I personally learned a LOT about history from civilization games
this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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Unironically, the civilopedia entries from Civ 2 were one of my introductions to just how vast and different the past really was.
Exactly what I was thinking of lol
I still remember being about 9 years old and reading up on what that hell a phalanx was in the Civ 1 civilopedia. I was slow rolling into the game and they're great defensive units. Didn't learn how to pronounce the word for quite a few more years.
For god knows what reason, I pronounced it as 'phanalix' for the longest time.
And the winged hussars arrived!!!!
killer song and video:
Poltava is pretty good too:
Your in the snipers siigghhttt, the first kill tonight. Saayy goodbyyeee
Age of Empires 2 campaigns
For me, this was the Total War series, particularly the first Rome Total War. I remember my history teacher asking if anyone could point to Carthage on a map and I was the only one in the class who had any idea.
Lots to be learned out there from non-traditional sources if you pay attention!
Except the history channel, that ain't a valid place to learn history.
Hey now, some of us grew up on the History Channel.
So did I, but that was like thirty years ago.
Historia Civilis
I got a BA in history entirely by accident.
My college had βflat rateβ tuition, so you paid about the same no matter how many classes you took. Iβd throw in classes that seemed fun or interesting, and my college career was a mess too.
On the way to getting the degree I actually intended to pursue, I just took so many 3000/4000 history classes that at some point it was like βoh, I can do the survey classes as an inter session and actually get the degree.β
I think the most important thing - the thing you lack from things like Assassins Creeds or Civ or Age of Empires - reading primary sources. Especially when so much is online and translated into English. It is so much more enlightening to go direct to the source.
My college had βflat rateβ tuition, so you paid about the same no matter how many classes you took.
Wow. I would've abused that and dropped my GPA even lower than it was. XD
I had a couple of 21 hour semesters, 18 hours during the main semester, 3 for intercessions.
I took a two week course on the Vietnam war that kinda βpeakedβ me. I had done a project in high school and learned about My Lai on my own, but then learning that the Gulf of Tonkin was a false flag and how fucked it was that the US was like βyah no, we arenβt going to let you have the sovereignty you wonβ - it eroded any faith I had in the government.
Another fave was a course on Byzantine art. The iconography was gorgeous - I was blessed to visit the Louvre a few years later and goddamn was it amazing to see those ikons.