Expect Huge maps to consume several weeks of steady play. I suggest Small maps for a balanced length. Larger maps are more fun to explore, but the AI will settle every hex of land eventually, and you’ll end up with more cities to manage. Now this is the setting that affects game length. Oddly, I haven’t found that slower game speeds result in longer games as long as you adjust your victory goals. Faster speeds tilt toward Science and Culture victories, whereas slower speeds assist with Religious and Conquest.
I prefer Epic because I like to enjoy the earlier eras, but I’ve played up to Online speed with good results.
