List of Human Stupidities

[duke o' york]

We've got nearly 300 posts describing the amazingly dumb things that the AI has done in various game, but I want one that shows the blunders you have made.

Now please don't be shy - we've all made some daft mistakes - and please submit. Maybe you thought that your tactic was great until you read something here. I'd also like somethign a bit better than: "Once I gifted the AI Advanced Flight and the next turn their bombers pounded me into dust". More like: "I remember an early game when I built the Pyramids but still went on to build Granaries in all my cities because I didn't know what the wonder did". If anyone's got screenshots of nuking your own cities or something like that then they'd be gratefully received.

I've got two to kick us off but neither are that good so I hope I'll be inspired to do some really daft things in future games so I can post them here.
As I said in the Demo game, once I founded my capital right in the middle of four specials: gold, gold, wheat and silk. Unfortunately the city square was on a mountain and although I thought that the wheat would give me enough extra food to make it worthwhile, the other squares didn't and so the city was stuck for ages until I just quit the game. Exploring with my first warrior, I noticed severl other great city sites from which I could have grown a great empire. Never mind though.
I was playing on Tuesday evening and was in the middle of some light skirmishing with the Mongols (not an all-out war, but still at war). Aware that my PS takes ages to compute between turns, I went to the toilet and also ironed some clothes for work. When I returned my cities' production was completed so I went through and all was jolly. When I sat and watched the AI moves I found that they had moved units up to two of my far-flung frontier cities while I had been away and promptly took them. Let that be a lesson to all of you to pay attention to your game and to review your cities frequently lest such a disaster may occur.

Please contribute better stories than these.

 

[ferenginar]

I'm going to ignore the really dumb things I have done such as buying aplha centauri & CIV III and stick to Civ II stupidities.

I think that my biggest problem is eagerness, and hence lack of concentration, this results in many stupid errors

Newly founded cities undefended, Barbarians do their worst.:arrow:

Dehli is building another temple, whish is fine but I wanted a unit next and I either build an improvement I don't need yet or I lose 50% of production.

Building food carvans by accident because I forgot to confirm and zoom and change production.

Not paying attention to messages about AI has nearly completed ... and I lose out and havn't discoved the prerequisite for another wonder, what do I do with all these shields, keep building the dud wonder in the hope that the tech is researched and no AI builds that wonder before me?

Sending triremes into the ocean.

Forgetting to build lots of warriors or horse etc before you finish research on the tech that upgrades them.

Building the Lighthouse but no ships

Failing to have a nearly complete wonder ready to become Bach when gaining theology suddenly makes all your citizens unhappy again.

Staying up too late and not getting any .

Taking a sicky so that I can keep playing

Being late for my Wedding:die:

Sorry that last one is not true...... yet.


ferenginar 75

 

[Jayne]

Hey! What a great topic!

I've just been very silly! I submitted my 3 files for GOTM19, but didn't realise until I got an email fronm DoM this morning, that one of the files wasn't the write one! I'd managed to save another game over the top between playing the GOTM and submitting it!:suicide:

 

[Zwelgje]

Stacking 8 armors ready to put on a transport, then a battleship comes along and kills 'em all...

 

[Dell19]

Never realising how to make entertainers so I ended up playing several games where my main 10-12 cities were constantly in anarchy whilst my smaller cities were the only cities still building. Oh and I had read that units could stop civil disorder so I would usually have 4 or 5 units in each city trying to stop the disorder...

It was a long time ago though.

 

[Old n Slow]

Maybe this one isn’t so dumb now that I think about it.

I tried a food experiment. I wanted to see if I could get the ai to send a food caravan to one of my cities (actually it was my only city -- I wanted to see what I could do with an OCC backdrop). Failing in that, could I get a None food caravan? I built a food caravan, sent it over seas, dropped it off at the neighbor & gifted it away. Waited a turn & watched it just sit there. Repeat. (nothing).

Sigh. Sent the boat home, plopped in a diplomat & returned. The dip “purchased” the food caravan (yes it was a NONE!) but…it was no longer food -- now it was hides. Brought it home…sigh.

After a turn of watching it outside my city, I decided that it might be interesting to see what sort of trade bonus it would bring -- TA DA a new record! The NONE hides camel brought me a bonus of…ZERO! On the other hand, a few turns later I noticed that my one & only city had two great trade routes…with itself!

 

[Smash]

Building the capitolization "wonder".Still waiting to finish it

Someone told me how they got totally frustrated trying to kill a buffalo resource and gave up in disgust

 

[Ohwell]

I left my capitol undefended :suicide:

 

[anarchywrksbest]

Playing for a few weeks without realising you could use the diagonal movement arrows!

 

[ferenginar]

Dell, how about realising how to make entertainers but not knowing haw to turn them into scientists of taxmen.

ferenginar 74

 

[Dell19]

Well I eventually realised, and then I think I forgot again for awhile. Eventually I realised I could swap them around at about the same time I realised that I could actually make entertainers.

 

[funxus]

Not realising the benefits of switching to another government than despotism the first year of playing. I didn't want to lose the "as many units as citizens".

 

[Ren]

Good God, where do I start?

Well let's have a look at the game I played today.
It was an OCC game on Emperor level. In the age of Dragoons and the type, my city was defended with one Pikeman and 3 Caravans, with City Walls, 1 Caravan was left by the end of this turn. I rush built an Elephant and took care of that current wave of AI units, then accidentally pressed the arrow key one too many times, moments later I was told "Ceasar will return"

 

[Pongui]

I used to be a hut glutton. It was great fun aquiring dozens of units and a truckload of technologies - on a big continent I could be off popping huts and surveying the world, both my cities boasting maximum unit support. Around 1 A.D. I'd develop monarchy.

Another stupidity: Early in the game, trapping a Babylonian settler on a peninsula. "He has just one city, and one settler", I reasoned, "If I can keep him pinned down, he can't found another city, and he'll stagnate." I too had a single city, and I was using my settler to guard the Babylonian.

A few turns later, a Spanish horseman arrived on the scene.

 

[Portuguese]

The first time I play CIV (in 1995, CIV1...) I thought:
"Stupid research. My cashflow ismuch more important".
At the end of the game my island was invaded and my phalanx were killed by Caesar's armors!

Another time, I concentrate All my attack troops in a single conquered cities. I got nuked the very next turn!!!
I've learned my lesson!

Another, I was in America and I wanted to launch a huge army on Europe to conquer the whole continent. 3 transports, 20 armors, 4 mecs. 2 battleships destroyed 2 transport.
My attack was so ridiculous. They survive a century more with only 2 battleships attack (I thought they didn't have them...)

...

 

[ferenginar]

Portuguese
The first time I play CIV (in 1995, CIV1...) I thought:

Well I can't remember what I was thinking or what it was that I was doing wrong, but it was definately wrong.

I had a continent to myself and was extremely pleased with my 10 cities, defended by stout Phalanx, and a couple of legions and chariots roaming to repel attack when..

Lots and lots of AI tanks turned up and in only a few turns I was History.

Frtunately since then I have made a little progress.

ferenginar 72

 

[Marlos]

My first game of Civ1, way back when. I was playing on this 286 machine with no mouse and no manual, and I couldn't figure out how to get into the city screen to change the production. As the Zulu, I ended up with eight or nine warriors that just roamed around aimlessly. About 100AD, the Germans declared war on me and captured Zimbabwe quite easily with their chariots.

I got a manual shortly after that.

:suicide:

 

[Jayne]

I was being a bit hasty tapping my fingers on the cursors and sending my chariot whizzing into my allies capitol when I got a message saying: "The Chinese have repaired your Chariot". Now why didn't I know you could do that before!!

 

[funxus]

Originally posted by Marlos
My first game of Civ1, way back when. I was playing on this 286 machine with no mouse and no manual, and I couldn't figure out how to get into the city screen to change the production.

I had the same problem back then...but I think I was only 8 years and didn't understand much of the game due to language complications But I do remember that civil disorders were the best thing that could happen when a city was building a unit since it gave me a chance to change production...

 

[Luis G.]

In Civ I:

Switching to despotism in the modern eras (even having the pyramids), just because the advisors looked so cool

(that was ten years ago, of course...)

And in civ3:

Playing a great great great game and suddenly discover I didn't switch off the diplomatic victory, when Mao builds the UN and I lose.