What do you do when a city is captured or game goes wrong?

So I would like everyones opinions of your games. SO i am playing the dutch and i am at the industrial era. I am going for any victory really, I made lots of friends (22 civs), emporer level, world map,and epic level and sitting happy with my 8 cities.

Well, i made a mistake and neglected defense and did not build many units thinking my best buddy aztecs and english wouldnt attack me. The aztecs are first in just about everything with a huge military. Needless to say they both attack me at once. I fended off them for awhile, but eventually it grew to much. Aztecs took two cities in actually brilliant two-pronged attack. Now, i am like do i keep playing, or start over? I really did learn from this game for in the future I know not to neglect defense.

MY question is to everyone, in this situation where things are going bad due to your screw up, but still enjoying the game what would you do? Start over, learn from it, or keep going and try to get your city back? Just makes me mad that i made the mistake.

If you enjoy the game, keep playing. It isn't compulsory to win every time.

I fire up In Game Editor and correct the situation.

For serious though, it's a rare treat when I'm just losing and not getting stomped. I don't mind having to play it out when I'm just barely losing or if I'm caught in a losing (but still fun) war. However, most of the time, if the computer is beating me then they are stomping me into the ground and that's not fun so I either ragequit or cheat my arse off.

I lost my second city early in my previous game, also recaptured it and handed it back off to my second invader for a temporary peace so I could finish National Library and then captured it again, haha. It took all game for that city to recover (tradition start, lost the free monument), but it was a worthwhile sacrifice for keeping my capital productive and I won that game (America, Immortal).

But usually losing a founded city indicates the AI is already more than twice as strong as you and therefore way ahead in tech, hard to catch up with even if they weren't invading you right now.

Depends on the situation.

I play a lot of experiment games - where I have little intention of finishing the game. I play them just to see what will happen if I do something differently (i.e. not "safe") than I usually do. It helps me start to see AI tendencies, which is good for determining what I can and can't get away with. I usually do this on Immortal, with the data to be used in my Deity games.

When doing that, I'll usually quit when something goes terribly wrong. Sometimes, I'll play it out to see what happens.

When I'm playing a "serious" game, I almost always play it out.

I don't play mainly to win anyway. But I will sometimes keep going even if things are going badly.

I was playing a multilplayer game with my brother and made some mistakes. I was having economic problems and was probably behind at least some civs in tech. I was also on a continent with three AI order civs, and all of them were attacking me at one point or the other. After a long and desperately fought siege I manage to capture a city from Germany and I think that was the end of that particular war. But Austria was attacking me from the other side, and had taken my city of Canterbury. After another long drawn out battle fighting against powerful Austria, I managed to retake my city after it changed hands several times. Then my navy, mostly consisting of out-dated frigates and ships of the line, managed to take an Austrian city and I gave it back to them in exchange for peace.

So, even when things look bad, you can still recover sometimes.

I almost always quit and start over. But with that many cities and that kind of game, I'd probably keep playing with vengeance in my mind. I learned not to neglect defense. I almost bit it last night when getting triple DOW'd by my neighbors... but I held my cities and Destroyed them later.

Yeah, it is fun, i learned that even though you might try to be peaceful it doesnt always work. Being dutch i wanted a power economic power house. So i made alliances with alot, and DOF's, thinking i wouldnt be betrayed. But, good ole monty and Elizabeth banged me.

After thinking about it, I realize that being behind and struggling to win wars is actually fun, and better than dominating, but I have to be smart about it.

On another game, same map, 22 civs, world map large, emperor, with austria I am totally dominating the ai. I have close to 20 cities and just been a cake walk for me. Nobody wants to really attack me, so i am not struggling.

After reading the replies I see I am not the only one who gets cities captured sometimes. It might take awhile, but i am gonna eventually get those cities back!

Yeah losing cities is just a temporary setback especially if you have veteran units left to continue the fight and a humming economy. I like setbacks and AI making it difficult and love to play it out to bitter end. Comebacks are especially sweet if I can pull them off.

I usually play on unless it's obvious that that city capture was the beginning of the end. In my experience, the AI is about twice as bad as holding onto my cities when I make my moves to reclaim as they are at taking them in the first place. The real annoying part is that I have to waste turns rebuilding stuff.

I used to rage quit . You build a nice city . Get some nice population etc . Now I play through usually . I think of it like this . YOU DONE DID IT NOW . Now I shall make this whole continent pay for your misdeeds . I learn from it and use it next name . And make them PAY this game . Oh sorry

Never trust Aztecs and you add in the English it is the kiss of death I keep playing though but sometimes I might so mad and quit.