Test-Chile
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Test-Chile Strategy Report
Final Standings
| Rank | Civilization | Score (T150) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnam | 1,413 |
| 2 | Chile | 1,408 |
| 3 | Iroquois | 1,286 |
| 4 | Bolivia | 1,220 |
Outcome: Game in progress. Vietnam holds the lead at turn 150 (out of 330), having overtaken Chile on the score leaderboard at turn 136. No victory condition has been triggered yet.
Per-Player Strategic Verdict
Vietnam is the current leader and the strongest civilization in the game when all metrics are weighed together. Playing Liberty into Piety, Vietnam expanded to 9 cities by turn 150, matching Chile's tech count (38) at a higher city count — a significant achievement given that its techcostmultiplier of 1.4 is considerably steeper than Chile's 1.1. Vietnam founded Protestantism first (turn 64), built a solid wonder portfolio (Temple of Artemis, Great Wall, Borobudur, Colossus), and has achieved the game's highest military might (2,567 at T150), recently surging past all competitors. The successful counter-attack on Chile at turn 140 demonstrated its military potency. Vietnam's population lead (72 vs. Chile's 57) and positive gold-per-turn (+11.09) give it a sound economic footing despite slight happiness problems. It entered the Industrial Era at turn 141, slightly behind Chile's Modern Era entry, but its broader empire and military dominance make it the overall frontrunner.
Chile (the human player, dysk) has been the most technologically advanced and culturally prolific civilization throughout most of the game. Playing tall Tradition with only 3 cities, Chile maintained a techcostmultiplier of just 1.1 throughout — the lowest in the game — allowing 42 techs by T150, more than any rival. Chile achieved an astonishing wonder haul (27 wonders by T150, including Stonehenge, Great Library, Hagia Sophia, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, and many more) and leads in culture (221), faith (76), gold (886 GPT of 211.07), and happiness (54). Chile entered the Modern Era first (turn 140). However, staying at only 3 cities has constrained population growth (57, the lowest among active civs) and absolute science output, and its military (2,853 might) — while respectable — was recently proven insufficient to wound Vietnam in their war (T140–146). Chile lost the score lead at turn 136. The religion, founded as late as turn 149, came far too late to be meaningful. Chile is a genuine contender with extraordinary infrastructure but is now running second.
Iroquois is a solid mid-tier performer who expanded aggressively (10 cities by T150) and maintained competitive military strength (1,736 at T150). However, its tech trajectory has lagged significantly: 36 techs at a 1.45 multiplier puts it behind both Vietnam and Chile in effective technology conversion. Iroquois has never entered the Renaissance Era (still Medieval at turn 128, its latest recorded era entry), and its limited wonder portfolio (only the two national guilds) reflects weaker cultural and scientific infrastructure. Two costly wars against Bolivia — particularly the second (T120–130) in which it lost 4 units to Bolivia's 10 — drained military resources without territorial gain. Iroquois's late religion (Buddhism, founded T111) and lack of a coherent tall-or-wide strategy have left it trailing the leaders despite a large empire.
Bolivia is the weakest of the four civilizations. It has the highest raw military might at T150 (4,415) — notably inflated by wide expansion to 9 cities — but its tech trajectory is deeply concerning: only 29 techs at a 1.4 multiplier, and those techs are skewed toward military and production (Steel, Gunpowder, Chemistry early) while it only belatedly researched Writing (T139), Horseback Riding (T140), Drama (T141), and Philosophy (T144). This military-heavy, technology-neglected path has left Bolivia unable to generate culture, faith, or gold effectively (GPT of -29.57 at T150). Two unsuccessful aggressive wars against Iroquois (gaining nothing while losing units heavily in the second conflict) and a prolonged war against city-state Baku represent wasted military investment. Bolivia's late religion (Catholicism, T125) and low policy count further illustrate its developmental backwardness. Despite having the largest army, it is strategically the most vulnerable.
Key Moments
Chile's early science and score snowball (T55–T75): Chile seized the science lead at turn 55 and maintained a score snowball from T58–T75, rapidly outpacing all rivals in the mid-game. This was enabled by its extremely low tech cost multiplier (1.1 throughout), the Great Library, and tall Tradition play. Chile's score lead over all rivals solidified during this window and appeared unassailable for much of the middle game.
Chile attacks Vietnam (T57–T64): The human player declared war on Vietnam at turn 57, killing one Vietnamese unit while losing none. However, Chile simultaneously found itself at war with Harappa, Bolivia, and Iroquois (all declared T62), creating a dangerous multi-front conflict. The clustered wars at T62–63 produced a major unit loss spike for Chile (3 units on turn 63 alone), draining military resources. No cities were captured by anyone. This diplomatic overextension cost Chile military units at a sensitive moment without strategic reward.
Vietnam founds Protestantism first (T64): Vietnam became the first civilization to found a religion, a turn-64 milestone enabled by its early-game faith generation. This gave Vietnam a long-running religious advantage — a Borobudur (T99) to spread it further — and denied the other civs the top religion slot for decades.
Chile's wonder-building dominance (T39–T150): Chile constructed 27 wonders across its 3 cities, a breathtaking accumulation that includes Stonehenge (T39), Great Lighthouse (T45), Great Library (T61), Chichen Itza (T85), Hagia Sophia (T81), Machu Picchu (T93), Taj Mahal (T124), and Eiffel Tower (T147). This wonder cascade was the single most important driver of Chile's score, culture, gold, and faith and directly reflects the tall-Tradition approach combined with rapid era advancement.
Bolivia's prolonged war against Baku (T92–T113) and failed wars against Iroquois: Bolivia declared war on city-state Baku at T92 and held it for 21 turns, achieving zero cities captured. Two wars against Iroquois (T71–T77, T120–T130) likewise produced no territorial gains while Bolivia lost 16 units total across both conflicts (6 in the first, 10 in the second). These failed military adventures represent the defining squandering of Bolivia's potential — it built the largest army in the game but converted none of that investment into land, and fell further behind technologically as a result.
Vietnam's war on Harappa (T106–T131): Vietnam spent 25 turns attacking city-state Harappa at significant unit cost (losing units at turns 116, 120, 121, 123, 128 — roughly 18 total from spikes), a protracted and costly engagement that yielded no captured cities. Despite this drain, Vietnam emerged with its military intact enough to launch the counter-attack on Chile at T140.
Vietnam counter-attacks Chile (T140–T146) and overtakes in score (T136): Vietnam declared war on Chile at turn 140, killing 3 Chilean units while losing 2. Simultaneously, Vietnam was being attacked by Harappa, Port-au-Prince, and Baku, creating massive unit-loss spikes (7 units on T140, 4 on T141, 3 on T142, 8 on T144). Despite these losses, Vietnam achieved its score overtake of Chile at turn 136 — before the war even started — and peace was made at T146 with no cities changing hands. Vietnam's willingness to fight on four fronts simultaneously and emerge intact demonstrated formidable military resilience.
Chile's modern era entry and religion founding (T140, T149): Chile became the first civilization to enter the Modern Era (T140) and finally founded a religion — Confucianism — at turn 149, very late in the game. Three Great Prophets were used to found and enhance it in a single turn burst, adding Apostolic Palace via Reformation. This is significant primarily as evidence of Chile's cultural infrastructure but arrives too late to have shaped the religious landscape of the game.
Decisive Decisions
Chile's decision to stay at 3 cities throughout: The defining strategic choice of the game. Remaining at 3 cities kept Chile's tech and policy cost multipliers at 1.1/1.2 — by far the lowest — enabling rapid tech progression and affordable policies, but capped its population (57 at T150, lowest among the four), absolute output, and diplomatic weight. It is the reason Chile built more wonders than everyone else combined while still losing the score lead to Vietnam.
Vietnam's Liberty opening into wide expansion: Vietnam's Liberty policy tree allowed early settlers at lower cost, producing 9 cities by T150. Combined with competitive tech conversion (38 techs despite a 1.4 multiplier), this gave Vietnam both breadth and depth. The combination of high population (72), strong military (2,567), and the score lead at T150 validates this approach.
Chile's multi-front war at T57–T69 (attacking Vietnam, Bolivia, and Iroquois simultaneously): Declaring war on Vietnam at T57 and then finding itself at war with Harappa, Bolivia, Iroquois, and Baku by T62–64 was a diplomatic catastrophe. No cities were gained; 2 units were lost to Iroquois alone. The distraction likely delayed wonder construction and settlement in the critical mid-game window.
Bolivia's Honor policy branch and military-first tech path: Bolivia chose Honor at T54 and researched Steel, Gunpowder, and Chemistry before Writing, Philosophy, or Horseback Riding. This produced the biggest army in the game but meant Bolivia never built the infrastructure (science, culture, economy) to compete strategically. The decision to prioritize military power without using it to capture territory was Bolivia's central failure.
Chile's wonder-rush strategy (Stonehenge T39, Great Library T61, Chichen Itza T85): These were decisive turning points that snowballed Chile's faith, science, and culture advantages. The Great Library in particular — providing free techs — helped Chile maintain its technology lead despite having fewer cities than rivals.
Vietnam's first-to-found religion (T64, Protestantism): Getting the first religion gave Vietnam access to the best belief choices and the Borobudur wonder (T99), which spread its faith empire-wide. This faith advantage fed into Vietnam's culture and diplomatic standing across the mid-game.
Bolivia's failed wars against Iroquois (T71–T77, T120–T130): Both wars ended with no cities captured and net unit losses for Bolivia. The second conflict (T120–130), losing 10 units to Iroquois's 4, was particularly damaging and left Bolivia militarily weakened during a key expansion window.
Counterfactuals
For Bolivia: If Bolivia had redirected its military investment toward expanding into weaker neighbors rather than repeatedly attacking Iroquois (who clearly had the defensive advantage in the T120–130 war), it might have secured more territory and resources. More critically, had Bolivia researched Writing and Philosophy before Steel and Gunpowder, it could have built science infrastructure — a National College, libraries, universities — that would have kept it technologically competitive. As it stands, Bolivia at T150 has fewer techs than anyone and no path to catching up.
For Iroquois: Iroquois reached 10 cities — the widest empire — but never converted that into meaningful tech leadership. If Iroquois had prioritized a National College (requiring Education, which it only researched at T118) earlier, its science output at 10 cities could have been formidable. The late Renaissance Era entry (T128) reflects this missed opportunity. Staying out of the costly wars with Bolivia — especially the second — would also have preserved military units for a more productive use.
For Chile: Chile's great weakness is population and the absence of military threat projection. With 3 cities and 57 population at T150, it cannot match Vietnam's raw output in the long run. If Chile had settled a 4th and 5th city in strategically valuable positions (perhaps coastal, to exploit its Great Lighthouse and Exploration policies), it could have meaningfully increased population and military capacity without spiking its multiplier much. Additionally, founding a religion earlier — the infrastructure (Stonehenge T39, faith beliefs available) was there — would have given Chile a religious edge comparable to its technological one. Attacking Vietnam at T57 with nothing to show for it remains the most costly single error of Chile's game.