How do you have fun with the game ?

I'm a big fan of the game, been playing since 4, love to delve in its mechanics, always discovering new units, magic, possibilities, love the graphic style...

BUT past the moment where you "understand" how a nation can be played in a certain age comes the actual play and.... against AI it's very basic, pumping out waves after waves of units, either steam rolling you or sending them to suicide, a game of back and forth in the same territories...

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Then I tried to go in in MP and.... the pace of the game was weird, waiting for others to play, sometimes for a day, and when that person (sometimes it was me I admit) was not fast enough it was a good amount of pings of "when do you play" ? And the game dragged on for soooo long....

So, how do yourself had fun in that gem of a game ?