The thing with those games is that there are so many approaches you can go with, and you need to be uncommonly rational in choosing. For example, the usual advice in the early game is to build new cities as quickly as you can, because the sooner you build them, the sooner they can start expanding and producing resources—it’s a straightforward example of exponential growth and compound interest. But what if the map is set up with mostly water, and you start on an island without much space? You’ve got to adapt your play-style, and you’ve got to do it decisively. You expand as much as you can, then focus your efforts on improving the cities you do have, until you get boats and can start expanding again, this time backed by a nice industrial base and plenty of population. Because you’re on an island, you can leave cities undefended without too much risk, so you can devote more of your crucial early resources to things that will yield compound interest, like terrain enhancements.
It feels like an exercise in min-maxing, and more importantly, figuring out what to focus on and what to neglect—and having the audacity to go through with a plan that feels crazy but is actually very sane. I think that’s the main rationality habit you can take from playing Civilization.
The thing with those games is that there are so many approaches you can go with, and you need to be uncommonly rational in choosing. For example, the usual advice in the early game is to build new cities as quickly as you can, because the sooner you build them, the sooner they can start expanding and producing resources—it’s a straightforward example of exponential growth and compound interest. But what if the map is set up with mostly water, and you start on an island without much space? You’ve got to adapt your play-style, and you’ve got to do it decisively. You expand as much as you can, then focus your efforts on improving the cities you do have, until you get boats and can start expanding again, this time backed by a nice industrial base and plenty of population. Because you’re on an island, you can leave cities undefended without too much risk, so you can devote more of your crucial early resources to things that will yield compound interest, like terrain enhancements.
It feels like an exercise in min-maxing, and more importantly, figuring out what to focus on and what to neglect—and having the audacity to go through with a plan that feels crazy but is actually very sane. I think that’s the main rationality habit you can take from playing Civilization.
I think the main rationality habit you can take from playing Civilization is “Don’t play Civilization if you value your time at all”.
Not that I intend to actually follow that advice once Civ 5 comes out.… oh crap, that’s today isn’t it? Why did you have to remind me?
No More Turns!
I never played Civ IV, quite deliberately.
Then I suggest you don’t play sword of the stars either.
That was just cruel! ;)