[GrantDawg]

Update: My town ended being not so self-sufficient. When I restarted I immediately noticed I was down to two months of food. Had to fool around to get that sorted, then I decided to stay working on the town till I could hit max-size value (Large town I think?). Meanwhile, the AI A-hole keeps eating zones. I wasn't in a position to challenge him militarily, so I also began armoring up my troops and building up my retinue. I claimed two other zones, and he claimed all the others. Eventually, he decide to come after one of my zones. The fight was on, and it was one I barely won.

I have to decide now if I: 1) Build on my second zone. I'm not sure how trading between owned zones work so I need to figure that out. or 2) Restart with my current experience and try to build the town faster and do a better job preventing the AI growth. IDK if I can really. He pops 4 units with 36 men that seem to be pretty well armed. I do think I will try to not do just spear units early, but start with one spear and then switch to either Polearm or footman. Trying to find a way to afford mail early is important as well.

Anyway, I am seeing a lot of replay value in this even early. I haven't even touched farming yet. I just barely scratch the surface with sheep-yarn-cloaks.