Which brings me to my point – the game of Civilization actually originates with Avalon Hill, way back in the Goode Olde Days of ugly cardboard counters. It was so cool that Sid Meier made it into a video game, an endeavor at which he was immensely successful. And with the immense success of the video game, Eagle Games made it into a board game. So it is a board game based on a video game based on a board game. I love that.
The Pieces
If you order Civilization directly from the Eagle Games website, it will set you back sixty bucks, which is a lot for a board game. When you open the box, however, you will know you got your money’s worth, at least in hard product. There are nearly a thousand plastic playing pieces, four decks of cards, and an enormous game board decorated with beautiful art. The aesthetics of Civilization are nearly breathtaking.
The playing pieces come in four varieties. These are settlers, settlements, flag-bearers and military units. There are so many military units that they all come in a single color, and different players use their flag-bearers to mark which armies belong to which players. The pieces are nicely sculpted and durable, with wide bases that allow all but the most poorly trimmed pieces to stand with ease.
The cards are also very attractive. The resource and improvement cards are a little less decorated than the technology and wonder cards, but all cards do a very good job of displaying their exact intent, and all are designed very well. The technology and wonder cards, in fact, are great.
The board is one of the most amazing boards I have seen for a board game. It is a stylized map of the world that makes the Atlantic look a little like one of the Great Lakes, with large areas that are quite up to the task of containing many figures. The real beauty of the map, however, lies in the border. A huge amount of thought and talent was poured into the border, which is so immensely decorated that the end of the rule book contains three pages just describing the various elements that grace the board.
Thick, high-quality cardstock is used for the coins and exploration markers. These are great – the coins are actually double-sided, with evocative art on both sides. The exploration markers have simple, easily-read icons that let players know at a glance what they have discovered.
The rules are dense, but they are likewise well-designed. I did have something of a problem with the organization of the rules, as it seemed that sometimes important rules were not where they logically belonged. Overall, however, the rule book is nice.
The Game
Civilization is not a game for the faint-hearted. If you love Parcheesi, or if Risk is too complicated, this is absolutely not the game for you. A steep learning curve means that your first game will probably take twice as long as your second – and considering that this is a long game in the first place, you could spend most of a Saturday playing the standard game for the first time.
The rules closely parallel the computer game. Players start out in the Ancient Era, with two regions apiece, staffed by two settlers on two settlements with two infantry units. The settlers begin to explore, and intelligent players make a point of avoiding military conflict early in the game, as it is far too important to explore quickly in the early stages. When a player has three technologies, play advances to the next era, progressing through the Medieval Era, Gunpowder Era and Modern Era, until the game ends.
The game takes place in four phases. These are purchasing, moving, trading and production. Every player conducts a phase before moving on to the next, and in a rather original rule, the role of ‘first player’ moves around the table every turn.
In the purchasing phase, players spend their hard-earned gold to buy settlers, soldiers, ships, technology, and more. This section is very strategic, as a player may spend his money on his military, and thus not have enough for settlers to explore. If he buys settlers, he may not be able to buy a ship. If he buys a ship, he might not be able to buy critical technology or settlement upgrades.
During the movement phase, each player takes turns moving all of his pieces that he wants and fighting any battles the result. Settlers are the only pieces that can flip up the exploration markers, which could result in devastating plagues, valuable resources, or immensely helpful technology finds. Armies can seize foreign settlements, destroy settlers, and safeguard borders.
Battles are a relatively simple affair – on the surface. Each player simply chooses one army unit and rolls dice, with the highest roll resulting in the loss of the opposing army. A rock/paper/scissors relationship exists between the three different types of land units, granting bonuses against appropriate armies. Players with advanced technology add to the roll, as does the player with a settlement in the region. Small battles are easy to decide, but a considerable amount of strategy is involved in choosing which army to put to the front.
The trading phase allows players the opportunity to swap resources, armies, wonders, technologies or almost anything else. This kind of deal-making can result in fantastic diplomatic efforts and exciting wheeling and dealing. It is not necessary every turn, but when it is used, trading adds immensely to the game.
Finally, players earn money based on their settlements, resources and technologies. A minimum amount of gold ensures that last place always has at least a fighting chance, but the player who maximizes his resources has a distinct advantage.
Once the Modern Era ends, the game is over and players compare their civilizations. Each player tallies up his settlements, technologies and wonders, gaining victory points for each. The player with the most victory points is the winner.
The rules outlined above – and these are really just the skeleton of the game – are for the standard game. Advanced rules are provided that allow for improving settlements with temples or schools, gaining benefits from specific technologies, and more possibilities for ending the game, among other things. The advanced game also roughly doubles the length of the game, so if you want to play the advanced rules, grab a candy bar, because you’re not going anywhere for a while.
Comments and Observations
Civilization is a complicated game, one of the most complex I have seen in years. It is fascinating and compelling, and a ton of fun, but it will not appeal to casual gamers who just want a way to kill an hour while they wait for the rest of the group to show up. The game was awarded three impressive awards in 2002, including Best Historical Boardgame from Origins. It definitely deserves those awards. However, I cannot emphasize enough that this game should not even be considered by anyone who does not have a large block of free time, and who is completely free of any symptoms of ADD.
For a board game based on a computer game based on a board game, Civilization is very impressive. Exceptionally fun, thoroughly engaging and absolutely beautiful, Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Boardgame is a game that should be in every serious boardgamer’s library.
Style: 5 – Some of the best production values I’ve seen in years, with art that must have cost a ton. I wanted to knock it down for the lack of a storage tray, but it goes so far beyond what I expect in a game that I could not.
Substance: 5 – Deep, strategic gameplay makes Civilization simultaneously inaccessible to the casual player and hopelessly addictive to the hard core gamer.
