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Old 02-23-2011, 08:34 PM   #1
elektikakass

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Default My wife appears to be enjoying Civ incorrectly
After watching me play Civ4 for hours, building up cities and taking over the enemy's, she got interested and asked me to show her how it worked. Of course, I knew I'd be creating a monster--the game's addictive. What I did not anticipate is that she would become addicted without taking the game at all seriously.

A normal, average, and therefore "correct" Civ player will spend every single turn looking to maximize advantage, planning up to several dozen turns ahead. I am not what you would call a good player, but I at least weigh my options carefully. I maximize output from every square and choose what to build next based on how it fits into my plans for domination.

My wife has taken a deeply disturbing and more whimsical approach. She plays around at random, just clicking whatever sounds good and worrying about what it does later. She maintains that it's more fun to just explore the game world without worrying about winning. Also, she likes seeing/hearing me cringe when she does something like send a caravel with a scout to explore the polar regions when half the globe is still blacked out.

It's a subtle form of psychological torture with her. "Ooh, I think I'll build a theater next." "Honey, you don't have any dye and your culture slider is at zero. The theater won't do anything." "Oh well, they can build the theater anyway." "But...but...you're doing it WRONG!"

Then she accidentally knees the PC's power switch, losing at least twenty turns of "progress," and she doesn't get upset! Might my wife be a witch?
Umm... that's sort of how I played these games when I played them.

It's like SimCity. Yeah, you could go and be a boring nerd about it with planogrammed cities but it's funner to just play.

These are games. Not jobs.


This is also why I don't play StarCraft online because that **** feels too much like work. If you miss building an SCV when you have the resources for it, oh my god! That slight mistake could potentially be what gives your opponent an advantage over you.


Oh and by the way, Civ4 wasn't even all that.
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:52 PM   #2
tropicana

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Might my wife be a witch?


You should brace yourself for the possibility.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:17 PM   #3
KJnbceja

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You have Asperger's syndrome, she doesn't. That's why you think there's a "right" way of playing the game, and she's playing with the game, not playing the game.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:21 PM   #4
joeyCanada

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You have Asperger's syndrome, she doesn't. That's why you think there's a "right" way of playing the game, and she's playing with the game, not playing the game.


I mean look at who's talking in here. Lorizael and Elok. I mean we already know they're both soulless, joyless nerds

Of course they would say there is only one way to play a game and it comes at the expense of fun.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:23 PM   #5
dexterljohnthefinanceguy

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nm
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:26 PM   #6
Swidemaiskikemu

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You have Asperger's syndrome, she doesn't. That's why you think there's a "right" way of playing the game, and she's playing with the game, not playing the game.
No, we're both pretty sure she's somewhere on the spectrum, though she hasn't been formally diagnosed...
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:34 PM   #7
loginereQQ

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And Al, we both know you're just trying to get back on my wife's good side. It really hit close to home when you said chicks like her only dig guys like me for the status it gives them...
Status? There's no way you're rich.
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:43 PM   #8
pXss8cyx

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I said social status. Not wealth. Social status. And as with everything else, there are aberrations and cases of women consciously overriding their socio-biology, but the general trend of females seeking males for the social currency they provide seems very supported.
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:55 PM   #9
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You should brace yourself for the possibility.
She weighs somewhat more than a duck. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I can't recall.
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Old 02-23-2011, 10:58 PM   #10
wmhardware

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change the config file to a maximum of 9999 autosaves, and to autosave every god damn turn.

You can also change the difficulty to Deity in the config file, and if she doesn't notice when she starts a game...
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Old 02-24-2011, 12:31 AM   #11
Annyllop21

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I think the problem is that your wife sounds like a normal, well adjusted person.


Do you really want a civ nerd for a wife Elok?
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Old 02-24-2011, 01:21 AM   #12
seicslybearee

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I totally get you Elok because when I was younger I used to play games with my family. It was so frustrating because they always picked the wrong move. So it was always too easy for me to win.
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Old 02-24-2011, 01:26 AM   #13
Gooracouppy

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Make her bets for sexual favors if she doesn't win... then you probably will be routing for her to suck (pun intended)
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Old 02-24-2011, 01:39 AM   #14
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I usually give myself weird missions, like, naming my nation banana republic, sticking with republic as my gov, choosing a tropical world, and having as my victory goal controlling all the tiles with bananas in the world

I play civ 3 the most, at monarch, I am able to playing to win like a nerd with micro management and turn counting, but at monarch I can play "freely and carelesly" and the AI when I play like that is about as good as me, so it feels competitive.

Tring to win the most efficient way isn't the best way to have fun with Civ games, trying all ways of winning is what makes it fun, the nerdy way is only one of them.
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Old 02-24-2011, 03:45 AM   #15
AndreasLV

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Do you have a similar divergence in your household?
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Old 02-24-2011, 04:53 AM   #16
Snocioncilm

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Oh, I'm somewhat inclined to be a builder myself. I enjoy building more, largely because Civ4's combat mechanics can be frustrating--I miss being able to rampage around the enemy's roads like I did in Civ2 (why does Firefox's spellchecker recognize "Civ2" but not "Civ 2"?). I typically build up a tech advantage until knights, then do a one-unit rampage because I hate waiting for the artillery to arrive/heal. Like I said, I'm not a great player.

But dagnabit, I make an effort to do things for logical reasons! When I get a great artist, I don't settle him in a safe city, I send him to steal my border back from the rapidly-encroaching Babylonians! I tell her she's killing me, but she just laughs her sinister laugh...
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Old 02-24-2011, 05:19 AM   #17
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I generally avoid generating great artists at all (I don't go for pansy cultural victories). But if I do make one by accident, I'd rather get border push of some kind than three bucks a turn. Actually, I typically send them into conquered territories, but I was using an example from her game, and she hasn't gone to war. Oh, and of course they're good for GA fodder, if you're willing to stockpile them.
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Old 02-24-2011, 05:48 AM   #18
Xfxhbcxp

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Good idea Barney, might try it myself.
I think Mrs. Elok is enjoying Civ correctly.

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Old 02-24-2011, 05:59 AM   #19
Ferkilort

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Do you have a similar divergence in your household?
She lacks the patience to learn Civ, though I am 100% certain that if she gave herself the chance to learn it, she'd love it.
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Old 02-24-2011, 10:26 AM   #20
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I also think that Elok is totally 100% super serious about this.
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