Welcome to my Civilization IV Website!

This site will list my reports and related pages for my Civilization IV games.  I have been playing Sid Meier's Civilization game series since Civ I in the early 90s, and continue to be drawn to the challenge of building an empire from a lowly band of settlers to one that can dominate the world or reach for the stars.  

I played the first two versions in 'isolation', so to speak, as I wasn't really aware of all of the great websites out there dedicated to fans of the game.  As Civ III was nearing release, I stumbled upon Civfanatics, an incredible website full of strategy discussions, modified scenarios and graphics, and an overwhelming amount of information about the game.  They also host several competitions, primarily the Game of the Month (GOTM), and options for cooperative play, known as Succesion Games (SGs), which expanded my horizons of what a primarily single-player game like Civ is capable of.  I learned a lot about Civ strategy, and particularly the opening (you know, the first few millenia ) from the GOTM and the Quick Start Challenge (QSC), where players would record their moves from 4000BC-1000BC and compare results.  

From there, I moved into participation in the Succession Games, in which a team of players work together to play the same Civ game.  Each player takes 10 or so turns, then passes it on to the next player, etc.  Everyone is working for a common goal (hopefully), and it's a great chance to discuss strategy and learn how other players face the challenges of the game.  

It was from playing Succession Games that I met the players from Realms Beyond.  They are a gaming community with interests that span many games, from strategy games to role-playing games.  However, they are drawn together by several shared principles.  The goal is exciting, honest, and challenging gameplay, and this is achieved by adding voluntary restrictions to add challenge to games after players have mastered the basics.  Cheating is prohibited, and exploits are to be avoided, even if they may be 'allowed' by the game mechanics themselves.  The structure of the events is also different, with the emphasis on playing the game and reporting the results, for comparison with other players, rather than competition.  A well-written report of a loss can often be more interesting (and more instructive) than a game that follows pat strategies to achieve a forgone victory.

I got involved with several of the Civ III Epics, as well as some of the Master of Orion events.  Now, with the release of Civilization IV, Realms Beyond is hosting both Epics (longer games played at Epic speed) and shorter Adventures.  This site will be where I post my reports on these games, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed playing them!

This page was last updated on 01/14/06.