As promised, I have started a new game. Well, actually, the new game was started last week but as of right now, I am Asoka the Glorious. I'm excited :)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

Having had little experience with games in general, except board games, I expected a bit of a struggle; both with the set up and the overall understanding of the concepts. The last computer game played was at the age of ten and was Need for Speed 1. Not very difficult. Settlers of Catan and other strategic board games are something that are common for me so I had an understanding of which regions worked best, which resources were more prevalent in the beginning and what basic strategies work best. However, because board games are not able to move further than the basic civilizations without having expansions, advanced strategies have not been formulated.
At first, I found that some aspects of this game were very interesting and were very beneficial to the overall understanding of ancient civilizations. The geographical detail was amazing as the game emphasizes the regions where certain resources were more or less common, routes that were being able to travelled. And the game's portrayal is accurate of locations of rivers, regions, and resources. The civilization I chose was the Indian people and aspects of India were portrayed in great detail. I found that this demonstrates how the geographical location of a civilization plays a very important role in a city's prosperity, both economically and politically.
First starting off, annoying aspects were also evident and really hindered my attention on the game. With only one or two cities started and only a few people within the city limits, there are only a few movements allowed. This shortens the lenth in between ending your turn and starting another, which, with every click of the enter key, becomes really monotonous. Also, as the people begin to explore, the travel distance is relatively small to the amount of land that is wanted to be explored. This also causes the beginning years to be filled with key pushing and less exploring and action. One other annoying aspect is you are unable to research multiple things at once nor are you able to finish an agenda of one unit without having to think about another. In relation to real life, this is pretty accurate as leaders were pulled in multiple directions in order to accomodate each aspect of their civilization.
In experiencing this game for the first itme, I have not had the opportunity to formulate successful strategies. From teh knowledge gained from Guns, Germs, and Steel, I know that expansion is key for prosperity in my civilization. In relation to the location of India, I knew that areas near rivers and fresh water, as well as protection from the mountainous region, were beneficial to the civilization. Being vulnerable from all angels, as China is to my East, Germany to my West, and Egypt to my South (along with others in between), I knew that I needed to protect my newly founded city before work was to be completed and explorers set out. Also, the location in which I founded my city needed to be capable of farming, domesticating animals, in relatively close relation to resources, ect according to Guns, Germs, and Steel.
With this information in mind, I started my first civilization in the Indian Empire.