Too hard to learn

[runhua]

Don't know how to play. I watched Youtube tutorials-helpful but not really. It is too complex to remember.....takes too much time to play.....

[Copernicus]

The appeal of Civilization, as with most "Strategy Games", lies precisely in the complexity of the game. The fun here is to predict the future; to theorize what will happen in one turn and then five turns and then ten turns; to form a strategy for your side to benefit as time moves on.

There are a variety of ways to simplify the game or reduce the difficulty level, if you really want to play. But there are many, many other games that emphasize tactical thinking or real-time reaction to events rather than focusing on long-term strategy; you may find those genres more to your liking.

[plaguepenguin]

This is a complex game if you use all of its many mechanics, but you don't have to bring most of those mechanics into play in most games. Civ VI is also a simple game if you stick to the basics and do well enough in the core mechanics to beat the competition. Start playing at Settler difficulty and you can win using only the core mechanics

Strategy guides, YouTube or text, have a role, but mainly for after you have a grasp of the basics. The game teaches you the basics as you play.

The basic strategy is expansion. The player who extracts more yields from working more tiles and more districts can use those yields to win. More tiles and more districts requires you to get more cities. You do that either by making settlers or by making military units to conquer cities others have built. That's simple and intuitive -- grab more space.

The only thing you need to consider besides expansion in space is the time dimension -- you have to make your tiles, districts, and military units more powerful as time progresses. You do this by moving up the tech and civics trees to make your tiles and districts more productive and your units stronger. You prioritize building campuses and theater squares to augment the yields of science and culture.

The last element in the core is that you have to pay upkeep on your buildings and units. The amounts needed rise as the units and buildings become more advanced, so you need gold. Gold also lets you upgrade your units to higher tech level versions of the same unit type. Gold is nice for all sorts of other things, but these are its core uses. You get gold by building harbors and commercial hubs, and the traders they let you produce.

Start at Settler difficulty on a small Pangaea map, with disasters set to 0. The idea is to play at these easy settings because they will let you play a game out without being stomped by the AI before you have a chance to let the game teach you the need for and how to handle all the non-core mechanics.

Yes, you do have to learn about housing, for example, because city growth is handicapped if you don't keep your housing capacity ahead of your population. Intuitively you already know to settle on fresh water without knowing anything about the abstract concept of "housing", so do that, and then when your city growth stalls at 5 pop, and even lower if you didn't settle on fresh water, look into why that is and start to learn about housing, and what you have to do to increase the housing limit in your cities. You have to live long enough to get your cities to 5 pop for this learning process to work, which is why you start on Settler.

All of the many mechanics in the game other than the core are nice to have, but not need to haves. Well, you don't need any of them until you're up to Deity, at which point you will need some razzle-dazzle combo that probably includes some non-core elements if you are to overcome the massive advantages that Deity AI get. That's where the game gets complex, in the interface among all the many mechanics you can deploy to beat even Deity, but most of which you don't need on Settler. As you play on Settler through Prince, different games you play will present problems that are best handled with some non-core mechanic like religion or espionage, and that gives you all the intro you need to learn these mechanics naturally as you play.

This all takes time. There's no way around that. The game is in its fullest expression complex and demanding of your time and attention, which is exactly why its fans keep playing it.

[runhua]

Big thumb up to you guys. Thank you very much!!! I will try to just enjoy playing the game rather than second guessing if the best decisions have been made in each round. I guess constantly concerning about if i have been falling behind of the computer in the game takes away the fun.

[Wombat Warrior]

Originally posted by runhua:

Big thumb up to you guys. Thank you very much!!! I will try to just enjoy playing the game rather than second guessing if the best decisions have been made in each round. I guess constantly concerning about if i have been falling behind of the computer in the game takes away the fun.

Falling behind doesnt mean anything. Once you get to higher levels you spend most of the game behind positioning yourself to launch past them at a critical time. Just have fun, find the way you like to play and try and make that work. Roleplay if thats more your thing. Even if you dont "win" you can still enjoy the time you spent, and thats all that matters.

[runhua]

Originally posted by Wombat Warrior:

Originally posted by runhua:

Big thumb up to you guys. Thank you very much!!! I will try to just enjoy playing the game rather than second guessing if the best decisions have been made in each round. I guess constantly concerning about if i have been falling behind of the computer in the game takes away the fun.

Falling behind doesnt mean anything. Once you get to higher levels you spend most of the game behind positioning yourself to launch past them at a critical time. Just have fun, find the way you like to play and try and make that work. Roleplay if thats more your thing. Even if you dont "win" you can still enjoy the time you spent, and thats all that matters.

Thanks for the advice.

[mrp8196]

Its not that hard. It does take some hrs though

[FireFie]

did you ever played a paradox title? ... xD

I love to play civ
I cant play hoi4

qwq

[ulroth]

The computer is mostly stupid and builds a handful of units then stops.

[runhua]

Thanks. First time playing a 4x game. There are lots to learn and to remember.

[mrp8196]

put dipllomatic victory on off then
Joao 4722 mil power

[SlasH]

Originally posted by runhua:

Don't know how to play. I watched Youtube tutorials-helpful but not really. It is too complex to remember.....takes too much time to play.....

No offense, but if the game asks too much of you, consider trying another game/genre. Complexity is what Civ was always about, beside other things.

[runhua]

Thanks for the advice. This might be true.

[Powellinho.72]

Originally posted by SlasH:

Originally posted by runhua:

Don't know how to play. I watched Youtube tutorials-helpful but not really. It is too complex to remember.....takes too much time to play.....

No offense, but if the game asks too much of you, consider trying another game/genre. Complexity is what Civ was always about, beside other things.

While CIV is not the most complex strategy game he could play, he did mention its his first 4x game, so being completely new and struggling is totally understandable. They also have a steam profile only 3 years old, maybe they are young and got into pc gaming only then.

Ya know, instead of the lame reply about playing a different genre, maybe show abit more encouragement. You yourself once, was getting your butt handed to you on civ

[The Grimm Reefer]

This may seem like silly advice but, I tend to do a do a "Ok, i gotta learn wtf all this is" games by setting it to the easiest difficulty, removing all victory types except domination, drop it down to just me and one other civ.

That way I can make it through a long game, learn what the upgrades and technologies are and not have to worry about suddenly losing from culture or religion etc etc. Don't have to finish the game mind you. But a great way to practice how things work.