So obviously, aspects of Civ are designed for gameplay, not 'reality', so this isn't any sort of criticism. But it's interesting to compare Civ's pseudo history with reality, and see what things get more (or less important) for game play reasons.
For me, importance understated:
Rivers. Basically, in reality, almost every major city and civilization in the world was founded on the shores of a river. They were the most important factor for trade and transport for most of early history. In Civ, they give you a bit more trade money and give a water mill.
Open Borders (in modern+ history). Who does the U.S. not have some sort of open borders treaty with presently? Cuba, Iran, North Korea. Maybe Syria? Is that it? Are there actually countries that only do one-way open border treaties (and not reciprocal?) Basically unless you have almost no diplomatic relationship, you have open borders. In Civ, you can buy them for a few gold, and the civ isn't that annoyed if they aren't reciprocal. Granted the game mechanic is massive simplification of reality (and multiple levels of 'openness/visas' and an immigration mechanic would be a cool addition). But as is, their diplomatic importance in civ is much lower than reality.
And overstated:
Wonders. Obviously wonders had some effects in reality, but more for cultural impact (and maybe national pride) than the crazy properties some of them have in the game.
World Congress. Obviously this is overstated in the game or else it would be pointless (hell, likely all the victories but domination are 'overstated'), but really, I don't think U.N. or any of it's previous iterations have ever even managed to embargo a country 100%, never mind the rest of the list. Though, fair enough, becoming a UNESCO heritage site can be a nice tourism boost in reality.
What can folks here add?
For me, importance understated:
Rivers. Basically, in reality, almost every major city and civilization in the world was founded on the shores of a river. They were the most important factor for trade and transport for most of early history. In Civ, they give you a bit more trade money and give a water mill.
Open Borders (in modern+ history). Who does the U.S. not have some sort of open borders treaty with presently? Cuba, Iran, North Korea. Maybe Syria? Is that it? Are there actually countries that only do one-way open border treaties (and not reciprocal?) Basically unless you have almost no diplomatic relationship, you have open borders. In Civ, you can buy them for a few gold, and the civ isn't that annoyed if they aren't reciprocal. Granted the game mechanic is massive simplification of reality (and multiple levels of 'openness/visas' and an immigration mechanic would be a cool addition). But as is, their diplomatic importance in civ is much lower than reality.
And overstated:
Wonders. Obviously wonders had some effects in reality, but more for cultural impact (and maybe national pride) than the crazy properties some of them have in the game.
World Congress. Obviously this is overstated in the game or else it would be pointless (hell, likely all the victories but domination are 'overstated'), but really, I don't think U.N. or any of it's previous iterations have ever even managed to embargo a country 100%, never mind the rest of the list. Though, fair enough, becoming a UNESCO heritage site can be a nice tourism boost in reality.
What can folks here add?