I've found that Civ is great to play if you're time poor, if you have the self control for it. It's totally possible to play just one or two turns a day, and play a game out over several weeks.
Total War, on the other hand, is not so good. Too many times I've thought "I'll just finished this turn up", and then when the AI has their turn, I end up stuck in half a dozen battles and 2 hours later I'm still playing.
Do you remember the commercial ads for this game?
Many of us will keep telling ourselves "just one more turn", "no really the next turn is the last one" until day breaks.
Total War, on the other hand, is not so good. Too many times I've thought "I'll just finished this turn up", and then when the AI has their turn, I end up stuck in half a dozen battles and 2 hours later I'm still playing.