by Brant G, 24 August 2025
Scrambling Africa like an egg at Sunday brunch…
Two episodes ago, we made friends with a lot of city-states. Last time, we made friends with a bunch of civilizations, including some that are pretty irrelevant to us.
Lancerscout
Out lancing and scouting, and running into a mountain. Ow. He’s really not doing much for me, so let’s get him off the payroll.
click images to enlarge
Who Needs a Unit
Antananananana(BATMAN!)rivo seems to need units.
Open The City-State Screen
And offer them a gift of a unit. Much cooler than gold or frankinscence, but not quite as cool as myrrh.
So Long Lancerscout.
We hardly knew ye – because you were out wandering the continent the entire time.
Just Confirming
It is nice that they ask, but yes, I definitely want to.
The Production Queue
One reason I can unload the Lancerscout is that I can now build cavalry units, and the time it would take to get the Lancerscout home to upgrade him, plus the need to cut open-border deals to even get him home, wouldn’t be worth it. I’ve learned to just let go of units – even promoted ones – when they’re outmoded and far from my own territory where I can upgrade them. At some point, there’s just no value-add to keeping a promoted unit when the upgrade cost is too high, or getting promoted into something useless (coughgatlingguncough)
We Know What Portugal Has Been Up To…
And by “up to” I mean… well, you know what I mean (winkwink, nudgenudge)
This is the latest episode in a running playthrough of Civilization 5 from 2K Games; you can find new installments each Sunday
Not Just Any Artist
Yeah, that joke was old last time.
So I’d Rather Build and Promote
Than travel and upgrade. But yeah, I need some infantry to hold the ground with everyone clustering around me.
Need MOAR KULCHER!
We’re going to create a great work, rather than a Golden Age. More culture is good for the Boers.
My Great Work
I think I saw this one once in an episode of Little Einsteins with my kids.
Hey, Not Just Any Engineer
A borderline racist and megalomaniacal engineer with a mean business streak.
What Are We Building?
We’re going to buy the Opera House in Johannesburg. Why?
That’s Why
It’s the last city that needed an Opera House for us to build the Hermitage, which we’re going to put in Bloemfontein.
Bump It Up
To the top of the production queueueueue
And then Hurry Up!
As our engineer zap-finishes the Hermitage. Instant culture!
Caravanin’
With Johannesburg so far north, I can launch caravans to city-states I’d never be able to reach otherwise. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted that city out there.
I Hope They’re Just Passing Thru
I’m not thrilled with all the Portuguese military units passing through the area, and I’m hoping I don’t get stabbed in the back here. It is cool to watch the Brits strand an explorer, though.
Improving My Grabbed Land
I had to go on a spending spree to grab as many land tiles as I could for J-burg. Now I’ve got some workers in town, and it’s time to do something with all that space. Remember, as the Boers, “agriculture” is just another kind of “culture”!
Still Teasing Me
By reporting victory conditions I can’t achieve…
So no shootouts or fistfights this time. Sorry! But we’re making some pretty steady improvements to our realm while keeping a wary eye on the folks around us to not get swallowed whole by one of the other big fish in the area. Come back next time for more!
Civilization 5 AAR – The Scramble for Africa
PART 1 ~ PART 2 ~ PART 3 ~ PART 4 ~ PART 5 ~ PART 6 ~ PART 7 ~ PART 8 ~ PART 9 ~ PART 10 ~ PART 11 ~ PART 13 ~ PART 14 ~ PART 15 ~ PART 16 ~ PART 17
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This is a dumb series of session reports. Unless a person is familiar with the game, none of it makes sense. I’ve occasionally been peeking in since the start.
FWIW, I still play Civ3 (because, since Civ4, the inability of any units to enter or traverse mountain terrain is a game breaker).