Bradygames Gods & Kings guide is it worth the money?

Guides are a total waste of time and money, except when they come from this site.

Anything you want to learn here is free, and many good players here offer free advice that can take you to the next level.

MadDjinn is not an example I really would use, he is just too good, but still much of what he says stands for games a level or two below Deity anyways.
 
First of all, of course you don't "need" the guide to play the game. You also came to the right place if you need additional information. This forum is top notch, and MadDjinn's videos can be very helpful.

While I utilized both of those things, it's very nice to have the guide around at work or school for my breaks so I can plan strategies and reference, and have the pages in my hands, organized in an entertaining manner. While the guide has a few typos and mistakes, it serves as an awesome alternative to a tablet or laptop at times. You don't use so much electricity with this book, and it can be appropriately taken to many places. Sometimes I just like to sit down with the book and get ideas. :goodjob:
 
I had stopped playing Civ-5 over a year ago, but recently purchased the Brady G & K guide during a business trip. The G & K guide intrigued me and I purchased G & K and played some more Civ-5 as a result of the guide. So for me the guide was worth it and NO I don't work for a marketing department!

I also like the form factor of printed books but this is likely a generational thing (I'm a boomer). I can walk around the house with a book and read it away from the PC. Of course a good tablet with wireless would also offer this but tablets are expensive in AU.

To the OP's question: "is it worth the money?" I believe the value of money varies amongst us. So I don't need the guide to play the game but I have enjoyed the guide and I am happy with my purchase.
 
The writing is generally poor and reading that much Courier New text drive me crazy.

If only it were possible to change font when reading a document on the computer.
 
No game guide book is worth the money - you've got the Internet right here.
 
You can't stand it when people don't agree with you, huh?

Touch a nerve did I, huh?

I can`t stand when people waste money they could`ve saved.

I`ve seen people pay £50 for a game then £20 for the guide immmediately because they`re that addicted to the guide with a game.

£70 to play a game?

Most of it is easily figured out by playing or going online and getting the info FREE.

It`s a con by game publishers to make extra cash.
 
If only it were possible to change font when reading a document on the computer.

The vast majority of guides on GameFAQs, etc. are designed for a specific, fixed-point font. They include diagrams, maps, tables, and ASCII art that don't look right in other fonts.
 
Touch a nerve did I, huh?

I can`t stand when people waste money they could`ve saved.

I`ve seen people pay £50 for a game then £20 for the guide immmediately because they`re that addicted to the guide with a game.

£70 to play a game?

Most of it is easily figured out by playing or going online and getting the info FREE.

It`s a con by game publishers to make extra cash.

What terrible logic!

By your logic, I could have also saved the first £50 and just not bought the game itself. After all, I don't need the game. Games are just a con by the game publishers to make extra cash!

Look, some of us like guides. We like the artwork. We like the portability. We like that published guides tend to be available well before online guides. We like the tables, maps, and diagrams that online guides often imitate (poorly) with text. To us, that £20 isn't wasted.

I haven't purchased the guide for this particular game, so I can't vouch for it. But there are plenty of guides that I have purchased and I've regretted very few of those purchases.

Besides, what free content are you talking about? The outdated, non-G&K stuff that only covers a few civilizations on the War Academy board? The one G&K guide on GameFAQs that gives one user's personal opinion of each civilization? Or do you expect me to sit through 20+ hours of videos to watch MadDjinn play a game and explain a particular strategy for a particular civilization on a particular map? No, thanks. I'll take my published guides any day over that stuff.

(No offense to MadDjinn or any other YouTubers, of course. I have occasionally watched an episode or two!)
 
i used to treat Best Buy like a library in the 90s because there was a really irritating puzzle I couldnt figure out in Myst or Tomb Raider. The internet saved me the time of driving there.

But i've never bought an actual guide. I've seen them at used book stores for $5 and I still didnt want it. for me, they are only good for finding a lever you walked past a million times or finding the secret loot room. otherwise, meh.

i dont judge others for getting them but for the reasons i play games they just arent worth it.

edit: i take that back. i did get a Diablo 2 guide book but it was a gift. so actually, yeah, i still never paid for one.
 
Besides, what free content are you talking about? The outdated, non-G&K stuff that only covers a few civilizations on the War Academy board? The one G&K guide on GameFAQs that gives one user's personal opinion of each civilization? Or do you expect me to sit through 20+ hours of videos to watch MadDjinn play a game and explain a particular strategy for a particular civilization on a particular map? No, thanks. I'll take my published guides any day over that stuff.

You know, I was generally in favor of game guides being a waste of money until the YouTube comment.

I've been trying to figure out how to get Research Agreements to work for me, and I constantly hear the stale "watch the Let's Plays".

Let's plays are LONG. Game Guides categorize and sort information far better than a Let's Play ever would.

Still, Civilization is something of a special case. I still wouldn't pay for a game guide for most other games.
 
The vast majority of guides on GameFAQs, etc. are designed for a specific, fixed-point font.

No. They are designed for any fixed-width font. Obviously, since fixed-width fonts are interchangeable.
 
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