Part of the campaign:

Welcome back to a third round of Groundhog Day Mk. 9! Last time, Leon steamrolled its way to victory. Can someone from the eastern half win it this time, or will the rugged mountains and deserts of the west produce yet another hardy contender? Let's find out!

The second cities are founded, and it looks like most of the settlements are throwbacks to round 1, with some exceptions.

The first war begins on turn 39, when Benin attacks Songhai! Benin's early attacks are usually devastating, thanks in large part to their UA, so we could see Songhai eliminated relatively quickly.

In another common early war, Poland attacks America. Let me guess: Fillmore will give away New Orleans and Casimir will raze it.

After 13 turns of war, Gao falls! In the background, a few slightly less noteworthy wars begin.

Fillmore can apparently move triremes on land. LAND. SHIPS. LANDSHIPS?

Poland captures New Orleans and doesn't raze it! Is this a first? Unbelievable!

Maurya decides to finish off Songhai, since Benin won't.

Sulu joins an ongoing coalition war against the Shoshone! Venezuela and Leon have been grinding down Moson Kahni, but with a fresh player in the war, Pocatello is really screwed now.

Amazingly, both Leon and Venezuela pull out of the war, leaving all the spoils for Sulu!

But before Sulu can kill the Shoshone, Maurya captures Tombouctu, eliminating Askia of Songhai in 21st place.

Moson Kahni falls that same turn, but Pocatello still has one city left—for now.

Maurya and Konbaung know that Benin needs to be stopped early, and so they declare war on Ewuare. But Benin is frighteningly competent—this could backfire.

Indeed, Benin quickly captures Sarnath and uses its UA to damage Tombouctu.

Konbaung concludes a separate war with Burundi, receiving Gitega in the peace treaty. Unfortunately, Alaungpaya chooses to raze the city.

And after a long siege, Sulu finally captures Te Moak, eliminating Pocatello of the Shoshone in 20th place.

It's turn 100, which means it's time for the first round of stats! In an unusual twist, the Massagetae have the largest army, followed by Japan and Venezuela.

Sulu has the most food by a decent margin, with Benin in a solid second.

However, Benin takes the crown in production, while Sulu is all the way down in fourth.

Leon attacks Bohemia! Will we ever see a round where Vaclav doesn't get squashed by his northern neighbour?

Surprise! I wasn't paying attention to this area, and apparently Wallachia has been at war with America, becaue Vlad just captured Washington. Millard Fillmore of the United States is eliminated in 19th place.

Benin continues humiliating Maurya, capturing Tombouctu.

Just making note of the fact that Rapa Nui has settled this island northeast of Benin.

Japan attacks Rapa Nui, making an early move to try to take the canal!

Leon captures Prague! Seriously, is this ever going to NOT happen?

Maurya makes peace with Benin and gives away Ujjain, its last non-capital city.

Japan takes Hanga Piko, but the Hanga Roa bottleneck will be the true test of Oda's ability.

Wallachia and the Massagetae team up against Poland! Casimir doesn't look ready at all—his army is tiny.

On the previous turn, you might have noticed Poland making peace with Benin. I only just now noticed that Casimir received Gitega 2.0 in the peace treaty, and unlike Konbaung, he isn't razing it. In the background, Rapa Nui declares war on Leon.

Scotland makes peace with Venezuela and gives away Glasgow. Absolutely inconceivable.

Hotu Matua strikes hard and fast and Leon capturing Astorga from the sea!

Wallachia captures Warsaw! Poland fights on, but there is little hope.

Nevertheless, Casimir is able to momentarily retake his capital.

But suddenly, the Massagetae surge to the forefront! Tomyris captures Warsaw and simultaneously declares war on Rapa Nui. Also on this slide, Venezuela attacks Japan, which is basically just giving away Glasgow for free.

Indeed, Glasgow quickly falls to Japan. Oda Nobunaga seems to be growing pretty strong.

But Japan now faces a declaration of war from the Tanguts, which, if nothing else, will force them into a grinding stalemate for a while.

The Massagetae capture Mataveri, but Tomyris will have to hurry to take Hanga Roa before Wallachia does.

But, miraculously, she pulls off a snipe, taking Hanga Roa with just a handful of units!

We momentarily interrupt this broadcast with the turn 200 stats. Sulu now has the largest army, followed closely by its eastern competitor, Benin.

Sulu is also developing a huge teach lead—they're already four techs ahead of the number two civ!

But Sulu, being mostly desert and coast, continues to lag in production. Benin leads here, while Sulu is 6th.

The Tanguts make peace with Japan and give away Xiazhou. Classic.

Benin attacks Konbaung and immediately launches its special city attack against Shwebo. Alaungpaya is not ready for this at all—in fact, most of his army is up by Burundi.

Indeed, Benin makes short work of Shwebo, swarming the city before Alaungpaya can react.

Japan decides to finish off Rapa Nui. Little does Oda know, however, that Hotu Matua still has another city on the other side of the world.

Poland makes peace with the Vikings and gives away New Orleans. Pathetic.

As you probably noticed, a lot of wars also started this turn. The most notable among them are Córdoba vs. Scotland and Córdoba and Venezuela vs. Nepal.

Japan has captured Astorga, but Rapa Nui still lives on.

Benin captures and razes Inwa, eliminating Alaungpaya of Konbaung in 18th place.

...Oh, how tragic. Benin declares war on Rapa Nui and instantly captures (and razes) Orongo, eliminating Hotu Matua of Rapa Nui in 17th place.

Benin then turns on its next target, Burundi. The Vikings join in to "help," but will more likely lose New Orleans.

But Benin takes Bujumbura so quickly that Cambarantana is unable to take New Orleans. Cambarantana of Burundi is eliminated in 16th place. Side note: Benin has eliminated three civs in the past 6 turns.

Wallachia and Benin decide to assist the Massagetae in finishing off Poland. Could another Beninese elimination be looming?

Córdoba finally makes a breakthrough in its war against Nepal, capturing Pokhara.

Wallachia captures Krakow, exiling Poland to an island off the coast.

And Benin captures and razes Gitega, eliminating Casimir III of Poland in 15th place. Benin eliminated 4 civs in 10 turns, which would be pretty close to an elimination speed record even if carried out by 4 different civs. This is absolutely insane.

Pokhara flips back to Nepal and then to Venezuela!

Benin and Wallachia then team up against their last remaining major competitor on the eastern continent: the Massagetae.

Wallachia quickly takes Warsaw, the city that was stolen from them in the first war against Poland.

Suddenly, Sulu attacks Venezuela! Jamalul Kiram marches northward with a large and advanced army, bcked up by his large but outdated navy.

Wallachia also captures Oxus. Is Vlad going to steal all of Benin's glory here?

Sulu takes Caracas! In round 1, this was the move that propelled them to victory. Could it happen again so soon?

Sulu takes Valencia, and builds the Sistine Chapel to commemorate the occasion.

Sulu continues on to Maracaibo...

And Maracay...

And Barquisimeto...

And finally Jamalul Kiram takes Pokhara, eliminating Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in 14th place. What a campaign!

Japan attacks the Tanguts to finish what was started so long ago. With so many Samurai headed to the front lines, Weiming's days may be numbered.

23 turns later, Japan captures Xinqing, eliminating Weiming Yuanhao of the Tanguts in 13th place.

Japan then attacks Scotland, seeking to rack up more eliminations.

And Edinburgh falls, eliminating James VI of Scotland in 12th place.

The turn 300 stats come slightly late. Japan now has the largest army, while Sulu is second, and Benin third.

Sulu's tech lead has dwindled from four techs to one as Japan, Benin, Leon, and the Massagetae all compete for second place.

And Benin has a huge lead in production, with over 100 more hammers than second place Japan and 160 more than third place Sulu.

Japan takes on one of its toughests foes yet: Córdoba. Abd-ar-Rahman might not look like much, but he has the great wall and a lot of mountains.

Leon decides to finish off Bohemia, which makes sense, since Alfonso can't really touch either of his other neighbours.

Ouch! Córdoba atually starts off on the offensive, capturing Edinburgh.

But soon enough it's safely back in Japanese hands.

Leon actually took Plzen a few turns ago and I didn't notice. Vaclav II of Bohemia is eliminated in 11th place.

Leon declares war on Japan! It's a bold move, but maybe not a smart one.

Alfonso does have backup, but it's from Tomyris, who is devoting all her forces to holding back Wallachia and Benin (with some success).

Apparently Nepal is also at war with Japan, because Prithvi Narayan just captured Xiazhou!

Japan turns its disastrous war with Córdoba into a victory by grabbing Tulaytulah in the peace treaty.

A crack squad of units even manages to capture Leon!

However, Leon flips its capital back and looks to hold it for the time being.

Benin finally makes a little more progress against the Massagetae, capturing Aral.

Then Japan focuses in on Tomyris, taking Hanga Roa!

Time for the turn 400 stats. Benin has risen to the top in military manpower, while Japan, faced with many wars, has fallen to fourth.

Benin has also taken the lead in technologies, while Wallachia moves into second, both surpassing the former leader, Sulu.

And Benin still has the most production, but now the margin is even bigger than before—330 more hammers than Sulu and over 350 more than Japan.

Returning to the action, we see that Sulu is invading Leon! Surprisingly, Leon's army seems to be more advanced, so Jamalul Kiram might face some resistance here.

Benin gets another one hit KO, declaring war on Maurya and taking Pataliputra on the same turn. Ashoka of Maurya is eliminated in 10th place.

Japan continues to eat through the Massagetae, taking Mataveri.

And then Oda captures Jaxartes, eliminating Tomyris of the Massagetae in 9th place.

But this bears serious consequences! Conquering so much territory on the eastern continent does not sit well with Ewuare, who immediately declares war on Japan.

After a long, hard battle, Sulu captures Oviedo and razes it. Congrats.

Benin seizes Jaxartes and Mataveri on the same turn. It seems this Japanese foray into the eastern continent won't last long.

Oda Nobunaga hosts the world's fair, even though Benin has much more production. Nice work.

Leon, still embroiled in a tough war with Sulu, decides that this is the perfect time to attack Japan.

Benin snipes Astorga, however, preventing Alfonso from regaining his long lost city.

And then Sulu takes Prague. It's clear that Alfonso is done for now.

Wallachia and the Vikings join the various wars against Japan! Is Oda's empire going to collapse?

And Benin takes Hanga Roa! The tide has shifted: now the canal belongs to the East!

Sulu captures Leon, leaving Alfonso with only the city in which Vaclav II was eliminated. Ironic.

The Vikings sneak in and capture Xiazhou (at least momentarily). I realize I forgot to take a picture when Japan recaptured it from Nepal some time ago.

Astorga flips, and then it falls to the Vikings. That's a surprise.

But Japan retakes it again, of course. Now, who will take it next?

Leon takes it! For the briefest of moments, Astorga is restored to its original owner!

In a surprise twist, Benin attacks Sulu! The main front seems to be in the straits, where both sides are clashing with large numbers of privateers.

But Talipao, sneakily settled near Washington, was probably the real target. It's already fallen.

Nepal also attacks Sulu, hoping to take advantage of Jamalul Kiram's distraction in order to capture some nearby cities.

But the plan totally backfires, and Sulu captures Kathmandu, eliminating Prithvi Narayan of Nepal in 8th place.

Benin manages to snag another one tile island city before the two sides make peace.

The Vikings agree to make peace with Japan, returning Xiazhou in the peace treaty.

Jamalul Kiram moves to unite his lands by declaring war on Córdoba!

And Córdoba quickly falls, eliminating Abd-ar-Rahman III of Córdoba in 7th place.

And then Sulu declares war on Japan! Oda's troops are slightly more advanced, but the city defense strengths betray the fact that Sulu's tech is actually better.

Jamalul Kiram goes for the weakest spots, starting with Tulaytulah.

Edinburgh falls shortly thereafter!

A few stray units manage to take Xiazhou. Oda really didn't put any effort into defending that.

Time for the slightly late turn 500 stats! Benin still has a decent lead in military manpower over Sulu.

Benin also has the tech lead still, with two more techs than Sulu and Wallachia, whoa re tied for second place.

And Sulu has taken a very narrow lead in production, with just 25 more hammers than Benin.

Meanwhile, the conquest of Japan continues as Sulu takes both Tokyo and Glasgow.

The Vikings join in the war, just for fun I guess.

And then Oda Nobunaga makes peace with Sulu, giving away Astorga, Osaka, Hanga Piko, and Satsuma. Absolutely brutal.

Next, Sulu finally gets around to finishing off Leon.

And Plzen falls, eliminating Alfonso of Leon in 6th place.

Bein attacks Wallachia, the last step in catching up with Sulu in terms of the level of subcontinent domination.

Benin captures Krakow, but Wallachia takes Talipao.

Benin takes Oxus!

And Warsaw! Talipao is also recaptured.

Suddenly, Sulu declares war on Benin! This is problematic for Ewuare.

Indanan is immediately recaptured.

But this won't stop Benin from tearing through Wallachia, capturing Washington.

A stray naval unit also takes Astorga from Sulu!

In a surprise twist, the Vikings capture Kyoto, decapitating Japan.

Benin captures (and razes) Arges, then agrees to peace with Wallachia, receiving (and burning) Campulung in the process.

Now at peace with Sulu, Ewuare attacks his next target, the Vikings, before he's even finished razing Arges and Campulung.

Sulu decides to finish off Japan!

And just like that, Xinqing falls, eliminating Oda Nobunaga of Japan in 5th place.

Benin captures Trondheim, driving the Vikings ever deeper into the extreme north.

Sulu joins the war against the Vikings and instantly captures Kyoto.

And Benin takes Trondheim, leaving the Vikings with one pathetic snow city.

But before Ewuare can finish off Ragnar, Sulu declares war again! Jamalul Kiram instantly captures Astorga and makes a massive push on Hanga Roa.

Hanga Roa falls! The canal is back in the hands of the West!

And then the two sides make peace. Well, that was productive.

This does give Ewuare the time to take Copenhagen, however, eliminating Ragnar of the Vikings in 4th place.

Benin then attacks Wallachia, starting a war that should be over very quickly.

Indeed, Targoviste falls two turns later, eliminating Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia in third place. It's down to just the big two now.

At turn 600, Benin has a slightly larger army than Sulu.

Benin also has four more techs than Sulu does.

And Benin has 276 more hammers. Ewuare seems to have an across-the-board advantage, but will it be enough?

Here's a pic of Benin's core...

...And a pic of Sulu's core for comparison.

Benin wins the international games by a huge margin.

On turn 650 I force war between them, because I was getting bored and both were close to finishing the tech tree.

Immediately, Benin captures Hanga Roa, and it's clear that Ewuare has an advantage on the ground. But the stacks of planes seem to suggest that Sulu has air superiority.

Eight turns later, Hanga Roa still holds, but Sulu has flipped Targoviste.

Benin retakes Targoviste but loses Hanga Roa, then the two sides make peace after fighting for 14 turns. I restart the war.

Sulu takes Mataveri, but it's unlikely to hold.

Benin retakes Mataveri and Hanga Roa.

Sulu takes Copenhagen, but the two sides make peace again. I restart the war, of course.

This time it's Benin flipping Sulu cities, starting with Hanga Piko.

But Sulu retakes the city, along with Hanga Roa.

Benin retakes Hanga Roa, and the two sides make peace yet again. This time I let it stand, because they clearly aren't ready to fight yet.

Turn 700 arrives. Sulu now has the largest Army, but not by a decisive margin.

Both civs have finished the tech tree.

And Benin still leads in production—in fact, by more than before. This is frankly confounding.

Suddenly, on turn 702, Sulu attacks Benin on its own! Hanga Roa is immediately captured!

Targoviste and Mataveri fall, but Jamalul Kiram doesn't have anything with which to back them up.

Benin retakes Targoviste...

...As well as Mataveri and Hanga Roa.

Sulu retakes Hanga Roa and Mataveri and captures Tongkil. But still, neither side appears to have a numerical advantage.

Benin retakes Mataveri and Tongkil but loses Targoviste.

And then Benin retakes Targoviste but loses Mataveri. It's been 22 turns since Sulu declared war, they fought forced war for 31 turns earlier, and yet the only result has been a few border cities flipped. What's more, info addict tells me their armies are now almost exactly the same size. With turn times starting to drag on (thanks Benin), I declared this round a draw.



The score now stands as follows:



Sulu: 1.5

Leon: 1

Benin: 0.5



Sulu has taken the lead, but not by much, and it's early. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with more next weekend!