Civilization is Addictive
Civilization is ridiculously addictive. Careers have been lost, relationships ended, hours disappeared, all because someone decided that with one more turn, they could crush the Greek in a quick display of tactical brilliance. An hour later, the same person is pondering how one turn became thirty, and looking over at the clock, realizes it’s way past bedtime.
Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a little, but anyone who’s ever played a Civilization game can probably relate to this story. Why is this computer game so addictive? For starters, it gives you a sense of power, control and responsibility. It’s up to you to guide your people to greatness, mainly through military conquest, and if that fails, through winning the space race. If you’re really bad at the game, there’s always the diplomatic victory to shoot for, but be warned that you will be ridiculed by all your opponents when you win (even those who voted for you.)
For many, the Civ addiction is on and off. Like most drugs, withdrawal symptoms can present themselves in many forms, including fantasizing about accumulating stockpiles of ICBMs to nuke into outer space the next civilization who cancels its Open Borders agreement with you. However, once those fantasies have been realized through hours of pure bliss, real life can proceed normally until one day, many months later, the Civilization icon on the desktop beckons to be double-clicked on. The call is heeded, and somewhere, Sid Meier is smiling.