31 civs...monarch/emperor +

[MeteorPunch]

I am considering the difficulty level for a SG to start with 31 civs. I imagine 31 civs the trading would be scary if you got behind in tech with the cpu trading with each other at a rapid pace. I've not played any 31 civ games so could anyone comment on difficulty increase...this is on a large map btw 134 x 80, 60% water.

 

[Sparta]

Sorry I can't comment on your specific scenario, but I've played emperor against 15 and didn't find it much/any more difficult than a smaller game myself. I usually research heavily though and try to stay in the lead in techs; it might be quite different for tech buyers for all I know. Good luck on the scenario!

 

[TimBentley]

Check out AG3- Ultra Big Map.

 

[Khan_Asparuh]

I don't know if it's harder with 31 civ, it IS longer and IMO much more fun.
As for trade and scientific advancements, there are still several runaways and several laggards, so it can be considered as easier. And the exploration is essential - Seafaring treat is awesome in this case.
The more the civs, the more a monopoly tech is worth.
EDIT: I forgot, there are more wars too.

 

[Tomoyo]

Can you say crowded?

Probably easier, since there are so many trading partners.

 

[DBear]

My poor computer slows down noticably w/16 civs, I'd hate to try 31!

 

[MeteorPunch]

I think computer slow down has to do with size of maps and amount of cities - not amount of civs, but I could be wrong...

 

[Khan_Asparuh]

Now I see why you were asking the question. Is there anyone else who is interested in this setup (check the link in my sig)?

 

[Pounder]

I love playing 31 civs.

The one thing (besides long turns) that bugs me about it is the city limitation. The average is 16 or 17 towns per civ (512/31=16.51), then you get the too many cities message and you can't expanded easily with settlers. You have do something like: destroy an enemy city and settle a new one on the same turn, or capture and not raze.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

The more Civs, the easier it gets. Except for the very first turns, where your neighbors can kill you without breaking a sweat.
WM games as England are a cakewalk usually.
With 31 Civs, you can trade everything, and you'll have plenty of spare resources (since several AI Civs will bite the bullet early).
On a crowded large map, neither traderoute calculations nor the city count limit should be any issue.

 

[Drakan]

The more Civs, the easier it gets

Exactly.

It will always be harder to take down 7 civs with 80 cities each than 20 civs with 15 civs each. Plus the trading, as pointed out by Doc, gets all that easier etc...

This is rather surprising. I personally find it much more difficult winning on Deity against 8 other civs than winning against 15 other civs in a huge pangaea map. But it makes sense if you think it over.

And incidently, -humble cough- the more civs you play against the easier you'll be able to implement my strat ailing civilization strategy ( click on my sig)

 

[Khan_Asparuh]

Actually the Big Adventure is Rhyes World Map, Meteor is actually hosting an SG on it as Russia. I had never seen a game with the capitals disposed in OCP (in Europe), this is quite promising and gives the game some spice.
Many civs is sometimes more difficult under representative governements, many wars are fought (often it's a Non Oscilating AW), we get a lot of WW (and WH too).