The Civ Board Game

Has anyone seen and/or played the board game?

I'm considering buying it... but would like to know more about it than the scant information available on the Civ3 web site.

thanks

see if it has anything on amazon. they normally have lots of info.

I don't have the board game, but here are some threads about the boardgame that you can read through to get some information and opinions about the game (most recent threads are listed first):

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35114
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34070
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33805
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32216
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15538

I have played the Civilization board game in all three of its incarnations... Civilization, Advanced Civilization and the one recently released based on the computer classic.
The game is excellent. You have to step away from a literal translation of all the game mechanics and see them as game play aspects instead but overall it is a great translation. Some examples would be most easilly noted in city improvements, wonders of the world and technology advancement. The game is broken into 4 ages (Stone, Bronze, Medieval & modern). City improvements from one age (Temple, Colosseum, Aqueduct, etc.) do not carry over from one age to another. So each time a player purchases an advancement which takes technology into a new age all the players cities become unimproved. This is not as bad as it sounds really, the game stays interesting and open to all the players this way. For technologies... anyone who develops a tech has just opened up that tech for everyone in the game to use. The benefit of this is a rayalty payment system to the inventor for unit or improvements bought by other players. No one will be left alone in the stone age only able to build warriors while someone else has the option to produce tanks. Lastly wonders are not as dramatic in effect as the computer versions but they do add significant points towards the player's score.
If you have any specific questions or want to talk about the game with me please write... it sounds so different but it really is a high quality board game with great replay. The nice part about it is the replay value to me... my group has played many times and no two games were really very similar or predictable.
Have fun!!!

I used to play the original civ boardgame often when I had a regular gaming crew to hang with (before computer games picked up - this was in the 80's mainly).

I would reccomend that game highly. It was basically ancient I recall - broken into ages, but they were bronze iron steel or something...

Anyways I remember it was alot of fun, but not a quick and simple game that "the whole family" can play - I mean if your "whole family" winces at the rules for Monopoly, then this one is definately no good... you will need to assemble true gamers to play it (4 ideal I think).

Mostly repeating some things I said in other threads here:

I've played the game four times so far. It's been lots of fun each time. We play the standard rules - there are also advanced rules that are a bit more "Civ-ish." From what I've heard, the advanced rules do have some minor flaws in them - a new version of the rules is scheduled to come out relatively soon, and an errata exists on the publisher's website. (Incidentally, full game rules exist on that web site too.

You should definitely get the game if:

1) You can get at least three (preferably four) people to play. Alliances and treachery don't exist unless you've got enough people to backstab.

2) You can spare a good amount of time to play - at least four hours for the standard game, and six (from what I've heard) for the advanced game. The game may take a while to play, but the gameplay itself is pretty fast-paced and a lot of fun.

3) You enjoy games a bit more advanced than Monopoly, but not "serious" wargames, so to speak. Think of it, in terms of difficulty, about like Axis and Allies (maybe a bit easier).

If you like boardgames and these conditions fit, by all means get it! I really enjoy it! For now, at least, I strongly recommend the standard rules, though. Not as "Civ-ish", but currently a stronger, better game. And check out the forums on the eaglegames.net site for more advice and help. The game's designer (Glenn Drover) is on the board all the time, and answers questions and such.

And, if you want advice? Try to get the other players in a war of attrition with each other, and stay out of it. A drawn-out war is usually a very bad tactic, but it seems so appealing...