Repost: How Old Were You When You First Played Civ?

[KMadCandy]

i don't remember when civ2 came out but my husband got it right away and i tried it out not long afterwards. i was already out of college and married by then, he was in the army and finished college later.

as for "Before that, I was afraid to copy files to another folder under DOS since I didn't want to mess up the computer." i still am!!!

 

[johnpaulcain]

Wow I am amazed at how young some people were when they started playing CIV, I started with CIV 1, downloaded off on a freeware site a long time after it came out. Have been hooked ever since.

Started at about 22 probably so its been about 6 years now!

 

[cabert]

Very different people here

I started at "school" (should be university, but here in France we have those Grandes Ecoles), when a lot of classmates played on the school's computers.
I was 21.

I clearly remember playing all night when some schoolmates were finishing their works.
I also clearly remember playing more than 24 hours straight (food? what's that?) and missing lessons just a few steps away from the computers room...

I wasn't even good

 

[Psyringe]

I saw Civ I first on a friend's PC in 1990, when I was 21. It immediately fascinated me (and reminded me to a board game which I was playing since about 1986). At that time I had an Atari ST and couldn't play Civ, but I bought a PC in 1991. Civ was the first game I got for it, and I played it excessively. It still holds my personal record for "longest non-stop playing session with any game", with 35 hours straight.

 

[premier plopsky]

i was about 7 or 8 when a friend gave me civ 1 on one of those 3.5" floppies. for the next week all i did was attempt to lead the Russians to world domination. screwed over a geography quiz or something i remember. now im 21 in college, and doing the same thing with civ 4

 

[wylergnu]

I remember ordering Civ 1 when it first came out on the commodore amiga (those were the days, I loved my amiga 500 ). I must have been about 16 or 17 at the time. Needless to say Im now much older.

 

[Lepakko]

It was 1992, I was eight years old back then. Civ 1 sure was a lot of fun.

 

[Viper_Warlock]

I don't remember exactly, but that was Civilization II on Sony Play Station 1 platform.
I was about 13 years old and now Civilization is part of my life

 

[Impartial, & VR]

My first experience CivI was at 27, in 1996, and I was introduced to it by my girlfriend at the time (who had a real case of "one more turn" syndrome).

I tried CivII the next year, on my brother's computer, and that was the experience that sold me on the series.

 

[Impartial, & VR]

Oh, and my longest one-session games were in Civ II; I think the longest would have been 36 hours or so without sleep, and very limited preparation of food (I actually had my computer in the kitchen in those days). I did enjoy Civ more when I could play through in one session, which is one reason I still prefer scenarios that I can play in 12-16 hours.

I have always played Civ in Windows, though with my next hardware set-up I intend to use a linux shell for everything, and install Civ in Windows in a Virtual Machine . . . the end of dual booting for me!

 

[billybgame]

Yes, it is pretty amazing, how many say they started when they were 7 or 8 years old! Wow. That means my son might be playing with me in 3 years? I find that an astounding thought.

Let's see, I also started with Civ 1, so it must have been 1992ish. Let me see, I'm 41, now so I would have been 27ish.

Quite the wide spread of ages, though.

Civ 2 will always be my favorite, as well. I had my own marathon sessions. My wife now(girlfriend then) didn't like to see me still sitting there when she got up in the morning, playing the game I was playing, the middle of the prior day! That was the most addicting game I've ever seen.

Seems Civ 4 really does have some of the same qualities, though.

 

[mjs0]

Yes, it is pretty amazing, how many say they started when they were 7 or 8 years old! Wow. That means my son might be playing with me in 3 years? I find that an astounding thought.

As I have mentioned several times on this board (so, sorry to those that have read this before), our six year old son absolutely loves this game and has played regularly since he was five.
- We home school and the game has provided many opportunities for broadening his general education.
- It all started when he wanted to sit on my lap and watch me play...what Dad could turn that down.
- His reading improved dramatically once I explained that I would only help to read messages if he shows he has made a good attempt to read them first.
- Every meal time is an opportunity to discuss some new topic that comes out of the game...Daddy what is steel? Daddy who was Montezuma and why was he so mean? (gotta love that one!) Daddy how is X made? Mommy why won't Daddy let me play Rome against him? Daddy can a spearman really beat a tank? (OK so that one I made up )
- He is really into the strategy especially what should be researched which naturally leads to more education...Of course everything in the game leads to education not just the techs, but civics, terrain, diplomacy, religion, even buildings and wonders...
- When not playing the game it spurs his imagination, many times I have seen him, and his younger sister, playing scout in the back yard looking for good city sites.
- And yes, he has beaten the game a couple of times on Settler. The one I remember is the first...Standard Pangaea/8 Civs/playing as Roosevelt. Help from me was limited to reading some messages.

So, is this game for children? ABSOLUTELY, the younger the better!

Children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. It drives me crazy when talking to coaches/teachers and I'm told they are not old enough to understand that yet, which is why we decided to home school. They are sponges at this age and will remember everything, including overhearing that they are not smart enough . Our children actually complain when I tell them school is over for the day. ( Until I point out that means its time for Civ4 of course )

I must add that:
- we do strictly ration his computer time because if he had his way he would play Civ for most of the day. (He is not the only one with that problem eh!).
- We change his XP password at least weekly and he doesn't get to play at all until he solves the clues and works out how to spell the new word
- we do not allow mindless video games such as FPS. (doh!)
Other than Civ his favourite video game is Pikmin/Pikmin II on the gamecube which is mostly about finding objects through puzzle solving

Next up...
- Our daughter turned five last May and is really enjoying learning the game with the bad dudes, her name for barbarians!
- We now have four Civ4 capable computers and have started family 4-way games, my wife and I tend to play coop, but the kids seem to enjoy ganging up on us instead, ah well...
- Teaching our son C++ so he can help me with my mod.

 

[SharpMango]

love the posts here....seems like a lot of us have been playing for a long time, no ppl starting off at civ4 yet in this thread...
i started in 96 i bought civ1 when civ2 came out lol, coz it was cheap haha....i must have been 13-14, 2 weeks pocket money
and then a year later i was so hooked i just had to buy civ2..i must have played that and its add ons for a good 6=7 years,
i took a small gap when i thought it was too addictive rofl

i only bought civ3 2 years ago
but civ4, i could finally afford to buy a civ game the day it came out rofl!
have been playing it ever since...24 now

and mjo u are so right,
i think my love of history comes from playing civ.....
i would bet ANY money that civ players as a collective whole know more about history then any other demographic!

 

[Sadan01]

I started playing Civ1 back in 1991 (was 13), I think it was. Whenever it was released on the Amiga 500. After that, the rest is history - I quickly became a Civilization addict and haven't stopped since with buying practically every version that has been released since then (Even Activision's iterations)...

Damn you, Sid, damn you!

Edit: And to echo somewhat of the posts above, that is one thing I have always enjoyed so much about the Civilization series - the ability to learn something from them about history, no matter what time period. That is invaluable in a computer game nowadays.

 

[billybgame]

Thanks for the insights, mjsO.

I don't think we're the homeschooling types. At least we haven't thought that way yet. I sure do agree with with your points! So many gifted kids aren't allowed to reach their possible heights.

But, your story is interesting to read. I might have to start having him sit with me more. He already has a little, since I just bought the game a few weeks ago. Then, maybe hook the laptop up, right next to me, for a little play and learn session. And, go from there.

 

[cabert]

My 8 years old daughter watched me play a bit but never really played.
It bored her...

 

[dalamb]

I know I first played Civ 1 on a friend's macintosh when I was visiting Pittsburgh; my memory says that was 1991, which is consistent with Mobygames' history listing. I was 37. Civ 2 was the first game we bought when my family acquired a PC.

 

[KoolSIM]

I started playing the game in 1998. That was Civilization 1 (or just Civilization back then).

So its been a good 8 years now. I was 12 years old then.

 

[KMadCandy]

He is really into the strategy especially what should be researched which naturally leads to more education...Of course everything in the game leads to education not just the techs, but civics, terrain, diplomacy, religion, even buildings and wonders

that is too cool! i can imagine that, hadn't ever thought about it.

"We change his XP password at least weekly and he doesn't get to play at all until he solves the clues and works out how to spell the new word"

i love that idea!!! my youngest nephew loved to sit in his mom's lap while she read email or they played baby-type games. one day he told her he could type. she rather doubted it, he was realllllly young. she asked him to show her, and sure enough, he typed out Rylie perfect on the first try.

as for me and my house ... oops i mean upbringing ... during junior high, we had to read a Psalm to earn a half hour of TV watching time. no picking and choosing short Psalms only either, had to go in order *giggle*. we didn't have a computer until i was in high school. i'm of the generation where leaving white-out marks on your papers and forgetting to go back and re-type the correction was the biggest affront to any english teacher.