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[genital_grinder]

How do you even lose in DF? I mean is there any actual title that declares "Game Over". So far I found out that dwarfs pretty much carry on even if half of them have been slaughtered by goblins or some similar disaster. Or is losing just referred to restarting the game because of some major drawback? 

[Remuthra]

How do you even lose in DF? I mean is there any actual title that declares "Game Over". So far I found out that dwarfs pretty much carry on even if half of them have been slaughtered by goblins or some similar disaster. Or is losing just referred to restarting the game because of some major drawback?

You officially lose when you quit or when all your dwarves die. If you have go wrong at once, though, it doesn't neccesarily happen due to them being slaughtered.

[Muz]

Having lost isn't really that fun. The long period of losing, which includes flooding your fortress, tantrum spirals, epic sieges is what's fun. You can still be losing and recover several times.

[Tevish Szat]

All dwarves dead gets a game over screen that I believe is different based on whether you're under a siege or not.  "Withered"  "Your settlement has crumbled to its end". is the normal one.  Abandoning has similar results.

Dwarves will carry on pretty well, but it is more than possible to lose every last one if you can't get them protected from a threat that breaches defenses, or if a tantrum spiral/loyalty cascade occurs, leaving the only living dwarves as insane (not controllable, considered dead for declaring the game over.)  It's even easier to get into a position where your fate is certain but the  last few are clinging to life for a moment but clearly won't make it: say, isolated with no picks or supplies by a flood.

For all that people say DF is hard, though, basic defense against goblins is surprisingly easy.  Turtleing is trivial, and killing/stopping goblins with minimal dwarven losses only slightly less so if you use danger rooms and/or cage traps.  Once you have interface and strategy under control, truly losing fortress is more likely to come as a result of hubris than by planned-for enemy action.

Take chances.  Get Messy.  Make Mistakes.  Build Bigger.  Dig Deeper.  You'll find fun.

[Zealord]

Quite an ☼epic☼ post you made there, Tevish.

[WealthyRadish]

I would recommend going out of your comfort zone, and doing something wacky like an above ground fort (castles!) or embarking in an evil area. Even minor challenges like going for an open fort with no traps or a sober one can be interesting.

And then of course, there's modding. Giving gobbos tower shields and railguns can do wonders for keeping things fresh.

[Remuthra]

I would recommend going out of your comfort zone, and doing something wacky like an above ground fort (castles!) or embarking in an evil area. Even minor challenges like going for an open fort with no traps or a sober one can be interesting.

And then of course, there's modding. Giving gobbos tower shields and railguns can do wonders for keeping things fresh.

Does that sort of thing require a new map?

[Ploder]

I enjoy losing. I do not enjoy ugly, impractical, or erroneous design. My mistakes don't result in me losing but in simply having an ugly but stable fort, teeming with my little design mistakes that I can't erase but just sit there staring at me until I get frustrated or disappointed enough to abandon.