Part of the campaign:

Come one, come all to what could very well be the last round of Groundhog Day Mk. VI! It's down to the wire in round 10, with different civs having won all nine previous rounds. Can someone rise to grab a second win and claim victory at the last moment? Or will we be forced into tiebreaker rounds? Let's find out!

The second cities are founded—or, most of them are, at least. The Wabanaki have sent their settler all the way around to the other side of Macedon and it's been stalled there for some time now. The UK isn't moving its settler either, though they will eventually found Birmingham in the usual place.

The first war starts when Carthage and Greenland attack Taungoo. I don't expect any cities to change hands, but it's the first war, so I've kept the screenshot.

On turn 46, the Wabanaki finally settle their second city on the coast next to Peru. All I can say is that Henri Membertou has completely screwed himself over.

Iceni attacks Carthage! Utique is looking rather squishy...

Meanwhile, the Gauls initiate their usual early game war against Finland. Note that Syracuse has settled a third city in spot that usually is never settled.

Macedon, buoyed by all the empty space left by the Wabanaki, decides to claim the rest of it too. Henri Membertou is in serious trouble.

Boudicca captures Utique! She's also damaging Qart Hadasht, but the city is notoriously difficult to take.

Boudicca quits trying to take Qart Hadasht and decides to fuck over Greenland instead.

The Gauls take Espoo from Finland. In the background, the Mississippi attack the Wabanaki and Austria-Hungary declares war on the Ottomans.

Garedhar falls, and it seems Han has joined the war and is assaulting Brattahlid.

And Brattahlid falls, eliminating Erik Thorvaldsson of Greenland in 21st place.

The Ottomans declare peace with Austria-Hungary and give away Bursa.

And the Mississippi successfully capture Pannaqambskek, the stray Wabanaki city.

Moments later, Macedon captures Kespukwitk, eliminating Henri Membertou of the Wabanaki in 20th place.

Macedon immediately declares war on Carthage, and Taungoo and Iceni respond by declaring war on Macedon. It's a free-for-all on the western plains!

The Gauls push on to Helsinki, and with its capture, Urho Kekkonen of Finland is eliminated in 19th place.

Time for the turn 100 stats! The Tlingit actually have the largest army, but it probably won't take long for the Gauls to catch up.

Nothing conclusive out of the tech rankings yet.

And Taungoo has the most production, since they've settled four cities.

Make that three, because Macedon just captured Pyaymyo!

Peru harkens back to the early rounds by building the Great Wall.

Taungoo recaptures Pyaymyo and makes peace with Macedon. So much for that showdown.

Bayinnaung then turns his wrath against Boudicca! Her lands are looking rather sparse...

But then the Iroquois and the Beothuk attack Taungoo! Perhaps Boudicca has a chance after all!

Hiawatha wastes no time taking Pyayamyo with a naval attack.

Macedon makes peace with the UK and gets Birmingham in the peace treaty.

Meanwhile, Taungoo has flipped Garedhar with a couple of triremes, but I don't think it will hold.

...Considering that Bayinnaung couldn't even defend Taungoo from the Beothuk.

Suddenly, Syracuse attacks the Gauls! Here we goooooooo!

Vienne falls! Vercingetorix hasn't even unlocked composite bowmen, and his scattered forces are just crumbling before Dionysius's more advanced army.

Bibracte falls! Syracuse is just wiping the floor with the Gauls!

Taungoo makes peace with the Beothuk and gives away Hanthawaddy. Wow.

Phoenicia and the Tlingit decide it's time to stop Syracuse. But it might already be too late—Dionysius is rising fast.

The joint DOW against him doesn't stop him from taking Espoo, either.

Apparently Han has attacked Iceni and captured Garedhar. I don't know how I missed that DOW.

Caister falls too! As Syracuse rises, so does a competitor on the other end of the map!

Macedon attacks Carthage, and now with more advanced units, the city's defensive strength won't be so much of a problem.

Iceni, meanwhile, has been pushing back against Han, retaking Caister.

And the Iroquois have captured Helsinki, eliminating Vercingetorix of the Gauls in 18th place!

Two turns later, Alexander takes Qart Hadasht, eliminating Dido of Carthage in 17th place.

Austria-Hungary attacks the Ottomans again! Aden is looking awfully vulnerable...

The Mississippi attack Peru, but how they intend to get through the mountains and the Great Wall, I have no idea.

Sure enough, Austria-Hungary easily takes Aden.

Peru strikes back against the Mississippi and captures Pannaqambskek! Tuskaloosa, you done goofed

But Tuskaloosa gets the city back in the peace treaty, so it's no big deal.

The Beothuk declare war on Taungoo again to try to finish them off. But Bayinnaung has built up his army quite a bit, so it won't be easy.

The Mississippi attack the Iroquois, trying to take Helsinki. Good thing they have open borders with Syracuse, since Dionysius has stolen most of the land next to the city.

Anyway, time for the turn 200 stats. Syracuse has the largest army now, followed closely by Macedon.

Macedon and the Mississippi are tied for the lead in technologies, but it's still anyone's game.

And Macedon also has the most production, but Syracuse is only three hammers behind. Is Dionysius trying to claim victory by winning both of the last two rounds? We shall see!

Austria-Hungary captures Istanbul! Whoa!

Then Macedon and Austria-Hungary team up to take down the Sabaeans. Makeda might be in major trouble.

Indeed, it's not long before Macedon captures Sirwah.

Shortly thereafter, the Mississippi finally manage to take Helsinki from the Iroquois.

And Hiawatha makes peace by giving away Osininka. Wow.

Out of nowhere, Han captures Edirne, eliminating Mahmud II of the Ottomans in 16th place.

On the next turn, Austria-Hungary takes Ma'rib, eliminating Makeda of the Sabaeans in 15th place.

And one more turn after that, the Beothuk capture Bago, eliminating Bayinnaung of Taungoo in 14th place. It's a trifecta of eliminations, one after the other!

Oh shit, Alexander is salty! He declares war on Austria-Hungary and immediately captures Ma'rib! In the background, Iceni attacks the Beothuk, probably to try to take Bago.

But Han joins the war on the side of the Beothuk! Caister is in major trouble!

Boudicca wastes no time turning the tables on Gaozu by capturing Garedhar!

But then she makes peace with Han and gives away Caister. Wow. Sellout.

Phoenicia makes pace with Syracuse after a very long war and gives away Sidon. Hiram still has to worry about the Tlingit, however.

Han attacks Macedon! This might be a mistake, given how lightly defended Edirne is right now.

Austria-Hungary makes peace with macedon by giving away Prague, which Alexander decides to raze. Nice.

Turn 300 stats are here! Syracuse has increased its military lead, while Macedon remains a solid second.

It's now a three way tie for the lead in tech; still not much to see here.

And Syracuse has soared past Macedon in production. Are we really looking at another potential Syracusan victory?

Macedon captures Edirne and tries to raze that too!

But Han takes it back and secures peace before Alexander can do any more damage.

Meanwhile, Han attacks Iceni again. This time it really does not look good for Boudicca.

Another (uneventful) Austria-Hungary vs. Macedon war ends, and Austria-Hungary gives away Prague 2.0. Alexander razes it a second time.

Han easily captures Garedhar, and there's no way Boudicca will ever retake it.

Gaozu then goes straight on to Venta Icenorum. I think he's going for the elimination here.

Macedon founds the world congress. We all know that this will do nothing at all to stop war and genocide.

And finally Han captures Utique, eliminating Boudicca of Iceni in 13th place.

A third Austria-Hungary vs. Macedon war ends with Franz Joseph giving away Prague—and this time Alexander doesn't burn it.

Peru gives away Arequipa to the Mississippi in a peace treaty. Come on Ramon, you can do better than that.

And then Tuskaloosa declares war on Peru again. It's time for Ramon Castilla to get Arequipa back!

But first, the turn 400 stats. The top rankings in military manpower haven't really changed.

But Syracuse is beginning to develop a tech lead—they're three techs ahead the #2 Mississippi and four ahead of Macedon.

Syracuse also maintains its narrow production lead. It is far from clear who is in a better position, however.

Sure enough, Peru has recaptured Arequipa.

Macedon attacks Han! This will be a difficult fight—one I'm not convinced Alexander can win.

However, he does manage to take Edirne, so he might get something out of it after all.

But then Han takes it back and the two sides make peace, just like last time.

Gaozu won't get to keep Edirne for long, though, as Austria-Hungary declares war!

Franz Joseph wastes no time capturing Edirne.

Six more civs from all over the map attack Han! Also note Iceland harassing Gaozu's capital.

Another war breaks out between Macedon and Austria-Hungary. These two just don't know when to stop, do they.

Franz Joseph retakes Prague. Now we wait for him to give it back again... probably...

In a tit-for-tat move, Macedon captures Edirne.

Knock knock! Who's there? It's Phoenicia!

Amazingly, Hiram continues his rampage by taking Luoyang as well. This is downright bizarre.

After retaking Edirne, Austria-Hungary makes peace with Macedon by giving back Prague. You'

re fucking kidding me.

In an unexpected turn of events, the Mississippi have captured Lima. But Peru will flip it, you say. Well, no. Because they made peace right after this.

Alexander finally decides that it's time to finish off the UK. I have been waiting for this moment...

And just like that, George V of the United Kingdom is eliminated in 12th place.

Meanwhile, Syracuse attacks Phoenicia! With far more advanced units and land on both sides of Tyre, there's no way Dionysius can lose this.

At the same time, Han takes advantage of Phoenicia's distraction to recapture Luoyang.

But somehow, Hiram manages to keep fucking things up by taking Brattahlid.

It flips back, but the damage is done.

Oh hey, guess who's fighting again.

Macedon emerges triumphant at the world's fair, but Syracuse came in only a few hammers behind.

And Han finally retakes its capital! The scourge of the Phoenician navy is over!

Austria-Hungary retakes Prague, surprising no one.

At the same time, Macedon decides to attack Han, because Gaozu's army is pretty well depleted.

The Iroquois capture Brattahlid with one ship. Huh.

And then Syracuse takes Tyre, eliminating Hiram I of Phoenicia in 11th place.

Another Macedon vs. Austria-Hungary war ends... guess how.

Syracuse and the Mississippi decide to try out Phoenicia's "send a fleet half way around the world to attack Han" strategy.

But Austria-Hungary decides to join in, because they can.

And at the same time, Macedon is making gains on land, capturing Utique.

It's time for the turn 500 stats! Syracuse's military lead has grown massively, while Austria-Hungary has overtaken Macedon by just 43 soldiers (368,890 vs. 368,847). Something tells me that won't last.

Syracuse has extended its tech lead from three techs out to seven.

But Macedon has overtaken Syracuse in production by a slim margin. This is a really close game still.

Austria-Hungary moves in to swarm Gaozu's core, capturing Luoyang and damaging Chang'an.

Han retakes Luoyang, only to lose it to Alexander, who razes the city.

Gaozu also loses Venta Icenorum, which Macedon can't raze.

Austria-Hungary takes Chang'an! Han is collapsing completely.

As Austria and Syracuse close in on his remaining cities, Gaozu makes peace with Macedon.

Out of nowhere, the Mississippi capture Brattahlid! That's... unexpected.

Austria-Hungary takes Caister... one city remains...

And somehow, the Tlingit capture Garedhar, eliminating Gaozu of Han in 10th place. Lol okay

Another Macedon vs. Austria-Hungary war! Bring it on!

As usual, Franz Joseph recaptures Prague.

And Alexander takes Edirne...

Then Franz Joseph retakes Edirne and makes peace, giving away Prague. Where have I seen this chain of events before!?

The Mississippi decide it's time to finish off Peru.

And they do so in just four turns. Ramon Castilla of Peru is eliminated in 9th place.

Macedon takes Garedhar from the Tlingit. Oh well, it was funny while it lasted.

Then Syracuse also attacks the Tlingit! Goddamn, that is a brutal tech difference—this should be over fast. Taku has already been captured.

Kaliakh also falls...

And then Chilkat is captured, eliminating Shieyksh of the Tlingit in 8th place.

Macedon starts yet another war against Austria-Hungary, and this time they have an air force, which allows them to immediately capture Budapest!

As Budapest flips, Alexander also captures Edirne.

Up north, Franz Joseph manages to capture Garedhar, but Macedonian units are closing in on Caister.

And Caister falls!

Down south, however, Franz Joseph has retaken both Budapest and Prague.

But in the north, he loses Garedhar.

And then the two sides make peace. For the first time, the war is a definitive victory for Macedon.

It's turn 600, which means more stats. Syracuse's military lead has grown even larger.

And their tech lead has extended from seven techs to nine.

They've also retaken the lead in production by a significant margin.

Apparently Austria-Hungary is at war with the Mississippi, because they just captured Brattahlid.

And guess what—it's war o'clock! Here we go again!

Prague is captured...

And Brattahlid...

And Istanbul...

And Pressburg...

And Chang'an and Lemberg...

And Budapest and Aden...

And Vienna...

And finally Aden again. Holy fucking shit. Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary is eliminated in 7th place. Now, for the first time, it's clear that Dionysius will have to step up his game if he wants to emerge victorious this round. He is quite capable of steamrolling the Mississippi, Iceland, and the Iroquois, but he just isn't declaring wars.

He does, however, win the international games.

Macedon attacks the Mississippi! Quick, Dionysius, this is your chance to take these sweet, sweet cities before Alexander can!

But instead, he builds the international space station.

Macedon takes Arequipa. It doesn't seem like there's much Tuskaloosa can do to stop them.

Lima falls as well!

And Helsinki...

And Osininka... yep, Syracuse is missing its chances here.

But wait—Dionysius has joined the war! His huge army churns straight for the Mississippi capital!

Moundville falls; Cahokia is down to yellow!

Alexander captures Pannaqambskek as Tuskaloosa briefly retakes Moundville.

And then Syracuse takes both Moundville and Cahokia, and Tuskaloosa of the Mississippi is eliminated in 6th place.

Nothing happens for the next 104 turns, until turn 800 arrives. That means world war, but first, one last round of stats. Macedon now has the undisputed lead in soldiers, thanks to a complete XCOM carpet (which Syracuse does not have).

Syracuse and Macedon have both finished the tech tree. Ultimately, Syracuse's tech lead didn't do them much good because they didn't really use it.

And Macedon also has the lead in production by a large margin. I'd say this is no context—Alexander has already won the round.

Here we go! Let the Hunger Games begin!

But first, take a look at Syracuse's defensive strength, which is at a shocking 258—and even more when a unit is garrisoned.

Dionysius kicks off the war by nuking Pella. I'm not sure how much good it will do, but it's a nice symbolic gesture.

Right away, Macedon captures Onondaga, netting another capital.

Alexander also takes Cahokia as Syracuse is flooded with wave after wave of XCOMs.

Moundville is captured; in the background, Onondaga flips.

Pyaymyo also fell this turn.

Espoo is captured; numerous Syracusan cities have been nuked.

Zancle falls...

The Beothuk lose Hanthawaddy and Bago...

Syracuse loses Kasmenai, Bibracte, and Vienne...

The Dionysius makes peace and gives away Akrillaiu, Chilkat, Kaliakh, Sidon, and Kamarina. Unfortunately for Syracuse, I restart the war immediately.

The Beothuk are holding out surprisingly well, though they have now lost Gwitn Tewje'g.

Melgita't falls, along with Grand River, which eliminates Hiawatha of the Iroquois in 5th place.

Iceland also seems to have captured Adranon.

But Adranon, along with Helorus, quickly falls to Macedon.

Alexander also takes Megwe'saqsit Lnu and Taungoo, eliminating Nonsbawsut of the Beothuk in 4th place.

Tyre is captured; only Syracuse itself remains.

And Syracuse falls, eliminating Dionysius of Syracuse in third place. On to rReykjavik?

But first, Macedon seizes control of the island.

And then finally it's over—Alexander has won round 10!

And you're already thinking: that means we've concluded round 10 and nobody has more than one victory point. And you're correct, which means that Mk. VI will have to go into sudden death tiebreaker rounds! As a reminder, the way these work is the first civ to establish a lead in victory points takes the whole thing. The following civs have one victory point and will therefore instantly win Mk. VI if they win one of the tiebreaker rounds:



The Gauls

Peru

The Tlingit

Phoenicia

Han

Taungoo

The Iceni

The Ottomans

Syracuse

Macedon



I'll see everyone again next weekend with Round 11!