Welcome back to a rather late edition of Groundhog Day! This round would have come out on Sunday like usual, but my browser crashed when I was 85% done narrating and eliminated all my narration. Today I decided to go back and do it again. Anyway, we go into this part with Great Qing still in the lead with 1.5 points.

The second cities are settled, and some civs have chosen completely new places, most notably Montenegro, Algeria, and Great Britain. The implications of these choices will soon make themselves clear.

The first war breaks out between Montenegro and South Korea! Petar II has a decent army already, and Park Chung-hee barely has one at all, but Seoul isn't easy to take with ancient era tech.

Two more wars break out: Ethiopia vs. Liège and Hejaz vs. Tuscany. The latter of the two is the one I want to focus on, despite the screenshot being of the former.

And that is because Hejaz has captured Pisa! Shortly after this, however, the two sides made peace.

Don't worry, however, because 20 turns after the capture of Pisa, Hejaz attacks Tuscany again!

After 15 turns of bloody conflict, Florence falls, eliminating Lorenzo de Medici of Tuscany in 21st place.

On the other side of the map, the Ilkhanate attacks Bosnia. Because of a sneaky Samoan tile, Tvrtko can't get reinforcements into Vhrbosna, and the city is almost sure to fall.

Sure enough, Ghazan takes the city for himself.

Meanwhile, Hussein bin Ali has concluded an uneventful war with the Cherokee by demanding Tahlequah in the peace treaty. John Ross reluctantly hands over the city, further accelerating Hejaz's rapid rise to power.

Turn 100 flies down from the north pole and delivers stats to our Christmas stockings! Wait, shit, it's not December yet, I can't do that...



Anyway, Hejaz has the largest military, but its neighbour Montenegro is only a few units behind.

There's no clear tech leader yet. I think in the future I'll replace this stat slide at turn 100 with a different one—what do you say? I've already filmed rounds 7 and 8, but after that I'm open to anything. Suggest what stats slide you want to see instead in the comments. (Note that it will still be technologies at all the other rounds of stats.)

And Montenegro has the most production. Hejaz, despite having twice as many cities, lurks four hammers behind.

You might have noticed in the background of the info addict slides that Great Britain declared war on the Cherokee. This has clearly backfired, as John Ross captures Manchester.

Ethiopia builds the Great Wall—as if Liège, one of the only civs that has never held a foreign capital, was somehow a threat.

The Cherokee make peace with Great Britain and gives back Manchester. I have to say, John Ross really ought to be less generous.

Whoops! Apparently I didn't think the war between the Mughals and Algeria was worth screenshotting, but nevertheless, Akbar has captured Oran, and there's no sign of an Algerian counterattack.

Algeria, still at war with Great Britain and maybe the Mughals, now faces another declaration of war from Montenegro. Things really don't look good for Abdelkader.

The Mughals attack Great Qing! Since Cixi often dominates, the fact that someone is declaring war on her early on is a good sign for fans of her opponents.

Ouch, this will be rough. Denmark attacks Liège, and the island colony of Maastricht is already in major trouble.

One turn later, it falls to a perfectly executed classic Danish embarked invasion.

Remember how there weren't even any British units anywhere near Algiers last time I showed you this area? Yeah, that's changed. Great Britain has captured Algiers, eliminating Abdelkader of Algeria in 20th place.

Hejaz attacks Montenegro! it's a bold move, considering hat Tahlequah is practically in Petar's armpit, but it could still pay off.

As the Mughals close in on Peking, the Faroe Islands join in!

But then Akbar pulls out! What a disgrace. Wow. The upside, at least, is that now the Faroe Islands have a chance to take the capital of the civ that has screwed them over time and time again.

Liège attacks Ethiopia, but the real thing I want you to pay attention to in this screenshot is the French attack on Samoa. Don't ask.

Meanwhile, the Faroe Islands have captured Peking! O glorious day! I never thought I'd see this!

Liège signs a rather one-sided peace treaty with Denmark and gives away Tongeren.

Oh no, what's this? Cixi has recovered her capital, and the Faroe Islands don't appear to have any units remaining.

Wow, that's brutal. Hejaz has managed to fight its way through the Montenegrin defense forces and has captured Cetinje!

Montenegro retakes its capital, only to face a declaration of war from Great Britain!

But Hejaz captures Cetinje once again, and this time there's no hope for Montenegro to retake it.

Well, that's disappointing. The Faroe Islands make peace with Great Qing and receive Anqing in the deal, but Cixi gets to keep her capital.

Denmark gets another major windfall, this time from Ethiopia, as Amda Seyon gives away Shire in a peace treaty with Harald Bluetooth. Note that Shire is actually the city with the Great Wall.

And then Hejaz takes Podgorica, eliminating Petar II of Montenegro in 19th place. RIP.

The Faroe Islands suddenly attack the Mughals, which seems like a great way for Tróndur í Gøtu to lose Anqing.

But first, it's time for the turn 200 stats! Unsurprisingly, Hejaz has a significant lead in soldiers, while Great Britain, the Coast Salish, and South Korea are neck in neck in the fight for second.

The Coast Salish have developed a narrow science lead, but since they only lead by one tech, it's hard to say if this reflects the beginning of a larger trend.

And finally, Hejaz of course holds the top spot in production, while Denmark provides some close competition.

Remember what I said earlier? Yes? Good for you, because France has just captured Apia!

The Coast Salish also manage to send an army across the territory of several other civs in order to take Pago Pago. Samoa is now expelled to its island cities.

Sure enough, the Mughals capture Anqing, surprising no one except Tróndur í Gøtu.

Apparently the Salish were also at war with Bosnia, because Seattle just kept right on going and took Bobovac. Tvrtko I of Bosnia is eliminated in 18th place.

Apparently the Mughals were at war with Hejaz, and Akbar somehow managed to take Podgorica. The Mughals seems to be doing pretty well despite having several really horrible cities. (Like, in Gaur they've never even heard of food.)

Suddenly, Calusa and the Faroe islands attack the Mughals! This looks like it'll be a clusterfuck if I ever saw one.

Hejaz retakes Podgorica, ending Hussein bin Ali's brief stint of public humiliation.

The Mughals are also losing out up north, where Calusa has managed to capture Anqing.

Calusa also soon captures Gaur, although Abar has started damaging Muspa.

In fact, the Mughals take Muspa, muddying the waters regarding who is actually winning this war. It's my belief that both sides are losing.

That won't stop Akbar from trying to make it a win, however, as he recaptures Gaur and convinces the Kalinago to join the war.

Liège and South Korea attack Ethiopia! Amda Seyon, having given away the Great Wall to Denmark, is probably in serious trouble.



Side note: every time I try to type the backwards accent " ` " I accidentally hit " ¡ " instead, and have to go back and fix it.

Whoa! The Mughals have so completely turned the tide of this war that they're able to capture Escampaha!

Meanwhile, Hejaz declares war on Great Britain! This will be a tough fight, as Victoria isn't a pushover, but neither is Hussein bin Ali.

Calusa manages to retake its capital and make peace with the Mughals. Still, the damage is done.

And somehow, the Mughals capture Podgorica again.

Suddenly, four civs, including the Mughals, the Ilkhanate, and the Cherokee, declare war on Great Britain! Victoria might have been able to hold off Hejaz, but can she hold off a coalition of her neighbours?

As if that wasn't enough, the Kalinago also join the war. Also visible: Hejaz retakes Podgorica.

The Mughals make peace with the Faroe Islands and give away Gaur. Now, unless Tróndur kills Great Qing, there's no way he can defend that.

Hejaz finally breaks through the British lines and takes Birmingham! Algiers is now cut off from reinforcements and will surely fall as well.

Meanwhile, South Korea captures Tegulet, eliminating Amda Seyon of Ethiopia in 17th place.

As predicted, Hejaz takes Algiers, thanks in part to its new and advanced trebuchets, which can fire a 90kg projectile over 300 meters.

Hussein bin Ali continues his rampage, taking Leeds! Soon London itself might be under threat.

"Under threat," as it turns out, was an understatement. The Ilkhanate has captured London, expelling Victoria to her little snowy island of Manchester.

But don't forget: the Mughals are at war with Hejaz, and Akbar is on the offensive! In fact, Akbar has gone so far as to capture Algiers!

But Hejaz quickly takes it back, and then Great Qing and the Faroe Islands attack the Mughals! Akbar just can't get a break, can he!

As expected, the Faroe Islands immediately lose Gaur. Could Akbar actually end this war better off than he started?

Suddenly, Denmark attacks Liège! Erard de la Marck definitely won't last long under this onslaught!

But first, the turn 300 stats. The Coast Salish have actually surged into the lead in military power by a wide margin, which is a major surprise.

The Salish also maintain their one-tech edge over everyone else.

And Hejaz still leads in production, but their lead is very narrow, with only eight more hammers than #2 Denmark.

And Denmark just got even more production, because Harald Bluetooth has captured Liège! Erard de la Marck of Liège is eliminated in 16th place.

OOH YES! The Faroe Islands once again declare war on Great Qing! And this time, Cixi doesn't stand a chance!

Hejaz attacks the Ilkhanate! I don't even know what to expect out of this; it could go either way.

The Ilkhanate starts off okay by uselessly flipping Birmingham with a naval attack.

As soon as Hejaz retakes Birmingham, the Ilkhanate strikes elsewhere by capturing Leeds. In the background, Samoa and Semien team up against Great Britain.

The Hejaz-Ilkhanate war comes to a disappointing end as Ghazan gives away London in the peace treaty.

Meanwhile, France takes Anqing with a naval attack—although all that's left of the fleet at this point is a single galleon.

Finally, he's done it! Tróndur í Gøtu has captured Peking, eliminating Cixi of Great Qing in 15th place.

18 turns later, France also captures Escampaha, eliminating Caalus of Calusa in 14th place.

But then the Faroe Islands attack France, and it looks like Anqing is almost guaranteed to fall.

Indeed, the Faroe Islands easily capture Anqing after just two turns.

Then the Mughals also attack France, intent on reclaiming Escampaha!

And their operation is successful, as Akbar quickly captures the city.

But suddenly, the Faroe Islands and the Coast Salish team up against the Mughals! Could this finally be what brings down Akbar once and for all?

And then the war escalates even further as the Coast Salish declare war on France! The two civs are practically symbiotic, with their respective territories intertwined around one another, so this could be really destructive.

Surprise motherfuckers! Denmark comes out of nowhere and captures Paris!

The Mughals retake Escampaha from the Salish, only to lose it to the Faroe Islands.

BAM! France retook Paris from Denmark, but then in one fell swoop, the Salish take both Paris and Apia. France is really imploding now.

Denmark takes the island outpost of Marseille; only Lyon remains now...

And the Salish take Lyon, eliminating Napoleon III of France in 13th place.

Denmark and South Korea join the war against the Mughals, as though Akbar needed even more problems.

The Mughals retake Escampaha from the Faroe Islands and then lose it to Denmark.

Then it flips again, this time to the Salish. This city just can't catch a break.

Oh wow, this is chaotic. But the only notable thing here is that the Ilkhanate has declared war on the Kalinago. Note Escampaha back in Mughal hands.

The turn 400 stats are here! Denmark has now overtaken the Salish in military power, while the former #1, Hejaz, languishes in third.

However, the Salish have increased their science lead from one tech to two.

And the Salish have also taken the lead in manufactured goods, surpassing both Denmark and Hejaz. Like in army size, Hejaz has fallen from first into third place.

The Mughal-Salish war finally ends with the ruined shell of Escampaha firmly in Seattle's hands.

Another war ends nearby is the Kalinago give away Wai'tukubuli to the Ilkhanate in exchange for peace.

However, you might recall from a few slides back that the Mughals are at war with the Ilkhanate, and so Akbar captures Wai'tukubuli.



Note that sometime in the past two turns, the Cherokee captured Manchester offscreen, eliminating Victoria of Great Britain in 12th place.

Then the Salish and Ilkhanate team up to finish off the Kalinago! There's no way Kairouane can survive a coalition of this magnitude!

Semien, seeing an opportunity to take Manchester, declares war on the Cherokee. They shouldn't have much trouble taking it, since John Ross barely has a navy to speak of.

Aaaand just like that, the Salish take Camerhogne, eliminating Kairouane of the Kalinago in 11th place.

Hejaz attacks the Mughals again. Is this the beginning of a new anti-Mughal coalition?

It is! The Faroe Islands have joined in as well! "Surely this will be the end of the Mughal Empire," says an increasingly concerned man for the fifth time this round.

The Salish attack Denmark, seeking to get rid of that annoying brown splotch on their northern borders.

But that doesn't stop Denmark from taking Chota shortly after Semien took Manchester. John Ross of the Cherokee is eliminated in 10th place. Note that the Salish-Denmark war is already over...

...And that's because Seattle has already taken Denmark, completing the war's sole objective. Thus, there was no need for it to continue.

Agra flips to the Faroe Islands and back again. I think it's safe to say, this really is it for the Mughals this time.

And it definitely is, as Tróndur secures Agra once and for all.

He quickly moves southward, taking Oran and damaging Muspa.

Muspa also falls, while the Ilkhanate begins to surround Wai'tukubuli. (yes, they're still at war.)

And Ghazan takes Wai'tukubuli, eliminating Akbar of the Mughals in 9th place.

The Salish decide that it's finally time to finish off Samoa. And so, it seems, Samoa will be finished off.

The twin megacities of Tafuna and Nu'uuli both fall, killing millions.

But now, it's time for the slightly late turn 500 stats! The order of the civs in military manpower actually hasn't changed since turn 400.

But the Salish have majorly extended their tech lead, which has jumped from two techs to five.

And although the Salish still lead in production, Hejaz has very nearly caught back up again.



Note that in the background, the Salish have made peace with Samoa, leaving them with one shitty snow island city.

Hejaz decides to put some of its might to good use by attacking Semien. Little does Hussein bin Ali know that he's about to trigger a cascade of war declarations that will embroil almost every remaining civ...



Offscreen, the Ilkhanate takes that snow island city, eliminating Salamasina of Samoa in 8th place.

Mere moments after Hejaz attacks Semien, South Korea declares war on Hejaz!

On the following turn, more civs find themselves caught up in the escalating crisis as Denmark declares war on both Hejaz and the Ilkhanate.

Later that same turn, the Salish decide to side with Denmark and also declare war on the Ilkhanate. two factions are beginning to emerge: Hejaz and the Ilkhanate on one side; Semien, Denmark, South Korea, and the Salish on the other. The Faroe Islands remain neutral.

The Salish immediately take Wai'tukubuli in the first casualty of what I'm going to call the first world war.

Where the Ilkhanate crumbles, Hejaz expands. Hussein bin Ali has captured Ribe, though his hold on the cityis tenuous.

Meanwhile, the Salish continue to slice through the Ilkhanate like a knife through butter, taking Vhrbosna and damaging Maragha.

Hejaz strikes Denmark again, capturing Chota!

But Semien picks up the slack and retakes Chota in Denmark's stead.

Hejaz retakes Chota but loses Ribe. It's beginning to look like the larger coalition has the upper hand.

The Salish continue to tear through the Ilkhanate, capturing Maragha.

South Korea finally takes Podgorica. They should have taken it after like three turns give how much artillery they had stationed nearby, but instead it took 11.

Denmark strikes the first really major blow against Hejaz by capturing Florence. Hussein bin Ali is definitely in big trouble.

In a single move, the Salish take both Tabriz and Shiraz, eliminating Ghazan of the Ilkhanate in 7th place. (The city they took from Samoa was captured offscreen.)

Hejaz flips back Florence, only to lose it to Semien!

Out of nowhere, South Korea captures Mecca itself! This is insane!

The Faroe Islands suddenly decide to abandon their neutral status and declare war on Hejaz. With the Ilkhanate gone, however, the Salish are now the neutral party.

Seattle takes the opportunity to sit back and win the world's fair. But between this slide and the previous one, the world war completely died down as all the combatants decided to make peace.

Shortly after the peace treaty expires, Hejaz declares war on South Korea, determined to recover its capital! And guess what: in the process, he's about to find himself involved in another world war.

Hejaz does indeed manage to retake Mecca, while aircraft conduct destructive bombing raids against Seoul.

We interrupt this broadcast to bring you the turn 600 stats! The Salish are now a force to be reckoned with, fielding over one million soldiers, while the Faroe Islands come in second with 620,000.

The Salish have also expanded their tech lead from five techs to seven.

And they now have more production than the next two best civs combined. I think it's fair to say that the Salish will win unless someone can unite the western lands and carpet up fast.

That doesn't seem likely, however, as the partially crippled Hejaz still managed to go on the offensive against South Korea, capturing Seoul.

Suddenly, the Salish attack the Faroe islands! Tróndur í Gøtu won't be a pushover, but it's undeniable that Seattle has the superior force.

Meanwhile, these two separate wars merge into a second world war, as the Salish and Denmark both attack Hejaz! This is a bold move by Seattle—can he fight two major civs at the same time, covering a front that spans his entire western border?



Also note that South Korea has recaptured both Seoul and Mecca.

Hejaz retakes Mecca as well as Incheon. I find it hilarious that the two civs are just continuously flipping each other's capitals.

Hejaz pushes onward and takes Seoul once again, but Park Chung-hee is poised to strike back...

...And he retakes Mecca but not Seoul. The two civs have now completely swapped capitals!

But Hejaz is beginning to crumble on its eastern front, where the Salish have taken London and badly damaged Algiers.

Algiers and Anqing both falls, while Hejaz retakes Mecca but loses Seoul.

The Salish take Muspa while Seoul flips back and forth in the background...

Semien finally decides to get in on the war and attacks Hejaz. Finally, the conflict involves every civ.

Gaur falls! Slowly but surely, the Faroe Islands are collapsing.

Hejaz and South Korea finally make peace with each civ still in control of its original capital. It would have been a lot funnier if they made peace while the capitals were swapped, but oh well.

Hejaz flips Chota but loses Pisa to Semien. However, Gudit doesn't get a whole lot out of it, as Denmark has stolen most of the tiles near the city.

The Salish take Agra! The Faroese army is definitely running on fumes now.

Guess who just won another international project?

The Salish make a major push, taking Incheon, Oran, and Leeds.

Peking falls two turns later...

...And then the Salish take Birmingham, finally giving them complete control over the inland sea.

Sensing his inevitable defeat, Tróndur í Gøtu gives away Klaksvik in order to make peace with the Coast Salish—only to face a declaration of war from South Korea.

Meanwhile, the partition of Hejaz is nearing its end as the Salish take Cetinje and Denmark takes Medina.

The Salish capture Tahlqueah, but it looks like the kill will belong to either Denmark or Semien.

And Denmark takes Mecca, eliminating Hussein bin Ali of Hejaz in 6th place. What a run he had!

Suddenly, the Salish attack South Korea, capturing Seoul before the ink on the declaration of war is even dry.

Busan falls seven turns later after a period of brutal combat on the isthmus.

At the same time, Denmark finishes what the Salish and South Korea started, capturing Torshavn and eliminating Tróndur í Gøtu of the Faroe Islands in 5th place.

Five turns later, the Salish capture Tegulet, eliminating Park Chung-hee of South Korea in 4th place.

One turn after that, Denmark attacks Semien, seeking to build up as much of a production base as possible for the inevitable Salish attack.

Pisa falls quickly, but Gudit is putting up a pretty good fight.

But then, it's all over. The Salish have declared war on Denmark! Victory is near!

Seattle takes Mecca, Medina, and Torshavn with hardly any resistance at all.

Denmark takes Tegulet, but this is likely to be their only victory in this war.

In fact, Seattle quickly recaptures the city as Harald Bluetooth makes peace with Semien to try to commit everything against the Salish.

But it won't be good enough, as a Salish naval attack sweeps into Masstricht.

Florence also falls, as Tegulet flips repeatedly in the background.

Ribe is captured, even as Denmark retakes Florence.

And then Copenhagen itself falls to the Salish attack! But somehow, Harald still holds Florence.

Aarhus and Viborg are both captured. Amazingly, Florence still stands.

Finally Florence is taken, along with Kaupang and Shire.

And at last, with the fall of Liège and Tongeren, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark is eliminated in third place.

Six turns later, Seattle declares war on Semien to claim the victory once and for all. Pisa has fallen on the first turn of the war.

Four turns later, Chota and Wolleka are captured, while Gondar is under threat.

And then Gondar falls. Seattle of the Coast Salish has won round 6!

Since the Salish also won round 5, that puts them into the lead with 2 victory points, overtaking Great Qing! The score now stands as follows:



The Salish: 2

Great Qing: 1.5

The Mughals: 1

Samoa: 1

Denmark: 0.5



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