Play (Part 2)

I'm a trifle unhappy right now.

After playing Civ 4 through a single game for 4 hours straight, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that playing nice really doesn't work too well. Yes, Jeannie - I know you could have told me that outright but there are some things I need to relearn for myself. I'm sure someone has managed to win playing nice but it appears to be beyond my ken right now. In the game, war is oftentimes the easiest course of action when you're a superpower; I find it sad and terrifying that this sometimes translates over to Real Life too, as we've all seen in the past few years. :-(

I don't usually recount the games I play - whenever someone does it, it's always sounded mildly hokey to me. Having said that, I can't really justify my previous paragraph without recounting one and besides, it's funny. Of course, I'm sleep-deprived and starving (I have a fasting blood test this morning) so it might be that it's funny to just me alone - your mileage will vary. I do promise it'll be the first and last Civ 4 game I recount though, so you're safe either way.

So I'm happily building my little English civilization, minding my own business when the Americans (the game picked that culture, so don't blame me!) showed up, traded for a few turns and then attempted to attack one of my new smaller cities. Not exactly the smartest thing to do when all you have are bowmen vs. my musketeers. who are fortified in the city to boot. So I had to stop building beautiful things like the Globe Theatre and ramp up my troop production. Fast forward a few turns and they lose Washington to me. It's all fun and games until someone loses their capital city, so they sue for peace. I accept.

Next thing I knew, the Romans had landed on my opposite shoreline and proceeded to attack my main port city there. I repel them with my Redcoats and destroy their transports with my frigates. I'm glad I got a little paranoid after the first attack and had increased my military presence there too. I mobilize troops from my eastern cities and ferry them across to where the Romans were, on an island. Whoo! I get to use terms like "military presence" and "mobilize" and sound just as goofy as the government-types on TV - see how personally enriching computer games can be? ;-) Again, after losing Rome they sue for peace. Pax Katherina reigns.

For a fair number of turns anyway. The Romans break their peace treaty shortly after the 10-turn agreement ends. I was expecting that and was trying to build the United Nations wonder before it happened, so that I could at least try for something other than a Conquest or Domination victory. Just as the last Roman city falls, the Americans attack my western borders without warning. It didn't last long though. I brought my carrier and transports out from where they were hiding offshore and ended the game rather swiftly. Mounted knights don't do very well against fighters and tanks.

*sigh* Why can't we all just get along?