How many others experience this

[Aspon]

So i was speaking to my therapist today and mentioned addictions, I mentioned civilisation and how I have gone periods of over 24 hours 48 on one occasion without food or sleep playing the game. He told me this was very typical Autism.

I am on the Autistic spectrum however I have noticed civilisation tends to be unique in causing that reaction in me.

So I am wondering is this normal How many others here have lost track of time or gone significant periods of time playing the game without interruption. Is it just an Autistic thing in myself or is it something about the civilisation games that cause this.

This may not be a reliable question as for some reason the Civilisation games appear very popular with the Asperger community almost every single Asperger I have met has played civ at some point.

and on Aspi forums there are even a few thread topics related just to civ 5 which is weird because the forum community there is meant to be about Asperger not civ and I did not create those threads.

 

[rschissler]

I remember staying up all night once or twice playing Civ. I was fully aware of the time, it was "just one more turn!". However, it was one more, then another, then another...

24-48 hours? That's a problem. Good thing you are seeing a therapist.

 

[Aspon]

I wish an addiction to civ 5 was my only problem alas it isn't I just mentioned addictions and civ as an example of that.

the more i think about it the more i realise civilisation is a very aspy game a lot of how the game is built etc suits the asperger mind. I don't think the game developers did that on purpose but I am pretty sure a large part of there customer base comes from the Autistic community.

 

[joncnunn]

Two or three times I did all nighters with Civ II / Civ III; always when I had no work the next day.
"Just one more turn"

 

[elprofesor]

I've happened to play for really long, especially on holidays. My maximum was from 11AM to 5AM, hardly stopping to eat, or go to the bathroom. Frankly, it's something that I rather don't do, but the "one more turn" mindset is nasty indeed. But generally, I start later (say, 6PM), and from 2AM onwards I'm really saying to myself that I should stop (although it might take a couple of hours more for me to crumble from pure exhaustion).

Frankly, I feel horrible the day afterwards. Civilization is pretty fun, but not to the point of spending 18 hours playing it non-stop, neglecting my body (which I tend to do less), my work, and my friends. You have to find a balance, I guess, which I haven't done yet either.

Did your therapist know civilization? It's not like it was a random game. Sure, 24-48 hours is still way too much, but as long as you are a bit obsessive, it can easily happen to find yourself still awake after 5AM; I don't know of any other game that has this effect (and if I did, I think it would be better for you that I didn't mention them ).

Best of lucks for solving your problems

 

[Ruler]

Never so long but its sad I too often finish the game when I start one.

 

[Schalke 04]

If you need professional help, click on this website.

 

[jpinoniemi]

Schalke 04 - that link is awesome!

I've played Civ online for 30 hrs just once. I played Unreal Tournament way too much in the mid 2000's. I was on a 3 on 3 CTF team and we were getting pretty good playing against other clans. I had a MS Sidewinder headset and was playing 3 - 4 times a week. Then, I got "the talk" from my wife. Needless to say, I stopped playing UT, but she doesn't mind me playing Civ.

 

[pxpdoo]

Civilization IS my therapy...

 

[ForzaFiori]

I get way to sucked into both Civ, and the Elder Scrolls series. I have lost entire days to them (though I usually remember to eat, and to get 4ish hours of sleep). I can usually manage to make sure that I only do so on nights without work or school.

 

[Selous]

its civs fault, i can regularly do 12+ hours straight, but that is broken up by eating and drinking ... in particular drinking

48 hours no eating or sleeping? i dont know how u can do that! but then my drinking will put a stop to that

 

[Gilgamesch]

i
48 hours no eating or sleeping? i dont know how u can do that! but then my drinking will put a stop to that

Really 48 hours, did you take some kind of drugs?

Or was CiV the drug?

 

[Selous]

Really 48 hours, did you take some kind of drugs?

Or was CiV the drug?

i think the OP is asking if anyone else does marathon 24+ hour sessions or if these long sessions are a product of his Asperger condition

i have done 16-20 hour civ sessions, but i am making silly decisions by this stage, and it is time for bed!! rest recouperate and get back on it

from my and the other post, i believe that the civ series does lend its self to very long gaming sessions, although your condition probally makes the traditional one more turn experience a little worse (or better, depends on your point of view)

all i can say is try to be disiplined with your gaming and have your set time limits, use things that you have to do to set these limits and dont worry about peoples "norms" because most "normal" people think that a 12 hour gaming session is excessive

 

[Gilgamesch]

i have done 16-20 hour civ sessions, but i am making silly decisions by this stage, and it is time for bed!!

Last 12 hour sessions on diety i sleeped away during my glory peace talkings with korea (because i was struggling, before i counterattack) , i only sit down on my sofa and then. Just to wake up and see that the leader is still waiting for me
So i played, i won by domination .

 

[MantaRevan]

Honestly I get sick of my favorite series after 2-3 consecutive hours. I go do something productive, and then come back.

 

[Smokeybear]

Honestly I get sick of my favorite series after 2-3 consecutive hours. I go do something productive, and then come back.

2-3 hours and out? Hah, that is just my warmup period- loosen the wrists, limber the 'next turn' clicking finger up. After 8-10 hours, I'm in the groove. But yeah, 18-20 is about it, then time for some winks.

I don't know about autism, but for obsessive-compulsives, you might as well kiss it goodbye

 

[James T]

I'm not sure I can play less than 3 hours, often end up playing 4-6 hours, have played as many as 8 consecutively. I usually only play at night, and I have work and 2 small children that make sure I'm up nice and early. Eventually I do realize I need to get to bed, usually significantly later than I should.

 

[Rydin_Nurdy]

Schalke beat me to it, Civanon is funny and exactly true!

I can't say I've played 18-20 hours but I have logged some embarrasing times on every game in the Civ series, having a day job and two kids usually limits my playtime to the night time but I make the best of it.

Just this Wednesday before Thanksgiving my wife intercommed the house phone at 3 a.m. to remind me she was counting on my help to make thanksgiving day dinner....later that morning! So I denounced her, built up some Cats and Longswords, gifted a unit or two to the nearest CS and DoW'd her....or...now that I think of it, I just went to bed.

 

[CYZ]

Wow, that's amazingly long. I can imagine Civ is more typically addicting than other games. Especially since a single game can last so very long on marathon, and the one-more-turn is pretty strong.

Good you're seeing therapy for this. The longest I've ever played is 5 hours, and that's already very long for me.

 

[Trik]

I've never gone 24 hour + only like 6-8 hours straight. Although i've hardly got the "one more turn " feeling will playing Civ 5, it was way more addictive in Civ 4. This game gets boring too easily. Its like once i've made my initial decision everything else after is just mundane and monotonous.