KyivanRusCivPlease
Prince
Interesting to know what level will be the winner)
This is where I am. I enjoy a game with some wars sprinkled in, but the AI cannot play the game. At Immortal, combat gets tougher but then the game bends in other directions that I don't enjoy. I've been messing around with the all of the game's start settings, trying to find the best start conditions for me, and now, after a year of trying, I'm being frustrated by new bugs.Emperor I get ahead too soon if I start out with lots of conquering, and immortal/deity I feel like I have to be primarily considering 'optimum' play, which I don't really enjoy doing.
I unfortunately haven't been able to find any such difficulty due to the way the AI's bonuses are front-loaded. Any difficulty where the late game is challenging has dramatically constrained options in the early game (competing for early wonders/great people requires an investment disproportionate to the reward, and attack by a numerically/technologically superior force is essentially inevitable). At any difficulty with a good early-game balance between the human and AI, however, the AI ceases to be a relevant consideration by the midgame. There's no way (at least above prince) to set up a human vs. AI game that has a consistent level of challenge at all game stages.
This is also my answer, should add it as a choice in the poll if still possible.the answer to the OP's question is, "None..."
I unfortunately haven't been able to find any such difficulty due to the way the AI's bonuses are front-loaded. Any difficulty where the late game is challenging has dramatically constrained options in the early game (competing for early wonders/great people requires an investment disproportionate to the reward, and attack by a numerically/technologically superior force is essentially inevitable). At any difficulty with a good early-game balance between the human and AI, however, the AI ceases to be a relevant consideration by the midgame. There's no way (at least above prince) to set up a human vs. AI game that has a consistent level of challenge at all game stages.
I play on King and sometimes Prince if I want to do weird stuff. Though King gives some room to test out odd stuff too.
I generally like to play quickly, finish a game in a few hours, take some screenshots, and then post on the forums about my stupid escapades. Then I can go play another game and do something different. Oftentimes, I usually start a game because I read something on the forums and tried to do it in game.
I also dislike micromanagement of most kinds and of all honesty that's probably why I never manage to get too high in any civ game and also struggle somewhat in places I probably shouldn't. All incarnations of Civ generally have something that makes me not want to work with it; it's just too much effort and Firaxis has never made a working UI. Sometimes even getting the game to do what you told it to do is an impossibility and that tends to be what I think really holds back the franchise as a whole. I did try a few deity games where I took out civs and kept getting fed settlers because the AI was too stupid to protect them from Barbs so I was quite ahead and ended up with way more cities than i could have at a lower level. Ended up quitting because I thought it was stupid, though I imagine I'd find some way to screw it up.
I do have a bad tendency to want to be #1 in everything, so seeing the AI always ahead for so long tends to annoy me. (Except for religion, I can't even maintain the rest and keep up with that on Prince....)