Consistency

As I continue my quest to play this very intricate game. The experience changes ore and more every time that I play. It seems like once you get a handle on how to play the game, the other civilizations just start coming at you left and right. The chances to succeed in this game for a while, I thought were by chance, but eventually I realized that it was more than just chance; it became a matter of using your knowledge of your competitors to succeed. Initially when I started playing this game the experience was a very confusing one. I had to feel my way around. It was like taking baby steps. You know the expression you have to crawl before you can walk. That's how this game made me feel. It was a very emotional experience. There were times that I wanted to quit multiple times just because of the results I was getting from the other civilizations always capturing and destroying my cities. I learned that by fortifying each and every city the defense outcome was more positive than just have them spread around the city. The units were much stronger and this allowed me to have a more lasting chance to successfully progress to the next age or era in the game. I never really lost ground except for during certain trades. It seems that every time you create trading agreements with one civilization another one will make a agreement, and than want you to break ties with the civilization you have an agreement with. Bargaining became a very valuable aspect to one who played the game. By bargaining with certain trade-able goods and technologies I was able to create a balance with all of the civilizations I had trade agreements with. Some threatened to declare war on me, but I realized that by giving them gold after declining their offer made them cautious and they didn't come after me. Neutrality is one of the biggest factors that I have noticed for myself based on my gaming style. I feel that when I have neutrality that I last longer and don't have to worry about the other civilizations coming after me. I consistently keep the neighboring civilizations on my side and allow my self to complete the game without loosing. Until my method fails I feel that I will stick with it. This game is more than a learning experience its reality from the perspective of the past to the present.