Part of the campaign:

Hello everyone, it's yet another round of Groundhog Day Mk. VII! Last time we saw our first tie since the beginning of Mk. V, over 20 rounds ago, so that was quite interesting. How, then, will things go this time?

The second cities are founded, and although many are sticking with the new locations from round 3, some of them are still different

However, Samoa still hasn't founded a second city, and now that Marseille has been settled, I'm not convinced they'll be able to at all.

The first war breaks out between South Korea and Hejaz! I don't expect any cities to flip, but hey, it's the first war.

This war could be a little more significant! Great Qing has declared war on Calusa, and Escampaha is looking awfully juicy.

The Mughals join the fight as Escampaha begisn to take damage!

Meanwhile, Montenegro attacks Great Britain! In the background, Cixi builds the statue of Zeus, which might give her an easier time taking Escampaha.

But instead, the Mughals snipe the city! (And in the background, Ethiopia declares war on Liège.)

The Kalinago decide to take it upon themselves to finish of Calusa. This shouldn't be too hard.

Petar II takes Birmingham! Victoria doesn't have any melee units, so she's probably out of luck here.

The Mughals now turn against Algeria! As usual, Abdelkader's army is about as potent as a limp dick.

And then the Kalinago capture Muspa, eliminating Caalus of the Calusa in 21st place.

The Mughals capture Oran from Algeria, while a bunch of the low-level wars break out in the background.

Still stinging from her failure to capture Escampaha, Cixi instead turns her attention tot he Faroe Islands, where Klaksvik sits almost undefended.

The Ilkhanate attacks Bosnia, but unless my eyes deceive me, Bosnia has a much larger army.......

Sure enough, Tvrtko quickly turns it around and capture Maragha. Mega-ouch.

Of course, Ghazan recaptures his capital and then sacks it.

Bosnia takes back Maragha, but Tvrtko's dramatic rise has attracted attention of nearby civilizations, and so Samoa and the Kalinago declare war! Jajce is already taking damage!

Meanwhile, Liège ends an uneventful war with Denmark by giving away Tongeren.

Then Denmark and South Korea team up against Ethiopia! This could end very poorly for Amda Seyon.

Whoops, looks like I wasn't paying enough attention over here. Great Qing has long since captured Klaksvik and is beginning a siege of Torshavn.

And Torshavn falls! Tróndur í Gøtu of the Faroe Islands is eliminated in 20th place.

The Kalinago have captured Jajce, but can they push any farther?

Montenegro builds the Great Wall—a good choice for an often-landlocked civilization with many neighbours.

Anyway, time for the pretty fucking late turn 100 stats. The Mughals have the largest army at the moment, followed by Great Qing.

Great Qing, the Mughals, and South Korea are all tied for the lead in technologies. Nothing much to see here yet.

And Montenegro has the most production, but the Mughals are only 3 hammers behind.

Anyway, returning to the action, we see that the Kalinago have indeed pushed farther, taking Maragha!

Montenegro attacks Algeria! Algiers is a pretty solid city, but Montenegro should be able to overwhelm it.

Oops, I clearly didn't see that one coming. Denmark has captured Wolleka from Simien!

Holy shit, Kairouane isn't stopping! The Kalinago have captured Vhrbosna—will they go all the way?

Montenegro captures Algiers, eliminating Abdelkader of Algeria in 19th place. I hope Montenegro keeps expanding; they're an underdog I can root for.

Great Qing attacks South Korea! It might not look like much, but if Cixi brings her navy down...

Oh, never mind then. Park Chung-hee makes peace and gives away Incheon almost without a fight.

Montenegro attacks Hejaz! Hussein bin Ali has a full carpet, which will make him very hard to conquer, but if other civs join he could be screwed.

Great Qing attacks the Mughals! This war could easily go other way; let's see what happens.

Oh, it doesn't go a way at all. Great Qing managed to get Agra down to the red, only for the two sides to make peace with no cities exchanged.

Wait, what's this? Yes, somehow, Ethiopia has managed to capture Medina. I can't even

And then South Korea takes Mecca, eliminating Hussein bin Ali of Hejaz in 18th place. That was quick.

And just one turn later, Denmark takes Gondar, eliminating Gudit of Semien in 17th place.

Harald Bluetooth then aims his berserkers at Ethiopia. Amda Seyon had better watch out.

Great Qing and the Mughals team up against South Korea! Goddamn, please give poor Park a chance...

Cixi storms into Busan with her advanced army of musketmen.

At some point the Coast Salish received Pago Pago in a peace treaty with Samoa. Interesting.

Montenegro attacks the Cherokee! With Tahlequah already mostly surrounded, the city is all but guaranteed to fall.

And fall it does. But can Petar II push on to Chota?

Maybe not, because he has decided to open up a second front against Great Britain for no reason.

Remember this war? Well, it's finally over! The Kalinago have captured Bobovac, eliminating Tvrtko I of Bosnia in 16th place.

Cixi is going on her own grand campaign of conquest, however, capturing Seoul.

And then the Coast Salish capture Apia, exiling Samoa to a tiny snow island.

Denmark manages to take Shire, but decides to raze the city. Come on now...

Well, looks like that second front actually paid off. Montenegro captures London, eliminating Victoria of Great Britain in 15th place.

Great Qing attacks Ethiopia! Cixi is just expanding relentlessly; someone needs to stop her!

For your records, /u/TheSpecialize, the Cherokee held London for little enough time that I failed to take screenshot.

And then Great Qing effortlessly captures Tegulet, exiling Amda Seyon to his weird Hejaz snipe.

Oh hey, I didn't even realize that the Kalinago were at war with Montenegro. But apparently they are, because Kairouane just captured Algiers.

And if you didn't notice I completely forgot the turn 200 stats, so here are the turn 300 stats instead. Cixi indisputably has the largest army, but Denmark and the Kalinago aren't to be trifled with either.

The Kalinago have a slight tech lead, but Great Qing is right on their heels.

And Great Qing has the most production, with the Kalinago in a solid second. It's looking more and more like the central competition will be between these two.

South Korea and Tuscany attack Ethiopia! Amda Seyon is now utterly fucked.

And South Korea gets the kill! Amda Seyon of Ethiopia is eliminated in 14th place. But in the background, Great Qing attacks the Mughals again...

As Great Qing bombards Agra down to the red, the Kalinago join the war, seeking to grab some Mughal cities of their own!

The powerful Qing navy takes Fatehpur Sikri, while a siege of Escampaha begins on the mainland.

Great Qing takes Escampaha and makes peace with the Mughals. That leaves it up to the Kalinago to finish wat Cixi started.

The Mughals decide that facing an existential threat won't stop them from declaring war on Montenegro.

The Kalinago make short work of the Mughals, taking Gaur and damaging Agra.

Agra falls, to the Kalinago and Oran is captured by Montenegro, eliminating Akbar of the Mughals in 13th place. In the background, Kairouane starts another war to finish off the Ilkhanate.

Tabriz quickly falls, and Kairouane chooses to raze it. Ghazan of the Ilkhanate is eliminated in 12th place.

Kairouane is not yet done with his conquest streak, however, and so he declares war on the Coast Salish!

Apia falls after just four turns, with little hope that it will flip back.

For some reason, the Salish decide that it would be a good idea to attack France.

The Kalinago capture Old-Man House, leaving Seattle with just one city surrounded by hostile Frenchmen.

Oh wait, he also has cities down here. He gives away Stahlahl in the peace treaty, and Kairouane burns it.

Cixi wins the world's fair by a country mile.

Meanwhile, France takes Spahbahdeed, exiling the Salish to their little Samoan island.

But then Great Qing takes that city, eliminating Seattle of the Salish in 11th place.

Tuscany attacks South Korea! This may finally be it for Park Chung-hee, but at least he had a good run.

Sure enough, Lorenzo takes Mecca and is closing in on Medina.

But first, the turn 400 stats! Great Qing now has by far the most soldiers, while the Kalinago are equally far ahead of the #3 Denmark.

Cixi has also taken the lead in technologies, sporting three more than the Kalinago.

In manufactured goods, Cixi has a slight lead, but it's not enough to guarantee them an advantage in a war.

Anyway, returning to the action, Tuscany captures Medina, eliminating Park Chung-hee of South Korea in 10th place.

Great Qing attacks France! It's the technology gap that will make all the difference here, I think.

Tuscany turns against the Cherokee! Chota won't be easy to take, but they might be able to do it.

Oh, they definitely will, now that Montenegro and Denmark have joined in.

But it's Montenegro that gets Chota, blocking any chance Tuscany had of gaining a city.

And then Denmark takes New Echota, eliminating John Ross of the Cherokee in 9th place.

Great Qing captures Lyon, but it's clearly been flipping for some time.

Denmark attacks Montenegro! This seems like a good way for Harald Bluetooth to lose New Echota.

Sure enough, he city is quickly flying the blue and yellow banner.

Oh whoa, that kinda came from nowhere. Cixi has landed a huge army on French soil and has captured Paris.

Montenegro gives away Chota to Denmark in a peace treaty. Bold move.

Then Denmark and Montenegro both attack Tuscany! Can Lorenzo de Medici hold the line?

Also that same turn, France makes peace with Great Qing and gives away Spahbahdeed.

Denmark is beginning to tear through the western regions of Tuscany, taking Siene and threatening Florence.

A few turns back, the Kalinago captured Tafuna, eliminating Salamasina of Samoa in 8th place. RIP.

Denmark takes Florence! This is more of a steamroll than I thought it would be!

Suddenly, the Kalinago attack Montenegro! Petar II is in real trouble now!

Niksic is the first city to fall to Kairouane's powerful navy.

Oran swiftly follows. This region would be a lot nicer to conquer, if only Cixi hadn't stolen half the land with a ridiculous citadel chain.

Denmark continues to eat through Tuscany, taking Pisa, while both Mecca and Medina are taking damage.

Podgorica falls to the Kalinago; Birmingham is in the yellow...

Kairouane takes Birmingham and surrounds London...

Despite all of this, Montenegro somehow still manages to take Medina.

London falls! If this keeps up, Petar II could be facing elimination.

But suddenly, Great Qing attacks the Kalinago, and Kairouane is woefully unprepared! This could end very, very badly for our rising stars...

But first, Denmark takes Mecca, eliminating Lorenzo de Medici of Tuscany in 7th place.

As expected, Cixi starts off on the upper foot, taking Oran and flipping Podgorica.

Agra also falls, as Kalinago troops are nowhere to be seen.

Gaur and Old-Man House quickly follow. God, I feel sick, I was rooting so hard for the Kalinago...

Muspa is captured on the very next turn...

Meanwhile, Denmark decides it's time to finally finish off Liège.

But anyway, Cixi has now captured Algiers as well.

And Denmark takes Liège, eliminating Érard de le Marck of Liège in 6th place.

The Kalinago, now armed with artillery (which Cixi still doesn't have) manage to flip back Algiers and Old-Man House, but it's not clear this can last.

Meanwhile, Denmark attacks Montenegro, sealing the fate of Petar II.

With the advent of artillery, the war has ground down into a bloody stalemate. Kairouane has flipped Muspa and continues to flip Algiers, but has lost Old-Man House.

But then Cixi begins to work her way around the east coast, taking Apia.

Denmark captures New Echota, while they still somehow haven't damaged Medina.

Denmark takes Medina and the Kalinago take Tahlequah...

And the Kalinago take Cetinje, eliminating Petar II of Montenegro in 5th place. This has opened up a path for Kairouane to move troops back into the lands he lost in the west—could this actually be a turning point?

Maybe not, because Cixi's air superiority is so devastating that she's managed to take Wai-tukubuli and damage Camerhogne.

Camerhogne falls! NOOOOOO

Great Qing just keeps going, taking Cetinje, while Denmark opportunistically joins in the war.

Birmingham falls...

And Tahlequah...

And then the Kalinago make peace by giving away all their cities except Maragha, Bobovac, and Tafuna. Ouch.

Time for the turn 500 stats! Great Qing has about 95,000 more troops than Denmark, a gap which is likely to grow.

Great Qing still leads by only three technologies, but that hardly matters anymore.

And Cixi has more than twice as much production as Denmark. But, as we saw in the last round, that won't necessarily be enough to stop Harald Bluetooth.

But on turn 506, Great Qing attacks Denmark! That's it folks, it's game over!

Mecca is the first city to succumb to Cixi's technologically superior invasion force.

Medina and Chota follow one turn later.

Then Pisa...

Then Florence and Oslo...

And New Echota...

Then Cixi sticks her hand way out and takes Copenhagen itself.

Denmark retakes Oslo, Florence, and New Echota, but it's all futile at this point anyway.

Cixi takes Siena, Florence, and Tongeren, but loses Copenhagen.

But don't worry, she's back with more, retaking Copenhagen, Oslo, and Tongeren just two turns later.

Then she takes Gondar, Kaupang, and Roskilde as well.

...Followed by Liège and Hedeby...

And Wolleka...

And Aarhus...

And then Cixi takes Tunsberg, Ribe, and Viborg, eliminating Harald Bluetooth of Denmark in 4th place.

10 turns later, she decides to finish it once and for all by declaring war on the Kalinago.

Maragha quickly falls...

And then, just like that, it's over. Cixi of Great Qing has won round 4 in the fewest number of turns of any Groundhog Day round. Goddamn.

This also means that Great Qing is in the lead in victory points! The score stands as follows:



Great Qing: 1.5

Samoa: 1

The Mughals: 1

Denmark: 0.5



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