Uncomfortable Discussion- is Civilization obsolete?

Online Civ has largely removed the need for the 12 hour boardgame IMO. It was groundbreaking, but the electronic medium is superior in every way. Less bookkeeping, upkeep, and fiddling. The core changes to the game are also better in the vidya game version I feel. It's not fettered by the need for physical components, which allows for more depth without making the game overwhelming.

The same couldn't be said for so etching like Lifeboats or Cosmic Encounter, where I think the face-to-face interaction definitely improves the game on every level, no computerized version will ever replace those games.

I haven't played Civilization much, but I really don't think you should take 12 hours to complete it. There will be a lot of trades to be made and limiting them to a couple minutes won't really make them less interesting, so it's the best way to significantly cut down the playtime.

This may seem counterproductive because if there's a reason why Civilization is not "obsolete" is the trading. No other game has something like it, at best it's toned down or euro-ized which is good but not as powerful. It's the reason to play it, I think.

But if you don't like that aspect as much, I think Age of Renaissance is better. The mechanics are tighter, the technologies are extremely interesting and the playtime is very manageable. The only problem with it are some swingy issues and need to play it several times. Otherwise, it's the only game that strikes me as being similar to it.

Interestingly enough, the designer of AoR wants to published a sequel to it or at least an updated ruleset. He was surprised people were interested, let's hope he finds a way to publish the game.

Age of Renaissance definitely belongs in the same tier as Civilization. Both are irreplaceable as far as I'm concerned. Looks like I'll be playing Advanced Civ again on about 10 days.