Have you ever gathered your friends together for that oft-talked-about game of Civilization 5, had the prerequisite lengthy argument with people who don't want to buy the expansions, and finally loaded into the game, only to then drop it after one session because one player with way more experience than everyone else plays Babylon, rushes the Great Library and has now amassed such an insurmountable science lead that he can destroy the rest of the lobby by themselves...? Just me?
That's a very specific situation, but Civilization has historically been a snowball-y experience. It can be difficult to catch up to an adept player because systems in Civilization feed into one another, high science leads to high production leads to strong armies and so on. However, Civilization 7 might be adding a feature that allows for unexpected comeback victories. Some would argue players shouldn't be punished for playing well, but Firaxis will likely have compromised to make everything feel balanced - it's not the studio's first rodeo.
In an interview with Future Games Show, Civilization 7 director Ed Beach revealed "You have a chance to win the game at any point. You're never really out of it."...
