DItto. Kids with Civ V don't know how easy they have it these days.

Yep the AI takes no prisoners, it's what makes Civ3 a great game.

Civ3 goes to war for almost any reason, and is quite willing to throw every unit it has at you. Love it!

i must have at least 200 units on my border with russia, they come with multiple stacks of 30+ units and stacks of 20 x artillery. its been some hardcore fighting on the border

here is a way to cheese the AI. if you are barely holding on for defense, send a detachment into enemy terriorty, a week spot were there are no troops, jsut cities, open diplomacy and demand a peace treaty from them, they will give you money to end the war, a little Sun Tzu trick of making offense play the role of defense.

Kids who play Civ V have no idea what the "stack o death" even means!

Originally posted by Bravozuluf:

Kids who play Civ V have no idea what the "stack o death" even means!

I prefer the old way. I find Civilisation V awkward and more difficult with the one unit per tile rule.

Hell yes! The old III has something that new Civs does't have!

Don't forget there are other ways to wage war. Deny opponents access to strategic resources like iron and horses. Cut roads and trade networks. Speedier units rule the battlefield.

Does anyone have a problem (even on lower skill levels!) of never being able to complete a wonder because some other, supposedly more advanced civilization which you have yet to encounter, has beaten you to it? Really, if I can't make wonders on my own, I'm going to ditch this game and go back to Civ. 4, 5, or 6.

Originally posted by kaliman:

Does anyone have a problem (even on lower skill levels!) of never being able to complete a wonder because some other, supposedly more advanced civilization which you have yet to encounter, has beaten you to it? Really, if I can't make wonders on my own, I'm going to ditch this game and go back to Civ. 4, 5, or 6.

The easiest 1 and 2 level is fine, you are able to complete a wonder faster than the computers, but beyond that I don't know.

Originally posted by kaliman:

Does anyone have a problem (even on lower skill levels!) of never being able to complete a wonder because some other, supposedly more advanced civilization which you have yet to encounter, has beaten you to it? Really, if I can't make wonders on my own, I'm going to ditch this game and go back to Civ. 4, 5, or 6.

Are you effectively leveraging builders and city placement to make big productive cities? The AI is fully capable of actually making wonders in this game.

Additionally it's worth noting that you can roll production. So set a city to build a palace, then swap it over to a wonder once you've unlocked the tech for it to race faster.

Also important, are you engaging in diplomacy to avoid falling behind technologically? If the AI is beating you to techs by 30+ turns, don't be surprised if they are beating you to the associated wonders.

Just got the game, going to go right into Prince difficulty. I remember playing as a kid, Civ 2 was my first, loved Civ 2 but its a bit outdated, I think Civ 3 still stands the test of time. I really enjoy the leaders image change per era, and the small attention to detail in Civ 3, the ones after it kinda get too mainstream and not so much detail in everything really. So looking forward to it.

I tried later Civ's but they never really resonated. I was super excited for 4 & 5, especially for the hex map, but it just didn't fit the bill. Never stopped playing III.

yep if you don't build a military in civ 3 the AI will actually punish you hard for it, don't need amazing AI when the AI has 30 units all stacked up to go against a couple weak city garrisons.

As someone who grew up on this game welcome to the struggle bus. The civ 3 ai is probably the best ai they ever created for these game's. It will produce units, in mass, it will attack attack you, it will race you for wonders and it will make you're life a living hell. Start location matters, diplomacy matters, city placement, city deving, and unit production all of it matters.

If you want some tips from a vet
1) If you don't like the spawn restart. You have to be picky about starts. Ending up in the swamp or jungles can be a deathsentence at higher levels.
2) Rush the great library. The ai doesnt go for lit cause it's an uneeded tech. Getting the great library will keep you competitive early on as it will give you any tech 2 other civs you have met have researched.
3) Memorize the city placement ranges, then maximize placement. However, don't be afraid to use cities to block the ai from settling in places you don't want them
4) If a nation that was historically warlike demands something from you and you don't have a strong army, give them what they want or they will declare war.
5) Diplo with the AI is vital. Build embassies, make alliances. The ai is a power.

Should you go to war at any level over 3 You are going to need at least 20 attack units. Other posters aren't kidding when they say "Stacks of doom" at monarch I have seen the late game ai come at me with with stacks of at least 30 units and multiple of such stacks. You need to have enough units to hold out until the ai runs out. Then and only then you can attack into their territory.
But yeah welcome to civ 3 baby !