Part of the campaign:

Hey folks, it's Groundhog Day again! Last time we saw Turkey rise out of the corner to take the victory, while the Buccaneers finished second for the second time in a row. But what does this next part have in store for us?

The second cities are founded, and amazingly, Scotland actually settles near its capital. Some other civs have also changed up their locations, including Milan, Greece, and Portugal.

The first war breaks out when Portugal and the Papal States team up to bring down a rapidly-expanding Polynesia. This seems like a good move.

Meanwhile, the Dervishes—hoping to make sure Robert the Bruce doesn't benefit from his smarter choice—attack Scotland.

The Papal States tear right into the fleshy underbelly of Polynesia, capturing Samoa.

Meanwhile, Poverty Point joins the war against Scotland, while in the background, Madagascar attacks Brazil and the Kulin declare war on the Buccaneers.

The Dervishes take Glasgow, rendering Scotland a city-state again as usual.

Turkey attacks Bulgaria, presumably to deal with this pesky forward settle.

Portugal captures and razes the Polynesian city of Nuku Hiva.

Portugal also receives Tonga in the peace treaty and razes that too.

The Dervishes attack Scotland again, while it looks like the Manx are having a go at it too.

And it's Illiam Dhone who takes Edinburgh, eliminating Robert the Bruce of Scotland in 21st place. So much for that...

Turkey easily takes Tarnovo. When will Bulgaria learn that it pays to settle close to your capital and build many units?

The Papal States attack Polynesia again! You know, it's awfully satisfying to see Kamehameha get pounded by the civ he crushed in rounds one and two.

And Honolulu falls, exiling Polynesia to a city they founded on the other end of the continent, near Tunis and the Buccaneers.

The Netherlands and Poverty Point both attack the Manx. William is somewhat unprepared, however, as he doesn't even have composite bowmen yet.

The Dervishes attack the Manx and immediately snipe Edinburgh, although all the damage had been down by Poverty Point. At the same time, the Dervishes declare war on the Kulin—for some reason, Mohammed Hassan has decided to make this a two front war.

Madagascar declares war on Bulgaria! It's about time, considering that Preslav is only 3 tiles from Antananarivo.

But first, it's time for the turn 100 stats. The Papal States have the largest army, followed closely by perennial runner-ups the Buccaneers.

Guess who is almost tied for first and second in crop yield! Yep, that's right...

And the Papal States also lead in production, an area where the Buccaneers come in at a dismal 13th. Poverty Point and the Dervishes are the real challengers here.

Returning to the action, we see that Madagascar has captured Preslav and immediately made peace with Bulgaria. Pliska will have to be conquered in another war.

The Kulin make peace with the Dervishes and give away Barere Barere Balug. Alright then...

Poverty Point builds the Great Wall, which I'm pretty sure they've done before at least once. And—guess what—they're gonna do it again. Just saying. Táhera is a both defensive and a wonder whore.

Poverty Point then summons the Red Fox spirit guardian and makes peace with barbarians.

The Manx make peace with the Dervishes and give away Castletown. This is apparently too much for Mohammed Hassan, who razes the city.

Madagascar and Turkey double-team Bulgaria! Pliska is well-defended, but can Krum hold out?

The Dervishes and Poverty Point team up against the Netherlands! Too bad it's probably too late for William to save Castletown.

Tunis decides it's time to finish off Polynesia. I approve.

Poverty point captures Rotterdam, eliminating the citadel that had been encroaching on their capital.

And Tunis takes Tonga, eliminating Kamehameha in 20th place.

Eight turns later, Madagascar captures Pliska, eliminating Krum of Bulgaria in 19th place.

But then Brazil attacks Madagascar, and Mahajanga is almost completely undefended!

Andorra makes peace with the Buccaneers and gives away Escaldes. Uh... nice.

Brazil takes Mahajanga, but the city is flipping back and forth endlessly now.

Apparently Serer is at war with Portugal, because Pombal just captured Kahone. Must have missed that one...

Aha, another crusade! The Papal States attack the Aztecs after Montezuma refused to renounce Quetzalcoatl and accept Jesus as his saviour.

Poverty Point attacks the Netherlands again, though it would be pretty hard to take Amsterdam from that direction.

Haha, wow. William makes peace with Táhera and gives away Groningen, which is in the middle of his empire.

The Netherlands join Portugal in fucking over Serer.

And it pays off, as William takes Diakhao, eliminating Ama Joof of Serer in 18th place.

Brazil joins the crusade against the Aztecs, all but ensuring Montezuma's demise.

The Papal States take Teotihuacan, and Tenochtitlan falls to red!

But first, the turn 200 stats. The Buccaneers now have the largest military, while Madagascar has risen to second, which suggests that they've unlocked their unique unit and are spamming it again.

The Papal States, the Buccaneers, and Poverty Point are all tied for the lead in technologies.

And Poverty Point actually leads in production now, while the Dervishes are only 4 hammers behind. Surprisingly, the Papal States only manage a distant third.

And we return just in time to see the Papal States capture Tenochtitlan, eliminating Montezuma of the Aztecs in 17th place.

But Innocent III is not done yet! He betrays his ally and attacks Brazil, which is also still at war with Madagascar.

This gives Madagascar an opportunity to recapture Mahajanga.

Four civs attack Poverty Point, including the Netherlands! I dare say, Táhera might be about to lose that production lead.

The Netherlands immediately retake Groningen, absorbing that annoying hole in the middle of their empire.

Meanwhile, Madagascar continues to push against Brazil, taking Sao Paulo.

Holy cow! Madagascar is going for the whole pie here, taking Rio de Janeiro and leaving only an island city for the Papal States.

The Dervishes, despite already being at war with Poverty Point, attack the Kulin again. It's not like William Barak is going to do anything, but still—why?

Oh my god... Madagascar doesn't even leave the island city for Innocent III, capturing and razing Salvador all on its own. Pedro II of Brazil is eliminated in 16th place.

The Dervishes land a crushing blow against Poverty Point by capturing Jaketown! Táhera's capital might as well be impenetrable, however.

Madagascar, after building a chain of citadels toward Tarnovo, attacks Turkey!

But then the Papal States declare war on Madagascar! Ranavalona is in for a real fight now; this could end very badly for her.

Another war begins as the Netherlands attack the Manx! Illiam Dhone is already at war with Portugal, so this could be more than he can take.

But first, the turn 300 stats. The Buccaneers still lead in military, but Madagascar has nearly overtaken them, edging out even their powerful enemies, the Papal States.

The Netherlands have a slight lead in tech, followed by Madagascar and the Buccaneers.

But the Papal States really shine in production, where they have 34 more hammers than Madagascar in #2.

And once again, we return just in time to see the death of a civ. With the fall of Douglas, Illiam Dhone of the Isle of Man is eliminated in 15th place.

Three turns later, the Dervishes take Corranderrk, eliminating William Barak of the Kulin in 14th place.

Apparently the Papal States are at war with the Buccaneers, and Henry Morgan just captured Bologna. It won't last, but wow.

The Dervishes attack Poverty Point again, while the minimap shows that Bologna is back in the hands of the Pope.

Portugal attacks the Netherlands, but it really looks like William is the stronger civ here.

The Buccaneers declare war on the Dervishes! Mohammed Hassan is distracted and has barely any units defending Corranderrk, so this should be an easy win for Henry Morgan.

Sure enough, the Buccaneers take Corranderrk with little difficulty.

Henry Morgan also makes peace with the Papal States, ensuring that Innocent III gets to keep Bologna.

Greece attacks Milan! With Brescia cut off from the capital, it should be a simple task for Eleftherios Venizelos to capture the city.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands flip Toliara with the help of their legendary Sea Beggars.

Greece takes Brescia! On to Milan?

Madagascar retakes Toliara and makes peace with the Netherlands. Apparently Ranavalona is no longer at war with the Papal States either. At the same time, the Netherlands make peace with Portugal and receive Kahone in the peace treaty.

Oh, damn! Despite facing Buccaneer attacks in the west, the Dervishes manage to capture Poverty Point, giving them the defensive boost from the Great Wall.

The Papal States attack their only remaining weak neighbour: Portugal. This should be a slaughter.

Eleftherios Venizelos loses Brescia to Andorra and then makes peace with Roger Bernard. So much for that, I guess.

And the Dervishes takes Rotterdam, eliminating Táhera of Poverty Point in 13th place.

At some point the Almohads took this snow city from the Dervishes, but I missed when it happened.

Meanwhile, the Papal States capture the Portuguese exclave of Porto and begin the march on Lisbon.

Lisbon falls! Only Sintra remains!

Undeterred by earlier failures, Greece captures Milan, eliminating Gian Galeazzo of Milan in 12th place.

And five turns later the Papal States take Sintra, eliminating Pombal of Portugal in 11th place.

Madagascar, now sporting an abnormally large amount of musketmen, attacks Turkey for a second time.

Andorra is about to capture Athens when Tunis and the Buccaneers declare war! Can Roger Bernard still take the capital before the hammer falls?

He can, but not for long. Athens flips and Greece bounces back, clearing the area of Andorran units.

Greece retakes Brescia as well, as Andorra la Vella begins to take damage.

The Papal States attack the Buccaneers and the Netherlands while the Buccaneers also attack the Netherlands. It's a triangle of war!

Kahone is the first Dutch city to fall.

Meanwhile, Tunis takes Andorra la Vella, eliminating Roger Bernard III of Andorra in 10th place.

The Netherlands strike back, retaking Kahone and capturing Sintra!

And now it's time for the turn 400 stats. Madagascar now has the largest army by far, and it's almost entirely musketmen.

The Buccaneers and the Netherlands are tied for the lead in technologies, and no clear leader is emerging.

The Papal States have the most production, while the Netherlands somehow sneak into second.

That production doesn't seem to be helping William all that much, however, as Innocent III retakes both Kahone and Sintra.

Madagascar, meanwhile, manages to take Tarnovo. That musketman carpet has now turned into line infantry.

In an earlier peace treaty with the Buccaneers, the Papal States received Puerto Cabello. I almost missed this, actually.

Just as Madagascar begins to run out of steam, the Almohads attack Turkey, all but ensuring that Ataturk's empire will collapse.

The Buccaneers attack Tunis! With several disconnected cities, all of them next to Buccaneer territory, Abu Zakariya will have a hard time holding his lands together.

Tunis and Tonga both fall as Henry Morgan absolutely crushes Abu Zakariya.

The Almohads briefly flip Ankara, but they seem to have run out of melee units nearby.

In stead, they make peace with Turkey and receive Istanbul.

The Buccaneers, the Almohads, and Greece all attack the Dervishes! Will the great wall allow Mohammed Hassan to hold strong, or is this too much for him to take?

The Netherlands decide it's time reignite this earlier war and declare war on the Papal States! Innocent's lands look surprisingly devoid of units—where is his army!?

Well, it's not down here either, as Madagascar also attacks the Papal States and drops Teotihuacan to yellow in a single turn.

The Netherlands take Sintra and advance on Lisbon.

Madasgascar captures Teotihucan as Innocent III desperately tries to scramble some kind of defensive force.

Puerto Cabello falls to Madagascar's navy, which is already beginning to move on Bologna.

The Netherlands also retake Kahone, but they're beginning to run into a bit more resistance now.

Madagascar takes Tenochtitlan! This is a massive blow to the Papal States; it's almost hard to believe that this is happening.

Bologna falls, meaning that the entire southern portion of the Papal States is under Madagascar's control.

The Netherlands have lost Kahone, but no matter, because they've taken Lisbon instead!

It appears that the Dervishes are holding strong, as they have not only kept all of their lands, but have also captured Fes from the Almohads.

The Buccaneers attack Tunis a second time in attempt to finally finish off Abu Zakariya.

Andorra la Vella falls after five turns, but Henry Morgan still hasn't put a scratch on Kairouan.

Madagascar attacks Turkey again! Ataturk, who has very little land thanks to some Almohad citadels, is completely screwed.

Moments later, the Almohads also join the war, just like last time.

Time for the turn 500 stats! Madagascar has massively increased its already large military lead.

Madagascar has also pulled into the lead in technologies by a massive six techs—after being down by two just 100 turns ago.

Madagascar has also surged into the lead in production, while the Dervishes have risen into second. Former leaders the Papal States have fallen all the way to fifth.

And we return just in time to see Madagascar take Ankara, eliminating Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey in 9th place.

Madagascar finally makes peace with the Papal States and receives Benevento in the peace treaty. Goddamn.

The Buccaneers, the Almohads, and Greece team up on the Dervishes a second time. Er... second time's a charm? Is that how the saying goes? No...

Oh shit! Suddenly, Madagascar attacks the Almohads, pouring three different generations of infantry-line units into enemy territory via a long line of citadels.

Istanbul quickly falls using nothing but infantry-line units and airplanes.

Tinmel flips, while in the background the Papal States attack the Netherlands.

Tinmel falls for good this time, and Marrakech begins to take damage.

And Madagascar takes Marrakech, eliminating Abd al-Mu'min of the Almohads in 8th place.

Oh crap, apparently the Netherlands are at war with the Dervishes and I completely missed the DOW. Anyway, despite fighting the Papal States in the east, William has managed to capture Edinburgh.

However, things aren't looking so hot on the other front, where the Papal States have captured Lisbon.

Once again, I missed another civ taking Las Anod. I believe this city fell the same turn that Marrakech did.

The Dervishes retake Edinburgh, but the Netherlands capture Beledweyne instead.

And then William takes Edinburgh yet again.

The Papal States, meanwhile, are going absolutely ham, capturing Sintra and dropping Utrecht to red.

Utrecht falls, and there's still no organized Dutch defense.

Suddenly, Madagascar also attacks the Netherlands, instantly bombarding Breda down to red.

The Papal States capture Diakhao while Madagascar takes Breda.

The Netherlands retake Breda but lose Groningen to the Papal States.

Amsterdam falls, and Breda is firmly back in Ranavalona's grip. William is really on his way out now.

At the last moment, he makes peace with Madagascar and gives away Beledweyne and Edinburgh.

One turn later, the Papal States capture Douglas, eliminating William of the Netherlands in 7th place.

Madagascar contributes the most hammers to the world's fair, but the Dervishes put in a surprisingly good showing as well.

Umm... okay, I have a few things to say about this. Madagascar has a full carpet, and it's almost all line infantry, riflemen, and musketmen. But Ranavalona has researched rocketry and has rocket artillery and mobile SAMs. She has a full carpet—a unit on every tile—and not a single paratrooper. I don't think she even has great war infantry yet. This is is just bizarre.

The Buccaneers attack Greece! Now, I can't say which way this might go, but regardless it won't be an easy fight.

Time for the turn 600 stats! Madagascar's military lead is now mind-bogglingly huge, even if most of it is outdated infantry class units.

Madagascar has also increased its tech lead from 6 techs to 11, which suggests that Ranavalona is just really bad at upgrading units.

And of course Madagascar still leads in production, although the Papal States have made a remarkable comeback.

In a surprise turn of events, Greece has captured the Buccaneer city of La Habana. Well then.

Oh shit! Greece takes Andorra la Vella as well!

Another look at Madagascar's vast and unusual unit carpet. I've never, ever seen anything like this. Seriously, it's almost all riflemen.

The Buccaneers retake Andorra la Vella and then sign peace. In the agreement, Greece returns La Habana as well.

Greece then attempts to pick on its only weak neighbour: Tunis. How is Abu Zakariya still alive anyway!?

Greece takes Kairouan without much difficulty, eliminating Abu Zakariya of Tunis in 6th place.

The Papal States reawaken after a long peace and declare war on the Dervishes! With their rocket artillery already bombarding Rotterdam, is this the next phase in Innocent's plot to regain his former stature?

Rotterdam quickly falls, and the Dervishes seem to be fielding nothing but their unique mounted anti-aircraft guns.

Fes falls, and Jaketown begins to take damage! Note that the Dervishes are also engaged in a bloody stalemate with the Buccaneers.

Greece suddenly declares war on the Buccaneers! La Habana is most likely doomed, and Andorra la Vella might be as well.

In one fell swoop, the Papal States take both Poverty point and Jaketown.

La Habana falls, and a throng of Greek units swarm toward Andorra la Vella.

Innocent III takes Glasgow and surrounds Buuhoodle...

The Buccaeers strike back at Greece, taking Kairouan.

Buuhoodle falls...

Meanwhile, Greece at last manages to take Andorra la Vella.

And then the two sides negotiate a peace deal in which Greece keeps Andorra la Vella but returns La Habana.

The Papal States, however, continue to tear through the Dervishes, capturing Taleh and reducing Mohammed Hassan's holdings to a single city.

Another international project concludes, and this time it's the Papal States who contributed the most hammers. A sign of things to come, perhaps?

And just like that, the Papal States take Barere Barere Balug, eliminating Mohammed Hassan of the Dervishes in 5th place.

And two turns later, we get the turn 700 stats. Madagascar now has over 2 million soldiers, but the Papal States have a formidable army of their own.

Madagascar still leads in technologies, but by the time world war is declared, both frontrunners may well have finished the tech tree.

Aha, this is interesting. The Papal States have actually overtaken Madagascar in production by a decent margin.

Nine turns after the stats, I decide to show you the cores of our two leading contenders. The Papal States have a traditional paratrooper carpet with a healthy smattering of rocket artillery—a game-winning combination.

Madagascar, meanwhile, seems to have very little besides modern infantry and great war infantry.

The Papal States contribute the most to the international space station by a huge margin.

A little while later, I take a shot of Greece and the Buccaneers. Both civs have nearly full carpets, with only a tiny handful of tiles unfilled.

And at turn 750, with the map fully carpeted and our top two civs having finished the tech tree, I declare world war! And so it comes down to this: can a carpet of modern infantry beat a slightly smaller carpet of paratroopers with more production?

The first city to fall is Barere Barere Balug, captured by the Buccaneers. Someone has already launched a nuke at Corranderrk.

Greece strikes back at the Buccaneers on that same turn, taking La Habana.

Over on the eastern front between the Papal States and Madagascar, a ton of Papal cities are taking damage, but it's Madagascar's carpet that appears squishier.

And up here, the Papal States have already captured Beledweyne.

Madagascar takes La Habana, which has been nuked for some reason (as have Petit-Goave and St. Kitts).

The Papal States capture Breda and surround Benevento.

Benevento falls, and Innocent III—who now has an XCOM—pushes on Tenochtitlan and Teotihuacan.

Meanwhile, the Papal States have taken La Habana, Barere Barere Balug, and Edinburgh, while Milan, Athens, and Andorra la Vella have all been nuked.

Several wars end, and I restart them. Madagascar nukes Rome.

The Buccaneers capture Andorra la Vella and La Habana, while Corranderrk has been nuked again.

Madagascar captures Fes, though it's not likely to hold.

The Papal States take Tenochtitlan, but their carpet has mostly evaporated, and Lisbon has been nuked.

The Buccaneers begin to dismantle Greece, taking Athens.

But the Papal States trike back at Madagascar, capturing Fes and Marrakech.

On the eastern front, they take Teotihuacan as well. The whole battlefield is just a sea of radiation at this point.

The Buccaneers take Thessaloniki, dividing Greece into three disconnected sections.

Brescia falls...

Madagascar, meanwhile, retakes Fes, Marrakech, and Breda.

The Buccs take Milan; the end is near for Greece...

The Papal States, meanwhile, make some negligible progress against the Buccaneers by taking Leogane.

At the same time, Madagascar is firmly on the offensive, retaking Tenochtitlan and Teotoihuacan while marching a large army straight at what remains of Rome.

Ranavalona takes Porto, Benevento, and Diakhao!

And Henry Morgan captures Herakleion, eliminating Eleftherios Venizelos of Greece in 4th place.

Rome falls! The Papal States still have a huge amount of land, but their army is almost gone, and I think it's fair to say that Madagascar is on the path to victory now. Note the surprising abundance of Madagascar's pikeman UU—when using the enlightenment era, a bug causes the unit to never obsolete. DMS has been informed and is working on it.

Rome flips, and Madagascar retakes Diakhao.

Then the next phase begins, and Madagascar pushes into Kahone, Ravenna, and Utrecht.

On the western front, Ranavalona has captured Rotterdam and nuked just about everything else.

Poverty Point falls soon afterward.

Followed by Honolulu...

And Groningen, Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Jaketown...

And Pontecorvo, Samoa, and Ascoli...

And Beledweyne and Edinburgh...

And Sintra and Douglas...

And Avignon and Castelo Gandolfo...

And at last Madagascar takes Glasgow, Buuhoodle, and Taleh, eliminating Innocent III of the Papal States in third place. (The Buccaneers took Barere Barere Balug on the previous turn.)

The fight against the Buccaneers now begins, and Henry Morgan starts off on the right foot, taking Taleh.

But Madagascar strikes back, capturing Taleh and Barere Barere Balug.

Corranderrk and Leogane soon follow...

And then Milan, captured with a hilariously outdated line infantry...

Then Kairouan...

Escaldes...

Petit-Goave...

Nassau and Port Royal...

Tortuga...

Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Brescia, and Campeche...

Tunis...

And that's it; with the fall of Andorra la Vella, Madagascar has won! What a game—that was absolutely insane.

And here's every Buccaneer city except Tonga in Madagascar's hands. The score now stands as follows:



Polynesia : 1

Turkey: 1

Madagascar: 1



Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with more next week!