Why do we play Civilization?

Lemon Merchant

Lemon Merchant

Not Quite Sonic
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Hi everyone. :)

First of all, this is not a Civ4 vs. Civ5 thread.

I was reminded by a couple of threads recently that I wanted to do a little research on why we play Civ in general. What are the reasons that we play the game? What is it that holds our attention and makes it a pleasant diversion?

To give you a sense of what I mean, I'll share the reasons of a woman we'll call Natasha, whose name has not been changed to protect my identity: :p

"I like the idea of building an empire that I control. I like to explore, and I enjoy the economic challenge of the game. I especially like trying new and different strategies for both war and my economy."

See? That's pretty easy, isn't it?

So, sit back, relax, and tell Dr. Lemon why you like to play Civ.

(I'm not writing an article or doing formal research, so relax. This is purely for self interest.)
 
"I like the idea of building an empire that I control. I like to explore, and I enjoy the economic challenge of the game. I especially like trying new and different strategies for both war and my economy."
Click to expand...

I believe that quote sums it up for majority of Civ players...

For me there's actually 2 ways to play the game:
-Role play type Empire management epic "story telling" game
-Economic optimization game
I enjoy both styles of gameplay.

Other reasons are:
-It's better than television.
-I have nothing better to do :mischief:
 
A harmless way to indulge the megalomaniac aspects of my character.
 
Because I am interested in real world history and like playing games about real world history. And the more I learn about world history the more I like playing games about world history and the more I am getting interested in world history. Sounds almost like lunacy... ;)
And I prefer the Civ series over Europa Universalis or other Paradox titles because the latter is so slow and barebones and serious. And I prefer the Civ series over Total War because the latter is so war focused and also much more limited in its era and location. Civ is (in its niche) a quite straightforward easy-to-get-into hard-to-get-out-off entertaining fun game with clearly defined options and goals, where a lot more real world topics (history, war, business, infrastructure, exploration, interaction with historic characters, etc.) are handled than in any other game genre or series. It's a game where almost anything can happen, the "mother of all games" so to speak... ;)
 
  • Different ways of winning
  • Good replayability factor especially with types of government/economies/civ combinations
  • Personal bias toward strategy games and empire management games
  • Diplomacy tricks
 
I just love the way how empire grows.. from thousand people that live in small village with barbs and other civilizations around... and after many thousands years empire is huge, across all globe with millions of people. but I (leader that never gets old :D ) still remember how hard it was to get this all running.. and that makes this game special... its not just about "kill everybody" (you can win just defending attacks too) but its also about "be proud about what you have done" :) And there will never be the same game... even the same start can lead to different outcome..
 
Both gps and Timsup2nothin have pretty much taken the words out of my mouth
1/ An interest in history which playing the various civ's has enhanced. :scan:
2/ I am evil :mwaha:

Also and I can't believe no-one has said this already...
3/ It's more addictive than chocolate coated crack. :drool:
 
I like making my civilization superior and crushing all inferior countries under my bootheel.
 
I play because it is never the same game twice. To me, that has been the best part of the entire Civ series. (have not played Civ5, and doubt I will after reading the forums.)
 
Timsup2nothin said:
A harmless way to indulge the megalomaniac aspects of my character.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better :lol: There's nothing greater to see your border grow at the expense of others. :D
 
I like exploring new maps. I like finding the perfect city site and building on it. And I like the way an early success can snowball into a big win.
 
elmurcis said:
I just love the way how empire grows.. from thousand people that live in small village with barbs and other civilizations around... and after many thousands years empire is huge, across all globe with millions of people. but I (leader that never gets old :D ) still remember how hard it was to get this all running.. and that makes this game special... its not just about "kill everybody" (you can win just defending attacks too) but its also about "be proud about what you have done" :) And there will never be the same game... even the same start can lead to different outcome..
Click to expand...

This is a good summary of it for me. At a basic level, it's fun, but the empire-building part of it is why it's fun. It can also be fun to re-create an empire in a historical scenario, or to do something drastically different and see what the implications may have been.

The large timescale of Civ and the historical basis are also appealing to me.
 
And where anyone who irritates you is pounded to dust.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
 
I started playing Civ while looking for multiplayer strategy games.
I keep coming back to Civ4 because it is the best game for producing "one more turn syndrome".
 
Real Life cramps my style and I haven't been playing.

I agree with what's already been said, so I'll attempt to find something to add.

Playing Civ can be like creating my own historical fiction, but the random elements make it exciting and different every time, so that not only am I writing a novel, but reading a page-turner at the same time.


I've always found it to be a go to in times of stress, when I didn't have enough control over my life. "If I ran the world... Oh wait, I can!"
 
I love that every game is different, especially the role that the map plays. It gives such good replayability.

Going through the ages and technologies associated with them. Watching my civilization evolve over a long span of time.

Building up my empire from a small village in the early BC's to a large sprawling mass of cities later on just never seems to truly get old.

Good times!
 
I end up treating my games less like "paint the map" and more like SimCity writ large.

Especially when I'm using FfH.
 
As said by others I enjoy watching my empire grow, the economic aspects of the game, the rush when you pull off something like a CS slingshot, and really crushing every other civ on the map into radiation and mere memories.
 
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