What's the slowest you've expanded?

[QuintusSertorius]

We all know about playing the fast game, blitzing your way across the map. This is not that thread, but rather the opposite - about the slowest game you've played.

I pretty much play only migrated-Epeiros campaigns nowadays, trying out various Hellenistic factions that didn't make the original cut in EB1. The most enduring is Pergamon, probably because it only just failed to get in the game in the first place. But the slowest I've done is with the Bosporan Kingdom - I started the game with Pantikapaion and Tanais and spent 15 years - 60 turns - just building my economy and having no army at all, hoping the AI would leave me alone. Given both had stone walls, the Sauromatae did just that, often wandering over, taking a look, then wandering off again. Only then did I take Chersonesos, which I sat on for another 20 turns or so consolidating my gains. I also play in M/M difficulty which helps.

I've got a Pergamon game at around 252BC, but I'm already thinking about going back to an earlier save and doing things more slowly, not moving out of Mysia before 262BC and not taking Nikaia (since it was a rival independent kingdom for most of Pergamon's existence). I think I should also give Krete to KH, rather than keeping hold of it as I did, justifying it as a defector to my little league. I'm already rolling in money with Pergamon alone, after all.

So what's the slowest expansion you've ever managed?

[Gorbag]

I had a Baktrian campaign once upon a time, where in 186BC I still only held Baktra itself. It was absolute hell trying to keep the Saka from over-running my borders, but at least my Pahlavan allies had my back the whole time. Interestingly they did so while making significant inroads into the Seleucids. Sadly I lost that save game...

[QuintusSertorius]

I had a Baktrian campaign once upon a time, where in 186BC I still only held Baktra itself. It was absolute hell trying to keep the Saka from over-running my borders, but at least my Pahlavan allies had my back the whole time. Interestingly they did so while making significant inroads into the Seleucids. Sadly I lost that save game...

That is pretty impressive restraint. I think I'm going to do something similar when I go back to an earlier save in my Pergamon game, try to avoid expanding at all for a goodly long while.

[Sint]

That is pretty impressive restraint. I think I'm going to do something similar when I go back to an earlier save in my Pergamon game, try to avoid expanding at all for a goodly long while.

I had a simliar campaign and it had nothing to do with restraint the Seleucids,Saka ,Phartians just send stack after stack and I couldn't expand.

[Glaive]

I had a Baktrian campaign once upon a time, where in 186BC I still only held Baktra itself. It was absolute hell trying to keep the Saka from over-running my borders, but at least my Pahlavan allies had my back the whole time. Interestingly they did so while making significant inroads into the Seleucids. Sadly I lost that save game...

Baktria can be slow and difficult, still one of my favourite factions - dat unit roster!

One time I was stuck with just two provinces for god knows how long, just Baktria and the one to the east. The distances to other provinces and crappy roads made things difficult (even though I use the Mega Mod pack, which increases unit travel per turn); I'd send out an army to attack, but then one of my two settlements would be put under siege so I'd have to turn round, fight off the enemy, refit my troops then head out again. Only for the Selucids to attack again. Repeat.

[seleucid empire]

I had a Saba campaign where I didn't do anything till I built the level 2 mines in most of the cities I could get them which was like 210 bc. After that I sent 3 stacks of troops which took Egypt then got ripped apart by full stacks of carthies. I really dislike the Carthaginian obsession with Kyrene in every single game I play

[QuintusSertorius]

In my new, slower Pergamon game, I've still got just Mysia in 259BC. Just concluded a war with the Seleukids; at the beginning of the game I'd switched Epeiros' default alliance with the Ptolemies to the Seleukids, and they'd ignored me for the longest time. Within a few seasons of breaking the alliance, they attacked. I defeated several armies, took Ipsos and Sardis and destroyed the military infrastructure (barracks and blacksmith), then walked away. While I don't like the impact of destroying barracks on army compositions, I'm not going to be advancing in that direction (or any direction, for that matter) for a long time, so hopefully by the time things kick off again, they'll have rebuilt proper barracks. Plus stops them depleting their local populations in the meantime.

[Samariten]

Its hard to play slow with all factions but a fun challenge : ) that i might undertake . I usually play Roma alot and i take the necessary settlements for the polybian reforms then i sit on my ass waiting until 242 (never tried waiting until 210). Then when i start to plan out my military campigns they go pretty slow forward. For example when conquering a settlement i dont push forward until that settlement have a green smiling face and their own garrision.