trade to power.

i have found trade to be a very important part of the CIV strategy and in my rise to power. while inferior at times to ther civilizations i have made great deals in trading for new technologies for things i have used to thier full potential and do not need at that moment.
in learning of comparative advantage i have found it useful to make things that i can make quickly and trade them for what others may be able to supply better than myself.
trading and receiving new tools has helped me rise to the top of the game and have many allies in the CIV world. but now that i am at the top. trade is not the best for me. what other leaders offer to trade, i already have, and the only way to advance even more is to create my own goods.
manufacturing my own good takes time but is something i must continue inorder to stay ahead of the other civilizations. . .

reality of religion

although not the biggest part of my civilization with as much influence as i though there would be, religion has played a good part in my civilization. new religions i discover, it be polytheism, monotheisn, confucianism, or others have remained with my civilization for years. unlike in our real worlds history religion has not caused any issues in my civilization or conflicts with other civilizations. i have had the luck of spreading religions to other countries with whom i have open borders and good relations. also i have had the ability to spread a single religion throughout my cities to unite them under one religion.
as following the recommendations of the computer i find my self discovering new religions quite frequently in different cities, which confused me in a sense that in history all of these different religions were certainly not founded in one country. but at the same time makes sense becuase people in one country are not always united under one religion, most likely as times become modern and i cant say this game follows historys down to its very detailed path.
i have noticed tho by switching religions so often i must take time to build new religous buildings and wait for new religous leaders to emerge, and also send more missionaries out into the world and await for them to accomplish what they need. i think that it would be more resourceful to focus on strengthening of one religion and using time on other aspects of the game.
i guess i have something to possibly try next time ..

staying small...?

ALthough continuing to be cautious of other leaders in this game and having many be cautious of me, i have remained out of war. Without taking part in wars i have recently faced problems in spreading my civilization and conquering new lands. As time goes on there are less and less unchartered territories and useful resources to discover.
Im not sure if its a good or a bad thing to keep out of war...? becuase there are also many advantages. like focusing on a smaller amount of cities to build and control. This allows me to have a strong but maybe smaller military, with more warriors defending a low number of cities. and staying out of great conflict with other civilization with a much stronger, larger military.
staying small and out of conflict is only one way in which i believe i can survive as a civilization, eventhough there are many things i have not tried and considered. but as for now, its working for me...

Societal Advancement

While continuing to read Heilbroner i have been able to apply some of his major points to our Civilization game. In chapter 4, capital is simply defined as "anything that can enhance a person's power to perform economically useful work." In CIV a way of advancing in time and as a civilization is to stock capital whether it be weapons, tools, buildings, etc. - capital goods - that can help operate and create a more productive society. By collecting, saving, and rationing capital the economy of a society will enhance.

Technological advances have been made since the beginning of time, technology continues to enhance and become more complex and simple in a variety of ways. In CIV new technologies can aid in war and supporting your society. Cities become more industrialized and societies are able to distinghuish themselves from another and compete to become the greatest and most advanced. Without competition there are limited goals to achieve. Individuals and societies compete in almost every aspect of life to become the best they can. Competition drives advancement and change for better and worse.

So close.

I played this game pretty much all day yesterday and still have 60 turns to go. Remaining in Greece i have realized time passes slowly with the arrival of the Modern Era. And i am running out of places to settle and discover, land has become a scarce resource so I continue to improve technology, culture and military in my many cities already settled.
Although I have yet to enter into war with another civilization, some leaders are cautious of my intentions. I try to keep close ties to other leaders with open borders and negotiation of many trades and have succeeded in pulling away points-wise from other leaders.
I didn't focus too much on one aspect of my cities this time and improved all areas of my civilization. While exploring the land i have lost and won many battles. Men from the Barbarian state have destroyed parts of my land including hamlets, farms, and roads. After questioning myself on how this could have happened i have recovered, rebuilt and improved since the time destruction. I have kept military units close to my cities for protection and upgrade them at first chance. Keeping up with the times i think is a great way to move ahead.
As i continue to play this game i am thinking of declaring war on another civilization in hopes of conquering thier land and what they have to offer. I also intend to improve relations with another strong civilization and gaurd my cities and advancements to the best of my ability.

attempt #2

Well, I lost the first game I saved the other day so I started from scratch again, in Greece. But I believe i'm doing well. I've made it past the Midieval Era and have a total of 6 cities. Still in relatively positive relations with other nations, including having open boarders with a few, and have negotiated and traded with others as well -- doing this while keeping in mind the part Jared Diamonds speech about globalization. Diamond's definition of globalization included improved communication, the lowering of barriers, and the rememberance that there is a two way street in relationships of good and bad manner.
My military is strong and has defeated those of other nations while exploring the land, i have expanded on foot and land; on foot, horseback, and chariots, also a few catapults. In my cities i have concentrated on producing settlers and workers. My many workers are hard at work builing quarries, windmills, farms and roads in order to expand and modernize. Settlers are doing well and i have realized Diamonds observations of the ease and similatiry in settling on a east-west axis. The first time I attempted to settle north of my first cities there were not as many options of locations as were available east or west.
I have not neglected the cultural and religious aspects of my cities; i have developed drama and built and theater, and different religions have passed though my nation.
I am in the middle of the pack right now with other nations in my game and intend on improving what i can to move to be the strongest and most stable, remembering that what each nation does with ultimately effect almost every other one (Diamond speech).

Civilization

I've been playing the Civilization game for a while and I feel like i'm getting nowhere, but trying to figure out how to get ahead. I began to raise a Greek civilization and followed most of the recommendations made by the computer while playing, concentrating on growth of my cities and military aspects. My territory has expanded and I've built a few cities which are doing well. I've tried to stay out of war with most other civilizations early in the game but do not remain peaceful with all of them which is inevitable.

Since I was Greek, I went to the seas for food and started collecting some wheat inorder to create a surplus of food for the communites, this is important in a sedentary community to hold enough food to feed the entire population. I had yet to aquire the right materials and to build pastures and domesticate the animals in the area.

While i continue to play I plan on expanding cities and territory and advancing technologies in attempt to modernize my civilization.