What is your primary goal when you play and submit XOTM?

[shortguy]

I play for kicks. There's no way I'll ever be good enough to win anything (except maybe a shield in a particularly so-so game).

 

[civ_steve]

I checked the Eptathlon award, because it would be a great honor to be listed with the other recipients. However, if I were serious about that, I'd only play 1 game a month, and I usually try both.

So the REAL reason must be to play for fun, and compare my results with others (and to continue to improve.)

GPR is not a reason (although it's nice to be near the top); to be really competitive would mean playing a style that I'm not that comfortable with, mainly due to the time constraints.

 

[ionimplant]

i play for fun. i can beat deity without too big a problem. but by nature i always want to be on the top when competing with others instead of AI, and so i also want to win an award, thought it seems to be so far away from me with so many great players around.

 

[akots]

Playing for fun to compare the games with the others. I just like the game and am not motivated strongly enough to play on my own. Besides, the XOTM scenarios are really good and thoroughly playtested. I also like the racing feeling when you are running head to head with the others but this is not as important.

 

[Offa]

Just for fun, and the hope (increasingly forlorn) that next time I really will play a good game all the way through.

 

[Denniz]

It's very difficult to pick just one.

I think it is assumed that everyone is playing for fun. (Why play otherwise? )

I am trying to improve my game, but who isn't? Thanks to the great resources and even greater examples, I have seen some improvement. But too much focus on that can suck the fun out of the game.

I lack the discipline to to reach the level of the top players. So I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an award much less the whole Eptathlon.

I do like to watch my name bounce around in the GPR, so I choose that. It's a good measure of consistancy. (Both participation and results.) Heck, with no awards, shields, or even a ambulance to my name, I have to take what I can get.

 

[Xerol]

Is the Golden Ambulance really a serious proposal?

Depends on if this is a serious inquiry.

 

[leif erikson]

I started playing to learn and compare because I wasn't having much fun getting my rear end handed to me all the time. At least that doesn't happen anymore, or is that very often?

I still play for the joy of it, the challenge and to get better at it, someday????

I'd love to be able to play for 3 and 4.........

 

[schmiddi]

I started the XotMs to compare with other players and to improve my gameplay.

 

[AlanH]

Depends on if this is a serious inquiry.

I asked first

 

[Xerol]

Well, first there'd need to be a list of ambulance/shield awards, like with the regular awards.

Like I said, it does take some skill to get a low-scoring victory for certain types. (Ones that you could win with a OCC/5CC not as hard, but I don't see anyone doing a 5CC domination victory.) I'd need to finish up the modeling on the ambulance too.

As a side note, I'm going to be VERY disappointed if I don't get the Domination shield for GOTM40.

 

[Dynamic]

I voted for Eptathlon but really I play for 2-5. I play for fun and like to compare my game with other players. GPR, medals and awards are my goal also. My dream is to win all fastest victory awards with gold medals simultaneously. But I hate milking and see on the future 20K and Histo victories with horror.

 

[Shinan]

I play purely for fun. I'm really only a bad chieftain player but it's always fun to have those two cities left and people attacking each other from all sides while you try to please everyone with your bribes.

But maybe the golden ambulance would be something to strive for... 8^)

 

[solenoozerec]

But I hate milking and see on the future 20K and Histo victories with horror.

Why do you think that fastest 20K requires milking? I always suspected that 100K is even worse from this point of view.

 

[Xerol]

Well with GOTM40 stashed away (low-scoring Domination) I'm halfway through the shields. I'm also going to have a Green Ambulance attempt coming up soon as well, probably in the next Diety game. I don't think I'll intentionally lose, but I'll probably be able to come up with a good scoring spaceship loss or something. Here's my analysis of how easy/hard it is to get a low score with each of the victory conditions:
-20k: Very Very Easy. It can be done with a OCC and since you're concentrating just on one city with that, you never get much of a score, and most of the game you're accumulating culture, brokering tech, and keeping on everyone's good side.
-100k: Not so easy. 100k = lots of cities usually, although it can be done with 10-15 cities if you spread wonders around.
-Spaceship: Could be done OCC, but 5CC seems more likely with this. Once again most of the game you're just a tech broker trying not to be conquered, at least in a low-score attempt.
-Diplo: Would be easy but with one caveat: The 25% land requirement. This isn't to say you couldn't do OCC/5CC until the late Industrial, then conquer your share of land, but it's not as easy to "reverse milk" a Diplo game compared to 20k or SS because of the requirement to become eligible for voting.
-Domination: I had trouble getting this one, which surprised me. Best way to do it is probably stick around with few cities until the Modern Ages, then go all-out with Modern Armors.
-Conquest: Can be done OCC/5CC, just raze instead of capture. Still could be a challenge though, considering you'd need to not only conquer, but also keep other civs from filling in the razed gaps with settled cities.

 

[Methos]

-Diplo: Would be easy but with one caveat: The 25% land requirement.

I thought that if you were the one who built the UN you weren't required to fulfill the 25% land requirement?

 

[Redtooth]

Just starting with this, just submitting COTM10, and hoping to just become an overall better player. Though a medal would be nice, I don't think I have quite the skill I need. I still don't really understand everything that's going on in-game or even with the many acronyms, awards and many types of games that seem take place outside. Overall though, I think I did learn a lot from this first game, and I hope to enjoy many more =). Also, COTM10 was my first Monarch leveled victory on a regular game, so I'm quite excited about it.

 

[Xerol]

I thought that if you were the one who built the UN you weren't required to fulfill the 25% land requirement?

Oops, forgot about that. Yeah, I guess that does make low scoring diplo a bit easier to achieve.

 

[shortguy]

Also, COTM10 was my first Monarch leveled victory on a regular game, so I'm quite excited about it.

Congratulations!! The first win at a new level is always quite exciting. My first emperor victory came in a GOTM, actually (36). I also got my highest score and earliest finish (excepting a tiny chieftain conquest) in GOTM 35. It's done a lot to raise the level of play for many people, myself included.

 

[Dynamic]

Why do you think that fastest 20K requires milking? I always suspected that 100K is even worse from this point of view.

Because the 20K is usually reaching much later then 100K and for getting a good score I must milk the game balancing on the Domination limit. You can look at Aeson's COTM08 (20K) and how many time he spent for that.