Part of the campaign:

Welcome back to Groundhog Day Mk. VI! Although the first round was on Google Photos, that host has stopped working for me again, so we're back to aar.li. As usual, we start with the map, reminding you of the start locations.



The Gauls triumphed in round one, earning them a victory point—but who will rise to the top this time?

Anyway, as we begin, the second cities roll out. Many of them are the same as round one, but in this screenshot we can see that Carthage, the UK, the Ottomans, Saba, Taungoo, and Austria-Hungary have all chosen different places than before.

Over here, Syracuse has changed their settlement choice and Finland has settled a second city, which they failed to do in round 1. Phoenicia still hasn't settled.

The Beothuk are the final civ to settle in a new place. At the same time, Taungoo is the first to three cities, and the Sabaeans construct the Great Library.

The first war doesn't start until turn 41, when Saba and Greenland attack Taungoo. I don't expect much to come of this other than some skirmishes around Bago.

Two turns later, Saba and Carthage declare war on the UK. Birmingham is well fortified though, and George doesn't plan on going out as easily as he did in round 1.

The Gauls attack Phoenicia, and Sidon is looking really vulnerable. Hiram didn't choose the best place to settle here.

Carthage ends an uneventful war with Iceni and gives away Utique. This makes the first city capture of round 2 a shitty peace deal transfer.

Just as George ends his war with Saba, Alexander declares war, seeking to take advantage of the UK's depleted army.

Another war starts between Iceni and Greenland, and it looks like Boudicca has a massive advantage.

Austria-Hungary declares war on the Ottomans, and Mahmud's recently-founded third city is already taking damage.

Meanwhile, the Gauls take Sidon, marking the first real city capture of the round—on turn 71. These civs definitely seem slower to get started than the ones in Mk. V.

Franz Joseph captures Bursa! It could flip, but the damage is done.

Iceni takes Garedhar, once again crippling Greenland early on.

I missed the notification, but George gave away Birmingham to Carthage in a peace treaty.

Then Peru attacks the UK, and it looks like Goerge is in serious trouble. Maybe he won't do better than round 1 after all.

But George doesn't quite finish last, because Han has captured Brattahlid, eliminating Erik Thorvaldsson of Greenland in 21st place!

Five turns later, Peru captures London, eliminating George V of the United Kingdom in 20th place.

Taungoo attacks Carthage and moves in with a decent army, but Dido's capital might be too well-defended for mere archers and warriors to threaten.

Anyway, now it's time for the turn 100 stats! Iceni barely places first in military, followed very closely by the Tlingit, Gauls, and Beothuk. This area is still anyone's game.

The tech race is also close, with two civs tied at 16 techs and ten more at 15.

And production is just as close, with Taungoo and Austria-Hungary tied for first with 51 hammers, while four more civs have at least 47. There is definitely no clear early leader in any demographic yet.

Anyway, as we return, Peru builds the Great Wall (which they also built in round 1, and some of the test rounds).

Then nothing happens for quite a while, until the Ottomans give away Edirne to Han in a peace treaty.

Then Taungoo and Han team up against Iceni, and it looks like Boudicca might have met here match here.

The Ottomans and Austria-Hungary also attack Iceni, hoping to gain control of Utique. Also of note is that Peru has declared war on Macedon.

Saba attacks Carthage, seeking to take Birmingham, which should come pretty easily.

The first blow against Iceni is struck by Han, who just captured Garedhar with a naval attack.

Taungoo then takes Venta Icenorum! Boudicca is going down!

Saba goes straight for the kill against Dido, capturing Qart Hadasht without much trouble. I forgot that they shared a border here for some reason, and only showed Birmingham.

The Ottomans take Utique, reducing Iceni to one besieged city.

And Caister falls to Taungoo, eliminating Boudicca of the Iceni in 19th place.

The fall of Qart Hadasht is followed by a mass of DOWs against Makeda, including from Taungoo, Han, and Peru.

Nevertheless, Makeda doesn't hesitate to capture Birmingham, eliminating Dido of Carthage in 18th place.

Han snipes Qart Hadasht with a naval attack! It might flip back, but it's still another colourful bar on Han's row on /u/TheSpecialize's spreadhseet.

Peru begins to make inroads on Saba as well, capturing Birmingham.

Qart Hadasht is recaptured, only to fall again to Taungoo. This time it looks like Makeda has lost it for good.

The Wabanaki join the war against Saba, along with several other more distant civilizations.

Then the Ottomans and Macedon join in as Peru begins to damage Ma'rib.

Ma'rib falls to Peru, and Sirwah is in the yellow! The end is near!

Saba recaptures Ma'rib but loses Sirwah to Taungoo. It won't be long now...

And Peru takes Ma'rib again, eliminating Makeda of the Sabaeans in 17th place. RIP.

Syracuse receives Vatnafjorður in a peace treaty with Iceland. However, Dionysius's position remains vulnerable, because there's no land connection between the two halves of his empire.

That lack of connection may now be an even greater liability as Syracuse teams up with the Gauls to attack Phoenicia. In the background, the Iroquois declare war on the Beothuk.

Austria-Hungary attacks the Ottomans again, and recruits Taungoo to join in the fun!

The war between the Beothuk and the Iroquois ends when Nonsbawsut gives away the useless snow city of Megwe'saqsit Lnu.

Taungoo manages to capture Utique, meaning that Bayinnaung's empire now cuts off both of the western peninsulas from the rest of the continent.

And then Austria-Hungary takes Istanbul, eliminating Mahmud II of the Ottomans in 16th place.

But now it's time for the turn 200 stats! Han now has the most soldiers, followed closely by Taungoo and somewhat less closely by Peru.

It's a three way tie in technologies now with Han, the Iroquois, and The Gauls all coming in at 25 techs.

Taungoo has a massive lead in production though, with 91 more hammers than second place Han.

The Iroquois attack the Beothuk again, which seems like a great way to lose Megwe'saqsit Lnu.

Sure enough, Nonsbawsut has retaken his city, but not Melgita't is taking damage from Iroquois and Wabanaki invaders.

And Hiawatha takes Melgita't! In the background, Finland attacks Macedon.

The Wabanaki decalre war on Taungoo! I can't help but feel that this is a mistake, though.

But then Peru joins on the side of the Wabanaki! And Ramon Castilla has crossbows!

Meanwhile, the Gauls capture Tyre, forever crippling Phoenicia.

Then Finland gives away Espoo to the Mississippi for no reason.

That same turn, the Wabanaki take Megwe'saqsit Lnu, eliminating Nonsbawsut of the Beothuk in 15th place.

Henri Membertou is losing out elsewhere though, because Taungoo just captured Pannaqambskek, and Bayinnaung has crossbows of his own.

The Mississippi attack Finland again, and with Espoo in their hands, this could be the killing blow!

Suddenly, Han declares war on Taungoo! This will be bloody!

Han captures both Caister and Inwa, razing the former. Damn.

Taungoo doesn't give up on conquering the Wabanaki though, capturing Meductic.

And the Mississippi easily take Helsinki, eliminating Urho Kekkonen of Finland in 14th place.

Taungoo captures Kespukwitk! But in the upper left corner, you can see that Han is still pushing hard...

And Gaozu takes Venta Icenorum! Bayinnaung really needs to redirect his forces!

Instead, Taungoo makes peace with Han, letting Gaozu keep his conquests. One the same turn, Peru and Han team up against Austria-Hungary.

That doesn't go well for Han, because Taungoo damaged Edirne to the point where Franz Joseph can basically just walk into the city.

Taungoo makes peace with the Iroquois and receives Melgita't! That almost makes up for the loss of all those cities to Han...

Turn 300 arrives, bringing another round of stats! Peru now has the largest army, and amazingly, the Mississippi have managed to pass Han and Taungoo as well.

The Gauls and Mississippi are tied for the tech lead, but it's close enough here that anyone could take the top spot with a little effort.

Finally, Taungoo still has by far the most production, but Peru has risen into a solid second place.

Suddenly, the Gauls attack Syracuse! This looks to be the windfall moment for the East!

The Iroquois found the world congress. Huh.

Taungoo attacks the Wabanaki again! Henri Membertou is now staring elimination right in the face...

The Gauls make short work of Syracuse, capturing Adranon (several times) and damaging Syracuse itself.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi declare war on Macedon, finally deciding to use that large army they built up.

The Gallic rampage continues as Vercingetorix marches into Syracuse! only Vatnafjorður remains!

Peru joins the Mississippi and attacks Macedon! Alexander has a nontrivial defense force, but will it be enough?



Offscreen, the Gauls have captured Vatnafjorður, eliminating Dionysius of Syracuse in 13th place. For some reason I failed to take a screenshot.

Now the Gauls turn on the Tlingit! Is Vercingetorix trying to catch up to his round 1 performance?

Up north, Taungoo seems to have captured and razed both Megwe'saqsit Lnu and Potlotek, eliminating Henri Membertou of the Wabanaki in 12th place.

Peru captures Veroia! Can Ramon Castilla push farther?

The Gauls take Kaliakh, but judging by its population, it's flipped a couple times already (and will probably continue to flip for a while yet).

Peru can indeed push farther! Ramon Castilla has captured Pella, leaving only one pathetic Macedonian city remaining.

But before it can be captured, Peru and the Mississippi both make peace with Macedon. Alexander will live on a little while yet.

As the Gauls bombard Chilkat down to red, the Mississippi also attack the Tlingit!

Chilkat falls to Vercingetorix, and the Mississippi move cannons into position near Taku...

But then Peru and the Iroquois both attack the Mississippi! Can Tuskaloosa hold this off?

Well, the double DOW certainly hasn't stopped him from taking Taku, eliminating Sheiyksh of the Tlingit in 11th place.

But now it's time for the turn 400 stats! The Gauls have rocketed into the lead in military manpower, and by quite a wide margin too.

However, it's Peru that is beginning to pull away in science, developing a two-tech lead since turn 300.

And the Gauls now also have the most production, by a considerable margin. Now, the important thing to keep in mind is my method for testing the balance of a game. I run and film the first two rounds before I release the first one, and if the same civ wins both, I redo the map for better balance. So if the Gauls won this round, you wouldn't be seeing this.

Anyway, we return to the action to see Austria-Hungary capture Utique from Taungoo. This is followed by a peace treaty between the two civs.

Before the ink on that peace treaty is even dry, Taungoo attacks Peru! But don't forget, Ramon Castilla has the great wall...

Iceland attacks Phoenicia! Can Ingolfur project naval power well enough to eliminate them?

The Mississippi make peace with Peru and give away Moundville! This is huge for Peru; that's a very large and productive city with at least one wonder just handed to them on a silver platter.

Bayinnaung declares that the time has come to take back what is rightfully his! The counterinvasion of Han has begun!

Meanwhile, the Iroquois declare war on the Mississippi, and Taku looks like easy pickings.

Sure enough, Taku falls without much of a struggle.

Taungoo units tear through Han lands, recapturing Venta Icenorum and dropping Garedhar into the yellow.

Garedhar soon falls—can Bayinnaung push farther?

It seems that Iceland was in fact able to take Byblos, and Hiram I of Phoenicia was eliminated in 10th place.

Turn 500 rolls around, and the Gauls still have the most soldiers. What's more surprising is Austria-Hungary in second.

Peru's tech lead has grown from two techs to four over the last 100 turns.

And the Gauls still have the most hammers. Overall, not a lot of placement change since turn 400.

The Iroquois and Macedon declare war on the Mississippi! Those citadels that Hiawatha has built near Helsinki and Espoo might come in handy.

After a brief peace, Taungoo attacks Han a second time. But Gaozu is no slouch when it comes to building units, so this might not be as easy as Bayinnaung hoped.

The Iroquois capture Helsinki! It'll flip a couple times, but in the end I think it will stay in Hiawatha's hands.



Say, has anyone else noticed that the Mississippi and the Iroquois have pretty much the same colours, only reversed?

Peru declares war on Macedon! I say, I think Alexander is fucked.

Taungoo makes peace with Han and receives Brattahlid. Now, Bayinnaung had better reinforce that city before he even thinks about starting a third war up here.

Meanwhile, the Iroquois capture Espoo from Tuskaloosa. With no more Mississippian cities readily available, Hiawatha agrees to peace.

One turn later, a new war begins when Austria-Hungary launches a naval attack against Han!

Peru and the Iroquois team up against Taungoo! Ramon Castilla doesn't seem to have properly prepared for this fight though.

Complicating matters further, on the next turn Austria-Hungary declares war on both Taungoo and Peru.

Later that turn, Peru takes Thessalonica, eliminating Alexander of Macedon in 9th place.

Austria-Hungary makes peace with Han and receives Luoyang in the treaty. It's not clear whether the city might be vulnerable to attack by Taungoo.

Interestingly, the Iroquois are the first to make gains against Taungoo, capturing Melgita't.

Then Austria-Hungary takes Qart Hadasht! Sirwah is in the red as well! Bayinnaung appears to be in serious trouble.

Taungoo recaptures Melgita't, while in the background Austria-Hungary and Peru set aside their differences to focus on Taungoo.

Franz Joseph captures Sirwah, but with the city likely to flip further, it's not clear who will get it in the end.

Sirwah flips back to Taungoo and then to Peru, while Ramon Castilla makes a massive push forward with artillery and great war infantry! That tech lead is really starting to show!

Peru takes Meductic, and the heavily damaged cuirassiers surrounding it are helpless to fight back.

Peru takes Pannaqambskek, and then Bayinnaung sues for peace, giving away Kespukwitk in the treaty. That was a huge and unexpected win for Peru!

The Iroquois haven't done so well, however, and they give away Grand River in the peace treaty.

Austria-Hungary and Taungoo, having recently made peace themselves, team up to attack Han.

But then Peru declares war on Austria-Hungary! That advanced army could really do some damage.

But that doesn't stop Franz Joseph from capturing Chang'an!

However, he does lose out elsewhere, because Peru has just captured Qart Hadasht.

Utique falls as well! Ramon Castilla is not messing around!

He also wins the world's fair by an enormous margin.

Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary has taken Jinyang, reducing Han to one heavily damaged island city.

But then Peru pushes even further, capturing Edirne!

Austria-Hungary retakes Edirne, but then they make peace with Peru and hand over Prague instead.

Turn 600 arrives, and the stats arrive with it. The Gauls still have the largest army, but Peru has nearly closed the gap.

Peru's tech lead has also inched up from four techs to five.

And they've also surpassed the Gauls in production! The tide appears to be turning!

Anyway, many of you probably noticed that Taungoo captured Jiangling, eliminating Gaozu of Han in 8th place. For TheSpecialize, Han actually actually died on turn 595.

Peru attacks Taungoo again, and instantly captures their namesake city! Something tells me it will be a steamroll this time!

Bayinnaung retakes Taungoo, only to lose Hanthawaddy! Huge stacks of Peruvian planes are already damaging Venta Icenorum as well.

Venta Icenorum falls! Peru now has rocket artillery and mobile SAMs too, while Taungoo doesn't even have basic artillery.

Sagaing falls as Taungoo units are massacred en masse.

Bago is captured! The Taungoo navy might flip it back, but still, holy shit.

Garedhar falls; Bago flips...

Taungoo recaptures Bago and then the two sides make peace. Bayinnaung gives away every other city—Melgita't, Pyaymyo, Grand River, Brattahlid, and Jiangling are now flying red and white!

Peru goes on to win the international games by a margin as large as the world s fair.

Then Peru turns on the Iroquois! Ramon Castilla is not slowing down!

Helsinki and Taku are both captured!

Onondaga falls already, hot damn!

And then the two sides make peace, with the Iroquois giving away Espoo. Ouch.

Austria-Hungary attacks he only civ it can reasonably expect to eliminate: Iceland.

Reyðarfjall easily falls.

And now it's turn 700. Peru has the most soldiers now, but the Gauls have an enormous army as well.

Peru now has nine more techs than the #2 Gauls.

And they also have an absolutely crushing lead in hammers. Holy shit. Ramon Castilla pretty much has this in the bag, I'd say.

The Gallic unit carpet is not to be trifled with though. This will be hard to take down.

The wars aren't over yet though, because The Gauls have attacked the Iroquois!

After 14 turns, Osininka finally falls, eliminating Hiawatha of the Iroquois in 7th place.

Peru wakes up again a short time later, declaring war on the Mississippi. Cahokia is instantly captured, eliminating Tuskaloosa in 6th place.

Taungoo is next on the kill list.

And Bago easily falls, eliminating Bayinnaung of Taungoo in 5th place.

Austria-Hungary then attacks Iceland again, and Þingvellir is already taking damage.

But then Peru attacks Austria-Hungary! Seriously, it's really rare to see this many wars starting this late in the game.

But first, the turn 800 stats. The Gauls actually have the largest army now by a considerable margin, but will it be enough?

Peru has finished the tech tree, but everyone else is still a ways away.

Peru's production lead has also grown even larger. This is probably what will win the game for them, even the the Gauls have a much larger military.

Anyway, let's cut back to the Austro-Peruvian war, where Ramon Castilla just captured Edirne!

Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary captures Þingvellir and begins to damage Reykjavik.

Byblos is also captured while Edirne flips in the background.

Peru skips Edirne entirely and takes Istanbul and Budapest instead! Wow!

A Peruvian XCOM storms into Vienna! Austria-Hungary has completely collapsed!

But that doesn't stop Franz-Joseph from capturing Reykjavik, eliminating Ingolfur Arnarson of Iceland in 4th place.

Peru then takes Bursa and Luoyang, completely kicking Austria-Hungary out of its core.

Chang'an falls...

And Jinyang...

And Byblos...

And Þingvellir...

Reykjavik falls...

And finally Peru takes Reyðarfjall, eliminating Franz Joseph of Austria in third place. Only two civs remain!

On turn 850, I declare world war, such as it is. There are only two civs involved, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to call it that.

The Gauls immediately capture Reyðarfjall, uniting the island under Gallic control.

Reykjavik and Byblos fall as well.

And Þingvellir, kicking Peru out of the Far East.

The Gauls have also captured Espoo on the western front, but now Peru is beginning to mount some serious resistance.

Ramon Castilla pushes back, retaking Espoo and capturing Alesia!

Peru also captures osininka, finally securing the whole inland sea!

The Gauls retake Alesia but lose Syracuse to a naval attack.

Vercingetorix makes peace with Alesia and Syracuse both in Peruvian hands, but of course I restart the war immediately.

Peru loses Espoo but captures Chilkat.

Ramon Castilla pauses only briefly to build the international space station.

Peru retakes Espoo, alogn with Kaliakh.

Bibracte falls! The end is near now!

Sidon falls; Bibracte flips...

Peru captures Vienne but loses Sidon. The Gauls seem to have nuked their former capital.

Peru retakes Sidon along with Adranon. More nukes have started to fly now.

Tyre falls! Only one capital remains!

Byblos falls, and most of the remaining Gallic cities have been nuked.

And with the fall of Reykjavik, it's game over! Ramon Castilla of Peru has won round 2!

The score now stands as follows:



The Gauls: 1

Peru: 1



Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all again next week!