[Blarg]

I stink at it too. The civfanatics site also reminds me how much people know about it that I don't. It did give me the occasional good idea, though, like rushing early by making a beeline for ironworking and chopping forests to help speed production. My last two games I conquered my two nearest neighbors, whereas before I was having trouble with them and sometimes got multiple civs declaring war on me at once when I was just being Mr. Nice Guy and minding my own business. However, last game it got me so far behind in research that I lost the space race. I shouldn't have kept every city, I guess.

I'll try the fast games soon, too, I think. But right now I want to get at least a little non-sucky at regular games.

One thing I do note about the game: it's the most boring game to read strategies about that I've ever had. There are so many details that, once mastered, don't really make the game more interesting. They're just more info to put on the checklist of things you know and need to know, which seem never-ending. The civ fanatics site is full of great ideas that it's half torture to read about.

I think the problem is the game is more broad than it is deep. I don't feel like more study of it is making it much deeper or more interesting as a game, so the study feels unrewarding. When I've read strategy on other games, I feel like it has been intriguing and stimulating. Civ 4 doesn't feel all that mentally stimulating, just consuming because there's so much to do and keep track of. Being consumed by something can be kind of fun, but ultimately it feels a little like a hollow experience in this case, because the game doesn't seem to be that deep, just very very busy.