So for the past eight months or so, I’ve been following Civilization Battle Royale Mk. II on the civbattleroyale subreddit and it has been amazing.  For the unfamiliar, this subreddit follows a huge game of civilization where 61 A.I. civs fight for global domination in a winner-take-all story.  I’ve been following this closely and now, I wanted to release my reaction to the latest part (39) as it has been a doozy.  This article is for all the fans of CBR!

Summary

-The War of Oceania Supremacy explodes across the Pacific Ocean as Vietnam, Australia, Kimberly, and Champa fight tooth and nail. Kimberly and Australia flip many island cities and the infamous Wobbegong Navy is neutered thanks to Kimberly’s smaller, but more modern, navy. Kimberly has lost its Red Fort though and this likely signals a turning point in the war. Now, Australian troops head west towards Kimberly’s core, costal cities.

-War of North American Supremacy continues to be a bloodbath draw with the Inuit having a slight upper hand over Canada and Texas. The Inuit have several times come close to occupying Ottawa’s territory.

-Brazil solidifies itself as the ruler of South America thanks to its amazing invasion into Argentina.

-Israel is eliminated by Armenia making it the 17^th civ to be eliminated.

Lower Half Civs #23-45 (as of Part 38)

This was a bad part for: Sparta, Israel, Argentina, Portugal, Ayyubids

The writing was on the wall by the end of Part 37 that Israel and Argentina were going to have a bad time in Part 38. Sparta was the civ though that had a chance to recover against Sweden and reclaim core cities. This didn’t happen and instead, Sparta lost additional cities in this brutal war. But hey, at least they got Rome? This would be an achievement if it was from any other civ except Portugal. Speaking of which, Portugal lost its final core city to the Buccaneers which really sealed the deal that Portugal would in no way recover. Ayyubids also lost its capital to long-time rival Carthage, which divided the country up into four city states. Woof. Good luck trying to come back from that.

This was a good part for: Armenia, Carthage

Armenia, surprisingly, joins the small list of civs that dealt the killing blow to a civ. Thanks to a free city from the USSR awhile back and now Jerusalem, Armenia looks good but now needs to tech up fast and continue to pick off lesser civs (Ayyubid looks delicious right now). Carthage is also the surprise winner here as it finally became serious of its half-assed war against the Ayyubids and captured its capital, Cairo, effectively splitting the rival nation up into four parts. Although Cairo may flip, Carthage should hold sway over it by the end of the war. Carthage’s tech lead may also spell the end to the Ayyubids in the near future.

Upper Half Civs #1-22 (as of Part 38)

This was a bad part for: Vietnam, Kimberly, Canada+Texas

Really, the suckers in this part are the losers in the Inuit and Australia wars. Poor Vietnam, although your Unique Unit may be a fantastic defensive bonus, it sucks for Battle Royale in that it can’t capture cities and it seems Vietnam hasn’t figured that out yet. Kimberly’s strong fight against Australia finally falters at the end of Part 39 as Australian soldiers head towards important, western coast, core cities. Expect Kimberly to tumble in the rankings—and as a regional power—by the end of the next part. Over in North America, Canada and Texas are having a rough time against the Inuit despite their consistent troop supplies. Although their hardy defenses are something to praise, I have to point out that they aren’t making a strong offense into Inuit territory. Sure, by the end of the war, all three civs may be worse for wear, but the Inuit will still have its core cities unharmed while Canada and Texas’ will probably lose a few. If Canada and Texas want to turn the tide of the war, they better beg to neutral Blackfoot for help.

This was a good part for: Brazil, Boers, Buccaneers, Inuit, Australia, Sweden

Australia and the Inuit may be winning their respective wars but city flips and loss of units is hurting their cause significantly. Out of the two civs, the Inuit is the one that’s probably better off as they still retains their core, and so far unflipped, cities, and they are making decent strides into Canada (and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Inuit managed to capture Ottawa by Part 40). But the civ that has the best progress so far is Brazil as they are waging one of the most efficient wars we have seen since the Boer-Zulu war. Argentina is now reduced to one city that is nestled in the Andes Mountains with barely an army to defend it. At this point, Brazil doesn’t need to take them out but it looks like they’re going for it so good luck there! In Europe, Sweden’s progress has been stellar against Sparta but I worry this may be the end to their expansion. Sparta still has a strong Mediterranean navy fleet that can easily recapture coastal cities. Sweden should peace out soon instead of fighting for pointless coastal cities (hopefully, other civs like Carthage will jump on Sparta, further fueling Sweden’s successes). Finally, Buccaneers wisely peace out in their successful Portugal War and now rebuild towards their next fight, good job Buccaneers!

Although Boers didn’t fight anyone and largely stayed out of the limelight, they still get a shout out for being the first civ to reach the Information Age! This is in relation when other civs are still reaching the Modern Age such as Mexico. The Boers are doing fantastic and we are eager to see them fight their next foe.