Part of the campaign:

In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, "Hello and welcome!" But this isn't The Grand Tour, this is Groundhog Day, and the next installment is finally here. Let's see what happens, shall we?

The second cities are founded, and no one seems to have deviated significantly from past trends. At least Scotland seems to have founded its second city near its capital.

The first war is between Serer and Portugal! This doesn't look like it will be easy fight, however, so it might be one of those first wars that never go anywhere but I include anyway.

Ah, here's a neat war. The Papal States declare war on Polynesia and send a rather formidable army toward Samoa. This definitely could go somewhere.

This war is important even if Madagascar never takes Pliska, because Bulgaria's settler has been sitting there next to Imerina territory for quite a while and now it's about to be killed.

With a little help from the Aztecs (who joined the war offscreen), the Papal States take Samoa!

As so often seems to happen, the Buccaneers attack Tunis early on, taking advantage of Abu Zakariya's decision to settle Kairouan on the other side of the lake.

Bulgaria, having finally founded a second city, gives that city away in a peace treaty with Madagascar. Krum watches helplessly as his gift is burned to the ground.

Portugal, Brazil, and the Papal States all team up against the Aztecs! I remember a previous time when Brazil and the Papal States fought together against the Aztecs—Innocent III did all the work, but both cities were sniped by Brazil. Will this time be different?

Tunis gives away Kairouan to the Buccaneers, who choose to burn the city. Brutal.

Greece, which already has composite bowmen, attacks Milan! Brescia may already be a lost cause for Gian Galeazzo.

Meanwhile, Portugal captures Teotihuacan and razes the city. Is it just me or does this round have more pyromania than we've seen in the past?

Surprising no one, Greece captures Brescia. On to Milan?

And of course, it had to happen—Brazil snipes Tenochtitlan right out from under the nose of the Pope. Montezuma of the Aztecs is eliminated in 21st place.

Poverty Point and the Isle of Man attack Scotland! Robert the Bruce has a respectable army, but Poverty Point has composite bowmen and he doesn't, so he might be in trouble.

The Buccaneers attack Tunis a second time, now presumably with the goal of finishing them off once and for all.

Poverty Point completes the great wall! Sounds like Táhera might be trying to one up her own victory in the previous round by making sure Brazil doesn't get the great wall this time.

Later that same turn, the Buccaneers capture Tunis, eliminating Abu Zakariya of Tunis in 20th place.

The Almohads make peace with Poverty Point and give away Marrakesh, further accelerating Táhera's rise. Could she really be trying to win two rounds in a row?

Scotland gives away Glasgow to the Manx, who burn the city (like so many others this round).

Time for the turn 100 stats! The Netherlands are at the top of the pack, but the Buccaneers are not far behind and Poverty point is edging up into third.

Brazil is producing the most food, which is not surprising given that their lands are almost entirely grassland and jungle.

And Brazil also has the most production, but Poverty Point is only two hammers behind. Could this turn out to be a rematch of round 5, Poverty Point vs. Brazil?

If you saw a few slides back, Greece declared war on Andorra. Andorra is fighting back, however, and has captured Brescia.

The Papal States attack Portugal, but given the state of their respective armies, I'd say this is borderline suicidal. Unless, of course...

...the Pope has some allies. Like the Isle of Man, for example.

After a long and grueling battle, Poverty point finally manages to take Edinburgh, eliminating Robert the Bruce of Scotland in 19th place.

Fresh off his humiliating loss against Andorra, Eleftherios Venizelos decides its time to boost morale by finally killing Milan.

Later that same turn, Polynesia attacks the Papal States, hoping to reverse the capture of Samoa.

Poverty Point finally decides to get rid of the city that's two tiles from their capital and declares war on the Netherlands.

And just like that, Rotterdam is captured. And in the background, crusades are starting like nobody's business.

Madagascar attacks Bulgaria again, and this time Krum might really be screwed.

But he won't be the next to die, because Greece has captured Milan, eliminating Gian Galeazzo of Milan in 18th place.

A few slides back, Brazil attacked the Papal States. That war has really started to go places, as Brazil captures Samoa.

Pliska falls, leaving only Tarnovo, way out on the end of a peninsula.

Portugal captures Benevento; now it's a race to see who gets Rome.

And of course, it's Brazil, masters of having melee units in the right place at the right time, who ultimately take Rome for themselves. Innocent III of the Papal States is eliminated in 17th place.

The Almohads make peace with Turkey and give away Fes, possibly in an attempt to harm Ataturk's empire.

Oh shit! Brazil attacks its mother country Portugal, and it looks like Pombal might be in major trouble...

A horde of units flows over Oieras, and the city is burned to the ground.

Porto soon falls as well, and a heroic attempt by Portugal to capture Rome is squashed easily.

Greece decides it's time for round 2 against Andorra. Maybe they can at least take back Brescia?

The Kulin attack the Dervishes, and for once this seems like it might be a big deal, because Mohammed Hassan has founded Las Anod on the other side of Barere Barere Balug.

Greece retakes Brescia, but a push on Andorra la Vella seems like it's out of the question; the city is simply too well defended.

Andorra ends the war with Greece by giving away Escaldes. If the Buccaneers attack, this city won't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

Serer makes peace with the Manx and for some reason decides it's a good idea to give away Kahone in the treaty.

Meanwhile, the Kulin capture Las Anod. Has William Barak even captured a city in this game before?

Oh, wow, that was fast. Henry Morgan rings Venizelos's doorbell and says "Hi, I'm here to pick up my free city?"

Illiam Dhone declares war on Pombal, possibly in attempt to get Kahone off his hands.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers easily capture Escaldes.

Holy shit! The Kulin actually received a city in a peace treaty! The Dervishes have given away Buuhoodle without much of a fight; the only question now is can William Barak hold it without a land connection?

Madagascar finally manages to beat down the walls of Tarnovo, eliminating Krum of Bulgaria in 16th place.

Polynesia, which has joined the war against Portugal, flexes its muscles by capturing Benevento.

But Portugal still manages to capture Kahone, which will probably be Brazilian before too long.

Madagascar attacks Turkey, which seems like a pretty bad decision considering that Tarnovo is very vulnerable to naval attacks from Ankara.

Poverty Point and the Buccaneers both attack the Kulin! Buuhoodle is in big trouble, but with a larger production base than usual, William Barak might be able to hold Coranderrk for once.

Remember what I said about Tarnovo? Ranavalona clearly didn't.

As Tarnovo flips in the background (with Madagascar attempting to burn the city), Brazil captures Kahone, pushing even deeper into Portugal.

Poverty Point easily captures Buuhoodle, expanding Táhera's already impressive holdings.

The Isle of Man captures Sintra, leaving Portugal with only Lisbon.

At that moment, Polynesia and the Netherlands join the war, both trying to take Lisbon before Brazil or the Isle of Man can get there.

Brazil, having lost interest in Portugal, decides to attack Madagascar as well.

Turkey continues to do the most damage, however, capturing Pliska.

And now it's time for the turn 200 stats. Poverty point now has the largest military, followed by—you guessed it—Brazil.

Brazil leads in technologies with three techs over the four civs tied in #2.

But Poverty Point has a significant production lead, with almost 50% more hammers than Brazil.

Greece joins Poverty Point and the Buccaneers in attacking the Kulin. Las Anod is already taking damage.

And the Netherlands get the kill! With the fall of Lisbon, Pombal of Portugal is eliminated in 15th place.

Brazil takes Mahajanga, but Madagascar is actually putting up a surprisingly tough fight, considering that Brazil is vastly superior to them in every way.

So superior, in fact, that Pedro won't even hesitate in taking on Serer at the same time.

Turkey attacks the Almohads a second time, and although Tinmel is well-defended, Ataturk should be able to push through if he really commits to it.

Greece captures Las Anod and immediately makes peace with the Kulin. For some reason the Dervishes and Andorra decide to declare war on Eleftherios Venizelos in response.

Brazil captures Diakhao, eliminating Ama Joof of Serer in 14th place.

11 turns later, Turkey takes Tinmel, eliminating Abd al-Mu'min of the Almohads in 13th place.

And three turns after that, Greece takes Andorra la Vella, eliminating Roger Bernard III of Andorra in 12th place. T-T-TRIPLE KILL!

The Buccaneers attack the Kulin again, and this time Henry Morgan has a bigger naval advantage, which is usually the decisive factor in whether or not he can capture Coranderrk.

William Barak soon makes Henry Morgan's job easier by giving away Barere Barere Balug and Mooroolbark to Poverty Point. That very same turn, he founds Coolaroo, which is a kickass name if I ever saw one.

Turkey attacks Madagascar again after building citadels all around Toliara. This should be over pretty fast.

But first, the Buccaneers take Coranderrk, leaving the Kulin with only their brand new city of Coolaroo.

Turkey takes Toliara, but it looks set to flip. Somehow, Madagascar is still holding on despite having been at war with Brazil this whole time.

Madagascar retakes Toliara and then immediately makes peace with Brazil, giving away everything except Antananarivo in the peace treaty. Turkey has been effectively cock-blocked.

Poverty Point and Brazil team up on the Netherlands! This is a pretty easy fight for Brazil... or it would be if they'd brought any units. And it would be for Poverty Point too, if it weren't for geography.

Instead, Poverty Point attacks the Manx, hoping to take Castletown and use it as a route to reach Amsterdam.

Indeed, they take Castletown, but instead of keeping it they begin a flip-fest that will last for dozens of turns.

Meanwhile, Brazil has managed to bring an army to the front and has captured Lisbon.

Utrecht soon follows.

Now done with the Netherlands, Pedro turns to Madagascar once again.

And just like that, Antananarivo falls, eliminating Ranavalona I of Madagascar in 11th place.

Suddenly, Greece and Brazil team up against Poverty Point! I have to say, if the other civs want to stop Brazil, this is not the way to do it.

Here's the other front, where Polynesia has captured Sintra from the Isle of Man on the sidelines.

Turkey joins the coalition against Poverty Point! This is definitely shaping up to be a major defeat for Táhera now...

Greece captures Barere Barere Balug and closes in on Mooroolbark.

The Dervishes, Polynesia, and the Kulin join the coalition against Poverty Point. (So did the Buccaneers, off screen.)

Turn 300 roles around, and it's now clear that Brazil has a formidable military lead, with Greece and the Buccaneers very close to each other in second and third.

Brazil also now leads by five technologies, while Greece and Poverty Point are tied in second.

And Poverty Point's hammer count has barely shifted in the past 100 turns, allowing Brazil to overtake them by a huge amount.

Greece takes Mooroolbark, further eroding Poverty Point.

Greece also takes Marrakesh, which gives Eleftherios Venizelos a clear shot on Taleh (the Dervishes are still at war with Greece after all this time).

Turkey manages to break through Táhera's high defense strengths and takes Claiborne.

Greece captures Taleh, eliminating Mohammed Hassan of the Dervishes in 10th place.

Poverty Point and the Buccaneers, who are now at peace, team up on the Manx in the meantime.

Which is an odd decision, considering that Turkey is still advancing, capturing Beau Rivage.

Greece is also now at peace with Poverty Point and uses this break to deal with a much more pressing threat: the Kulin.

But first, the Buccaneers capture Douglas, eliminating Illiam Dhone of the Isle of Man in 9th place.

After an astonishing 19 turns of not capturing Coolaroo, Greece finally eliminates William Barak of the Kulin in 8th place. His last city is burned to the ground.

Then Greece and Brazil team up for round 2 against Poverty Point!

But Táhera seems to be winning, because she's managed to capture Taleh.

But Greece gets it back and then makes peace, ensuring no change.

The Brazil-Greece team then moves to its next target: Turkey.

But that won't stop Turkey from attacking Poverty Point at the same time, along with the Buccaneers and Polynesia.

Turkey actually starts off on the offensive, capturing Marrakesh.

But then Brazil deals a massive blow by taking Pliska.

Greece retakes Marrakesh and Poverty point recaptures Beau Rivage.

Greece then takes Tinmel while Brazil captures Tarnovo.

The Buccaneers, meanwhile, capture Edinburgh with two ships.

Brazil takes Claiborne and advances on Ankara itself.

Greece captures Fes, but then Turkey somehow manages to make peace with both aggressors without giving away any cities.

Greece then attacks Poverty Point alone, and this time it looks like they might make some real progress.

But first, more stats. Brazil's military lead remains huge, while Greece has begun to pull away from the third place Buccaneers.

Brazil still leads in tech, but not by as much, as the Buccaneers have closed their lead to only two techs. Greece remains five techs behind, however.

And Brazil has almost twice as much production as Greece, which is problematic if Venizelos wants to cement himself as Pedro's main competitor.

Greece takes Buuhoodle, but capturing a 60-defense city with crossbowmen and musketmen is nearly impossible, so I'd be surprised if he made any more progress. But Brazil has joined the war again, so maybe I'll eat my words...

Pedro soon lands a significant force and captures Rotterdam.

Greece then makes peace, receiving Beau Rivage and Castletown in the treaty, while Poverty Point pushes the Brazilians back out of Rotterdam.

Some 22 turns later, Greece attacks Poverty Point again. Note that Rotterdam belongs to Brazil, who are no longer at war with Poverty Point.

Táhera, still at war with the Buccaneers, begins by retaking Edinburgh.

But she soon loses the city to... Polynesia?

Greece takes Jaketown, separating Poverty Point and Edinburgh.

Then Táhera makes peace yet again and gives away Edinburgh to Greece. I have to say, the expansion of Greece here has been incredibly. But they really ought to have finished off Poverty Point.

Brazil and Greece then team up on Turkey again.

Brazil takes Ankara as Turkey tries (and fails) to recapture Fes.

And Greece captures Istanbul, eliminating Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey in 7th place.

Brazil then attacks Polynesia without the help of Greece. Not that Pedro needs anyone's help.

Turn 500 arrives, and brings more stats with it. Brazil still has the largest army, but Greece has narrowed the gap somewhat.

Brazil continues to lead the Buccs by two techs but has increased its lead over Greece to seven.

And Greece has increased its hammer count by more than 50%, while Brazil—which still holds a comfortable lead—has only increased it by 17%.

But that number might be about to go up as Brazil tears through Polynesia, capturing Benevento.

Honolulu soon falls as well...

Greece attacks the Netherlands, who are somehow still alive. But Amsterdam is a really tough nut to crack.

Brazil takes Sintra...

And after the fall of Raiatea, Polynesia makes peace and gives away Nuku Hiva, leaving only Tonga.

Greece wins the international games by a significant margin. Interesting.

But then, suddenly, it seems as though it's all about to come crashing down. Pedro, armed with artillery and Pracinhas against Greece's field guns and great war infantry, has declared war on Eleftherios Venizelos!

Just because he can, Pedro decides to fight the Buccaneers at the same time.

The first city to fall is Beau Rivage, which should soon be followed by Istanbul.

Castletown is captured too, as the wave of Pracinhas moves westward.

And indeed, Istanbul is captured.

So is Fes...

And Tinmel...

And Douglas, and Jaketown...

End Edinburgh, although Jaketown has been momentarily recaptured.

Brazil retakes Jaketown but loses Edinburgh to the Buccaneers.

But then Pedro secures both cities and makes peace with Henry Morgan.

Pedro is now free to continue his conques of Greece, which he does, capturing Buuhoodle in the process.

Marrakesh falls as Brazil retakes Buuhoodle.

Taleh is captured by a stray landship...

So is Ioannina...

And then Greece makes peace, giving away Volos, Andorra la Vella, Moorolbark, and Barere Barere Balug. (Larissa and Taleh had already been captured.)

Pedro, now on his final push toward victory, attacks Poverty Point.

On the second turn of the war, the city falls, eliminating Táhera of Poverty Point in 6th place.

Pedro then attacks the Buccaneers, who decide that now is the perfect time to team up with Polynesia against Greece.

Brazil quickly takes Leogane and Corranderrk, while Escaldes flips.

Guess who won the world's fair.



The Netherlands?



No, it wasn't them. Guess again.

Brazil continues its push, taking La Habana.

Greece manages to sneak in on the sidelines to take Escaldes and Leogane.



Sometime between this slide and the previous one, Greece seems to have taken Tonga, eliminating Kamehameha of Polynesia in 5th place. I didn't notice this until much later, so unfortunately there is no screenshot of the kill and I don't know exactly when it happened.

Brazil captures Puerto Cabello and Petit-Goave...

And Tunis...

And Port Royal...

Greece takes Tortuga; Brazil nabs Nassau...

And finally Brazil captures Campeche, eliminating Henry Morgan of the Buccaneers in 4th place.

This is when I finally noticed that Polynesia had been eliminated and took a picture as proof.

A little while after that, Brazil attacks Greece again.

Tonga falls... obviously.

Escaldes soon follows, although Greece has managed to retake Larissa.

And Las Anod and Brescia...

And Adrianoupouli and Milan...

And Rhodes and Larissa...

And Thessaloniki...

And in one turn Brazil takes Athens, Heraklion, and Patras, eliminating Eleftherios Venizelos of Greece in third place.

And before long, Pedro turns against his final foe: the Netherlands.

And just like that, Amsterdam falls, and it's all over. Brazil has won another round, putting them in the lead. But there is plenty of time for another civ to turn this around, so let's see where it goes, shall we?

The score now stands as follows:



Brazil: 2

Polynesia: 1

Poverty Point: 1

Madagascar: 1

Turkey: 1



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