[Squirrelloid]

@Don re:gem gifts

The problem is that either (1) you are not the #3 nation (certainly not all of those gifting gems to Archae could be), or (2) you are hurting your chances of winning by gifting to the 2nd player (because that's material you're going to need if they 'wipe themselves out'). One might also wonder if two leading nations that late in the game are even capable of wiping one another out such that a nation can come from behind and win - playing for a totally unreasonable expectation isn't very rational. The game is really stacked against come-from-behind wins during late game, because the effect of superior income (in gold and gems) is cumulative, often over a large number of turns. I'm not going to say they don't happen, but I'd be surprised.

(Obviously there are probably games in which there were 3 or 4 competing nations even late in the game, but they certainly aren't going to be gifting to their rivals because they'll take themselves out of competition).