So the first 4 questions I previously asked were a great help in the second game today (in which I was absolutely defeated by a science victory), but I suppose every game delivers new situations and questions. If you could help, that would be great!

1. Provided I have not researched Flight, can my opponent truly blockade my armies with his armies if he surrounds all possible tiles for movement? In other words, if I am in the corner of the map, can he really surround my army with 2 of his armies, thus making it impossible to move through? I would think that realistically, I could sneak my army by (especially in a mountain or forest square)...

2. When are the 4 ancient wonders on the market board refilled (with the Medieval etc. wonders)? I could not find this specifically mentioned in the rule book. We established the medieval wonders replaced the ancient wonders only after all 4 ancient wonders were built.

3. If an enemy army is in my city outskirts, will be prevent me from attaining any production/trade/culture/coins/resources from the square the army is on (i.e. blockading as in Firaxis' Civ V)? If so, would this also apply to buildings?

4. If I wish to build an academy, must I first build a barracks (in other words, must I first build the initial version of a building and then replace it with an upgraded version)? Or can I go ahead and build the upgraded form?

5. Am I missing something with regard to combat, because it seems like particularly in the beginning, battles are simply composed of trumping wars, where I simply play an infantry, only to be killed by an artillery, or my opponent plays a mounted, only to be killed by my infantry (since their strengths are mostly identical). So it seems like there's rarely any wounds?

That's all for now. Thank you!

WC4J said:

I will do my best.

WC4J said:

Your opponent would in this case totally block your movement. Why he would waste 2 armies to block only one of yours is a mystery to me though. It would be more beneficial for him to simply attack and destroy your army. Unless his standing forces are inferior to yours. In which case you should attack and defeat his armies instead. You could also use one of the culture event cards that let you move an enemy figure or move your own figures ( the latter might be a resource effect on a tech, don't quite remember which).

WC4J said:

The FAQ/Errata adresses this in the following way: The following rule was omitted from the rulebook: “After building a wonder, draw a new wonder card from the wonder deck and add it to the market, placing the wonder marker that corresponds to it next to the card.”
The wonder deck is comprised of the four medieval wonders placed randomized on top of the four modern wonders, also randomized (unless the Egyptians are in play, in which case there are only three medieval wonders in the deck from the start since one is drawn to replace the wonder the Egyptians start with).

WC4J said:

Yes. Your enemies armies would block you from getting any and all resources from the specific square (keeping in mind that combat bonuses from barracks, academies and Great Generals do not count as a resource). If the blockading army is accompanied by a scout or the scout alone is blockading, your enemy would also be able to send said resources back to one of his cities (chosen at the start of turn phase).

WC4J said:

You always build the highest "version" that you have unlocked of anything, be it buildings or units, paying the required construction cost. Also, you always automatically upgrade any and all buildings/units already built as soon as you research the tech that provides the upgraded building/unit. This means that it is wiser to build all the buildings/units you want/need before researching the tech that upgrades said unit/building.

Also keep in mind that you do not have to unlock the low-level version of a building to unlock the higher-level version since there are NO prerequisites for ANY level 2 or above tech other than needing any two lower-level techs for it to "stand on".

WC4J said:

Sadly, this is often the case. Especially, as you say, in the earlier turns. I's almost only the luck of the draw that matter early on. Remember though that you do not HAVE to attack an enemy unit with your unit. You always have the option of starting a new front. You can also let your armies travel in pairs since that will allow you to draw more units for each battle.

I believe I made a slight mistake in my response to question 3.

In regards to the military bonuses from barracks/academies/generals: The bonus is denied to the owner of the square but cannot be transported to the blockaders home city.