America, China, Egypt, Germany, Rome and Russia - these are the six civilizations that have entered the warpath with each other for the title of the most highly developed. Each of them has its own advantages: be it a wonder of the world or a huge army, a great hero or a powerful fortress. And each of them strives to get ahead of the rest in culture, economy, technology or war. But the crown of victory will go to only one - the one who first reaches the top in one of these four areas of development. What are you willing to bet on?
Who does not go forward, he falls down
You are the ruler of a small but ambitious country. And thank the gods that kilometers of unexplored territories separate you from your enemies, since the current situation needs to be clearly changed for the better. Of course, if you want to win.
The game consists of several rounds, each of which is divided into 5 phases, in which players take turns performing planned actions. They lay cities and build wonders, collect taxes from merchants and negotiate with neighboring powers, build armies and open universities, send scouts to new lands or go to war.
The future of your civilization depends on how correctly you set goals and what steps you take to achieve them. Opponents, of course, tend to anticipate your actions and put sticks in your wheels as efficiently as possible. However, you do the same thing - in the clash of minds lies all the fun of a good strategy game.
Who will fall in love with Civilization at first sight
- Strategies fan. Game mechanics will immediately arouse intense interest, and possible difficulties will only provoke you even more. An argument in favor of the tabletop: diplomacy in the company of real people becomes much more sophisticated, and therefore much more interesting. The game lasts at least 3 hours, but in good company this time will fly by.
- Board game collector. How do you not have Civilization at home yet? No comments.
- The owner of the previous version of the game. At the very least, you'll want to play it. Details below.
How different is the new edition from the old one?
If you think that the new edition of Civilization is the same game, only in a new design, then you are greatly mistaken. Not just pictures have changed, the game mechanics have also undergone significant changes. Players who have already tested the new Civilization are unanimous that it has become more like its prototype - a computer game. Look at the composition - a lot will immediately become clear.
Interesting contents of this big box
- Move Marker- given to the first player in the phase of the current round;
- 4 reference sheets for each player;
- 6 markers cultural level- one per civilization;
- 6 sheets of civilizations, which indicate the special capabilities of peoples;
- 12 disks of trade and economy, which are attached to the sheets of civilization with special rods;
- 20 map sections: 6 homelands for each civilization and 14 no man's lands that make up the main field of play;
- 12 markers cities for four players: each is assigned a capital and 2 simple cities;
- 33 plastic chips: 25 figures armies(one additional for Russia) and 8 - Scouts;
- 12 double-sided markers disasters- Deforestation and Drought.
- 12 markers miracles: ancient, medieval and modern;
- 30 markers huts and villages that can be conquered;
- 49 double-sided markers buildings: "harbor", "phratorium", "workshop/mine", "library/university", "barn/aqueduct", "market/bank", "temple/cathedral", "barracks/academy".
- 18 markers great people;
- 28 markers military technology;
- 55 battle cards: "artillery", "infantry", "cavalry", "aviation" and "combat bonuses";
- 209 tokens: 90 - culture, 28 - wounds, 75 - coins and 16 - resources;
- 224 cards: 4 memo cards, 15 government cards, 144 technology cards, 47 cultural events cards, 12 wonder cards and 1 spaceflight card.
Imagine that huge and rich lands are spread out before you, ready for development. Imagine yourself as the leader of an entire nation... Imagine that the greatness of an entire civilization depends only on your decisions. Lead your people forward sensibly and boldly, and your name will remain for centuries ...
What is the game about?
In the board game Sid Meier's Civilization, 2 to 4 players take on the roles of the great leaders of historically real civilizations, each with their own unique abilities. Players can explore the game's modular map, build cities and buildings, fight, research ever more advanced technologies, and attract great minds with their level of culture. No matter what style of play you prefer, the main thing is to lead your people to prosperity!
Who is Sid?
Designed by Kevin Wilson, Sid Meier's Civilization board game is inspired and based on the legendary video game series created by Sid Meier. In them, players take on the heavy burden of managing an entire civilization over the centuries, developing its technology, economy, culture and military power. Thus, there are four different paths to victory in the game, and each is very different from the other.
Game features
Fans of Sid Meier's original video game series will find a lot of familiarity as the tabletop version stays true to its core principles while delivering a completely unique gaming experience as you watch a small nation build an enduring empire. Players at the beginning of the game, with only one city, one army unit and one scout must go through the ages and become the greatest civilization in the world. Build your empire and stand the test of time with innovative game mechanics with multiple paths to victory!
Will you lead the world's greatest army to crush your enemies? Or perhaps the first to go to the stars, and your civilization will become the most technologically advanced of all in the history of mankind? In this game, the choice is yours!
Inaccuracy in the Russian edition of “Civilization”
We thank Yury Tapilin for the information provided.
Information for those who play the localized version of Sid Meier's Civilization in Russian. An inaccuracy was found in the Roman card (see illustration). The nation property should read: "+1 space on the culture track for each wonder built, city founded, city or village conquered."
The text erroneously states that the Romans receive a bonus when capturing huts, and not foreign cities. The ochepyatka is not critical, but it is advisable to keep it in mind, otherwise the Romans can rush very briskly to a cultural victory. There are enough huts at the beginning of the game, but you still have to get to the enemy’s city.
I met Sid Meier's Civilization series of games back in the late 90s, having caught the first part, and even then I fell in love with this turn-based strategy, which makes it possible to control the historical process, changing it in my own way. The beauty of this game is not only in the possibility "change the past", defeating fascism in the bud or leading the Aztecs to world domination, but also in "real" a chance to touch history, an attempt to resolve the difficulties that faced the leaders of countries in different eras. "Civilization" is a wonderful, albeit, of course, a simplified simulation of the management of humanity.
Needless to say, the desktop version of "Civilization" has long attracted me? I tried not to look at her, rationalizing my desires and telling myself "Why do you also need a board game? It's the same game", weighed all the pros and cons, tried to convince himself that for the same money you can buy something new and no less worthy. But, as they say, you can't escape fate. On a beautiful January day, my good friend gave it to me as a New Year's gift.
Briefly about the main
Desktop "Civilization" models the development of world powers, their cultural and scientific achievements. There was a place for wars, great people and wonders of the world. There are several ways to win, respectively. This is either the capture of the capital of one of the opponents, or cultural / scientific / economic dominance.
The game features six civilizations that have different characteristics and are prone to certain types of victories: Russians, Germans, Romans, Chinese, Americans and Egyptians. So, for example, Russians from the start have an additional army, a bonus to production and the ability to get opponent's technologies by invading his cities, which makes them strong both in military and scientific aspects.
The main game elements are cities, armies and scouts. Cities are profitable: points of production, trade, culture and resources. Production is needed to create units and buildings, including wonders. Trade is responsible for the scientific development of civilization and can also be converted into production. Culture is needed to get cards of cultural events that have a strong impact on the gameplay and great people. Armies conquer enemy cities and fight the natives, while scouts work to provide their native country with the necessary resources and found new cities. By the way, the number of cities in the desktop version is limited to three. Moreover, to establish the third, you will need to study a certain technology. However, rapid colonization is the key to successful economic development.
Perhaps the main difference from the computer version is a less significant connection between different aspects of the development of civilizations. In other words, here you can tune in to a certain type of victory from the start and go to it, almost completely ignoring the rest of the paths. True, this is fraught with attacks from opponents. And, what is most offensive, if the chosen path to victory for some reason turns out to be difficult to achieve, it will be difficult to change it already from the middle of the game.
The rules of the game are not too complicated, but they have many nuances. And knowledge of the mechanics of the game gives a significant bonus to experienced players. The quality of the components is at the highest level, however, as always with FFG. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the illustrations are pleasing to the eye. Two add-ons have already been released for the game, adding the ability to play with five people, new civilizations, wonders and cultural events, as well as optionally changing the combat system.
Combat system
The mechanics of battles have been implemented in an unusual way. The colored flags of the players' armies move around the map, and the troops themselves are not presented as separate figures, but as unit cards in the hands of the participants. And it does not matter where each of the armies available to you is located, the reserve of units will be one for all. The fights themselves take place on the principle of "rock-paper-scissors", where a unit of one type prevails over another. Infantry fights better against cavalry, cavalry easily defeats artillery (or archers), and artillery, in turn, is most effective against infantry. Also in the game there is a special class of units that opens in modern times - aviation. Aviation has no bonuses when fighting other branches of the military, but has the highest strength indicators.
Strength indicators indicate both the attack of units and the amount of health. For example, a strength of 2 means that the warrior will deal 2 damage to the enemy, but he himself will die, having received the same amount. Opponents' attacks are played at the same time, but the "trump card" bonus allows you to deal damage before the enemy responds. All units in the game can be improved with the development of technology. Ancient spearmen turn into medieval pikemen, shooters of the 17th-19th centuries and modern motorized infantry. Moreover, unlike the computer version, the stages of development can be skipped, immediately moving on to a stronger one.
But not all units of the same type are the same. The same troops can differ in strength parameter by +/- 1 unit. I heard a lot of complaints about this, which boil down to a typical "Your catapult defeated my superior cannon!". But such accidents have always been in "Civilization" and, as a rule, reflect such historical realities as solidarity, fortitude, or the skillful command of a commander. Although, as Sid Meier himself says "Realism is something that should not be sacrificed without hesitation if in a game realism hinders playability".
Randomness and replayability
Randomness in the game is represented not only by the parameters of military units, as described above, but also by cards of cultural events, parameters of great people, and finds in the huts and villages of the natives. The playing field is also formed from random fields that are opened during the game. Territories differ in the presence of certain resources and the presence of indigenous people.
As the culture develops, each player will receive cultural event cards that can bring a certain resource, cancel any of the opponent's actions, or unlock technologies. At certain stages of development, a civilization will receive great people who give significant bonuses, but are determined randomly.
Also in the game there are two types of resources that can only be obtained from the natives. This is uranium and, oddly enough, spies. Spies, as expected, allow you to sabotage the actions of opponents. And uranium has great potential, but it is extremely rare. With the discovery of the necessary technology, uranium can be used both to double the output of all your cities, and to deliver a nuclear strike that completely destroys a foreign city, buildings, troops, great people and even miracles located in it. So the discovery of uranium can be a fatal accident in every sense of the expression.
Results
Advantages:
- The game is not just a high-quality adaptation of its computer predecessor, but also an addictive board game with original mechanics.
- Sufficiently accessible rules for this kind of game.
- Four paths to victory. You can win without spending a single battle.
- Excellent design and quality components.
- Victory options are somewhat unbalanced. Scientific and cultural victories are clearly achieved faster than economic ones. military victory may be easily achieved only thanks to an early rush in a successful scenario.
- A sharp acceleration of the gameplay in the finale, when cities begin to bring a huge amount of resources, and miracles make victory even more inevitable.
- The impossibility of changing the path of development. If initially you chose one path of development, then from the middle of the game an attempt to achieve a different type of victory will slow down your development for several moves, finally leaving you among the lagging behind.
- 3-4 hours per game.
- Many omissions in both the Russian and English versions of the rules. It helps to study the FAQ and the forum on the official website.
Making a verdict, I want to note that I liked the game not only as an avid Civilian, who has played more than one hundred hours in the PC version, but also as a lover of board games. And while the experience of the PC version gives a distinct advantage to novice players, there are several significant differences between the desktop and PC versions. And, in my opinion, the main and only disadvantage of the game is the accelerated ending, which does not allow you to properly enjoy the gameplay. So you can win a technological victory by launching a space shuttle, without studying writing, and with an army consisting of ancient spearmen.
After the hot summer of 1991, the first PC game in the Civilization series was released, with Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley at its origins. It belonged to the global level turn-based strategy genre, combining 4X model and elements of wars. Historically, it was this brainchild that influenced the development of games of this genre in the future. During this time, the PC version has gone through six incarnations, the last of which appeared on the screens in 2016.
Over the years, the game has been successfully ported to many platforms, including the desktop one in 2002. In any case, the distinguishing features of all these variations were the following:
- the player himself decides how to develop his civilization;
- the game has such layers as economics, politics, war, research (including the technology tree);
- the map (playing field) consists of tiles.
The desktop version, according to experts, does not contain a complete 4X model, since the elements of “studying” technologies (eXplore) and “destroying” an opponent (eXterminate), in contrast to the “expanding” of one’s possessions (eXpand) and the “exploitation” of resources ( eXploit) are presented in a truncated form: when “destroying”, the capital remains intact, and “research” is reduced to technologies, since the entire map is known at the initial stage of the game. Therefore, a solid 3X (1 + 1 + 0.5 + 0.5) is obtained.
The mentioned technological tree is an internal core and an incentive for development within the game, within which transitions are made to more advanced branches, while expanding the capabilities of the player himself (for example, from the Stone Age to nanotechnology). To some extent, "moving" one's civilization along such a tree is "exploring the non-physical world" by analogy with the discovery of new locations and territories on the game world map. Sometimes it seems that the Civilization series of games has always existed and, despite its sixth current incarnation, it was a diamond at the start even when Klaus Teuber had not even dreamed of (the first game of the series appeared only in 1995). Now more and more "video" games are coming off the screens and being embodied in desktop games, as being with people at the same table has again become considered important and valuable.
This fate did not pass Civilization either, because what else could be the best candidate for its desktop reincarnation?! Despite the fact that games related to the development of civilizations are often quite complex and long in time (for example, the duration of the game in the modern "king of the hill" according to BGG - from Vladimir Khvatil is about four hours), the latest version from FFG promises us something unprecedented: you will get an unforgettable experience from a meaningful, but very concise game, since the game time in it is about two hours.
The board game Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn is a much more streamlined, player-friendly version of the 2002 classic, with the same core principles, but with a vastly simplified game system at its heart. It's a fun and fast game that captures the feeling of expanding your empire in a relatively short time.After you have built the playing field according to the described rules, you will flood it with capitals (city-states), place tokens on their corresponding icons on the field, among which there will be a resource, natural wonders and, of course, the pesky barbarians (their lairs) Each player receives a leader sheet (one of eight available) and, according to the instructions on it, lays out his five action cards (with the symbol “I” on the back) under the personal technology panel of his color.
It is she who will become the heart of the whole game for you. In addition, everyone gets a starter set of tokens, nice plastic figures (cities and wagons), diplomacy cards and a technology disk. The apogee of all preparation is the showdown by laying out three (or four) of the five available cards, which contain winning conditions (two on each of them, but the player is destined to fulfill only one of each). The player's turn is built around the technology bar, which is represented by a series of actions and five cards laid out below it. First, you perform an action on one of them, perform what is indicated on it, and then "recharge" it, moving it to the first slot of the row, and shifting all others to the right. The more right the position is occupied by this or that action, the more powerful it is. After that, the move is transferred to the next player. The key strategy of the game is to understand when to apply actions on the first cells, and when to wait so that the card can have the maximum effect.
It should be noted that each slot corresponds to the difficulty of the terrain (grasslands, hills, forests, deserts and mountains) and is numbered from 1 to 5, which is an indicator of the “strength” of the technology card below it:
- culture - contributes to the expansion of your influence on the surrounding territories, expanding the empire and capturing resources;
- science - allows you to advance the pointer on your disk and thereby upgrade technology cards (from I to IV levels);
- economy - promotes caravans;
- production - allows you to build cities, build Miracles;
- military operations - in charge of strengthening your positions and carrying out attacks.
The technology bar is a truly elegant system (its "analog" can be found in the game), and becomes essentially a small personal puzzle within the big game, in which cards are maneuvered through the slots in order to strengthen and elevate your empire. When all the players have completed their actions, advance the event disc, which is related to the appearance of (new) and promotion of barbarians, as well as the replenishment of "mature" cities (it is such that each adjacent hex contains a friendly control token or is water) with trade tokens.
The game continues in this way until one of its participants is the first to complete one goal from each victory condition card (if several players claim this, the one with the most Wonders of the World and the number of friendly sectors on the field wins). I would like to say right away that having fulfilled one of the conditions on the map, he marks it with a control token, and even if he loses this later, the fact of the accomplished achievement will still be taken into account. As the game progresses, your empire will expand, your level of technological development will grow, fend off barbarian attacks and conquer their territories, build cities, and send your caravans across the map to get resources and additional trade or diplomacy tokens.
It is very entertaining to watch when several players with nuclear capabilities look at each other warily, realizing that the first one to show aggression will provoke a retaliatory strike and be destroyed. Do not be sad if the first games go through with a creak, and you yourself will forget about it when you taste all the nuances and feel how everything interacts with everything, and the game itself will become a regular guest on your table. The game scales beautifully: although you will experience the maximum emotions from the party in full (four), believe me, the duel will also be intense, especially if you do not avoid direct confrontation.
It is not difficult to understand how this creation works, it is much more difficult to play it well, using all the wealth of potential hidden under the lid of this box. Yes, certainly, and this desktop version of Civilization lags behind its original, the omission of some elements of which is a necessity, but in the end it turned out to be a well-balanced compromise. The FFG company will most likely please us with the appearance of an add-on (or maybe not one), as it was with and , due to which, perhaps, at least the number of possible players will increase to 5-6, and the conditions for winning will also be diversified.
The game strikes a pretty good balance between the player's choice of aggression and the loss of sustained peaceful diplomatic support. Splintery barbarians will keep interfering with your plans when you have already planned everything and prepared to do something else. The tech tree could be a little better, but it's a long way from being bad. For some, Miracles will seem powerful enough, but this is a matter of taste, because everyone is aimed at a different game, which is why there are no perfect games at all.
Game set:
- Rules of the game;
- 44 plastic figures;
- 8 tablets of leaders;
- 16 fragments of the playing field;
- 1 event disk;
- 4 technology counters;
- 4 action lines;
- 2 six-sided dice;
- 80 action cards;
- 16 maps of city-states;
- 16 diplomacy cards;
- 24 maps of wonders of the world;
- 5 victory cards;
- 240 tokens.
It is possible to buy the board game Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn with delivery or pickup at the Banzgames store by placing an order through the website or by contacting us by contact phone.
Equipment
I took it from my hands, and it turned out that some mineks were apparently missing. Some understand which ones, but there is no way for yellow ones. Yes, I can count. Is there a description of the complete set somewhere, or can someone tell me?
Everything, I found on bgg. If anyone else needs it, here it is:
Components:
One 36 by 46 inch gameboard
78 technology and wonder cards:
15 ancient technologies
10 medieval technologies
10 gunpowder/industrial technologies
18 modern technologies
7 ancient wonders of the world
5 medieval wonders of the world
5 gunpowder/industrial wonders of the world
8 modern wonders of the world
2 blank cards
61 square city cards
64 square city improvement cards
3 square fertile cards
one technology flowchart
one reference card
Four dice (two red, two white)
rule book
784 plastic pieces:
Armies
infantry
Ancient 32 Swordmen
Medieval 32 Men-at Arms
Industrial 32 Musketmen
Modern 32 Machine Gunners
Cavalry
Ancient 32 Horsemen
Medieval 24 Knights
Industrial 24 Dragoons
Modern 24 Tanks
Artillery
Ancient & Medieval 24 Catapults
Industrial 24 Cannons
Modern 24 Howitzers
Fleets
Ancient 16 Galleys
Medieval 16 Caravels
Industrial 16 Frigates
Modern 16 Battleships
aircrafts
Modern 32 Fighters
Player Tokens (The following tokens in six colors):
8 Settlers
14 Flag Bearers
12 villages
12 Towns
10 cities
8 Metropolises
coins:
18 1 dollars
125 dollars
15 10 dollars
10 20 dollars
10 50 dollars
7 100 dollars
90 explorer tokens:
3 fertile/productive
4 jungle/forest
4 mountains
4 desert
4 plague
4 free technology
6 treasure
6 minor civilization
5 of each of 8 resources
15 no encounter
it is interesting that in the Russian version there are only four (!!!) colors of nations and the rules indicate "2-4 players". I don’t understand: either the Russian version is truncated, or I have an exclusive copy (ahaha). But those miniatures that are listed above at 32, I have 24 each, those that are listed here 24, I have 18 each, which should be 16, I have 12. I took it used, but there is some pattern. It is unlikely that the former owner completely lost all the chips of the two nations, clearly lost an even number of miniatures, and retyped the rules for me from "2-6" to "2-4" players (and the rules say "4 sprues of different colors"). Such is the magic)))
Are you joking now, or are you serious? I just don't know - all of a sudden this really happened (that the sprues were over and the game was "cut down" deliberately). I took it from my hands. 2-4 players is written on the back of the box and in the rules (3rd paragraph in the "introduction") I quote: "This board game is designed for 2-4 players and can even be played in the kitchen." There were no stickers. I can post a photo if you don't believe me. I'm curious as to what...)
Or maybe I have an exclusive super-duper-rare version? Well, you know how numismatists collect defective coins that cost a lot of money?))) Ahah
Oh, there were times, cut to death in this game. Swearing, insults, knives in the back from "reliable allies". People quit smoking for the duration of the game, if you leave for a minute, everyone will immediately agree on cutting your empire. The whole essence of the people in this game bulged out, the kind and honest won't see victory in it.
Bought the game a year and a half ago. Played three quarters of the time. At first, they naively tried to sit down for her in the evening, played four moves and finished. Did not come out of antiquity. I count this as a quarter. Then, wiser by experience, they sat down for the whole day. They played for eight hours, reached the Middle Ages ...
I still liked the game. What is called, against all odds. Random battles - we'll survive. Random exploration of territories - we will survive. This is civilization! I have four horse figures, two trebuchets and three foot soldiers under my command! And I will soon send a cowwell across the ocean and rob her of cows. All in all, it really bugs me.
But there is one but that bothers me, although not as much as my girlfriend (because of which we don’t play it anymore, yes ...). At some point, everyone spit on technology research and start a carnage indiscriminately. And then the dice battles come to mind. And that's it guys. Turn by turn, we rivet fifteen pikemen, and kill them together. And most importantly, there is no way out. If you buy technology instead of pikemen, you will be captured by fifteen enemy pikemen. And technology is oh so expensive! So it turns out that the game stops and enters the cycle.
Someone explain to me what to do with this. If you had such a situation, how did you fix it? If it wasn't, why do you think it wasn't?
I honestly want to play it again, but from such an experience there is only one person left, except me, who agrees to this :/
The game has many obvious disadvantages. And the one you mentioned is one of them. The loser loses. This is another disadvantage of this game. if you are behind, then only a miracle can help you, at least catch up with the rest. Counting money in cities, especially in the later stages, just kills.
I played with my game cell from 10 am to 10 pm, passed it through all 4 epochs. But the players knew what they were getting into and there were already trial games in it.
In fact, if you are looking for a game-civilization, then it is better to turn to the new version, the scale there is an order of magnitude more modest, but everything is done wisely. The games are very different from each other.
For 2002, when this civa came out, maybe nothing else. Now - not a cake. Although, if everyone is aware of what they have to play, then it’s quite possible to decompose for yourself. But not often)
