The point at which you get bored

[El Caballerion]

To me, it's always been around the Industrial Era. By then, I'm either too powerful or there's a massive AI runaway leading in every aspect. The turn-time slows down immensely by then and everything just feels less fun. It may also have to do with the fact that every civ has been discovered, and highlights the AIs lack of priority with settling unknown lands.

 

[Glassmage]

It only gets boring when I win.

 

[cpm4001]

I generally can keep interested in a game until the late Modern - early Atomic eras. Ideologies and the World Congress have done a lot to make the mid-to-late game far more enjoyable, but around that time period my games just turn into slogs to achieve whatever victory condition I'm going for.

 

[megistatos]

I play on Emperor/Immortal and tend to get bored going into the Industrial Era. By then I have a strong Empire, a tech lead, and it's just a matter of clicking next turn, rush buying buildings, and getting every wonder. The game is so fun early on but so far for me Ideologies and World Congress aren't as fun as growing a fledgling empire.

 

[El Caballerion]

I think the game needs random features, because by Industrial, its mostly just waiting for bars to fill up in order to buy a building, build a pagoda, adopt an SP, etc.

 

[Sturmgewher88mm]

It's boring after you've wiped out every signifigant threat on the planet, and the game becomes about workers improving tiles...

 

[MisterBoomBoom]

With BNW ...I've always won before getting really into the Industrial Era.

 

[Koiranputki]

I voted "Industrial"....but really it can be quite variable. I think the "clue" for me is when I suddenly don't care anymore whether I win or lose....

Some games that comes quite early.....maybe around the time I build...or fail to build...Chichen Itza....

And yet there are games that hold my attention right to the end.... And become memorable..... Like one early BNW game when I was still learning the basics about the new version..... As Spain I had a great start with lots of copper and food tiles on the edge of a hilly desert.....then within a couple of moves I found KSM on the other side of the hilly desert with enough food tiles and I forget now which luxury.... I quickly set up my second city and never looked back despite constant pressure from America on one side and minor pressure from a rather anemic Persia on another....

I also have a fond memory of a G&K game with near constant warfare between me as I forget who now...I think it was before I became enamoured with Spain... and Ethiopia and England....I was constantly on the verge of being annihilated, but things held and I eventually beat the crap out of both of them....but not until I got Artillery.....

 

[Barghaest]

There's no specific period for me. I get kinda bored when one of three things happen:

1 - I get an Era or two ahead of most of the empires (usually happens in Modern or Atomic).
2 - I struggled along with a poor start and one AI starts wonder-hogging until they're a complete runaway.
3 - I'm playing every player slot in a Hotseat game and the micromanagement of so many empires get overwhelming.

They really need to do something about the wonder mechanics a little - I tend to bypass a lot of wonders because I'd like every empire to grab about the same amount but it never fails that ONE AI starts nabbing all the ones I ignore keeping them from anyone else and the two of us end up outpacing everyone else because the wonders are so overbearing. I wish they'd give each AI personality a list of wonders they'd bypass so some of the other empires can keep pace - it's no fun bombing your opponent into the Stone Age when they're STILL IN IT! every game I've played at least one AI is still in Ancient era when I hit Renaissance... the espionage system from G&K went a long way to let them close the gap, but they still remain an era or more behind when I get planes. I have more fun playing against myself in a Hotseat game.

 

[Bad Wolf]

For me the early middle ages is a wall. If I can get through that into the Renaissance, there's a pretty good chance I'm going to finish that game. But I've abandoned more games pre-Middle Ages than I can count.

 

[MerchantCo]

Ha, just kidding.

 

[njmfff]

I only get bored when it's one of those "peaceful" games and no one fights. or no one picks up fight with me.

then I must decide and be a bad guy, attack my annoying neighbor, then all hell break loose. After that, it seems that AI get into "la hombre" mode, and start going after each other.

 

[whyidie]

I generally can keep interested in a game until the late Modern - early Atomic eras. Ideologies and the World Congress have done a lot to make the mid-to-late game far more enjoyable, but around that time period my games just turn into slogs to achieve whatever victory condition I'm going for.

Same. Ideologies and the first handful of World Congress are always interesting. Once ideologies are chosen and World Congress options limited things tend to slow down a little too much.

Oddly enough the most interesting ones are when I'm at war in the late game. With my skill level late game wars range from me mopping the field with modern units against industrial to the opposite end where the AI is hammering my frigates with bombers and battleships. In any event, it keeps me interested.

Culture and Science can get a little boring at times, waiting for the buckets to fill up during the atomic era, especially if there is no threat of war.

 

[bbbt]

I actual often get bored when it's clear I'm the runaway and I'm going to win. It doesn't help that my computer isn't so fast, so things can get really slow waiting for the AI near the end.

I.e. if I'm say fifteen turns from a cultural victory (and getting a great musician), I control half the UN, no one is going to DoW and no one has even built the apollo project yet, I'll more than likely just say heck with it and quit, rather than just sitting there clicking enter for fifteen turns.

 

[Breadsmith]

I often have to make my own amusement around Atomic or so. Like nuclear testing a barb encampment just off the coast of the Netherlands, only to discover that the Aztecs even get culture from nukes.

 

[civ54lyfe]

games are most boring for me at Information or late-Atomic, whichever the games ends at. games are best for me at Industrial, typically when i start my largest, most destructive wars of the game (unless it has to come down to nukes later on, which is funner).

 

[Mustakrakish]

Voted Reneissance, but really Medieval-Renaissance-Industrial. Poor starts have a lot to do with it even though even with poor starts I do somehow end up playing through Ancient-Classical. The game is so fun in Ancient-Classical, but then starts going downhill from medieval on.

I wish I had some kind of a safe "when all else fails" salvation strategy, which would spice things up when game is going "nowhere"... :/ Even going "medieval" on everyone is actually pretty boring in medieval. Hmm...

 

[PaleJackal]

When your empire gets massive - because you're playing on Huge - and you're trying to command waves of units, it gets tedious. Though, I think that could be expanded to any time you know you've won.

I play Civ entirely multiplayer these days, though, so that keeps things interesting - even if the AI has blundered, you have the other humans to deal with! Though we'll still call it quits early if someone is clearly the winner - especially if other players have been conquered.

 

[Matjillam]

Well, to me BNW really keeps it interesting for a longer time.

I have NEVER, EVER in a Civ game tried going to modern times with a well functioning empire and not won. In all other Civ games, you really didn't lose. You just didn't win.

But now, the other civs aims for a victory and stick to it. And they keep up in tech. And they actually invade each other and use aircraft in late.

I just lost a game by 7 turns to Russia, science... I actually got my ass whooped trying to take out Korea before he won. But turns out Russia was closer... But it was one hell of a war with Korea, man did he have a big army! :O I thought I was going to give him a hard time, but then he pulled back his army from his newly conquered danish territories.... He even raided all my oil supply

 

[Janig]

Unlike Civ3 and Civ4, Civ5 doesn't get boring with the Stacks of Doom. I don't get bored at any particular era anymore. I haven't tried the BNW expansion, but Gods and Kings is quite good.