![]() Civilization 2nd Edition cover image | |
Players | 2–7 |
---|---|
Setup time | 15 minutes |
Playing time | 3–12 hours |
Chance | Low |
Skills | Strategy, tactics |
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in the United Kingdom in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil and in the United States in 1981 by Avalon Hill. [1] The Civilization brand is now owned by Hasbro. It was out of print for many years, before it saw republication in 2018, [2] by Gibsons Games. [3] The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players.
Civilization is widely considered to be one of the most influential games in the strategy genre, cited as foundational to both the grand strategy and 4X subgenres.
The game is also first in incorporating a technology tree (or "tech tree"), a common feature in subsequent board and video games, which allows players to gain certain items and abilities only after particular other items are obtained. [4] [5] [6]
The Civilization board depicts areas around the Mediterranean Sea. The board is divided into many regions. Each player plays a historic civilization and starts in the area where appropriate for that civilization, and attempts to grow and expand their empire over successive turns, trying to build the greatest civilization while minimizing the effects of calamities and war.
The goal of Civilization is to be first to advance to the final space on a table called the Archaeological Succession Table (AST). The AST starts at 8,000 B.C. and ends at 250 B.C. The AST contains fifteen spaces, and players are advanced on the AST each turn. At several points, however, certain conditions must be met (such as, the civilization must have a certain number of cities) in order to advance. Since any given civilization is unlikely to meet the advancement criteria at every stage of the AST, games usually last more than fifteen turns.
Civilization is unusual in that it does not focus on war and combat, as many games of its genre do. Instead, players are encouraged to trade and cooperate in order to advance. However, war and combat are entirely permissible, and are sometimes inevitable. In fact, the game is designed to limit players' geographical expansion possibilities, forcing them to deal with other civilizations militarily, diplomatically, or otherwise if they wish their own civilization to reach its full potential.
A game starts with each player having a single population token in the area based on the specific civilization represented (e.g. on the island of Crete for the Cretans or in Africa for the Egyptians). As the first few turns progress, the population expands exponentially. Since any given area only supports so many population tokens, players need to spread out, eventually meeting the civilizations of other players.
Trade is the most important activity in Civilization. Trade cards give a player's civilization wealth, which ultimately helps their civilization advance on the AST. As each civilization grows, adding more and more population to the board, players can convert excess population into cities by gathering six population tokens in an area favoring settlement (or twelve in other areas). Each city grants a trade card to the owner, one of eleven commodities, such as iron, salt and grain. Having more cities gives access to more valuable commodities, such as bronze, spice and gold. Each such commodity has a value equal to the number of cities required, so for example once your civilization grows its third city, you can gain a salt card, valued 3, and you need eight cities to have a chance at a gems card, valued 8. However, collecting more cards in a set gives an exponentially larger payout (number of cards squared times the commodity value). For example, as mentioned one salt is worth 3 points. Two salt, however, is worth (2^2x3=)12 points, and three are worth (3^2x3=)27 points.
The total number of cards in each set differs. There are nine salt cards but only four gems cards, for instance. While collecting all four gems cards pays (4^2x8=)128 points collecting all nine salt cards pay (9^2x3=)243 points, so every commodity remains relevant. Thus, players are encouraged to trade with each other to collect sets of the same commodity. You trade by selecting some of your cards to offer another player, truthfully stating one of them, as well as the total points value of the proposed trade. If that player agrees, you swap cards.
The quirk is that along with trade cards come eight calamity cards such as volcano eruptions, famine and civil war, which destroy population and cities. The player that is stuck with a particular calamity card at the end of trading suffers that calamity. Since players are only required to tell the truth about one of the cards and the total points value they are trading, calamity cards can be slipped into a trade to avoid their effects. Many "trade sessions" can become quite vocal and exuberant as players try to out-trade one another.
After trading is complete and calamities are resolved, players can cash in their sets of commodity cards. Gains from trade are used to purchase civilization cards, such as agriculture, coinage, philosophy and medicine, which grant special abilities and give bonuses toward future civilization card purchases. The goal of the game is to advance (on the AST) through the Late Iron Age and become the most advanced civilization on the map board. This is accomplished through clever game play and purchase of several high-value civilization cards, while trying not to antagonize your neighbors.
Civilization by Hartland Trefoil (1980).
Civilization by Avalon Hill (1982):
The 1st edition has a cover depicting an antique Greek temple, an Egyptian fresco and some baskets; the board with the map is a one-piece multifold.
The 2nd edition has a board consisting of two separate pieces and has a cover showing the faces of three figures from ancient history above a collage of the Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Nile, and an erupting Mount Vesuvius. These three people are: a general of the Roman Legion (using the likeness of actor Stephen Boyd from the 1964 film The Fall of the Roman Empire ); a Greek or Roman statesman or philosopher (using the likeness of Alec Guinness also from The Fall of the Roman Empire); and a Judaean or Minoan noblewoman (using the likeness of actress Rita Gam from the 1961 movie King of Kings ). [7]
Civilization by Gibsons Games/Welt der Spiele/Piatnik (1988): English and German version. The cover shows six members from people around the Mediterranean Sea.
Civilisation by Descartes (1989): French version. The cover shows a grayhaired male, a Roman temple and the Pyramids in the background.
Civilisation by Gibsons (2018): [8] UK version. The cover shows a Roman officer and an Egyptian noblewoman.
The Advanced Civilization expansion contains simplified trading rules and gives every civilization the possibility to buy all civilization advances. It also adds more trading cards, civilization advances, calamities and rules for up to eight players. It contains all the cards available in the Trade Card Set (below).
Incunabula was the first computer emulation of the board game by Avalon Hill (1984, for MS-DOS). Besides the main game, it included two shorter variants, one eliminating trade and one that includes only trade.
Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization was a 1995 MS-DOS computer version of the board game, incorporating the Advanced Civilization expansion. The rules were slightly modified from the board game for computer play.
A projected sequel of the Civilization board game in the ages after antiquity drove the development of Age of Renaissance , published by Avalon Hill in 1996. This game, designed for 3 to 6 players, has kept only a few features of 'Civilization, such as commodities (no longer collectible cards but territories) and the civilization advances (no longer cards but ticks in a check list).
Civilization is also well-known as the core inspiration behind Sid Meier's computer game of the same name, which would itself act as the progenitor of the wider 4X genre.
In the February 1983 edition of Dragon magazine (Issue #70), Tony Watson thought the game was ground-breaking, saying, "Once in a while, a new game comes out that proves that there is still plenty of virgin territory out there for game designers to explore and plenty of room for innovative and imaginative approaches to those subjects. Avalon Hill's release, Civilization, is just such a game." He concluded, "Civilization is a game that defies comparison with others [...] It's a fine value and is highly recommended." [10]
In the January 1990 edition of Games International (Issue 12), Steve Jones examined the game at length and concluded, "Civilization is an excellent multi-player game for those who like long games which require considerable thought, concentration and decision making." [11]
Civilization was chosen for inclusion in the 2007 book Hobby Games: The 100 Best . Steven Savile commented that designer Francis Tresham "created a thinking gamer's game, one that deserves to be played around a table with friends — especially the cheerfully scheming sort". [12]
At the 1983 Origins Awards, Civilization was awarded the Charles S. Roberts Award for "Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame of 1982". [17]
The game shares the name and the basic broad themes of expansion, development and conflict with the MicroProse computer game Civilization by Sid Meier that came out a decade later. While the gameplay of the computer game is unrelated to Civilization, MicroProse did pay Avalon a licensing fee for the name. [18] Later in 1998 MicroProse filed a lawsuit against Activision (who licensed the rights to the board game) and Avalon Hill to secure the rights for using the name. [19] [20] The lawsuit was settled amicably in 2000, with Avalon Hill selling all rights to the Civilization franchise to MicroProse. [21]
Although the success of the Civilization computer games series has led to multiple board games, starting with Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame in 2002, none of these games has any direct relation to the Civilization board game discussed here.
Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turns rotate among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game. The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and, in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company's "Hasbro Gaming" division.
Pit is a fast-paced card game for three to eight players, designed to simulate open outcry bidding for commodities. The game first went on sale in 1904 by the American games company Parker Brothers, having been developed by the attributed clairvoyant Edgar Cayce.
Age of Renaissance is a board game designed by Don Greenwood and Jared Scarborough and published by Avalon Hill in 1996. The game is for 3-6 players and the box claims that the game should take 2–6 hours to play, though as with any serious multiplayer strategy game, this can entirely depend on the players. Age of Renaissance is set in the European Renaissance historical era and is somewhat of a sequel to Civilization. In 1997, Age of Renaissance won the Origins Award for Best Pre-20th Century Board Game of 1996.
Kingmaker is a board game published in the UK by PhilMar Ltd. in 1974 that simulates the political struggles to place a king on the throne of England during the Wars of the Roses. The game was popular, and other editions, including a computerized version, were produced by Avalon Hill, TM Games, and Gibsons Games. The game won a Charles S. Roberts Award in 1976.
Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization is a computer edition of the Advanced Civilization board game. Both the board and computer game portray the same basic concept: the players manage ancient Mediterranean civilizations in an effort to move them from the early Bronze Age to beyond the Iron Age. It was published in 1995, shortly before Avalon Hill was bought out by Hasbro in 1998.
Battle Cry is a board wargame based on the American Civil War, designed by Richard Borg and published by Avalon Hill in 2000.
Advanced Civilization is an expansion game for the board game Civilization, published in 1991 by Avalon Hill. Ownership of the original game is necessary to play. While Civilization is in print as of November 2019, Advanced Civilization is not, following the dissolution of the original Avalon Hill game company and sale of all rights to titles to Hasbro in 1998.
Dune is a strategy board game set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, published by Avalon Hill in 1979. The game was designed by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge and Peter Olotka. After many years out of print, the game was reissued by Gale Force Nine in 2019 in advance of the 2021 Dune film adaptation.
1829, later called 1829 (South), is a board game published by Hartland Trefoil in 1974 that simulates railroad operations and trading of company shares. The game was the first in what became known as the 18xx series of railway games that has engendered over 250 licensed titles.
Twilight Imperium is a strategy board game produced by Fantasy Flight Games and Asmodee in the genre of science fiction and space opera. It was designed by Christian T. Petersen and was first released in 1997. It is now in its fourth edition (2017), which has large changes over previous editions. It is known for the length of its games and its in-depth strategy. As of 2024, its compelling gameplay and enduring popularity have been hailed by Nerdist and Polygon as one of the "greatest board games ever made."
Incunabula is a video game designed by Steve Estvanik and released by Avalon Hill for IBM PC compatibles in 1984. It is the original computerized version of the Civilization board game, preceding Sid Meier's Civilization which was published in 1991.
Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI. There are six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series. The seventh installment in the series is slated for release on Feb 11, 2025. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate".
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