But they do hold it, and they manage to retake Tahlequah as well.

Montenegro retakes Pisa, only to face a Danish invasion that swipes away the city on the very first turn of the war.

And South Korea also takes Oran. Montenegro is just shedding cities left and right.

Meanwhile, France captures Apia, eliminating Salamasina of Samoa in 13th place.

Somehow, in all the madness, Hejaz has managed to recapture Medina.

Montenegro retakes Tahlequah, only to lose it to Denmark. Several other cities are also in trouble.

The Kalinago take both Oran and London!

Kairouane continues his rampage, taking Podgorica and Birmingham as well. Somehow, Medina is back in Montenegro's hands.

And now Medina is Hejazi again.

The Cherokee take Incheon; only Cetinje remains...

Suddenly, the coalition breaks apart as Denmark declares war on the Cherokee!

John Ross kicks it off by taking back Tahlequah.

But Denmark responds by taking Incheon.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia attacks South Korea, but over the past few turns Park Chung-hee has actually done a pretty good job fortifying Busan.

Turn 400 arrives, and with it comes a new world order. The Kalinago now have the largest army, followed by Great Qing.

France still leads in technologies, now by two techs instead of one.

And Kalinago has a massive, undisputed lead in production.

For some reason, South Korea and Hejaz decide it's a good idea to attack Denmark. It's clear that neither of them thought this through very well. On the upside, however, Montenegro has recaptured Tahlequah.

Denmark takes Chota, exiling the Cherokee to their snow island megacity.

France attacks Bosnia, while several more civs team up against Denmark.

Hejaz is actually making gains, capturing Incheon.

But Denmark quickly brings the hammer down and takes Incheon and Medina.

The Kalinago attack Great Britain! Victoria won't stand a chance.

France takes Bobovac! Bosnia now only controls a tundra island, but Tvrtko does have a fairly large army still outside his capital.

And Denmark takes Mecca, eliminating Hussein bin Ali of Hejaz in 12th place.

An overlooked war between Ethiopia and Great Qing suddenly turns real as Cixi captures Tongeren.

And the Kalinago capture Leeds, eliminating Victoria of Great Britain in 11th place.

Kairouane then takes it upon himself to finish off Bosnia as well.

But France gets there first, capturing Srebrenik and eliminating Tvrtko I of Bosnia in 10th place.

Great Qing's naval assault on Ethiopia continues as Cixi takes Addis Ababa.

But that won't stop South Korea from giving away Busan to Ethiopia in a peace treaty.

Of course, Cixi immediately takes the city for herself.

And later that same turn, Denmark captures Seoul, eliminating Park Chung-hee of South Korea in 9th place.

France attacks the Kalinago for the third time. Uh, third time's a charm, I guess?

Meanwhile, Great Qing continues to tear through Ethiopia, capturing Tegulet.

And the Kalinago manage to take Chota from Denmark.

Great Qing captures Liège; one Ethiopian city remains...

Oh. So much for that.

Incredibly, after Chota flipped back to Denmark, the Cherokee managed to retake the city. It won't last long, but whatever.

And Great Qing finally takes Shire, eliminating Amda Seyon of Ethiopia in 8th place. In the background, the Cherokee lose their capital to Denmark again.

Suddenly, Great Qing attacks the Kalinago! This could be the moment that defines the game—will Kairouane be able to hold off the attack, or will Cixi deliver the killing blow?

Muspa quickly falls, but as long as Kairouane holds Wai'tukubuli, he'll continue to have the Great Wall advantage.

Kairouane manages to take Seoul from Denmark, but at this point it's basically a free gift to Cixi.

Sure enough, it's not long before she takes the city.

Time for the turn 500 stats! Great Qing has the largest army now, and France has surpassed the Kalinago as well.

Cixi leads in technologies too, but the Kalinago are only one tech behind, and France is only one tech behind the Kalinago.

But it's in production where Great Qing's advantage is clearest. It might take a miracle for anyone else to win this round.

Kairouane finally negotiates peace with Denmark and gets to keep Chota, which is nice.

Harald Bluetooth then attacks Montenegro to finish what he started.

As suddenly as it started, the war between Great Qing and the Kalinago ends. Kairouane suffered a net loss of only one city, which could mean that he'll hold off Great Qing in the long run—or it could just mean that he's more screwed next time war breaks out.

Denmark takes Cetinje, and the Kalinago join in against Montenegro to see if they can get something out of it.

Meanwhile, Denmark attacks Semien. There's virtually no chance that Gudit can survive this.

And the Kalinago capture Tahlequah, eliminating Petar II of Montenegro in 7th place.

Then the Kalinago attack Denmark and invade with a huge army of great war infantry and field guns. This might be brutal.

Before turning his attention to the Kalinago, Harald Bluetooth makes sure to take Gondar, eliminating Gudit of Semien in 6th place.

Kairouane easily captures Cetinje and begins moving on Incheon.

Incheon falls as well. Medina is next in line...

Oh wait, actually, the Kalinago take Gondar first.

Medina is captured; Pisa drops to yellow... note that the Kaliango now have artillery, which negates the effect of the Great Wall. They don't seem to be suffering for it, however.

Pisa falls; Mecca is surrounded...

Mecca falls! Initiate flipping...

OH SHIT!!! Suddenly, Great Qing attacks the Kalinago, and Kairouane's lands are empty and ripe for the taking! This might be it folks—all of Mk. VII may have been decided right here.

With the Kalinago in full retreat, Harald Bluetooth takes the opportunity to recapture Mecca, Gondar, and Pisa.

Soon afterward, he retakes Medina as well. All of Kairouane's gains against Denmark are going up in smoke.

Great Qing, meanwhile, captures Oran. One can only assume that more cities will follow.

Kairouane really ought to make peace with Denmark, but instead he wastes resources retaking Mecca.

Now armed with tanks, Cixi rolls into Podgorica with little resistance.

Algiers falls! Kairouane is in massive trouble!

Kairouane retakes Podgorica and Algiers but loses Incheon.

Wai'tukubuli falls! But if there's one good sign for the Kalinago, it's that they now have modern infantry, which Great Qing hasn't unlocked yet.

Nevertheless, Qing tanks roll straight into Cetinje as Algiers and Wai'tukubuli flip in the background.

Despite having a much smaller army, the Kalinago somehow manage to retake Cetinje, Podgorica, and Incheon as well.

Turn 600 brings some depressing news for anyone who isn't a Qing fan. Cixi has the most soldiers by an enormous margin—as much as Denmark and the Kalinago combined.

Great Qing is also beginning to pull ahead in technologies, with their previous one-tech lead extending to three.

And Cixi now has almost twice as much production as the Kalinago. I'd say this game is over, folks.

As if on cue, Great Qing recaptures Podgorica and Wai'tukubuli. To make matters even worse for the Kalinago, Cixi now has rocket artillery.

Still, Kairouane retakes Podgorica and Medina.

...And then he regains Wai'tukubuli but loses Podgorica, Medina, and Chota.

Then, unexpectedly, the Kalinago make peace with Great Qing. Cixi gained Oran, Podgorica, and Waitukubuli in the war, but somehow Kairouane has managed to hold on to Algiers.

Now Kairouane throws his full military might against Denmark, beginning by retaking Medina and Chota.

Pisa quickly falls as well.

As does Mecca...

And Gondar...

Denmark retakes Gondar but loses Florence.

Suddenly, France attacks the Kalinago with an enormous army! Can Kairouane survive fighting like this on two fronts at once?

France immediately takes Jajce, which the Kaliango got ages ago in a peace treaty with Bosnia.

But first, Great Qing wins the world's fair by an enormous margin.

And just like that, France makes peace with the Kalinago after gaining a single island city.

In that time, Denmark retook Florence and Mecca, but I suspect Kairouane is about to bring the hammer down a again.

Sure enough, he quickly retakes Mecca, Florence, and Gondar.

Wolleka soon falls as well, now that the Kaliango have tanks and rocket artillery.

France joins the war against Denmark and sends a whole four ships, two planes, and two land units.

Cixi wins another international project, but not by as much this time.

Kairouane takes Copenhagen! Woooo!

Denmark retakes Copenhagen but loses Qeste-nihb to France.

Then the Kalinago take Copenhagen and Ribe while France captures Aarhus.

And the Kalinago take Kaupang, eliminating Harald Bluetooth of Denmark in 5th place. Ribe also flipped to France, FWIW.

Turn 700 arrives, along with more stats. The Great Qing lead in military, but the Kalinago have actually built up a very respectable army of their own.

Great Qing leads by ten techs, but by the time I declare world war, they'll probably both have finished the tech tree.

And the Kalinago have partially closed the production gap, with both civs now over 1,000 hammers. I'd say Kairouane's chances of victory are slim, but they're no longer zero.

A third international project is concluded, ad the Kalinago actually manage to win it by the skin of their teeth. That's telling.

Suddenly, long after I thought everyone had stopped declaring wars, the Kalinago attack France! This will be a really tough fight, but Kairouane's superior production should win out in the end.

France kicks it off by severely damaging several Kalinago cities, but that carpet has already vanished.

Kairouane then begins to strike back, taking Bobovac.

He also manages to capture Aarhus.

Turn 800 arrives in the middle of the war. The military stats show that neither Great Qing nor the Kalinago have significantly altered their soldier count in the last 100 turns.

The Kalinago and Great Qing have both finished the tech tree. France is still 10 techs behind.

And the Kalinago have very nearly caught up with Great Qing in production. In fact, the Kalinago are now only 78 hammers behind.

Now, the conflict continues as the Kalinago capture Ribe.

Old-Man House falls as well, though it looks set to flip.

Kairouane takes Qeste-nihb, mopping up the last resistance in former Denmark.

He also takes Apia. The complete collapse of France is definitely underway.

The island colonies of Jajce and Srebrenik are both captured.

Spahbahdeed falls; the end is near now for France!

Lyon and Paris are captured!

Of course, France makes a last minute resurgence, retaking Paris, Lyon, and Spahbahdeed.

Then The Kalinago retake all three of those cities, plus Marseille.

France makes peace with the Kalinago and gives away Lille. Napoleon lives on, confined to a tiny island.

19 turns later—and just 27 before I would have declared world war—the Kalinago declare war on Great Qing! This is it—can Kairouane redeem himself and stop Cixi from ending the Mark at round 9?

Right off the bat, the Kalinago take Podgorica and Suzhou.

Nanjing and Wai'tukubuli soon follow. This is possibly less competitive than I expected.

But Great Qing is making gains in the Straits area, taking Kaupang.

Another turn, and Ribe falls as well.

A naval attack nabs Marseille, but it doesn't look like Cixi has much to back it up with.

Qeste-nihb is captured. Great Qing has now made a net gain of cities in this war.

The main front seems to be stagnating, as Great Qing has retaken Nanjing and Podgorica but lost Marseille.

However, Cixi continues to make gains in the Straits, taking Aarhus.

Kairouane churns out a couple of XCOMs and uses them to capture Seoul. Podgorica is also green again.

But Cixi strikes back, taking Podgorica, Mecca, and Seoul (as well as Suzhou and Wai'tukubuli offscreen).

Another turn, and the Kalinago retake all of those cities except Suzhou.

But then Great Qing lands a massive blow on the western front, Taking Copenhagen, Florence, and Madinina. Seoul, Podgorica, and Wai'tukubuli are also recaptured.

The Kalinago respond by retaking Madinina and Wai'tukubuli.

But Great Qing manages to push even farther down the west coast, taking Wolleka.

A major push occurs on all fronts as Great Qing captures seven cities in a single turn, including Algiers, where several planes were stationed.

Down here, the Kalinago have retaken Florence but lost Hewanorra.

And on the main front, Kairouane retakes Mecca, Podgorica, Algiers, and Wai'tukubuli.

And it's just back and forth, back and forth... Great Qing takes Algiers and Florence.

The Kalinago respond with a counteroffensive of their own, retaking Hewanorra, Florence, Wolleka, Podgorica, and Algiers in a single turn.

Then Great Qing retakes four of those five cities. Suzhou also flipped again.

Suddenly, Cixi breaks through and takes Camerhogne! This is absolutely catastrophic for the Kalinago!

However, Kairouane is not one to give up easily. In a single turn, he retakes seven cities across all fronts, including his capital.

Great Qing responds by retaking five of those cities.

But the Kalinago recapture four of them.

Six turns later, Kairouane makes an unprecedented push, capturing Oran and Muspa.

Nanjing and Escampaha fall! I don't believe it—Great Qing is collapsing!

Cixi retakes Escampaha but loses Seoul.

Turn 900 arrives, and the stats tell a clear story. The Kalinago now have a massive lead in military, and it's not going anywhere.

The Kalinago also now lead in production by over 100 hammers.

A graph of production shows how the war initially affected the Kalinago very hard, but slowly began to turn in their favour again.

A graph of number of cities shows that the Kalinago started with an advantage, very nearly lost it, and are now building it back up to new heights.

Speaking of which, the Kalinago have taken Escampaha, Lanzhou, and Agra.

Then Cixi begs for peace and gives away Busan, Torshavn, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, and Anqing in the peace treaty. Somehow, against all odds, Kairouane has prostrated the civ that once seemed certain to win.

Four turns later, the Kalinago decide to finish off France.

Bordeaux falls after two turns, eliminating Napoleon III in 4th place.

Three more turns, and it comes time to finish off the Cherokee.

And just like that, John Ross of the Cherokee is eliminated in third place.

Ten turns later, Kairouane turns once again toward Great Qing.

Peking quickly falls. The main challenge here will be fighting through what used to be Denmark and Ethiopia.

Baoding is captured...

Tegulet quickly follows.

Copenhagen is captured...

Aarhus and Kaifeng are captured...

Shire and Kaupang fall...

Great Qing then makes peace and gives away everything except Liège.

But since the game is basically over anyway, I decide that now is a fine time to declare world war.

And it only takes a moment for Liège to fall. Great Qing is eliminated, and Kairouane has won the round!

The score now stands as follows:



Great Qing: 2.5

The Coast Salish: 2

The Kalinago: 2

The Mughals: 1

Samoa: 1

Denmark: 0.5



This means that round 10 will go as scheduled until the Kalinago and Coast Salish—the only civs that can still beat Great Qing—are eliminated, or until somebody wins. That episode will be released next weekend as usual. Thanks for reading!