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Civilization (board game)
Encyclopedia
Civilization is a board game
designed by Francis Tresham
, published in Britain
in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil (later by Gibsons Games), and in the US
in 1981 by Avalon Hill
. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players. The Civilization brand is now owned by Hasbro
but is no longer published in the US.
In this game game designer Francis Tresham
introduced the use of the technology tree or techtree, variants of which have been implemented in numerous later board and video games.
. The board is divided into many regions. Each player starts with a single population token and grows and expands his empire over the course of turns. Each player tries to build the greatest civilization.
As each nation grows, adding more and more population to the board, players can build cities in regions they control. Each city grants a trade card to the owner, which allows trade with other players for any of nine commodities
, such as iron, grain and bronze. Along with trade come eight calamities
such as volcano
es, famine
and civil war
, which destroy population and cities. Trade cards are combined in sets to purchase civilization cards, which grant special abilities and give bonuses toward future civilization card purchases. The civilization cards grant access to abilities such as agriculture
, coinage
, philosophy
and medicine
.
The goal of Civilization is to be first to advance to the final age on the Archaeological Succession Table (AST). The AST contains fifteen spaces and players are advanced on the AST each turn. The AST starts at 8,000 B.C. and ends at 250 B.C. 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 most civilizations do not meet the advancement criteria at all stages on 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. War and combat are entirely permissible, however, and are sometimes inevitable. In fact, the game is designed to limit player's 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.
Trade
(via trade cards) is the most important activity in Civilization. Trade cards give the player's civilization wealth, which ultimately help the civilization advance on the AST. Cards are more valuable the more of one type the player possesses. For example, one salt is worth 3 points, two are worth 12 points, and three are worth 27 points. If a player possesses all the cards of one type, he effectively corners the market and gains the most value for his cards. Many "trade sessions" can become quite vocal and exuberant as players try to out-trade one another. Trades are done in groups of three or more cards. 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, thereby avoiding receiving the primary effects of the calamity.
Those players who have built cities are permitted to receive trade cards with a commodity printed on them (hides, salt, cloth, etc.) later in the turn. There are nine decks, and players obtain progressively more valuable cards based on the number of cities they have. Those with five cities receive a single card from each of the decks one through five, for example. Players may have up to nine cities. Cards gain value exponentially, so two value "3" trade cards are worth twelve points, while three are worth twenty-seven points. It is to the player's advantage to collect multiple cards of a single commodity, as four or five of a single commodity can be quite valuable.
After all movement (population units and ships) and conflict has been resolved, trade begins. The various players trade their cards in an effort to gain multiple cards of the same commodity. After all trade is complete, players tally up the value of trade cards in their hands with an eye on purchasing civilization cards. These are available in a variety of arts, crafts, sciences, and more. Examples include: Astronomy, which allows a player's ships to sail across otherwise impassable zones in the middle of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and Agriculture, which allows all the player's areas to support an extra unit of population.
The downside of trade is that calamities are randomly hidden in the trade card decks. Some are played immediately, while others can be traded away. Many cause immediate destruction of cities, while others force the player to liquidate a considerable amount of his assets. In some cases, collateral damage can be meted out to other players as is the case with famines and epidemics. Calamities can reduce a player from first to last in one fell swoop, especially if the player is hit by several in a single turn. The nature of the game tends to allow players to recover within a few turns, however. Many of the calamities can be mitigated by specific civilization cards, such as Engineering (good vs. flood); this specific card is often purchased by the Egyptians, whose homeland is flood-prone.
The goal of the game is to advance 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. A winning player will typically have Literacy, Law, Philosophy, Democracy and a variety of lesser value cards (but not too many of the low-value arts & crafts).
Civilization by Avalon Hill (1982): 1st edition with a cover depicting an antique Greek temple, an Egyptian fresco and some baskets, the board with the map is an one-piece multifold. 2nd edition with a cover showing three heads - a Roman Legionnaire, a Greek male and a Minoan female above the Pyramids. The board consists of two separate pieces.
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.
Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization
is a computer version of the board game (the advanced civilization expansion). The rules are slightly modified from the board version for computer play.
, 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).
Despite being out of print for several years, Civilization still holds a loyal following. The Origins Game Fair holds a yearly tournament featuring the game, and awarded the game the Charles Roberts Award for Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame of 1982.
The creator of the computer game Civilization
, Sid Meier
, claims that he did not play the original board game before making his game, but was instead inspired by SimCity
, Railroad Tycoon and Risk
. The name of the computer game was later decided during its development. Meier and MicroProse obtained the rights to use the name from Avalon Hill. Meier's co-designer remembers him owning the game at the time of development. Apparently Sid has stated during an interview that he used the board game during development of the computer game
The success of this series of computer games have in turn led to a board-game adaptation, Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame, which won the Origins Award
for Best Historical Board Game of 2002. This game has no relation to the Civilization board game discussed here.
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
designed by Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham (game designer)
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil , a company well known for its Civilization board game, until its sale to Microprose in 1997...
, published in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil (later by Gibsons Games), and in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1981 by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players. The Civilization brand is now owned by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
but is no longer published in the US.
In this game game designer Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham (game designer)
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil , a company well known for its Civilization board game, until its sale to Microprose in 1997...
introduced the use of the technology tree or techtree, variants of which have been implemented in numerous later board and video games.
Overview
The Civilization board depicts areas around the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. The board is divided into many regions. Each player starts with a single population token and grows and expands his empire over the course of turns. Each player tries to build the greatest civilization.
As each nation grows, adding more and more population to the board, players can build cities in regions they control. Each city grants a trade card to the owner, which allows trade with other players for any of nine commodities
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
, such as iron, grain and bronze. Along with trade come eight calamities
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
such as volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es, famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, which destroy population and cities. Trade cards are combined in sets to purchase civilization cards, which grant special abilities and give bonuses toward future civilization card purchases. The civilization cards grant access to abilities such as agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, coinage
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
.
The goal of Civilization is to be first to advance to the final age on the Archaeological Succession Table (AST). The AST contains fifteen spaces and players are advanced on the AST each turn. The AST starts at 8,000 B.C. and ends at 250 B.C. 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 most civilizations do not meet the advancement criteria at all stages on 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. War and combat are entirely permissible, however, and are sometimes inevitable. In fact, the game is designed to limit player's 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.
Trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
(via trade cards) is the most important activity in Civilization. Trade cards give the player's civilization wealth, which ultimately help the civilization advance on the AST. Cards are more valuable the more of one type the player possesses. For example, one salt is worth 3 points, two are worth 12 points, and three are worth 27 points. If a player possesses all the cards of one type, he effectively corners the market and gains the most value for his cards. Many "trade sessions" can become quite vocal and exuberant as players try to out-trade one another. Trades are done in groups of three or more cards. 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, thereby avoiding receiving the primary effects of the calamity.
Game play
A game starts with each player having a single population token, which begins on a specified area on the edge of the map board. The area the first unit begins in is based on the specific civilization represented (i.e. on the island of Crete for the Cretans or in Africa for the Egyptians). As the first few turns progress, the population expands exponentially. Each zone on the map has a printed number representing the number of population tokens which can be supported there. Eventually, the player will decide to convert some of his excess population into cities. Certain areas on the board (where cities existed historically) have a square printed in them to designate them as city sites, which require six population tokens to produce a city—non city sites require twelve such tokens.Those players who have built cities are permitted to receive trade cards with a commodity printed on them (hides, salt, cloth, etc.) later in the turn. There are nine decks, and players obtain progressively more valuable cards based on the number of cities they have. Those with five cities receive a single card from each of the decks one through five, for example. Players may have up to nine cities. Cards gain value exponentially, so two value "3" trade cards are worth twelve points, while three are worth twenty-seven points. It is to the player's advantage to collect multiple cards of a single commodity, as four or five of a single commodity can be quite valuable.
After all movement (population units and ships) and conflict has been resolved, trade begins. The various players trade their cards in an effort to gain multiple cards of the same commodity. After all trade is complete, players tally up the value of trade cards in their hands with an eye on purchasing civilization cards. These are available in a variety of arts, crafts, sciences, and more. Examples include: Astronomy, which allows a player's ships to sail across otherwise impassable zones in the middle of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and Agriculture, which allows all the player's areas to support an extra unit of population.
The downside of trade is that calamities are randomly hidden in the trade card decks. Some are played immediately, while others can be traded away. Many cause immediate destruction of cities, while others force the player to liquidate a considerable amount of his assets. In some cases, collateral damage can be meted out to other players as is the case with famines and epidemics. Calamities can reduce a player from first to last in one fell swoop, especially if the player is hit by several in a single turn. The nature of the game tends to allow players to recover within a few turns, however. Many of the calamities can be mitigated by specific civilization cards, such as Engineering (good vs. flood); this specific card is often purchased by the Egyptians, whose homeland is flood-prone.
The goal of the game is to advance 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. A winning player will typically have Literacy, Law, Philosophy, Democracy and a variety of lesser value cards (but not too many of the low-value arts & crafts).
Editions
Civilization by Hartland Trefoil (1980):Civilization by Avalon Hill (1982): 1st edition with a cover depicting an antique Greek temple, an Egyptian fresco and some baskets, the board with the map is an one-piece multifold. 2nd edition with a cover showing three heads - a Roman Legionnaire, a Greek male and a Minoan female above the Pyramids. The board consists of two separate pieces.
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.
Expansions
- Western Expansion Map (1988): Usable with the Hartland/Trefoil and the Avalon Hill version. Extends the game board west of ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to cover GaulGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, parts of IberiaIberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Northwest AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. (Note that a version of this expansion was also available for the original Hartland Trefoil version of the game) - Trade Card Expansion: Usable with the Hartland/Trefoil and the Avalon Hill version. Adds additional commodities such as timberTimberTimber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and ivoryIvoryIvory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
which makes it harder for players to hoard higher value trade cards which slows down game-play. Advanced Civilization includes this expansion. - Advanced Civilization (1988): Usable with the Hartland/Trefoil and the Avalon Hill version. 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 Expansion.
- Western Expansion: Usable with the Gibsons Games edition. It comes with additional trading cards. The map slightly differs from the Avalon Hill western extension. The additional trading cards are different from the Avalon Hill Trade Card Expansion.
- Eastern Expansion Map (1995): Usable with the Hartland/Trefoil and the Avalon Hill version. Adds Persia, Sumer, Samita and Indus people and covers the areas of Persia, the westernmost parts of the Indian subcontinent and Arabia. The map has the imprint "Civilisation Eastern Extension Unofficial Version". It was published in Alea Magazine #21 (Spain). In addition there are five new civilization cards.
Computer version
Incunabula (video game) is the first computer emulation of the board game by Avalon Hill. Besides the main game, it includes two shorter variants, one eliminating trade and one that includes only trade.Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization
Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization
Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization is a computer edition of the Advanced Civilization board game...
is a computer version of the board game (the advanced civilization expansion). The rules are slightly modified from the board version for computer play.
Similar games
A projected sequel of the Civilization board game in the ages after antiquity drove the development of Age of RenaissanceAge of Renaissance
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...
, published by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
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).
Legacy
The most important legacy of the boardgame is the technology tree. The techtree has become a part of many later board and video games.Despite being out of print for several years, Civilization still holds a loyal following. The Origins Game Fair holds a yearly tournament featuring the game, and awarded the game the Charles Roberts Award for Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame of 1982.
The creator of the computer game Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
, Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
, claims that he did not play the original board game before making his game, but was instead inspired by SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
, Railroad Tycoon and Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
. The name of the computer game was later decided during its development. Meier and MicroProse obtained the rights to use the name from Avalon Hill. Meier's co-designer remembers him owning the game at the time of development. Apparently Sid has stated during an interview that he used the board game during development of the computer game
The success of this series of computer games have in turn led to a board-game adaptation, Sid Meier's Civilization: The Boardgame, which won the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Historical Board Game of 2002. This game has no relation to the Civilization board game discussed here.
External links
- The
- Playing aids and FAQs to Civilization and Advanced Civilization
- The Origin Advanced Civilization Tournament page