Specialist Economy attempt 1: Pre-game

And now for something completely different. There's a crazy way to win at Civ4 where your research slider is at 0% for most of the game. All your research comes from scientists. It's called the Specialist Economy and much info on it can be found at the CivFanatics website.

This as totally piqued my interest so I'm going to try it, preferably using the equally intriguing Oracle/Metal Casting/Pyramids Gambit. This gambit aims to get a Forge super-quick, use an Engineer specialist to then get a Great Engineer, use him to build the Pyramids, and then use the Pyramids to get Representation really early. To pull this off requires ridiculous timing and min/maxy sacrifices with Slavery and pre-chopping of forests.

Game settings
Version: Warlords v2.13
Difficulty: Noble
Game Speed: Normal
Map: Continents
Size: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sealevel: Medium
Era: Ancient
Civ: Indian
Leader: Gandhi

To help with micro-managing, I'm also trying out the Civ4lerts mod.

I choose Gandhi because the starting techs are perfect for these strategies. Philosophical appears necessary for a Specialist Economy (SE). I plan on switching Civics a lot to maximize timing of Theocracy/Vassalage benefits for war.

Here's a screenshot of my starting position:


I think that will work. I have lots of 3 Food tiles, lots of Forests, and it appears that I can position my second city on the opposite side of one of those forest clumps.

Here's my initial plan:
1. Research Agriculture
2. Queue & Build Worker
3. Explore
4. Set Worker to prepare gambit
5. Queue & Build Settler

Next post will cover how it all goes...