Was Civilization a board game before it was a PC game?

Well, not exactly. There was a boardgame called Civilization by Avalon Hill in 1980.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/71/civilization


It shares some of the concepts of Sid's game, cities and techs mainly.

I always believed the computer game Empire and the boardgame Civilization were the inspiration. I swear I read many years ago Sid saying as much but during a more recent interview the story change and he did not credit the Avalon Hill game at all.


edit: Ninja'd. For what it's worth that boardgame was excellent. I owned it back in the day and also a PC version of it. The game took FOREVER to play though.
 
It was a board game first. Came out in the 80s I believe.

Recently there was a new board game that was based on the computer game, as it has changed significantly over time.
 
There was a boardgame called Civilization, released in the 80's. If I'm correct, it served as an inspiration for the series, but it was not really a worldbuilder and was fundamentally different from the pc-games. The original boardgame takes place on a map of the Mediterranean and features nations like Egypt. You found cities, wage war, trade with other players and develop your population, but the timeframe is limited to the ancient era.

Later, there were Advanced Civilization (that changed the rules somewhat) and in the early 2000's there was a very mediocre board game by Eagle Games. A few years ago, there was a new Civilization game that's more in line with what you would expect from a Civilization game: science, evolging through the ages, war,...

(btw: Through the Ages is also a very nice but vey abstract take on the Civ-genre. If someone wants to come over, I own them all)
 
master__jj said:
There was a boardgame called Civilization, released in the 80's. If I'm correct, it served as an inspiration for the series, but it was not really a worldbuilder and was fundamentally different from the pc-games. The original boardgame takes place on a map of the Mediterranean and features nations like Egypt. You found cities, wage war, trade with other players and develop your population, but the timeframe is limited to the ancient era.

Later, there were Advanced Civilization (that changed the rules somewhat) and in the early 2000's there was a very mediocre board game by Eagle Games. A few years ago, there was a new Civilization game that's more in line with what you would expect from a Civilization game: science, evolging through the ages, war,...

(btw: Through the Ages is also a very nice but vey abstract take on the Civ-genre. If someone wants to come over, I own them all)
Click to expand...


My Advanced Civ was lost years ago but I have the rest. :)
 
Basically, the long answer; Yes.

The short answer; No.
 
Loosely based. I played the board game as a kid before C1; and C1's to C6's fundamentals are directly related to the board game's design. But, I fell in love with C1 because I played the board game.
 
There was an earlier (1984) computer version of AH's Civilization, called Incunabula, which I did play at the time. Though it obviously covers the same subject matter as Sid's Civilization, the gameplay is not at all similar, if I recall correctly.

The core city mechanics of Sid's Civ are pretty closely based on the classic Empire game, which I also played a ton of.
 
AriochIV said:
There was an earlier (1984) computer version of AH's Civilization, called Incunabula, which I did play at the time. Though it obviously covers the same subject matter as Sid's Civilization, the gameplay is not at all similar, if I recall correctly.

The core city mechanics of Sid's Civ are pretty closely based on the classic Empire game, which I also played a ton of.
Click to expand...

How did I miss that game!

Empire was a blast.
 
Current Civ 6 lead designer's boardgames Here I Stand and Virgin Queen have some Civ similarities: Exploration, espionage, spreading of religion, unique abilities of factions, great artists with abilities etc.

The board games have also a card system. maybe a direct Ed Beach influence on the civic cards of Civ 6 goverments.
 
Haig said:
Current Civ 6 lead designer's boardgames Here I Stand and Virgin Queen have some Civ similarities: Exploration, espionage, spreading of religion, unique abilities of factions, great artists with abilities etc.

The board games have also a card system. maybe a direct Ed Beach influence on the civic cards of Civ 6 goverments.
Click to expand...

Yes, the governments and policies seem particularly boardgamey.
 
I loved the Civilization Board Games and played them extensively back in the day. :D
I certainly was intrigued when Civ I was released and took to it right away. :love:
No relationship between the two but they are both excellent.

Interestingly enough, Europa Universalis was originally a boardgame that became a computer game.

I gave away my original copy of the Civ boardgame along with the expansion and now it runs in the hundreds of dollars. :sad:
However, a new and updated version came out, aptly named "Mega Civ."
I am hoping to get a group of 16 together someday to play this awesome game. :thumbsup:

Spoiler :
iu
 
Thormodr said:
I loved the Civilization Board Games and played them extensively back in the day. :D
I certainly was intrigued when Civ I was released and took to it right away. :love:
No relationship between the two but they are both excellent.

Interestingly enough, Europa Universalis was originally a boardgame that became a computer game.

I gave away my original copy of the Civ boardgame along with the expansion and now it runs in the hundreds of dollars. :sad:
However, a new and updated version came out, aptly named "Mega Civ."
I am hoping to get a group of 16 together someday to play this awesome game. :thumbsup:

Spoiler :
iu
Click to expand...


Yea, it's a good 400-500 us dollars. I don't know where mine went. Left at a friends house I guess.

1995 PC adaption is free as abandon ware and works great with dos box.

I still play.
 
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