Civilization

This weekend I introduced my girlfriend to the wonderful world of real-time strategy games. Why? I have no idea. Yet another way to lose her for hours on end. It did offer some amusement though.

The game of choice is a classic; Age of Empires. First scenario, guiding an Egyptian hunter. He has to gather food by hunting Gazelles. "I don't want him to kill them. They're nice. Aren't there some mean things he can kill?" After I got her to accept that he was a good stone age conservationist that would only kill at need, the rise of Egypt began in earnest.

Some number of hours later she was still playing. I watched as she built a major land army to battle some marauders, probably Libyans. She grabbed up some idle villagers and coolly sent them to dispatch some nearby gazelles. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Building my army." I watched as she started the military buildings training another set of soldiers.

"I see that, but you have plenty of food. What's with the hunters?"

"Oh, they just needed something to do."

Games follow life.