I was in CompUSA the other day and saw Civilization - The Board Game. Has anyone bought this or played it? I think it was like $30-40

I'm a big Sid Meier fan, but I was a little skeptical about a board game translation of this game.

On the box, it says it's for 2-6 players, and game times can be "2 hours or more", depending on the rules used, or something like that.

hmmm....this could replace Trivial Pursuit in our circle....when Animal Crossing isn't taking up my time. I'll have to look into this.

This would be perfect for a board game.

It looks great. I'd love to hear from anyone that's played it too. I think it would make a fantastic boardgame (if I could find anyone to play it).

Brings back memories of "RISK", "Fortess America" and "Axis & Allies" marathons.

Anyone remember "TALISMAN"?

I wonder if it bears a resemblance to the eponymous Avalon Hill title. I enjoyed that game as well.

I was just thinking about the Avalon Hill title - that's a great board game - a bit complex (as are all Avalon Hill games) - but a great game.

If you're looking for the best board game ever, check out Diplomacy - no luck, no dice, all skill. It's great. (Diplomacy is also by Avalon Hill).

Another good Avalon Hill game is Kingmaker, although I think both Civilization and Diplomacy are better.

As for the Civ game you're showing - I have no idea what it's like - but I'm willing to wager the Avalon Hill game of the same name is better.

I think the original computer version of Civilization is based on that Avalon hill board game.

Yeah, I looked around a little after posting the thread, and found that Avalon Hill published Civilization and Advanced Civilization board games in the 80's and 90's, which inspired Sid Meier's Civilization. So this is a case of a board game begetting a video game begetting a board game.

I have Diplomacy but never played it... a while back I was on some sort of complex game kick... I'd buy these complex war/strategy games, and never play them... at least they're still around so if I ever want to play them, I can.

Brian

I think I played the Avalon Hill Civ game once... but it was a long time ago, so I don't remember much. In fact it gets blended in with the several games of Axis and Allies that I have played since.

-CM-

bdshort, if you haven't tried Diplomacy yet, please do so. It's not that complicated - only 2 pieces (army & fleet) and it's really simple - 1 vs. 1 pushes. You can support (e.g. 2 vs. 1), Hold (no movement), etc. It's really simple - but gets increasingly complex as you get into the negotiations with others. All moves are simultaneous and if someone promises you support, but doesn't do so, all your other moves could fall apart. I had bought the Diplomacy version for the PC and was going to organize a play by e-mail, but it never materialized...a shame too - great game.

If you're interested in Diplomacy (which is probably one of the best designed/easiest to learn/impossible to master games), check out the rulebook here - it'll give you an overview and hopefully spur you to buy the game - it's great...

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy.PDF

I used to have Advanced Civilization for PC.... Never really got into it tho, hehe.