Advanced Civilization [BOX SET]

Advanced Civilization is a fantastic expansion to a great game. It fixed all the problems from the original Civilization and added several new and exciting elements. The expansion does not require extensive relearning of the game, but changes just enough to make it better. I definitely recommend Advanced Civilization over the original.

Advanced Civilization is an expansion for the classic Avalon-Hill boardgame Civilization. Civilization was a game (while it was still in print) in which up to seven players assumed the role of leading a tribe of primitive people from the Stone Age up to the Iron Age by managing population size, taxation, cities, warfare with neighboring tribes, and cultural advances. The setting is the Meditereannean Sea basin.This game is appropriate for players at least age twelve (and probably) older, as it and Civilizaton require eight-twelve hours (on average) to complete a single game. It is highly strategic with a limited amount of randomness (no dice, for instance), but still enough to keep everyone on their toes.I highly recommend this game as it makes Civilization a far more equitable and less cut-throat game than it was while enhancing the overall feel of the original version.

...there is actually a nearly identical port of it to the MS-DOS system available online (just search your favorite search engine for "abandonware advanced civilization"). Okay, MS-DOS is old, and you might have concerns about whether it can still run, but that's what emulators like DOS-BOX are for. So you basically don't need to spend large amounts of money tracking this game down in order to play it with your friends; you just need a computer with an internet connection.It does lose something played over the computer in contrast to played in person, but really, I think it's worth the money you'll save. And if you haven't played before and aren't sure if you'll like it, do yourself a favor and download the DOS port. If you like strategy games like Risk or Diplomacy, or more modern games in the same vein like Settlers of Catan or Agricola, you'll probably love Advanced Civilization. A great game to spend a weekend (yes, a whole weekend) playing with friends.

This gets four stars because I don't think I'm ready for the advanced version. I've been a long-time fan of the original Civilization, having spent almost every weekend of the past fifteen years in Civilization sessions with friends. However, I don't think my skill level (or as we insiders call it, Civilevel) is at the point where I can say: "Yes, I have completely conquered Civilization. Now I can move on to the next challenge".I once heard from a Civilization guru, whom I greatly respect, that the advanced version requires an entirely different strategic mindset. It's almost like entering a trance state where your hands move by themselves over the board as your mind spans over millions of years. At this point, I can't imagine what that will be like. But I hope that one day, maybe another fifteen years from now, I will be enlightened enough to reach that stage.