Civilization (2010 board game)


Sid Meier's Civilization: The Board Game is a 2010 board game created by Kevin Wilson based on the Sid Meier's Civilization series of video games and published by Fantasy Flight Games. While the based on Sid Meier's Civilization, published by Eagle Games in 2002, was based on Civilization III, the 2010 version takes its primary inspiration from Civilization IV. Its expansions, Fame and Fortune and Wisdom and Warfare, also began to incorporate concepts derived from Civilization V.

Gameplay

In Civilization: The Board Game, players take on one of six different civilizations. The game board consists of a number of modular map tiles, which, with the exception of each civilization's unique starting map tile, are placed face-down on the board. At the start of the game, each player begins with a capital city in the centre of their own map tile, and an army and scout unit that begins in a space bordering their capital city. Each player also has a specific national power and a starting technology, depending on the civilization chosen.
Each turn in the game consists of five phases, during which players take turns performing the actions permitted in each phase:
The game ends if a player reaches the last culture level, possesses 15 coins, researches a technology in the fifth level of the technology pyramid, or conquers the capital city of another player.
In November 2011, Fantasy Flight Games released an expansion to Civilization: The Board Game titled Fame and Fortune. This expansion adds four new civilizations to the game, as well as rule revisions, new map tiles that depict relics, which grant one-time bonuses for the first player to move an army to its space. The game also adds the parts necessary for a fifth player. Several new optional game mechanics have also been introduced to the game:
A second expansion entitled Wisdom and Warfare was released in August 2013. This expansion introduces six new civilizations to the game. Unlike the previous expansion, the player limit isn't raised: the game remains a 2-4 player game.
The expansion also includes new optional features and revisions:
The game was well received, having an aggregated score of 7.8 out of 10 on Board Game Geek. Most reviews on the site praise the gameplay and the conversion of the PC game to table.
The Fame and Fortune Expansion was even better received, with an aggregated score of 8.7 out of 10 on Board Game Geek. Most reviews praise the better distribution in reaching each winning path over the core game. The changes in the way great people are added to each player were also well received, making the culture path more desirable, and so were the relics giving a one time bonus, as the new feature also encouraged more exploring.
The Wisdom and Warfare Expansion was also very well received, even though it was released 2 years after the first expansion and 3 years after the base game, having an aggregated score of 8.6 out of 10 on Board Game Geek. Most reviews praise the new civilizations, with interesting powers. The changes in combat were also well received, as it felt too random and unfair prior to the expansion.