Part of the campaign:

Hey everyone, we're back again for the first (and potentially last) Mk. 8 tiebreaker round! Right now we're facing a two way tie between Polynesia and Brazil, but that doesn't mean that one of them will necessarily win. With the tie currently at two points, whoever reaches 3 first will be crowned the winner.

The second cities are founded, and we have a lot of new locations, particularly from the Netherlands, Serer, the Manx, the Aztecs, the Papal States, and Brazil. And that's just on this slide!

The first war breaks out on turn 33, and guess what—it's a coalition against Polynesia! Kamehameha has founded four cities and built almost no units, so he really should have seen this coming.

Another coalition forms, only this time its target is Madagascar. Brazil might have made a strategic error, seeing as Tlatelolco prevents Pedro from reinforcing Sao Paulo.

The Papal States join the coalition against Polynesia! This could be very damaging for one of our two favourites to win.

Tunis declares war on the Buccaneers and floods Nassau with a huge army! Is Abu Zakariya looking to repeat his startling round 10 performance?

Holy shit, what's this? Yes, Scotland has declared war on Poverty Point and is invading Jaketown! I know it's April Fool's day, but this is actually happening for real, and I really don't know what to say.

Tunis takes Nassau, but without a strong navy, it seems unlikely that Abu Zakariya will be able to push to Port Royal.

Scotland captures Jaketown! What is this madness!?

Polynesia makes peace with the Papal States and gives away Samoa. Ouch.

And Kamehameha gives away Nuku Hiva to Portugal, and Pombal burns the city. I have to say, Kamehameha is being way too generous here.

In another surprise turning of the tables, the Kulin declare war on the Buccaneers and seem poised to do some actual damage!

Meanwhile, after a battle that lasted way too long, Madagascar captures Sao Paulo from Brazil.

William Barak takes the easy way out and gets Tortuga in the peace treaty.

After the previous war between Scotland and Poverty Point, Táhera actually gave away Claiborne! Another war between the two civs is also starting, but there are like four of these wars between Scotland and Poverty Point where Robert the Bruce fails to finish his foe, so I probably won't show it again. Also of note: the Almohads have declared war on Turkey.

Greece attacks a divided Milan, and there's almost no way for Gian Galeazzo to defend Brescia.

Oh, I actually did show this front again, because Scotland damaged Poverty Point but decided to peace out. Pathetic.

Abd al-Mu'min marches into Ankara! Seems like the Almohads' opportunistic early settlement has opened up all kinds of new possibilities for them.

Madagascar makes peace with the Aztecs and gives away Sao Paulo. Hilarious.

Greece takes Brescia, surprising... well, no one really.

Turn one hundred rolls around and apparently The Isle of Man has the largest army already. That's a new one.

The Aztecs have the highest crop yield, followed fairly closely by Scotland.

And Poverty Point has the most production despite having only one city. Scotland is third.

Nothing happens for 20 turns, until Tunis captures Port Royal, eliminating Henry Morgan of the Buccaneers in 21st place. Whoever thought we'd see the day when the Buccs finished last!

Scotland builds the great wall! Unbelievable!

And Greece captures Milan, eliminating Gian Galeazzo of Milan in 20th place.

The Netherlands attack Scotland! Let's see how that great wall holds up, shall we?

Greece soon moves on to another target: the Dervishes, who have for some reason settled straight into the middle of the subcontinent.

The Netherlands inflict their first blow against Scotland, capturing Claiborne.

Greece takes Las Anod! Eleftherios Venizelos is on a roll!

In a surprise turn of events, Scotland... captures Amsterdam? Yeah, I made a really good move posting this round on April Fool's day. No one will believe me.

Brazil and Portugal declare war on Serer. Kahone is safe, but Ama Joof might struggle to secure his capital.

The Netherlands make peace with Scotland and give away Rotterdam. Absolutely incredible.

At some point, Polynesia gave away Nuke Hiva 2 to Portugal, and I didn't notice. Oops.

Portugal captures Diakhao! This is the first time in a while that Portugal has even held a foreign capital.

Madagascar and the Almohads team up against a heavily carpeted Bulgaria. I'm inclined to say that no progress will be made but I must have included this screenshot for a reason, so we'll see I guess.

Anyway, it's turn 200, and that means more stats. The Aztecs have the largest army by a significant margin.

There's no clear leader yet in technologies, and the Papal States and Aztecs hold a tenuous one-tech lead over everyone else.

Amazingly, Scotland has the most production! Are we witnessing the birth of something great?

The Manx declare war on Portugal, triggering another battle that doesn't look like it has any clear favourite.

Oh, here's a one-sided war finally. The Almohads have declared war on Turkey, and Ataturk simply doesn't stand a chance.

Illiam Dhone ends his war against Portugal by giving away Castletown. Absolutely pathetic.

And Bulgaria gives its 21-pop second city to the Almohads in a peace treaty, and Abd al-Mu'min razes the city! Oh god, my eyes! Why!

The Manx, seeking an easier target, attack Serer. Watch Illiam Dhone give away a city to Ama Joof too...

In a war with Polynesia, it appears that Scotland has captured Raiatea. Interesting.

And the Almohads capture Istanbul, eliminating Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 19th place.

The Papal States attack Polynesia again, only this time... BOTH sides have much more advanced armies. Well, let's see what happens.

Aha, the war may be decided already, as Portugal joins on the side of the Papal States!

The Manx successfully capture Kahone, eliminating Ama Joof of Serer in 18th place.

The Almohads attack Bulgaria again. Would have been easier if they'd kept Preslav...

The Papal States capture Tonga and close in on Honolulu!

With a little last-minute help from Madagascar, the Almohads capture Pliska, eliminating Krum of Bulgaria in 17th place.

And one turn later, the Papal States capture Honolulu, eliminating Kamehameha of Polynesia in 16th place.

Immediately, the two allies have a falling out and Portugal declares war on the Papal States! Also, it looks really weird seeing this corner of the map with only light white-ish colours.

Portugal captures and razes Tonga, while there seem to be an awful lot of Portuguese units approaching Samoa.

Portugal also captures Honolulu! The Papal States have crossbows now, but it doesn't look like it will save them.

Pombal makes peace with Innocent III and receives Samoa. This is by far the largest empire Portugal has had in any round.

The Almohads attack the Netherlands, but even though William is in an awkward spot and doesn't have his capital, he does at least have a strong navy that might be tough to break through.

Uh, what's this? No way! Tunis has just waltzed in and captured Honolulu!

But now, the stats call to us once more, for it is turn 300. The Aztecs still have the largest army, but Scotland has risen to second.

Tunis now holds the lead in technologies, but their grasp on the spot is rather tenuous.

And the Almohads have overtaken Scotland in production, but not by much.

Right, let's got on with it. Abd al-Mu'min further increases his production lead by capturing Claiborne from the Netherlands.

Tunis continues its surprise overseas rampage, taking Nuku Hiva!

The Manx and the Aztecs join the war against Portugal as Tunis brings Lisbon to red!

And Tunis takes Lisbon! Absolutely incredible!

Greece attacks the Dervishes again, joining the Kulin, who are already trying to push through the rough terrain to Buuhoodle.

The Manx begin their revenge tour against Portugal by recapturing Castletown. Lisbon, however, is back in Portuguese hands and Tunis sees to have run out of melee units.

Greece takes Buuhoodle, swarming into Dervish territory with an overwhelming force!

The Manx continue on to Oieras and surround Lisbon.

And Illiam Dhone has captured Lisbon! Praise be!

However, Tunis does manage to take Samoa, securing all of former Polynesia. Somehow.

The Manx capture Sintra; Portugal is down to two cities now!

And Greece snipes Taleh from the Kulin, eliminating Mohammad Hassan of the Dervishes in 15th place.

The Aztecs take Diakhao, their first (and probably last) city capture in the Partition of Portugal.

Suddenly, the Aztecs attack Brazil, swarming toward Rio de Janeiro from both the north and south! It was Pedro's mistake not clearing out those southern Aztec colonies while they were still weak...

Four civs attack Scotland, including Tunis, Poverty Point, and the Netherlands!

The Aztecs quickly overwhelm Brazil's paltry navy and capture Brasilia.

And then both Rio de Janairo and Salvador fall on the same turn! Holy fucking shit! Pedro II of Brazil is eliminated in 14th place. This means that both of the civs tied for victory have been eliminated, giving someone else a chance to get a win under their belt or even turn this into a three-way tie.

Apparently Tunis is at war with the Manx, because Abu Zakariya just captured Lisbon from Illiam Dhone. Surprise!

Scotland also suffers a rather embarrassing blow as the Netherlands recapture Rotterdam.

A Tunisian fleet moves eastward, storming Raiatea and approach the coast of the Scottish mainland!

The Manx have recaptured Lisbon, and it seems secure for now.

But then Tunis takes it back and declares war on Portugal again.

Time for the turn 400 stats! Surprise surprise, the Aztecs still lead in military. Greece has risen to second while Scotland has fallen all the way to 10th.

The Aztecs have also overtaken Tunis in technologies by a single tech.

And of course the Aztecs lead in production. Scotland has fallen to 5th.

We're back, and now the Papal States have declared war on Portugal! Never mind that Innocent III barely has any land attached to his cities!

Scotland makes peace with Tunis and gives away Stirling and Jaketown. ABSOLUTELY HARAM!

Two turns later, Tunis makes peace with the Manx and receives Peel.

And two turns after that, the Papal States capture Porto, eliminating Pombal of Portugal in 13th place. Oh, the irony...

Tunis attacks Andorra, but I must say, this doesn't really look like it will be an easy fight.

Greece attacks the Kulin! Can Eleftherios Venizelos force his way through the tough terrain without artillery?

Holy shit! What a turnaround! Tunis conjures a navy out of nowhere and absolutely smashes Andorra la Vella.

And then Escaldes falls as well, eliminating Roger Bernard III of Andorra in 12th place.

Greece captures Barere Barere Balug after a long and bloody siege, but Coranderrk will be even more difficult.

The Manx attack the Papal States, but it's not like Illiam Dhone can claim much even if he takes all their cities!

...Especially since the Aztecs have joined the war, all but ensuring the Papal States die before the Manx can get very far.

In one fell swoop, Montezuma takes both Rome and Benevento!

But the Manx get Porto, eliminating Innocent III of the Papal States in 11th place.

The Almohads attack Madagascar, but this might be a tough fight.

Meanwhile, Tunis declares war on Scotland, which might not be a tough fight.

Indeed, Edinburgh falls pretty quickly.

Glasgow soon follows.

After a long period of bloody trench warfare, the Almohads manage to break through and capture Toliara.

And Tunis takes Amsterdam, eliminating Robert the Bruce of Scotland in 10th place. Well, he had a good run... RIP.

Tunis then declares war on Poverty Point. Note that Abu Zakariya has three well-established sections of his empire that aren't connected by land!

As Toliara flips endlessly, the Aztecs take Madagascar's side and declare war on the Almohads!

But first, the turn 500 stats. Guess who still leads in soldiers! But Tunis is catching up, so that's something.

Tunis remains one tech behind the Aztecs.

But in a remarkable turnaround, Tunis has overtaken the Aztecs in production by a significant margin! This game is definitely still competitive!

Tunis expands its lead by capturing Poverty Point, eliminating Táhera of Poverty Point in 9th place.

After an indescribably lengthy and bloody battle, Greece finally takes Coranderrk. I have to say, Eleftherios Venizelos is really committed.

The Aztecs take Toliara after it flips to the Almohads, cutting off Madagascar from its enemy.

But the Almohads take it back and make peace with Madagascar!

However, the Aztecs soon sweep in with their superior forces and take Pliska.

Toliara soon follows.

Oh shit! Tunis attacks Greece, kicking off a showdown for the subcontinent! However, it's not clear who actually has the upper hand here.

Greece starts off on the offensive, taking Escaldes!

Meanwhile, the Aztecs capture Istanbul...

Tunis strikes back, capturing Coranderrk!

Tunis retakes Escaldes and Greece retakes Coranderrk, and the two sides make peace. Eleftherios Venizelos gives away Las Anod in the peace treaty. That was anticlimactic.

Tunis wins the world's fair, but not by a huge margin.

The Almohads make peace with the Aztecs and give away Marrakesh and Claiborne. Mega-ouch.

Tunis wins the international games by a slightly larger margin than they won the world's fair.

Turn 600 arrives, and the Aztecs still have a much larger army than Tunis.

However, Tunis has overtaken the Aztecs in technologies—by one tech.

And Tunis widens its production lead even further.

And it's back to the action, because the Aztecs have declared war on the Almohads again!

Ankara quickly falls...

Tinmel follows!

All of a sudden, the Aztecs declare war on Tunis! The main front is up here, where Abu Zakariya will have trouble concentrating his forces.

As a result, the Aztecs take Samoa and Honolulu.

But the two sides make peace before any other cities change hands. Wow.

Montezuma then turns on the Manx, who have a large if slightly outdated carpet.

Now deploying paratroopers, the Aztecs push through and take Sintra.

Illiam Dhone recovers Sintra but loses Porto.

An Aztecs backdoor squad take Kahone as well.

The Manx recover Kahone but lose Sintra and Oieras.

Lisbon soon falls as well...

And Illiam sues for peace, giving away Castletown in the process (Kahone had already flipped back to the Aztecs).

Tunis declares war on the Kulin and takes Tortuga on the same turn. William Barak of the Kulin is eliminated in 8th place.

Time for the turn 700 stats! Both major militaires have exploded in size, but the Aztecs still hold a lead of about 100,000 soldiers.

Tunis is beginning to pull away in science and is now three techs ahead of the Aztecs.

But the Aztecs are back on top in production and have 340 more hammers than Tunis.

Montezuma decides to conquer some of the only territory that won't give him many more hammers by declaring war on the Almohads.

Four turns later, Fes falls, eliminating Abd al-Mu'min of the Almohads in 7th palce.

The Aztecs pull of a same-turn elimination of their own, declaring war on the Manx and immediately capturing Douglas. Illiam Dhone of the Isle of Man is eliminated in 6th place.

Tunis attempts to invade Greece a second time, but now Eleftherios Venizelos has a paratrooper carpet. Can Abu Zakariya pull this off?

Tunis is facing stiff resistance but does manage to capture Coranderrk.

Greece flips Andorra la Vella but loses Brescia.

Greece retakes Brescia but loses Taleh...

Then Greece pushes back and takes both Taleh and Andorra la Vella.

Tunis takes back both cities, as well as Brescia. Abu Zakariya has an overwhelming numerical advantage now.

Buuhoodle and Thessaloniki fall...

Milan is captured...

And Tunis takes all the remaining Greek cities in a single turn, eliminating Eleftherios Venizelos of Greece in 5th place.

Tunis then turns against a much weaker target: the Netherlands.

Groningen falls as Utrecht is bombed into the red.

Utrecht is also captured; Rotterdam is on the ropes...

And with the fall of Rotterdam, William of the Netherlands is eliminated in 4th place.

Suddenly, Tunis attacks the Aztecs! And I dare say, Tunis has a much larger army now. Could this be the turning point of the entire game?

Here's a naval comparison. The Aztec navy is much larger than its Tunisian counterpart, which could spell trouble for a lot of Abu Zakariya's important cities.

But on land, he is on the offensive, taking Diakhao and surrounding several other important cities.

But the Aztecs strike back, retaking Diakhao and capturing Rotterdam and Groningen!

The Aztecs also take Sfax as Tunis struggles to defend its Polynesian holdings.

But Abu Zakariya not only retakes Groningen and Rotterdam, but captures Douglas as well!

Two turns later, Kahone is also added to the Tunisian empire!

Tunis launches nukes against Lisbon, Rome, and Honolulu. The Aztecs retake Kahone but lose Sfax.

Montezuma retakes Sfax and captures Nuku Hiva, but Samoa has now also been nuked.

Turn 800 stats reveal that Tunis has the largest army, but not by that much. Both civs' armies have dropped to approximately one million men.

Tunis leads in science by five techs.

And Tunis is back on top in production by 180 hammers. This really is close, but Tunis seems to have the upper hand.

But after 24 turns of fighting, the two sides make peace. The Aztecs end in possession of Douglas and Groningen but not Kahone. This is actually a significant loss for Tunis, as they took one Aztec city but lost three of their own cities and a lot of population in the process.

Montezuma decides to deal with this tiny civilization that's been sitting there like an annoying splotch in his eye.

And just like that, Anatananarivo falls, eliminating Ranavalona of Madagascar in third place.

Tunis wins the international space station, but the two sides are still pretty close.

And on turn 850, I declare world war

The Aztecs start off strong, taking Utrecht and Kahone!

Montezuma also takes Tripoli and nukes Brescia.

Tunis captures Tinmel and nukes Claiborne...

But Montezuma cannot be stopped, and he pushes into Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

He also advanced from Tripoli, taking Aryana as well.

And Constantine, the last vestige of Tunis's Polynesian holdings, is also captured.

The Aztecs take Athens and nuke Andorra la Vella.

Tunis strikes back and retakes everything it lost on the subcontinent.

Abu Zakariya also manages to conjure a decent army and recaptures Amsterdam.

But it is not to last, as Montezuma captures both Amsterdam and Utrecht.

But Tunis takes both cities back! Almost everything has been nuked.

The Aztecs take Glasgow and Edinburgh...

And Athens and Heraklion...

Tunis retakes Glasgow and Edinburgh but it's clear Abu Zakariya is losing this war of attrition.

The Aztecs take Glasgow and Poverty point!

Tunis makes peace and gives away its entire west coast except Tunis itself, but I am forced to resume the war. If it wasn't over before (which it probably was) it definitely is now.

Tunis starts by retaking Poverty Point and Athens.

In the east, the Aztecs take Edinburgh and Jaketown.

Brescia is nuked off the map, and the Aztecs retake Athens.

Tunis retakes Nassau and Escaldes but loses Bizerte.

The Aztecs then take Tunis itself, along with Escaldes and Taleh.

Nassau, Tortuga, and Ettadhamen soon follow...

As do Mahdiya, Barere Barere Balug, Buuhoodle, and El Mourouj.

Port Royal, Coranderrk, and Las Anod are captured...

Milan falls...

Thessalonoki is captured and Heraklion is nuked off the map...

And it's over; the Aztecs have won the first tiebreaker round, and in the process have actually made the tie worse!

We now have a three way tie, and the score stands as follows:



Polynesia: 2

Brazil: 2

The Aztecs: 2

Poverty Point: 1

Madagascar: 1

The Buccaneers: 1

Turkey: 1

Tunis: 1



Thank you for reading, and I'll be bringing you the second tiebreaker next weekend!