First time experiences with a civ title...

badams52 · March 30, 2003, 00:51

Solver asked what title you started with. While that info is very informative, I love to hear stories from people about the first time they played civ (any version), moo (any version), etc. and how addicting that first time was.

And I wouldn't be a good host if I didn't start us out with a couple of my own stories. First from my own experience.

After a concert, my friends and I were hanging out at Steve's house (name changed to protect the guilty

) and he booted up the civ game on his IBM showing us how to play. We all watched for a while, and it didn't seem like anything special, but he gave me a copy of civ to try out on my own that night.

I don't remember the exact time I started playing, probably sometime between 11 pm - 1 am, but I do remember in my first game I played as the Zulus down in Africa and without the aid of a manual enjoyed every minute of it.

As the one more turn syndrome wore on, I could see the light of day become brighter and brighter through the window behind the monitor. Becoming too tired to continue, I looked at my clock telling me that it's 7 am and I laid down on my bed dreaming of my next moves before falling asleep. Waking up 5 hours later, my mind told me, "gotta play civ" and my obeying body booted up civ once again.

But the better story is my friend Gary (name changed to protect the guilty). He got a copy of civ II from his friend and began playing it that same night. He called in sick for the next 3 days.

And it's stories like these that keep my brother from even trying a game of civ, but that's another story.

SCG · March 30, 2003, 02:40

my first experince was when a friend (i'll call him Gary as it really is his name

) invited several of us over to try out what has become Civ I. nothing really significant happened that day = we played as a group the romans on chieftan, and were generally doing better than the AI, but we never finished the game. I do remember being confused by the tech tree and we had something against Ceremonial burial (we refused to research it

) It did inspire several of us to get the game though to play later. The one more turn syndrome (if i finish this turn, and get up 7 minutes before i have to leave for class, i can still get 90 minutes of sleep

) and the demo-style games (I was responsible for every city and unit derived from the first settler and my brother was for everything derived from the 2nd settler came later

)

Civ II came when one of the lab helpers at the university started installing it on every computer in the CS lab (and the shock of getting granaries from the Pyramids). Since gone out and purchaced new CDs of both 2.42 and MGE to better participate in various games in the Civ II forum. SMAC and CtP II came from a friend from church who found it too addictive so gave me the games so she wouldn't be able to play it and actually do her schoolwork

Never really got into either of those two games for whatever reason.

DrSpike · March 30, 2003, 08:34

I lost my civ virginity when I (at the tender age of 13

) bought Civ1 for my Amiga, due to some ludicrously high marks I saw it given. What's TBS? Well I soon found out, and haven't looked back since. I got a pc in 1997, a few months after Civ2 came out, and it was my first game bought.

Alex · March 30, 2003, 12:29

The first time I played CivII (I never played CivI before that) was at a friend's house. He said that he had bought a little game that I would probably like very much. Then he booted up CivII and started playing a few turns, while he explained the game to me. Then he asked: "want to try it?" Drooling, I could not even speak (ok, some melodrama here

) and started to play it... Man, it was absolutely addicting. Finally I had to go home, and I asked him to lend me his copy for a while. He replied: "Are you nuts?"

and I bought the game the very next day.

Sweet and tender memories...

GePap · April 2, 2003, 00:30

In school we had a computer class. Much fot he time was spent playing games like Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen sandiego. My friend and I were very good students, so our teacher let us play a more adult game, civ1. Then is when I got hooked.

Mr. President · April 2, 2003, 04:04

I started with Alpha Centauri. It came free with my computer, and the depth and the breadth of the game just blew me away. The quotes and the voiceovers made me think that it was based on a book. It pretty much went from there. I've tried Civilization, Civilization II, and Call to Power, but I keep coming back to Alpha Centauri.

Ecthy · March 4, 2006, 11:03

I can't remember the first game of Civ I played, but I do remember the first time I saw it played by a cousin.

Adagio · March 4, 2006, 13:03

I don't remember my first Civ game, but it was Civ 1 back when I was 9 or 10 years old. It was my older brother who showed me the game. I didn't have a manual, nor did I understand a word english, so getting into the game was a bit difficult

Provost Harrison · March 4, 2006, 13:23

The stories all sound rather parallel. It was one evening in 1993 and I had popped round to a friends house and he had Civ on his Atari ST and I played for a bit and was hooked! I even acquired a computer so I could play the game

I managed to acquire it in the evening and played until about 7am again and realised I had to go to school soon...painful day. I still managed to play it when I got home until I was so tired I had to go to bed.

SMAC managed to give me my longest sleepless period ever: 62 hours!

Grandpa Troll · March 4, 2006, 15:37

I lost it big time on a 60" T V Screen playing CIV II on Playstation

I played all day and all night, about 13-14 hours of more

It was my sons game.

(I am a big bully, he didnt stand a chance..

)

Then I went looking for it on CD and the lady (Thank her sooo much) told me of the newest CIV game coing out Call To Power which I have gone through 3 cd's (surface scratched on previous two)

The online experience of course I had to choose Patton

I played with Paul, Gary, Thomas Diemar,Quebec,Pin,Yoda,BerXpert,Faded Glory, and many many more back when we would have 20-30 people every Friday Night

I got back into CIV II Gold on PC and also Test of Time, then of course wide open with III and IV

Gramps

fed1943 · March 4, 2006, 16:58

Back in 1991,someone,in a store told me of a game,begining at stone age till our days;next day,as daughter traveled to London,I asked her to buy the game for the Amiga.
And several days later "At begining the Earth...".
Best regards,

Cyclotron · March 4, 2006, 17:10

I used to hang out in the computer lab in middle school after school, as I had to wait awhile before my mom got out of work to pick me up. I remember that they had Civ1 on a few of the computers; I suppose somebody made a good call and decided it was an educational game. We actually developed a whole unofficial Civ1 "club," we 6th graders, who would crowd around the few computers with Civ1 and talk about strategy and which wonder to go for and so on. The computer lab teacher used to get mad at us, as we made the small lab pretty crowded sometimes. And then, in 8th grade, the lab got Civ2...