[Freeciv] Freeciv: The Weasel's Way

[Susanna Viljanen <susanna.viljanen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Motto: Pen Is Mightier than Sword

Okay, so you are bored to conquer the world, get the monopoly on violence and 
nuke the rest of the world - only to realize your victory points are left 
abysmally low? Any good capitalist will know it isn't the profit but 
maximizing the profit. The true victory is not gained by conquest but by 
maximizing the victory points.

As good old Son Ze realized millennia ago, no state has ever benefited from a 
prolonged war. It will leave you weaker and poorer, the gain will be 
desolation and destruction, and recovery will take ages.  You sure can win by 
conquest and exterminating the other players. What you have gained is a 
devastated planet, horrible losses to yourself and low victory points.

Now this is the weasel's way to win: The game is not won by force but by low 
cunning and high planning. The game is won by getting yourself the most 
economically strongest player, building the space ship, and maximizing your 
population. Now that way you will maximize the victory points and maximize 
the victory. The trick is not to exterminate the other players but to 
neutralize them: isolate, reduce and treate them that they no more form a 
threat to you. It is usually far more clever to render your competitors 
harmless than to destroy them. Milking is more profitable than outright 
slaughter.

My advice are:

1. Avoid war whenever possible. War leaves you weaker and the gains are 
usually poorer than on weasly ways.

2. Ally with anyone stronger; attack those who are weaker.

3. Use diplomacy whenever you can instead of brute force. Make allies with 
other human players. Don't cheat your allies. Friends come and go, enemies 
accumulate - and you don't want your former cheated ally to backstab you when 
you least expect it.

4. Best troop types aren't the strongest, but the cleverest. The most 
cost-effective troops are diplomats and especially spies.

5. Aim for as strong economy as possible. It is money which decides, just as 
in the real world.

6. There is no city wall too high for a donkey carrying a gold chest.

7. It is advisable to reduce your enemies rather than annihilate them and take 
their cities by bribing rather than conquering them. The return of investment 
is far better.

8. It is advisable to reduce your enemies to their capitals (and keep them in 
discipline with guard units) rather than destroy them. Becomes cheaper and 
drains less resources.

9. Being weasel doesn't equal being weak. Keep strong defensive forces and 
have good weapon technology, but use them only when needed.

10. Move your capital on frequent intervals. It keeps the enemy baffled and 
reduces the risk your empire will break up by a sneak attack.

Here is a short Weasel's Way on Freeciv. Needless to say, my heroes are not 
Son Ze nor Clausewitz: my hero is Machiavelli.

1. In the beginning the Despot created The Capital and City. And Earth was 
black and void and the Explorer moved about it.

When you create your first city, check the place carefully but don't go 
procrastinating. An optimal place is a river mouth with two or more whales 
nearby, and preferably with natural resources, such as coal, iron, gold, 
forest, game, shields or bushels. You always should have at least three of 
these assets for your capital.

Your first technology should be military. I prefer either Bronze Working or 
Warrior Code, as they are quickly available and easily developed. You get 
strong defensive forces on both.

Your first city outside Capital should be three squares apart in a suitable 
place. I usually build a road with the Settler along as I go to the place. 
Why three squares? First, visibility. That way they overlap each other as 
little as possible (and eat out each others' resources) and second, troops 
move at triple rate along road. Moving troops to defend your cities in 
distress becomes easier. Third, a road increases trade.

Use your explorer to explore your continent. Be careful with villages, they 
may contain barbarians which will kill your runner. Avoid other players' 
cities, don't go too near them. Avoid enemy troops. Conversely, whenever you 
see an opponent explorer, you should kill it. Thus you deprive the enemy from 
visibility. 

If your military units are Phalanges, Fortify. If they are Archers, Sentry. 
Phalanx is strong in defense and Archer in offense.

2. Like A Cancer the State Grows

Now you have founded the capital and first city and gotten your first military 
technology. Fine.  When you have your first Phalanx or Archer units on your 
cities, fortify them and set the cities producing Settlers. Set your Science 
rate to maximum, and set Republic as the aim. You should now go for Republic 
as quickly as possible.

Send roughly half of your Settlers as metastases - into the most attractive 
places by their natural resources (use the automatic Go utility) and roughly 
half should again build cities within three squares off your former cities 
(and road in-between). You now have the central growth on your state, and 
remote bases where grow again. You should be able to gain 5 to 8 cities in 
very short order that way.

Your aimed technology should now be Republic. Get yourself Writing, Code of 
Laws, Literacy and Alphabet as soon as possible - they enable you to build 
the Great Library wonder.

Once you have 5 to 8 cities and at least one of them has production of at 
least 5, you should build your first Wonder. I prefer Great Library. It 
enables you to get free technologies - about the rate of one per each turn. 
This enables you to move your state resources from Einsteins into taxmen. 
It's money you want, not the toys.

If someone snatches GL before your nose, go for Pyramids. They count as having 
granary in each city, enabling your cities grow far faster than usual.  Some 
wonders are lame, like Colossus, Great Wall or Oracle, which get obsolete 
easily, But this is not to say you should not pursue for them. You can 
accumulate production and switch on a more important wonder once you have 
resources and technology.

At this stage you should go and clear out your continent. As long as you are 
still despotism, and the others are too, you should clear out all the 
competitors and exterminate them. The Swarm of Locusts is a good tactics 
here: produce a horde of cheap troops, like Warriors or Horsemen, and 
overwhelm your enemies by sheer numbers. Don't use Phalanges for attack, and 
Chariots are neigh useless - too vulnerable. If you researched at first 
Warrior Code, Archers provide an effective albeit expensive troop type with 
staying power.

But once you have Diplomats, produce them en masse - and use them. First, send 
them into enemy cities and steal any technologies you can. Remember you can 
steal only one technology in each city. Then, use diplomats to sabotage enemy 
cities and render them less defensible for your troops. Use diplomats to 
undermine the enemy cities, and try bribing. I consider bribing as the best 
way to take a city: you get it whole and you get its population as well, 
along its military units. Excellent return of investment. When you attack 
with a diplomat, you should do it from two squares diagonally. That square is 
off the city's visibility, and the enemy cannot send long range troops 
against you. This is especially good against robots.

If your continent is large, you may just as well keep distance to your enemies 
and not to bother waging war. If you have many robots on your continent, just 
let the robots destroy each other - it is the easiest way. What now matters 
is to build your state strong - not to leave it weak on continuous war.

If one of your cities has been conquered, resist the temptation to attack it 
and retake it by force. Instead bribe it back. Attack will break it and 
reduce its population, perhaps destroying it. Besides, troops are expensive. 
If you bribe it, you get any enemy troops as well - and perhaps a new 
technology along!

3. The Platonic Love on Republic

Now you have secured your state and either cleared out your continent or the 
enemies are too far to threaten you. You have researched Republic and made 
the revolution. Now it is time to make your state strong. It is advisable at 
this stage to concentrate one city on making the preferred wonder.

Rule number 1: Get money. Geld. Fyrk. Greenbacks. Mazuma. Moneta. Valyuta. 
What you really need is money, not toys nor troops. And money you get at this 
stage by maximizing the employment of natural resources. So cities must grow. 
Whenever you build a new city, build it where you get most of the resources. 
The best growth rate is 2 per turn: your cities grow steadily and swiftly, 
but not in uncontrollable manner. Republic is the optimal statehood with good 
balance on income and ability to wage war.

Once you have the maximum of cities your continent can safely bear or some 
15-20 cities, terminate the production of settlers and switch on Temple 
production, providing you have Ceremonial Burial. Temples will keep your 
cities peaceful and enable them to grow steadily. With your remaining 
settlers, build roads and mines. They will enable you to get money and 
production. Never waste your money for Barracks. City walls are a better 
idea. Get yourself Construction, so you can build Colosseums.

Once you have researched Republic, research (or steal) Map Making. This allows 
you to build Triremes and move on sea. Your ultimate research goal should be 
either Gunpowder or Theology.  Gunpowder to get musketeers (and all the 
goodies after that) and Theology to get the "happiness wonders", 
Michelangelo's Chapel and J.S. Bach's Cathedral. Those are a must. They 
enable your cities grow unharmed.

With your triremes, research the shores of your contingent but don't go 
venturing to sea. Move zig-zagging: this enables you to look out for bigger 
chunks of sea.  If you see an island within reach, do island-hopping. If you 
have spare settlers and the island is uninhabited, build a colony.  Expand to 
all islands on your vicinity.

4. Happy Happy Joy Joy

Once you have reached Theology and have secured your empire, it is time to 
build either of the grand happiness wonders - preferably both. Maximize your 
taxation and concentrate all your efforts to get these wonders.  This is a 
must, just like Great Library or Pyramids.

So, you have gotten either - or both - of them. Now it is time for the phase 
known as Happy Happy Joy Joy. Set your taxation to the level where you can 
survive without gong bankrupt, terminate research (if you have Great Library, 
you don't need Einsteins) and set the number of State Elvises to four or 
five. This should set on a general party and your towns will begin to grow on 
decent rate. Aim for "We Love the President Day" in most of your towns - that 
will mean they grow by one each turn. You should have Temple, Colosseum, 
Aqueduct and Sewer system on each city to enable them to grow to maximum.

The intention for Happy Happy Joy Joy is - to maximize your population and 
thus to maximize your production and cash flow. You get points from 
population, thus the larger your population is, the more victory points you 
get. In a Republic or Democracy, the general party is the best way here. Once 
you have gained the population maximum, switch back to taxation and research.

5. The Age of Conquest

Your next goal should be Steam Engine. That allows you to build, not only 
Ironclads, but also non-self-sinking Caravels to carry your Settlers and 
especially Diplomats around. 

Move Settlers to uninhabitated islands and colonize them, just like you did on 
your first continent. All newly built cities should have City Walls and 
Musketeers as they are less co-defensible than those on your main continent.

Needless to say, robots and other players are active at seas as well, and they 
too have their colonies. You should maximize your monetary output now. 
Capture the enemy cities by bribing them. Always use diplomats in pairs or 
triplets: the chances of success are better. Protect your diplomats by moving 
them together with a Musketeer unit.

If your main continent is target to a maritime attack, resist the temptation 
to hit back. Get even. Bribe your cities back. They are cheap and you get 
them whole, unbroken and well armed. The enemy again needs to re-conquer 
them. And each time you capture your cities back, you gain a new technology 
if the enemy has those which you don't have. Pen is again mightier than 
sword.

Your next Wonder should be Magellan's Expedition. It gives you extra speed - 
both to research the world and also to escape your maritime foes. This 
enables you to colonize all the uninhabitated islands.

Once you have Steam Engine, research Explosives. Your settlers turn into 
engineers, which are far more efficient than settlers. You get to transform 
terrain, build mines and employ your resources far faster than anything.

Your aim should be the best technology available - Espionage. If a pen is 
mightier than sword, the ball-point-pen is mightier than tank.  Spies are by 
far the best troops available. They not only allow you to choose which 
technology to steal, but they are not spent if successful, they allow you to 
sabotage the enemy and they basically are diplomats on steroids. I consider a 
spy far better than a nuke. Nukes destroy, spies capture whole.

Get yourself Marco Polo's Embassy, or found as many embassies as you can. You 
gain intelligence on your opponents and you know whom to concentrate and what 
to steal and how the enemies are doing.

6. Reducing your competitors harmless

Once you have spies, now it is time for what I spoke on about reducing your 
competitors. You don't need to destroy them, it is enough you neutralize 
them.

Maximize your money income. Go for Adam Smith's Trading Company - it is the 
money wonder. Maximize your taxation. Build an army of spies, and eat up one 
enemy at time piecemeal. Bribing should be your weapon. Do acquisitions on 
each city. If the city is too expensive, poison it and send in another spy - 
it is cheaper this time. Go for those cities without diplomats first. Only if 
you cannot bribe your enemies, you should take your enemy by force.

Each city taken whole adds your resources and reduces those of your enemy. War 
only reduces the resources of you both. In the end the enemy should only have 
its capital left. Conquering it is usually not a wise idea. Capitals are well 
defended and they are fought to the last man. Conquest is expensive. Far 
better is not to kill the enemy, but not to let it live either. Isolate the 
enemy capital, have a cordon of fortified guard troops to check it, and keep 
its population under 5 by poisoning the city with your spies frequently 
enough. It is just as good as conquest, and you do not need to squander your 
resources in war.

Democracies are a tough nut. They are immune to bribing and diplomatic 
attacks. On the other hands, robots seldom turn democratic. It is usually a 
good idea to ally yourself with human democracies. Democracies don't like 
war: they collapse easily if any of the towns have unrest for more than two 
turns. That is why I favour more republic until the last moment.

Keep strong defensive forces. Keep credible violence potential, but use it 
only defensively. Attack in general becomes costly. Remember the enemy can go 
into bankrupt just as well from too eager warmongering. Bribes work against 
his troops as well.

7. The End of History and The Last Human

In the end you should have all your robot enemies neutralized and reduced 
harmless, and only human players left - and at that stage all are 
democracies, including you yourself. Now it is time for World War - or World 
Peace. Robots should have been all eliminated and/or neutralized at thit 
stage: they are too vulnerable to corruption.

As I mentioned, if you go for World War, you in the end win yourself a 
desolated, barren planet with low score of victory points. If you really want 
to fight, go Communist. But your victory by war will be hollow. Besides, 
Communists are prone to corruption and you may fall prey to spies. Far better 
is to aim for World Peace.

Build yourself as strong defensive forces as you can, don't build attack 
weapons and concentrate your resources to Apollo Program. Concentrate on 
research but be careful not to go bankrupt. Now you will see why I insist 
taking the cities by bribing and not by force. You get far better return of 
investment - and it is those resources you need now. It is time for Space 
Race. Once you have the resources, concentrate your efforts to build the 
spaceship - but be careful of treacherous co-players!

If someone attacks you, whine about it and get allies. Usually, when all 
players are democracies, the human factor and emotions set in, and such 
attacking player is quickly left without friends. He will soon find a bunch 
of new enemies. So co-operation rather than war is a better idea.

It is a good idea to go just like the first expeditioneers. Build a Space 
Caravel - as small ship as possible to fulfill your needs and be fast enough 
to get to Alpha Centauri as quickly as you can.

Once you have launched the spaceship, move your capital! Your enemies will 
attempt to attack it to break your domain into civil war and destroy your 
spaceship. Be prepared for enemy attacks.

At the same time, now it is again time for Happy Happy Joy Joy. Maximize the 
number of both State and City Elvises, and put general party on. At the same 
time watch out for attacks and keep your spies busy. You have usually ten 
years to balloon your cities as large as possible - to gain maximum points. 
Concentrate all your efforts to grow your cities. The best size I have so far 
gained has been 31 for one city.  

If your enemies have launched their spaceships, you have two alternatives. 
Either go Communist and attack the enemy capital - it will break into a civil 
war and perhaps into two competiting empires. Or, put yourself a Happy Happy 
Joy Joy too and try to maximize your victory points. You don't have to reach 
Alpha Centauri first to win - it is enough if you have more victory points.

Once the spaceship has reached Alpha Centauri, the largest civilization wins. 
You don't have to conquer the world: it is enough you have most population, 
least pollution and most money.

        Queen Margaret