gated communities - bad for everybody.

Lesson #1 in How to Keep Your People Happy? Do not ignore their suggestions.

This week, I decided to start a CIV game in which I would not try to be successful. Instead I decided to rule my civilization with a "because I can" attitude. I was the ruler. They should not dare to question my authority.

Example: No, citizens of Rome, you may not build an aqueduct in the city. You must live among your filth for the rest of eternity. Needless to say, my city eventually fell, most likely to the plague (the game says barbarians pillaged my city, but I choose to stand by my plague theory). Actually, my whole civilization didn't least very long. I concentrated in making my people very smart. They knew all the new technologies centuries before other people did, they were just not fighters. In about 400 AD, my people were in such disarray that it was quite simple for a surrounding nation to conquer mine. Oh well.

While my people were living in the miserable conditions I created for them, I imagined myself to be living in a palace of pure gold, with slaves to cater to my every whim. I was living the good life while my people were slowing dropping like flies.

This is one of the points that Jared Diamond made at his speech a few weeks ago. Even though I wasn't really living the good life while my people suffered, I treated the game as such. I did not care about the health or happiness of my people (do you know how upsetting it is to look at your screen and see a whole bunch of angry red faces staring back at you? my cities = not pleased) I essentially locked myself in a "gated community." This became the reason for the eventual dissolution of my civilization.

As Diamond said, we cannot be members of a global community if we do not care about our fellow man. Sometimes the bests interests of the general public are our best interests as well. Only then will our own civilization be able to survive and prosper.

I'll step off my soapbox now...

the power of persuasion

Did you know that you can convince your fellow world citizens to declare war on others? Because you can. And that is this week's CIV lesson. How to make one weak country declare war on another. That way you can squash the enemy without being the bad guy, the key is the give the country declaring war incentive to do so - maybe a new technology and some gold, this may seem like they're being overcompensated, but you'll be ahead in the long run. Then, when both countries are fatigued by years of war, you take over both of them. Thus doubling the size of your empire.

Because starting any of this devious planning however, you must make sure to prepare your troops. Build walls around all your cities, place warriors in them, have catapults and warships at the ready. It is also imperative to have a complex network of highways and railroads so that your troops can cover a lot of distance within one turn. Otherwise, you're strong troops will be stuck in the city while the enemy is destorying and conquering your land.

Another good mode of attack is to do so from many angles - by land and by sea. I'd add by air to the mix too, but I'm not sure if airplanes exist in our little CIV world (correct me if I'm wrong). It took me a while to figure out (and by figure out I really mean I asked a CIV genius) how to get warriors on my ships to transport them to other lands, f.y.i. ships are so much faster than walking. Attacking from many locations is more effective than just pillaging one city at a time.

So let's review. Modes of transportation, i.e. roads, trains, war ships, are imperative to winning a war. In terms of battle, speed is just as important as fire power, maybe even more so. The moral of the story? No roads, no victory.

let's make a deal

No, I'm sorry Alexander of Greece. My score is 10 times greater than yours. I will not break my ties with Hapshatsut who is my biggest ally AND give you my knowledge of Economics AND 100 gold coins. That is not going to happen. Not this game. Maybe next time my cities get destroyed by barbarians and I have to start again and you are the second most powerful nation in the world. Maybe then I will make ridiculous trades with you. But until then, you will remain annoyed with me. However, it is in your best interest to get over it, because my civilization could crush your civilization like the puny little flea that it is.

In this game, my problem was getting the short end of the straw...every time I made a trade. At the beginning, I tried to avoid all confrontation and did not want anyone to be mad at me. Then I got over it. I decided who my allies were and who I would make trades with if they asked me. I chose not to suspend trade with anyone. This pissed off some of my fellow Earth-dwellers, but let's face it. I was better, stronger, and richer than them. They knew better than to try and pick a fight with me.

One of the best trades I made in the game, however, was the exchange of the World Map. One of my counterparts had circumnavigated the globe early on in the game. For his knowledge of the world, I gave him my knowledge of wine. I think I won. Because I then sent my settlers to parts formerly unknown and was able to settle on islands off the coast of Europe without having to discover them myself.

A problem with this game is that it is hard to relate real world values to some of the items (It would probably help to read the rule book, but who does that? Seriously.). I found myself trying to decide whether education was more important than gunpowder, or if the knowledge of the compass was worth a calendar and 70 pieces of gold. Decisions, decisions.

But the value of these items today aside, it is important to think about our trade strategies today. For instance, we choose not to trade with Cuba because of it is a communist country. However, China holds many similar beliefs but we trade with them. Why? Because these days China probably has the power to kick our butts in war. Not that we want to admit that. The threat of conflict (or lack thereof) dictates our willingness to trade with our neighbors. We do not want to be the country that irritates the next powerhouse of the world. Being friends with the person that could potentially harm you is better than being his enemy. The fact that you can benefit from his strength doesn't hurt too much either.