# Why is Sid Meier's Civilization so addictive? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 24, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268 "2010-02-24T16:24:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/21 "2010-02-27T00:38:45Z")
Civilization is great, but Alpha Centauri is my Crack. I just “recovered” the hunter seeker algorithm from Deidre, and im dropping Hovertanks all over the spartans, while a steady stream of orbital power satellites keeps me ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/22 "2010-02-27T00:59:45Z")
They make the game disk with a coating of crack that the laser turns into a gas that you inhale as you play. For me it is the complexity of the game itself. I will play a game and then I can say, well if I had done this instead of that, or made these instead of those, and then I can play it again and again and again and again and still find enjoyment and challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/23 "2010-02-27T02:06:20Z")
> [@](#): > > They make the game disk with a coating of crack that the laser turns into a gas that you inhale as you play. Nah, I haven’t actually put in the game disk for ages. In the latest versions of Civ3, you don’t need it at all, and even before that, it was really easy to circumvent (which I did only for the convenience of not having to switch out what disk I had in, not for any nefarious reasons). ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/24 "2010-02-27T03:02:24Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s not just that every turn, there’s something to do. It’s that every turn, there’s something on the horizon that’s taken forever to get to. If I were to make a computer game, I’d have rewards that take forever to earn, but are so numerous that you get one every other second. Then everyone would put _my name_ in the title of their threads. Dude, they already invented Farmville. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/25 "2010-02-28T09:47:56Z")
It’s like a soap opera, every time one issue is resolved, another one or two have sprung up that need your undivided attention. ---
**Author:** ![HotSmoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@HotSmoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotSmoke)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/26 "2010-03-01T20:43:17Z")
It’s addictive because it’s fun to play,it’s brilliantly designed and every turn has some kind of issue that must be resolved. I like complex games with lots of statistics and Civilization fits the bill for me to a T. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/27 "2010-03-02T15:13:27Z")
It’s a simple combination of frequent short-term rewards (awesome, I discovered Writing!) with long-term rewards (awesome, I finally conquered Montezuma after 700 years of war!) that manages to trip our mental reward centers. Plus, everybody wants to rule the world. ---
**Author:** ![HotSmoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d9b06d/32.png) [@HotSmoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotSmoke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/28 "2010-03-02T15:23:03Z")
I also kind of like how the other world leaders act like spoiled children when you don’t give them what they want. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/29 "2010-03-02T15:30:14Z")
Weird coincidence (or is it…) as I just bought Civ4 Game of the Year edition. I wanted a game that the spousal unit and I could both enjoy. She kicks butt at wargames, but we very rarely have the time for them. The plan is to play for about the amount of time we would have watched TV once or twice a week. I wonder how long that will last. I just installed it on my laptop and the opening sequence is nice and the interface looks very interesting. Easier to use than Civ2 (last version I played, I think). ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268/30 "2010-03-03T09:21:57Z")
Civilization 5 has now been announced for later this year. Changes include finite resources, hex-based tiles and reworked combat. I’m creaming my pants in excitement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-sid-meiers-civilization-so-addictive/530268.md?page=1)