The real enjoyment from these games comes from the moments when your clan/kingdom/empire is at risk and the stakes are high. Often times this only lasts for 20 turns. After that you are rich and pumping out high quality troops.

Other stuff is fun, like getting a really high kill ratio, getting "skilled attacker" building up your economy, but it doesn't really compare to being outnumbered on offense and needing a decisive victory. It's what makes all the little decisions you make actually important.

In many ways, multiplayer was the ideal. It's a pity they couldn't come up with an mp campaign or a least a better AI.