Taking it Slow in Cliv 4

The most important thing in starting up a civilization is to take it slow and to not make decisions too quickly. It is important to make sure that your civilization is properly protected at all times. I learned this quickly. I made it through about two hours of the game without any problems and became a little cocky. Instead of strengthening the empire of several cities that I already had, I decided to go ahead and start another city. In this new city, I spent more energy on developing its culture, agriculture, and technology than on keeping it protected from invasion. My new city was quickly attacked and taken over by barbarians, and all was lost. So it’s vital to ensure that defense is always the number one issue, since all can be lost far more quickly than it took to be set up.
Similarly, it’s important to stay humble once you become a dominant civilization. That is, just because you have the power to invade others’ territories doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to actually do this. Abusing power can result in shaky relationships with other empires, which may be more powerful than you. Most of the time, it’s better to become friendly with others so that you may gain new culture and technology.
Another important idea to keep in mind is to never get too comfortable. After awhile, I had developed a rather strong empire with solid culture, technology, agriculture, and defense. However, I again became cocky and felt invincible. I basically just was doing whatever I pleased, such as conquering territories here and there just because I could. I felt that I did not need to work as hard and think through decisions because I had already established a successful empire. Before I knew it, I was being invaded by enemies, harmed by disease, and my empire was on the downfall. This can be related to real life situations. I like to compare this game to starting a business. Let’s say you work hard for five years on a restaurant business and you start a successful chain. Success in business comes from staying innovative to keep customers happy. Instead of continuing to work hard and develop new ideas, you begin to relax and enjoy the financial benefits that have come from your success. You buy a boat, a car, and a house, and you open a few new restaurants to keep profits flowing. But while your restaurants are beginning to plateau because you’re not spending as much time on new ideas, other competing chains are coming up with new ideas and drawing many of your customers. Before you know it, your chain could collapse completely and all you have made could be lost. So just like in a restaurant business, it is important to continuously work hard and stay on top of your tasks to keep a civilization running properly.