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[Manchu]

I've been messing around with this game for a couple months now after trying it out a couple years ago.  I've yet to have a game where there has been a significant challenge in getting a fortress started and up to the 60-80 dwarf level.  At this point I find the game a bit tedious at that level as I've got food and drink stores aplenty, can handle all raids and seiges with relative ease and find most of my dwarves are ecstatic.  I usually get to this size in 3-5 years which seems fast to me.

Am I missing something?  Are there more challenges once my fortress passes a certain size?  I usually get bored with managing that many dwarfs and start a new one.

[Lafiel]

Easy 3 step plan to Fun:

- Terrain challenges (aquifers, no magma, no wood, your call...)
- House rules
and, of course,
- Megaconstructions, because usefulness is overrated

[Derakon]

This is a sandbox game, and right now survival is not particularly hard, especially if you allow yourself to use all of the tools available to you (c.f. traps). You have to make your own challenges.

[SquirrelWizard]

two words

elaborate death traps

[Hamster Man]

There are still a number of challenges available to you in vanilla DF:
-HFS (do a search in the wiki if you're not sure what this is)
-Getting a king/queen
-Going to war with EVERYONE

Granted, the HFS is probably the most dangerous option and not always available - I've yet to survive one myself.

However, if you're willing to branch out a bit, there are a number of mods available designed to make the game much more challenging such as the Dig Deeper and Orc Mod. Both of these will significantly increase your chances of being destroyed in the first or second year.

[UristMcGunsmith]

Embarking on a map with plentiful trees, no aquifer, a brook/river, flux stone, magma, bauxite, craptons of ore, and in a none terrifying/haunted setting is stupidly easy if you know how to start a fort.

Start on a haunted iceberg with no wood and an aquifer and tell me just how easy this game is.

[Jude]

There are still a number of challenges available to you in vanilla DF:
-HFS (do a search in the wiki if you're not sure what this is)
-Getting a king/queen
-Going to war with EVERYONE

Granted, the HFS is probably the most dangerous option and not always available - I've yet to survive one myself.

You forgot to tell him, in the feature finder, "HFS" (which is a slang term not used in the game) is called "other features." If you don't know what it is just embark on an area with some, and play. Do plenty of digging and eventually you'll find out.

[bluea]

Surprised no one has pointed out the modding subforum here.

There are some amazing modifications there. Some are low value. But there are some that have pretty amazing depths, and a couple that are quite a bit more difficult, and several that make Cthulhu out as a loving and benevolent deity.

[zchris13]

You mean creature. You can't predetermine deities by modding.

[Manchu]

I realize that I have far from plumbed the depths of the game, even without modding.  I'd like to get my latest 'easy' game up over 100 dwarves just so see if the numbers game creates any problems.

I'd say the most annoying thing so far is trying to find coal/lignite on a map with a magma pipe.  I thought it would mean I would not need coal but of course the steel making process does still require some.  Based on some of the comments this is far from being a difficult starting location.

[Telcontar]

Short term, your best bet is indeed modding. Especially for military challenges.

Long term, the next version is supposed to introduce significant challenges (back) into the game.

[Dorf3000]

I'd say the most annoying thing so far is trying to find coal/lignite on a map with a magma pipe.  I thought it would mean I would not need coal but of course the steel making process does still require some. 

You can always use charcoal, which comes from a wood burner shop.  Its kind of rare to find magma next to a sedimentary layer, which is the only place you can find coal and lignite (currently).

[Muz]

Well, playing on the suggested settings is pretty much "easy" mode. Try playing on a different biome. Build an above-ground fortress (like filthy humans build). Or build one in the desert/on an aquifier.

The game is really easy since there's a lot of exploits that haven't been fixed yet. Like the uber death traps. Or sieges not being able to dig through walls. And no lighting or oxygen makes it waaaay easier than it should be. Play it realistically, and you'll find it to be a lot harder. That's sort of where the "losing is fun" comes in

My hardest challenge is playing the game ethically. You'd be surprised how hard it is if you play accordingly to real life safety principles. Requiring safety grates on every building you make causes a significant drop to production

[Mandaril]

Oh the fun is not in creating a fortress that allows you to survive. Fun for me is trying to make a perfect fortress. I have yet to accomplish that. Usually I fail miserably in one part of the process and cause a catastrophic failure.

My last fortress was reduced from around 150 to less than 10 dwarves in a certain chain of events leading to a spiral of fun.

[Tyrius]

My hardest challenge is playing the game ethically. You'd be surprised how hard it is if you play accordingly to real life safety principles. Requiring safety grates on every building you make causes a significant drop to production

That should be added to the challenges list... Even better if you could have a 'Health and Safety Officer' noble...