Well i was playing CivIV today and it only took me about 2 - 3 hours to complete this game ( get to the end of the time limit ) and i thought that was VERY short ... does it take anyone else this short too play ?

Noway, but at the end of the day, it all depends on what level you played as, and what you did. I aim to learn all techs, and global domination and that takes a whole load of hours for sure. What level did you play at?

Indeed. If you have a small empire based more on diplomacy, you have to expect the game to not take as long for it to finish as if you expanded quickly or had a lot to contend with. I can spend a large amount of time playing Civ games just because I end up trying to expand my country as much as possible.

Well for me, I find it bad that there is a set time limit, usually ending in 2050 i think it was? I mean I just picked up the game.. so I might be over looking a way around it.. but it does end, but still many hours of gameplay.

Does turning the "score" victory off remove the time limit? I notice it doesn't have the "turns left" mention in the victory conditions when I do turn it off, but my games normally end before 2050 AD anyway. I normally play with the marathon setting on, so my games sometimes take days.