Oh, this just gets better and better.
Tried my first skirmish game today against the AI. The premise with multiplayer and skirmish games is that it is a race to achieve a set number of victory points. You get points for all sorts of things and the game can change on its head in an instant. For example, you get a point for having the most residents, taking specific regions, setting up a special trade route, gaining the most prestige, etc.
So it isn't a battle to the death which can get drawn out and become boring. Instead it enhances the strategic approach and keeps the game short and lively. Now the pre-release marketing video makes sense! It can turn on its head that quickly and there are many ways to achieve a victory.
This aspect reminds me a lot of the board-game 'Settlers of Catan' if any have played that.