last updated by cracker – February 8, 2003

Each month in the Civ3 GOTM and QSC games, a number of well played games emerge from the pack to present some very innovative, informative, and entertaining results. In January’s Gotm15 game, with Russia against an expansive forest covered world, we were treated to a unique variation of the One City Challenge concept where Charis basically proves to us all that we can smack the AI into blithering submission even if we have only one city to work with.

It is fitting that this game should be presented as one of our first examples of a spotlight game to help players who may not normally play the GOTM games to get a better feel for the excitement, challenge, and learning experiences that can be found by playing and enjoying the Civ3 GOTM games.

To help you enjoy the game and follow along with some of Charis' exploits, you may read the summary below and then directly access some of Charis' original comments from the Civ3 GOTM discussion forums by using the menu links shown on the right hand side of this page.

Download a GamePack to take close look at this game (508kb)
Gamepack includes:
Text Timeline of moves up to 1000 BC
Civ3 save file from 1000 BC (can be loaded into C3v1.29 or PTW to view)
Civ3 save file from 10 AD
Civ3 save file from 1958 AD (just before victory so you can view the replay)

You may also download the original Gotm15-Russia starting game position and play along with Charis to see if you can duplicate the opening move sequences.

Game Summary
text contributed by Charis

One city challenges are peaceful, quiet builder games where you hope the AI doesn't notice you and lets you live long enough for a diplomatic, cultural or space victory, right?

What if you felt like conquest, how far could you go? What if you didn't let the other civs push you around just because you only had one city?

That's what I wanted to find out in GOTM-15. It's a modified OCC, one city at-end-of-turn, allowing flips and peace concessions, abandoning cities the very same turn we get them, for the sole purpose of allowing an army.

My 'hope', before learning how **huge** our continent was, was to take on each rival in turn, cripple them, and go back around and wipe each one out of the game. Then with the Great Library, enter a deep isolationist mode, then when the other rivals found on my continent, continually beat them back off the continent. An 'ideal' win would have seen 20K victory but with precisely one city on my continent... Moscow!!!

The bloodshed actually begins when a German archer ambushes Moscow, putting our spear in the red. One hp from defeat! Around thirty turns later and the Germans are crippled, and they are down to one city.

China plays tough demanding tribute. We refuse, have war declared on us, and clean their clocks. Next the Zulus meet our wrath, but the continent is just too big to reach before they are too powerful. China grows back like a weed and we must beat them down again to claim our rightful horses. Thus Cleo is destined to engulf the continent.

A total of 11 wars are fought, winning a total of 9 plus two near draws. We ended up with two leaders, used to make armies using tribute - one of swordsmen and the other left unfilled at game's end, 9 turns short of Synthetic Fibers. The armies made no difference in the game, and the Heroic Epic didn't do much for generating more leaders (with a militaristic civ and earlier UU, lookout!) At game end we're the second most powerful army in the world, but landlocked with no chance for a military win - 20K culture victory in 1958AD.

Quote from Charis' in response to finding out that this game would be used for Spotlight Status:

"Well thank you!!!   I'm glad you liked the game, it was fun. I couldn't help being sad that I couldn't take out Egypt, but was glad to see I could have fended off any attack even at the end.