anyone else struggle with binge gaming late into night on civ4?

[fishjie]

Hello,
At the start of the year I started playing civ4 again after a decade hiatus. after reading articles here i was able to beat warlords and noble with little problem, and am now making the move up to prince. however the late hours are taking its toll on me. theoretically since civ4 is a turn based game, i can just play a few turns a day and go to bed early. but in reality that is never the case. does anyone play in moderation or is it all just binging?

 

[AcaMetis]

Personally I just play for however long I want, be it twenty minutes or six hours (assuming I've got the time to spend of course), but in terms of playing well it's better to take regular breaks. Take a step back, look at anything, thinks things over, you'll usually see something you missed/remember something you forgot and end up not making as many mistakes.

 

[lymond]

I tend to play in moderation now, but admit that I had some long nights years ago. Civ games are known for this though. There's a reason this site is called Civfanatics..ha

 

[krikav]

Doing things in moderation in general doesn't seem to be my thing at all.
I do tend to stay up later than I want when I'm engulfed in a game that intrigues me.
However, not sure it happens more frequently than say... Youtube-video watching or similar.
And I know for certain that I have better sleep/gaming habits now than I did when I played WoW about a decade ago.
How much of that is due to the difference in game, and how much has to do with personal maturation is difficult to say though.

Do a google image search for "Just one more turn" and see if you can relate. ^_^

One thing that I was abit skeptical about, but did try and think I see abit of improvement from, is that I put some timer on the computer, so that after 2100 I get more red / warm colors.

 

[rah]

The worst thing is playing late into the night and then having issues sleeping because your mind is still in the game playing a few more turns.

 

[fishjie]

One thing that I was abit skeptical about, but did try and think I see abit of improvement from, is that I put some timer on the computer, so that after 2100 I get more red / warm colors.

Hmm I think I need to try that!

 

[6K Man]

Oh hell yes.

There’s no escape. In the early turns I want to play until I get established in my chosen spots. If I’m rushing, I want to play it through to the end. If it’s a Lib race, I want to ensure I get there. There’s always a reason to keep playing. Even when the game has gotten to the Renaissance and things are in hand, it often starts to take a long time per turn (due to map settings and civ size)… so “one more turn” can be a half hour or so.

All the Civ games are that way for me. When my “friend” gave me Civ1 back in 1994, I loaded it up during dinner and then played to 3AM.

 

[earthy]

I'll usually unwind at the end of the night with a drink or two, so that helps control the civ4 binging a bit. I can't play worth a damn once I've had a drink(I stop caring and just speed-run through turns), so knowing that I'm going to screw up my games makes it easy to take a break

 

[shakabrade]

I am in my early 30s, have a family, have a position of responsibility in a high tech company, have a side hustle and when I play Civ 4 or HoMM 3, I totally forget about everything and go to sleep at 5AM. Especially as night is the only time people are not stretching me. So, no, I never developed a moderation mentality, although I am considered to be an adult. Even started balding a bit. There is no hope for the fanatics.

 

[rah]

I get sucked in too, but I just retired.
My problem is that even when I stop and go to sleep, if I played long enough, my mind keeps playing even after I stop.

 

[Quintillus]

Nowadays I'm pretty good with only staying up late playing if it's a time when I can afford to do so. Granted, I tend to always stay up a little later than I should on weeknights (Civ or not), but I don't suddenly realize it's 3 AM anymore.

In 2006, that was a different story. I remember watching the sun come up over the back yard while still playing Civ. Had I taken a decade hiatus and revisited it this winter, it may have been 2006 all over again. And every so often that does happen with a game that is new to me, particularly if it's a Friday or Saturday and I know I can be a bit careless.

The most recent game I stayed up way too late for was Factorio, in January. It was a Saturday night, but even so when a game goes until 8 AM the next day, that's way too late. I'd played before, had an awareness of the hour (at least checking every 90-120 minutes), and knew I had nothing to do on Sunday so I could re-orient my sleep schedule. But my friend hadn't played before. He was in disbelief that it was 8 AM when I convinced him maybe it was time to pause and resume later. Hadn't even noticed the sun starting to make its way through the blinds. So if you find yourself playing too much Civ, try Factorio. It'll probably solve the too-much-Civ problem.

I find I tend to fall asleep well after playing Civ. I'll be thinking about what I want to do in the next session, and then peacefully fall asleep. There probably is a point of too much - I found myself dreaming about conveyor belts when playing Factorio a lot in January - but in general a Civ game is something I can think about while relaxing.

 

[Michkov]

Usually the sun comes up before it gets to be a problem.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Since 2008!

 

[davelisowski]

Just... one... more... turn...

But yes, taking this in moderation is sometimes difficult. I have the clock on in game (not that it stops me from binging).

 

[Donald Duck1]

My problem is that even when I stop and go to sleep, if I played long enough, my mind keeps playing even after I stop.

Same. I have to do something else for 15-30 minutes before going to bed, like playing some shooter, watch an episode of some Netflix series, or browse a bit.

 

[Kaiman]

Yep. Although lately I just get tired enough that I don't always have the brain power to start in the first place (having a kid will eventually do that to you). But once I start, it's tough to stop, b/c all your cities and your plans for tech and civics and diplomatic relationship are almost never all at a good stopping place at once. So then you come back a couple of days and it's like "Dang it what did I plan to do next again ... now I gotta look over the whole map and every city screen and every info screen all over again".