When do you decide to give up?

[capnvonbaron]

Here's a good example of one. I'm Toku (naturally disadvantaged), got a start with forest everywhere (no commerce b/c everything was wooded, took me a zillion years to research BW), no metal close, and look at my neighbors:

Spoiler :

Yes, I'm only just starting to research pottery in 1800BC. Also, just a dozen turns before that, I kid you not, I thought to myself, "At least Ragnar isn't in the game" JC was my closest neighbor, followed by WK, GK, and Cyrus. Everyone except Wang became Buddha buddies, and naturally it wasn't long before poor Wang got an iron gauntlet in the face from everyone except Cyrus. I took Seoul, but that was all I could get before he got torn limb from limb and was knocked out of the game in maybe a dozen turns.

After that, Justinian ran away in tech because of the shrine income, Cyrus wonder- and religion-whored for millenia, and everyone shared every tech they had with everyone else except me, who they left to rot in the center of the jungle-infested continent. For heaven's sake, even Khan was leaving me in the tech dust! I probably could've protected myself, but I wasn't about to slog on for hours just to lose on an AP vote or something so... quit I did.

 

[CivIVMonger]

I hate games like that. Even if you stayed in the game I doubt it would even be fun. I should have included a relating option in the poll.

 

[Abegweit]

None of the above answers apply. I quit when I'm too far ahead and the outcome is obvious. I quit when my empire gets too big and the micro-management is too tiresome.

Actually, I almost never finish a game - but the reason is never because I'm losing. It's because I lost interest.

 

[symx91]

When I start a new game I always go "ok, I am gonna play until the end and enjoy the game, no matter what", but then I quit when I quit at about 1700AD, because the micro becomes a chore and I feel like taking a break and starting a new game later.

I am not the type of civ player who plays a game for days, I 've never felt like loading and old game instead of starting a new one.

The best way to enjoy this game is ROLE play until defeated, but I am not that kind of player

 

[BigChiefLizzy]

I quit sometimes when I'm sure of a win, space especially, my score is not a new record for me and I can't be bothered either building all the transports to attack another landmass. Or finishing the spaceship when it's half built and no AI is even close to rockets yet.

I do quit in later stages if it looks hopeless; I end up sharing a continent populated by AI nutjobs (Shaka, Monty, Ragnar et al), have to spend a couple of thousand years building troops to deter attack, or defending if that fails so my tech rate suffers. Then as I'm researching gunpowder or guilds I get the message someone has discovered liberalism - Mansa has, he's sharing a continent with ghandi and isabella and their all buddist/hindi buddies and have been happily living in peace and tech sharing for centuries

 

[LeHam]

I tend to quit after this happens

MESSAGE: [Enemy civ] has declared war on you!

Me: What??? I just lost three infantry attacking a city full of longbowmen???

MESSAGE: Another civ has declared war on you!

Me: loses capitol and major production city WHAT??? GARGH!

Enemy civ (complete with trollface): Lol, PROBLEM, LEHAM???

 

[Calouste]

I recently quit a game because I lost the Liberalism race on Monarch in 1130 AD.

Other than that I typically quit games fairly early when I found out there is no decent site to settle the second city, i.e. lots of desert or tundra, few rivers and resources.

 

[Zechnophobe]

I stop playing when the game is decided, and I've either won, or will not win impressively. Sadly, most games get to the industrial age and are a forgone conclusion. They all start feeling very very similar at that point, and less fun.... especially compared to the first hundred or so turns, which are always really fun.

 

[plasmacannon]

Tough choice between, "I usually quit when it looks like I will lose" and "I usually play until victory is clearly no longer an option".
I usually play on a LAN with a friend of mine.
So, I usually just stop playing, when we think of another type of game we haven't tried.
We have finished about half of the games.
In a few we have quit when, one player or the other is getting out teched and out SoD'd to the point of making the game unbareable.

I played one as Wang Kon, and the Maya got a religion, out teched me, and had elephants, axemen, Holkan and longbowmen in their SoD, and I didn't have elephants or longbowmen, not to mention my cool hwacha, which would have only been better than a normal catapult vs about half of their stack.

Nothing worse than drudging on, trying to defend vs an opponent with higher tech and units built.

 

[bitplayer]

I quit when it is clear I wont win or if I take a few day's break from a long game and come back to it with no idea what I was planning on doing. Marathon /shrug

 

[lymond]

I chose when "something significantly bad happens" as I didn't know what category fit my scenario as described. I do finish a lot of game regardless of loss. However, I hate when I have a specific strategy in mind - like getting a tech or wonder first - and it backfires on me. I've often quit on those. I rarely play with events myself, but have played some forum games in which has totally screwed me and gave up. I hate events and think they are poorly designed. I'll turn after turn of events that cause my cities to revolt or lose population and then some random quest pops up that usually rarely aligned to my goals. It's like a 10 to 1 ratio of bad to good events for me. They may add flavor to the game but it's a pretty bad flavor IMO.

 

[civnoob13]

Same as most of you.

I either quit when:
Someone far more powerful than me declares war on me
I am way behind everyone else in point
My economy is as good as dead
I don't get an early wonder like stone henge or great wall which I rely on
I am going to win very easily and unspectacularly so I get bored

 

[Shamonix]

I usually quit around the Industrial age. The empires get too large, the armies get too large, tons of new buildings, resources, etc. These all sound like good things, but it gets pretty overwhelming and it takes me forever to play each turn... then it just feels more like work than fun.

I love everything up through Medieval and Renaissance is pretty good too, but I rarely make it to the Modern Era before quitting (regardless of whether I'm winning or losing). I probably suck horribly at it.

 

[R0gue]

I will play until I win or another civ declares war & I am not prepared for war.

So to watch my excellent economy get destroyed. I cannot watch

 

[CornPlanter]

I never ever give up. This is the way to improve. If you find yourself in a bad situation and give up you will never learn to handle bad situations.

Example. Huge gold minus @ 0% research is the situation newbies give up at and good players aim for. Once you stop giving up at this situation and start looking for ways out of it, your real skilling up begins

 

[bestrfcplayer]

I never abandon games. I just stick with em' to the very end. Even if I'll win, or lose.

 

[CajNatalie]

I hate the idea of quitting, but I do restart games when I feel I've made a stupid mistake, or know that if I just did one little strategy change it would make everything a ton better.

 

[NihilZero]

Ah, recently I'm in a bit of a civ funk. I start a game, play for ten minutes and then quit. I have no idea what is wrong with me. I seem to have lost my motivation to play, yet I still have the habit of starting games.

 

[ace94d]

I try to play through bad starts. The only time I'll quit is if I get bored of the game, usually if I dominate TOO much.

 

[CHEESE!]

I play until I see that little box at the top-right corner. And then I get a moment of satisfaction/depression, followed by bitter self-hatred.

Then I go out.

I still love the game.