Zatko and I played again, twice, last night. The first time, I got whooped by Barbarians, and Zatko made fun of me by saying stuff like "BARBARIANS?!?!!! You SUCK!!" and the like. Then, about 25 seconds into our second game, he asked "Are you still alive?" I thought it was funny. I answered back with "OMFG HELP!!!!111111111". Then irony. A call from the East (I was on the west coast of this huge continent). "Dude, I'm getting killed by barbarians." I was like "Pffff it was funny the first time, you don't have to make fun of me anymore, I have a higher score than you." However, he wasn't joking!!! HAHA. He lost all of his settlers, which you need to create new cities and expand your empire, and only had 2 cities, which came under attack. It was great. I sent guys over there, but the little icon under the arrow said that the guys would take 39 turns to get there, which is like a thousand years. Maybe closer to a hundred. Plus, they cost me money as they get further away, with attrition and all that stuff. But, they eventually get there, and Zatko was still alive.

I finally learned a bit about how to play. The city view screen is tough to understand, but it is the key to success. I finally got it. I don't know how to make things happen like I want (less sick people, more happy people, etc), but I do understand the game more now, so that's good. All this time I've played other Civs, and never had a clue what I was doing.

In the second game, I got attacked by the Nation of India, and was able to fend it off. Without losing a city!! Sure, their malicious hordes will come through and destroy everything else on your land (farms, mines, houses, etc), but if you can hold out, maybe fight them off or wait until you can talk to the leader again and get them to sign a peace treaty before you get your ass handed to you, then you'll be in good shape. I'm addicted.