A game can be concluded in under 45 minutes (against an AI) when the map is small and you rush the enemy quickly. However, large games take noticeably more time. My first Random Huge Multi game against AIs took me 16 hours to conclude.

I believe the two hour estimation applies to multiplayer games, where people are in teams and tend to quit the game in groups when the situation is hopeless. The AI doesn't quit the field (sometimes it does, but not as soon as a player who sees that victory is nigh impossible). Moreover, the AI cheats badly on higher difficulties so wasting half of its planets doesn't hurt it as badly as it would a player.

Also, don't forget you can speed the game up via the GUI in Entrenchment and Diplomacy or the -/= keys in any game (all the way up to x8).

I played Sins for about 3 months until I got Entrenchment and found out you could speed up the game. It makes it a bit harder, but overall more fun.

Depends on what kind of game you're playing.  A massive 10-way free for all will take you several hours.  Even I'd probably take four or five hours or so to win.  On the other hand, it's easy to do this in a regular-sized 1v1 scenario.

I regularly beat unfairs on random 1v1 in under an hour.  My typical timeline is to identify the enemy's homeworld and important chokes by the 5-minute mark, and by the 10 minute mark have the entire map explored.  I lead with the colony-class capital ship of my respective faction and make a bee-line for strategic planets in the middle of the map, skipping planets with heavy militia.  I then set up a staging base up front and research starbases.  Often times if I get particularly aggressive, I may have to absorb an immediate attack, and having repair bays researched is important.

Once I research starbases, I will pick an *enemy* planet to starbase.  Typically I will choose one that either cuts off his avenues of expansion, provides me excellent avenues for attack, or is a juicy target.  If the homeworld is vulnerable, I'll go for it!  I build the starbase close the enemy planet and then start bombarding.  The enemy fleet, unless it arrives particularly quickly, will charge a fully-completed starbase and get destroyed. 

While this happens, I usually build a second capital ship.  If I think I can push for a total victory shortly, I build it on the front lines to either support my main attack or open an attack against a second planet.  Otherwise, I build it back at my homeworld and send it out to continue my expansion.  Usually by the point I have a few starbases up the enemy has been pinned down, lost some critical planets, and its fleet is in no position to counter me.  It's just a matter of time before I win.

Maybe I'll get a replay up to demonstrate a speed-run against an unfair AI...

That's a very informative reply.....but.....'starbase'? I don't know anything about these. I'll have a 'quick' game and find out.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I'm doing mostly the 1v1 small random maps or small 1v1 scenarios.

Cheers.

You shouldn't have any problems at the easy level- but if the AI wins it will be a long game, as you have discovered.  Advice would be easier if you would explain more about what your approach is, and where you are losing- are you unable to build up a fleet bigger than that of the AI because you lack finances?   Also, what version of the game are you playing, and have you got either of the expansions? 

Yes, that's important.  If you don't have at least Entrenchment, then you won't get Starbases.  Diplomacy?  I just started yesterday and I'm not sure what entirely is added and what was just moved to the new tech tree.

My core strategy in a random huge map is to buld 10-20 scouts and research star-jumping ASAP, claiming the most worth-while neutral system with a Colony Cap and locking it down, then you won't have to deal with as many enemy attacks while you build up your empire and attack.

It'll still drag the game on for a bit, but when done quickly enough, and if you keep your momentum, then only AI Team strikes will be able to break through and beat you completely.  In a map that big, I estimate roughly 6-8 hrs, or more if you have all 9 enemies active on the highest difficulty.

-Exile Ascendant

Yes, those are definitely doable in under an hour.  While you're still learning it's normal to have to take your time.  I'm an experienced player who acts decisively in the first 15 minutes of the game, so it's not uncommon for me to have twice the empire the AI has before the first shots are fired.

Starbases were added in the "Entrenchment" expansion pack, which you may or may not have.  If you bought the "Trinity" version, you have both expansion packs (Entrenchment and Diplomacy).  If not, you can purchase them via Impulse for about $10 each.  Starbases are incredibly powerful battlestations that can torch small fleets without difficulty.  Taking them down requires patience and caution, two things the AI lacks.  As a result, it's not uncommon to see them throw their units away against a starbase that's clearly too strong for them.

Anyways, the key to winning fast is actually in the first 20 minutes of the game.  You have to move quickly, colonize a large empire, and then strike the enemy aggressively.  The AI tends to start playing defensively at this point, building up fleet which will make it more difficult for you to finish it.  This is why you have to be aggressive, to knock it out of its comfort zone and keep it engaged. 

If you have Entrenchment, I'll put up a replay of me vs an unfair in a 1v1.  I picked a pretty brutal one where I had annihilated its fleet and was bombarding its homeworld by the 30-minute mark (though it refused to surrender, so it held out until 50 minutes).

Don't worry about taking a long time, my first games did too. They didn't get any shorter until I became much more familiar with all the games features. I'd recommend reading this

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/374670

It will help you get better acquainted with all the nuances of the game, and you'll be stomping comps in no time.

Thanks for the replies. I don't have either Entrenchment or Diplomacy, just the basic version. I will get them some time, but I would prefer to get used to the basic game before I move on to them.

My basic strategy has been to move out and look around for as many planets as possible. When I find pirates (which I have made inactive) I just get away from them. When I find a colonisable planet, I usually attack whoever is there and take it. This strategy usually has me being in possession of, say, four planets, with one pirate 'planet', a magnetic cloud or something, and three planets untouched. Then, after building up a fairly large force, I generally go after the most vulnerable planet and take that, but I always find the enemy strikes back with a massive fleet and I usually have to retreat before my Capital Ship gets destroyed.

The next few hours usually consists of attacking each other's planets (usually the same ones) over and over again until in the end the AI attacks two or three of mine simultaneously with huge fleets and I end up having to surrender.

I will take some of your tips and try them out, then post them back here.

Thanks for everything!

From the sounds of things, this is about pacing. 

As an example from the replay I was going to post (you'd need entrenchment to view it), my first military contact with the AI was at the 15-minute mark.  I controlled eight planets at the time of this battle.  The AI controlled three and was in the process of clearing two desert planets.  I arrived at one of these desert planets and I colonized it myself, immediately forcing him to attack me and leaving his homeworld open to invasion.  At the 18-minute mark as we fought over the desert, I sent a migrator to build a starbase at his homeworld.  At the 20-minute mark, I killed one of his capital ships and focused all my attention then on his homeworld.  At the 30-minute mark, after a climatic battle and an attempted counter-attack by him, I'd slaughtered his entire fleet and all that was left to do was bombard his planets.  He continued to attempt to fight for 20 minutes, but my fleet and empire were just too strong and couldn't do anything as I knocked off his remaining planets.

Well, after reading these replies I played a game to test out the ideas. It was a small map, as usual, with only 8 planets - no pirates. I took the first four planets (including my homeworld) fairly quickly, and from the star there were three phase lines branching off - each to one planet. I managed to take one of those stars (after some battling with the AI who had been in the process of colonising it), then went off to find out what the other two were - both had been colonised, but one was fairly vulnerable to attack and the other had another phase line going to the final planet (which must have been the AI homeworld).

Around this time, the AI was attacking me at the two planets nearest to it. The star seemed like the best place to put most of my forces to try and defend against attack on the two planets I had with phase lines from the star, but somehow just leaving them at the star and hoping they would attack the enemy before it got a chance to move onto the planets didn't work (maybe the star is just too big). 

Anyway, whenever I found an enemy capital ship I'd gather all of my forces and concentrate on that ship - this seemed to work time after time as the AI kept retreating to other places and I just kept following it around trying to destroy this capital ship.

I really though I was going to win (first time!!!), until I suddenly received three huge and simultaneous attacks on three separate planets and both of my capital ships were destroyed (very very quickly), so I just surrendered.

@Darvin3 when can we expect the replay?

Oh, sorry, I didn't know others were interested.

http://www.filefront.com/15602939/CompStomp.record

Entrenchment replay showing how to beat an unfair quickly and efficiently.

Could you name the map and also give us a timeline?  If we know what the map looks like and which planets you're taking and how long you're taking to capture them, we can have a better idea of what's going on.  Or just post a replay and I'll take a look at it.

Ah, thanks. It's actually a map I made in the in-game map editor. I'll play the game again and record the replay and post it up for you to look at. Tell me where I'm going wrong! Thanks a lot for this!

Beg Chuck Norris to help you