Civ V: How it's helped my relationship

My girlfriend is at Uni; she has been there for almost 2 years, with the odd break every so often where she gets to come home. It's tough, being away from the one you love, but certain things help when missing them. Sure, there is the usual phone/Skype calls, and visiting one another... But one thing that has helped, is multiplayer, namely Sid Meier's Civilization V multiplayer.

I first played Civ way back, when I was but a lad; my mate had it on his Amiga. Every so often when I was at his house, I would pester him to fire up the Amiga so we could play it. Later I would come to own it myself, where I spent hours building up my civilizations in order to crush the opposition under the might of my armies. Yes, I'm a warmonger when it comes to Civ. Over the years I tried out the many iterations, and when Civ V was released I snapped up a copy.

My girlfriend, Becky,  and I got together back in July 2011, and over this time I have introduced her to a handful of different games I've enjoyed on my own; Dota 2, World of Warcraft and Civ V. She has played all three extensively, on her own, and with me. But Civ V seems to bring a part of her personality out that the others don't, her inner barbarian. We have spent countless hours exploring, trading and warring together, as we usually make sure we're allied and play against the computer. But recently we have started a game that's totally open, nobody has started off in an alliance, including Becky and I. I did think that perhaps once we meet each other in the game I could propose an alliance, but the first encounter we had ended with Becky's archers turning my scout into a rambling pin cushion.

Of course that first encounter was met with retaliation, which saw my troops eradicating one of her catapults and some of her warriors. This was promptly met with a call for a cease fire from Becky, to which I agreed, but only if she paid a tribute of 100 gold. Swiftly declining my counter offer, Becky suggested I pay her 710 gold, the entire contents of my Civ's bank. Since that first meeting we have been at war (in game), and the end of it doesn't seem anywhere in sight. She is ruthless and will pick off any of my units every chance she gets, and I have to admit, it's difficult to play against her - she's relentless.

My point is that gaming has given us another avenue in which to spend time together, especially through this time she is at Uni. Sure, talking over the phone or on Skype, and texting each other all helps, however gaming brings a whole other level of interaction and experiences that you just can't get when miles apart, and it helps a lot.

Despite the fact that whenever I play Civ with Becky she always tries to wipe me out, it's all in good fun and there is no real animosity there... right?


Do you play games with your loved ones? Which games do you enjoy/endure together? Have you any suggestions of games which Becky and I should try out?