In 1260 AD I noticed more good news. I may pick up another 2 pts.
In 1290 AD the Holy Crusade for iron begins. That stack has no problems toasting that Persian city. I quickly sign peace in 1325 AD to avoid additional problems.
In 1305 AD it hits the fan again when the Zulu declare war on the Byzantines. Of course, this happens when most of my fleet is still coming back from Persia. The Byzantines get stuck with the cascading dog-pile against them. The Zulu took three cities before I could even get over there. With the inability to give away cities in the variant, it is really going to be hard to rebuild the Byzantine Empire. With the Spanish war over I can begin to shuttle more troops to fight the Zulu. The bad thing is I think I have to slaughter too much of the Zulu empire to stop future attacks. Owning territory on that landmass is terrible, as it would probably result in a war with the Byzantines. War with the Zulu is official in 1360 AD. I had enough troops to slaughter the Zulu threatening the Byzantines. I am very happy when the Byzantines recovered a single city behind the lines. Having the Zulu beat me to Military Tradition makes it even harder. I am much later then typical to that path as I went for normally ignored techs such as Music Theory.
This is the ultimate in stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I just blockade the Zulu they won't stop going after the Byzantines. If I raze all their cities, then I pretty much kill a diplomatic victory from the AI attitude against constant razing. If I capture all the Zulu cities, I will probably find myself at war with the Byzantines. I am happy when the Byzantines sign peace in 1425 AD. This gives me time to build up a force over there that is a serious threat to the Zulu. I get peace with the Zulu in 1435 AD.
I get stuck with a stupid war when the Mongols ally with the Zulu against us. I am lucky and end that war without firing a shot.
This cascades where I am also at war with Persia. I end that with only killing 1 immortal by the island paradise.
The Ottomans join the party against me. I end that war after killing 2 units by island paradise. The AI is getting too obsessed with that city.
This isn't the formula for a diplomatic win.
It hits the fan even worse when Spain declares war on me in 1315 AD. I absolutely didn't want to fight any of the females, and it makes it much tougher to help the Byzantines. Sometimes I really don't understand AI attacks, as I have a strong military vs. Spain. I get out of the Spanish trouble in 1355 AD without touching any Spanish cities, and not too much military loss. This still hurts my changes for them voting for me.
The game is feels like it is getting flushed down the toilet when Spain starts another war again Egypt in 1380 AD. With everything that is happening, I am becoming convinced the game was designed to really screw your chances of keeping all 4 of the women alive.
Well I get another 10 points. It also breaks the cascade, so I will have no problem snagging Smith's in the capitol. They will really help my economy, and keep it in the number one slot.
The bad news parade continues in 1405 AD when the dying Egyptians declare war on me due to an alliance with the Zulu. This is really going to make it hard for me to keep what could be the final Egypt city alive. The only reason this city even exists is that I sent a settler by ship to form the horse city, and thought I would backfill this spot. I manage to sign peace with Egypt in 1450 AD, but they wasted several precious units trying to get The Island Paradise.
In 1450 AD things are quite and stable again. I still badly need to improve my military, but the women are safe for now. I still have some real problems to deal with including Spain being number one in territory. I can't get the opposition to vote for me with the UN. I know the Zulu will make another attempt at the Byzantines. The Spanish will have there annoying UU that is havoc to defend against.
I make 8 points in 1500 AD by shipping wines and furs to all women. I just hope shipping luxuries to the dying Egypt doesn't ruin my rep. The completion of Smith's at this point really helped, as I can up my research abilities by 10%. I finally form the Babylonian Democracy at this point, as Smith's is no longer in danger.
Earlier in the game I would have instantly said yes. Now I have to say no, as this may be the last city of Egypt.
