MarioFanaticXV
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 26, 2013
- Messages
- 12
As you may or may not already know, there have been four different attempts to convert Civilization into a tabletop game (not to be confused with the 1980 Civilization board game), starting with Eagle Game's 2002 version, which despite having an absolutely beautiful board, is generally not well liked. The second adaptation was a card game that was included with the Civilization Chronicles bundle- which while interesting, it's not meant to capture the epic feel of a full game of civilization; it's small, a fun distraction, but it isn't attempting to be Civilization. We're going to skip the third adaptation for a moment because that's the focus here, and look at the most recent outing, Civilization: New Dawn. It certainly is better liked than Eagle Game's attempt at the series, but you can't get the true feeling of Civilization condensed down into a two hour game- while it does have the overall theme of Civilization, the scale isn't there, and it's generally agreed that this game is too simplistic for what it sets out to do. Sometimes you want to play a simple game- no one pulls out Civilization when they want that- it's not a bad game by any means, but it doesn't feel like Civilization.
In 2010, Fantasy Flight Games- who also produced New Dawn- released what is widely regarded as the most accurate representation of the video games, simply called Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game as the Eagle Games version had been called. It was praised for capturing the feel of the video games, and soon spawned two expansions: Fame and Fortune which is named for introducing the Great Person deck and Investment cards, and Wisdom and Warfare which was named for revamping both governments and combat. For a time, this game had a spot on Board Game Geek's top 100 rated games, and even as of the time of writing this still holds a respectable #209.
This game is truly massive- unless you're used to playing hobbyist board games, it'll likely seem a little daunting, but if you love Civilization, you'll feel right at home. While some things do still have to be simplified for the board game experience, it has just about everything you could want from Civ- you're starting with a lone city, fighting with sticks and stones, exploring an unknown world as you research new technologies, erect great wonders, train mighty armies, befriend tribal huts, battle barbarian villages, and implement new forms of government. And of course, it wouldn't be Civilization without multiple paths to victory- Conquest, Technology, Culture, and Economic victories are all represented here (sorry, no Diplomatic or Religious victories this time around), and while some civilizations are better suited for certain paths, they're all viable here. The base game alone is a great experience, and each expansion served to build further upon this- adding new civs, new technologies, new wonders, and also each bringing their own mechanics which were entirely absent in the base game.
For those not familiar with Tabletop Simulator itself, it's just what it sounds like- a physics engine made specifically with replicating board games in mind. There's a few staples preloaded, as well as a number of official DLCs, but where it really shines is the community mods that have ported numerous games into the workshop. It usually sells for 20 USD, but often has sales for half price.
As for the mod itself, you can subscribe to it here.
PS: I really don't recommend playing with a fifth player. The map is awkward, and on top of that, even in a four player game you'll often be competing for the building tokens in the mid to late game- I feel they should have added more of these when they added a fifth player, but they did not. Besides, it takes long enough with 2-4 players.
In 2010, Fantasy Flight Games- who also produced New Dawn- released what is widely regarded as the most accurate representation of the video games, simply called Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game as the Eagle Games version had been called. It was praised for capturing the feel of the video games, and soon spawned two expansions: Fame and Fortune which is named for introducing the Great Person deck and Investment cards, and Wisdom and Warfare which was named for revamping both governments and combat. For a time, this game had a spot on Board Game Geek's top 100 rated games, and even as of the time of writing this still holds a respectable #209.
This game is truly massive- unless you're used to playing hobbyist board games, it'll likely seem a little daunting, but if you love Civilization, you'll feel right at home. While some things do still have to be simplified for the board game experience, it has just about everything you could want from Civ- you're starting with a lone city, fighting with sticks and stones, exploring an unknown world as you research new technologies, erect great wonders, train mighty armies, befriend tribal huts, battle barbarian villages, and implement new forms of government. And of course, it wouldn't be Civilization without multiple paths to victory- Conquest, Technology, Culture, and Economic victories are all represented here (sorry, no Diplomatic or Religious victories this time around), and while some civilizations are better suited for certain paths, they're all viable here. The base game alone is a great experience, and each expansion served to build further upon this- adding new civs, new technologies, new wonders, and also each bringing their own mechanics which were entirely absent in the base game.
For those not familiar with Tabletop Simulator itself, it's just what it sounds like- a physics engine made specifically with replicating board games in mind. There's a few staples preloaded, as well as a number of official DLCs, but where it really shines is the community mods that have ported numerous games into the workshop. It usually sells for 20 USD, but often has sales for half price.
As for the mod itself, you can subscribe to it here.
PS: I really don't recommend playing with a fifth player. The map is awkward, and on top of that, even in a four player game you'll often be competing for the building tokens in the mid to late game- I feel they should have added more of these when they added a fifth player, but they did not. Besides, it takes long enough with 2-4 players.
