Victory.

Well, I won the aforementioned game in a time victory (!!!). I found that building multiple cities at the same time is the best strategy to have (for me, anyway). I built five cities right off the bat and developed them simultaneously. Later, when they were fully developed, I built two more. I caved and allowed open borders with two of the civilizations; it was really late into the game, so I don't think it made a difference (positive or negative) either way. I don't think it had any influence on my winning the game overall, but... I did it anyway. The main thing I did differently this game was dabbling in a little of everything I was offered. I didn't focus on just military or just culture. I just interchange between economy, culture, military, etc. It seemed to work well. At one point, it got difficult keeping track of everything. So I specifically took the time to move the boats created into the sea, put the military units at the borders, automated the workers, and (gasp) deleted the religious missionaries, who serve no purpose to me. They're in the way and don't do anything in my civilization so I opt to get rid of them. Again: [Disclaimer: This is only my perspective in the game, not in real life!] I seemed to keep up with the actual time period. As I entered the modern era, I was building Broadway and discovering Rock and Roll. I'm glad I discovered a strategy that actually worked for me. Now I'll have more of an idea regarding how to win again!

I'm finally doing well in a game! I built seven cities early on and started to establish culture and a strong economy before a military, because there were no other civilizations around to threaten me with war. I was Alexander and the Greek Empire, though I don't think it really matters who you build a civilization under... It all depends on how an individual person chooses to play. The only thing I'm still having difficulty doing is balancing all the cities. It's hard to keep track of all my people, all my buildings, etc. I keep the workers automated to build improvements around the city and I keep the warriors and cannons (all military units) "on guard" until I'm at war. There's no sense in having them around if they're not serving a purpose. [Disclaimer: That is not a perspective I have in everyday life, only in the game.] I'm still reluctant to allow open borders, but I do eventually allow them after I build a strong relationship with other civilizations. If they're "friendly" to me--or even "pleased"--I usually allow open borders. Never if they're "cautious" or anything below that. Rather than allow open borders, I would like to trade with the other civilizations because it's hard to keep track of the other people. That's usually what I do unless I'm happy with the relationship with other civilizations. In this particular game I'm playing right now, I'm in the year 1852 and I've built railroads and oil wells, so I guess I'm in pretty good shape. I've started to build science observatories in two of my cities, and academies are built in all of my cities. I inevitably (and somewhat accidentally) founded three religions: Judaism, Taoism, and Christianity. What an awful mix. But then I opted for free religion. It helped because each city had a different religion, so I built temples and monestaries in most of the cities which raised culture and happiness. Most of my cities are at 80% happiness; two are at 60%, but I'm working on those specifically to raise those numbers.

A little bit of sarcasm...

I’ve been putting off this first post in an effort to win a game—or at least prevail. I’ve failed miserably. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV is frustrating for me, yet extremely addicting at the same time. The farthest I’ve gotten is the foundation four cities under the Egyptian leader. I built a strong military, but it was overshadowed by the fact that I’m always reluctant to allow open borders with the other leaders in the game. There’s so much going on during every specific game, it’s hard to keep track of my own people, let alone anyone else’s. In the beginning, I would get distracted and opt to construct a lot of pretty buildings, rather than a significant military. I’ve since learned better from the hours I’ve played. (There’s the addiction kicking in.) Once I lose one game, I start anew, remaining conscientious of the mistakes I made in the prior game, only to make a different (usually more monumental) one later. It’s a terribly perpetual cycle. The first time I played, I lost in about thirty minutes. It was a good learning experience, to say the least. I got demolished by war elephants and chariots before those were even options for me. (This is coming from the player who, in an early game, still hadn’t had the option of building an aircraft by the year 2011 due to an apparently atrocious strategy—or lack thereof.) I thought I was getting shafted. Later, I got a little farther and I realized that I, too, could build chariots and train war elephants. Oh, how excited I was… until I saw war crafts flying overhead my neighbor’s civilizations. I, luckily, didn’t get bombed, but I got so frustrated, I quit the game and started a new one. I was determined to build war crafts. Good news… Eventually I did!! I lost (a time game?) to Julius Caesar and again, in another game, to Roosevelt. But at least I kept all my men, and I even killed some of the enemies. I didn’t quit after the time loss. I wanted to see how far I could progress. I entered the space race, which I lost, but it was fun seeing the technological advances the game offers. I’ve accepted the fact that I most likely won’t win the game, because I’m always playing against computers, which are set up to win anyway. My main problem is not having a legitimate strategy that can apply to all games. I’ve started to set up strong militaries right from the beginning and that has helped a lot. I’ve taken advantage of the settlers early as well. I establish multiple cities and mostly choose what the game recommends—though not always, because I’m convinced some options serve as distractions (which I fell for in the beginning, but am training myself not to do again). The way this is written, as I reread it, I see that I’m extremely competitive, but obviously only with myself. I take it especially seriously, which is odd, because I usually take very little seriously. Overall, however, regardless of competition, I enjoy the challenge, and I even sometimes look forward to seeing what I can do in each game. I’d like to think of myself as a relatively creative person, and I always hope my creativity reflects in the construction of my empire. (It usually doesn’t.) With the lessons I’ve inevitably taught myself, I’m excited to see what will happen with the empires I build this semester…