*UN*-Crowded Map, Huge 1-Opponent Emperor

[CommandoBob]

I'm a smart-aleck, so as interesting as these crowded games are I want to try a sparse game.

So, what do you think of your sparse game? Too easy? Was it fun enough to do again? Or does it need some tweaking/handicapping to make it more of a challenge?

I like the "GIF of the Ages". That is a nice idea.

 

[Puppeteer]

So, what do you think of your sparse game? Too easy? Was it fun enough to do again? Or does it need some tweaking/handicapping to make it more of a challenge?

It was interesting. I think it would have been very boring if we weren't so close to each other; how odd is it that two lone civs on a huge pangea meet before 1000 BC? Hell, the second attempt we were warring before 1200 BC.

The great thing about Civ3 is that you can always get a new perspective on the game. I had long ago broken myself of wonder addiction, but in a huge map 1-on-1 game some of the wonders provide a stunning advantage to half of the players.

I had also learned to broker techs, race to make new contacts and play AI players against each other, but none of that applied here, and I learned a few things.

In this case I had a single Emperor-level AI opponent who had me cut off from most of the world and the world's scarce resources, and I had a very long exposed border for him to pick at.

I also inadvertently noticed an apparent difference between fixed and unfixed barbs. Unfixed barbs didn't harass me much, but I think it also made the AI more bold in attacking me earlier than usual.

I micromanage the game but tend to tire of it in most games in the late middle ages or early industrial age. In this game I would get bored expanding to no purpose if I hadn't met Greece so early, and while I'm curious about seeing how the remaining resources and barbs are spread out and find out how multi-rex-seeding works out and massive science farming, I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy it enough to continue.