I played Civilization several more times through, finally getting a 4-player game in. Game 1 of last Friday, we started off as a 3-player game. I figured I would try out the coin win. I made a couple of mistakes, but successfully hid my coin plan until it was too late for the other players to unite against me. My final turn I gained 3 coins from having researching Banks...really awesome, but making the level 1 version of it is now completely a giveaway.
The 4-player game, I fell into another coin strategy as the Chinese...I picked up monument pieces early from huts and villages, but then drew into famous figures who had coins as well. I used shortcuts I learned in the previous game, executed them earlier, and won so fast that we finished in 2-2.5 hours. Coins seem to be much easier to win with - it takes some tactics, but it's more reliable than military and takes less time than culture/science victories.
I hosted a game night last Saturday for friends, where we played Le Havre, 7 Wonders, and Cash'n'Guns. 7 Wonders is hard for me to teach well...either the game is awkward for learning, or I am. (And I've demoed hundreds of games, some more than others.)
7 Wonders is nice and relatively fast, but I have some doubts for long-term play. First, there are only so many choices you make. Second, the stacks of cards within an Age are completely random. Finally, you might not be able to get some cards at a big enough table...if you need a cloth, they might not exist for you or your nearby friends. Maybe pay 3 to the bank to get it.
It's a beautiful game, but I'm sad that it doesn't do more. Maybe it is waiting to do expansions to make the game interesting...they released an 8th Wonder through BGG.
Sunday day will be featuring Advanced Civilization, an old-school game. The corrupted trade bit is probably the most interesting thing about it, but the players are all good people and a great way to spend 6-7 hours.
Showing posts with label 7 Wonders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7 Wonders. Show all posts
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Civilizations, galore!
I've been doing a fair amount of civilization building lately.
Through the Ages is getting regular play at the biweekly (once every two weeks version of the word) Thursday game night.
I've played a couple of games of Sid Meier's Civilization, which I'll be talking about in a bit. 7 Wonders is a nice, quick drafting game which I got as a gift this season - played someone else's copy already, which speeds up my tutorials once my copy gets opened. Finally, playing a bit of Civ 5 on the computer - outside my normal scope of game discussions...essentially as addictive as ever.
Sid Meier's Civilization is a game put out in 2010 by Fantasy Flight. They do a lot of licensed games. If it hasn't been clear in the past, there are some design differences that I wouldn't choose to do for fun. (I would do it as a job, sure.) They put a lot of bits and counters in their games, utilize a verbose rulebook, and generally have cards in the game that provide a lot of swing in the game.
The appealing part is the alleged 2 hours for a Civ game. So far there was a 6-hour game, and a 4-hour game...each time, the players thought that 'with time' they could get it down more. I really doubt that there will ever be a 2-hour game, unless someone just gets wrecked by an early rush.
I read the rulebook for the first game, and the 6-hours includes the tutorial. Some parts just weren't expressed in the rulebook, but we were lucky enough to have a person at the game store's game night who had played a bit already. (Thanks Justin!)
The cool part is the multiple paths to winning - science, military, wealth, and culture. If you're not working on military, a military player will crush you down. Everyone needs science to get the better units/buildings/gold. Wealth is a handy thing for anyone to have, but not crushing if you're behind on it. The culture track nets you crazy chance cards, as well as Great People - essentially cheap buildings.
There is a rock-paper-scissors approach to combat - basically first strike against some other type of unit...sadly, there isn't a reliable way to guarantee what units you bring into the combat. On a more difficult note, if there wasn't first strike or random units, the combat system would be just numbers against numbers. Overall, the combat is pretty crazy and random. Technology boosts are about the only reliable ally against random cards, but it will cost you.
Wealth is achieved by getting gold coins in a variety of ways - some on Great People, or parts of the map...usually by certain technology cards that give you access to gaining up to 4.
Culture is pretty straightforward - get culture chits and points of trade. Try to skimp on everything else once the engine is started. Every time you advance on the culture track, you gain either a 'chance' card or random great person - hopefully the great person nets you culture, and the chance cards misdirect attackers. If there's only one warmonger at the table, you might draw enough cards to stop them cold while you limp in from the marathon.
Science is probably the easiest one to do 'for sure'. 15 technology cards, which is 15 turns if you're getting enough tech for one each round. Each science nets you something good, with the higher-level ones being powerful in proper circumstances.
The game also includes wonders, exploring, huts and barbarian villages - it's a pretty fair representation of the computer game...I just wish it had the elegance of Through the Ages. Worth picking up if you like the Fantasy Flight game design ala Starcraft or BSG...otherwise a long investment of time to recapture the magic of playing Civ on the computer.
Through the Ages is getting regular play at the biweekly (once every two weeks version of the word) Thursday game night.
I've played a couple of games of Sid Meier's Civilization, which I'll be talking about in a bit. 7 Wonders is a nice, quick drafting game which I got as a gift this season - played someone else's copy already, which speeds up my tutorials once my copy gets opened. Finally, playing a bit of Civ 5 on the computer - outside my normal scope of game discussions...essentially as addictive as ever.
Sid Meier's Civilization is a game put out in 2010 by Fantasy Flight. They do a lot of licensed games. If it hasn't been clear in the past, there are some design differences that I wouldn't choose to do for fun. (I would do it as a job, sure.) They put a lot of bits and counters in their games, utilize a verbose rulebook, and generally have cards in the game that provide a lot of swing in the game.
The appealing part is the alleged 2 hours for a Civ game. So far there was a 6-hour game, and a 4-hour game...each time, the players thought that 'with time' they could get it down more. I really doubt that there will ever be a 2-hour game, unless someone just gets wrecked by an early rush.
I read the rulebook for the first game, and the 6-hours includes the tutorial. Some parts just weren't expressed in the rulebook, but we were lucky enough to have a person at the game store's game night who had played a bit already. (Thanks Justin!)
The cool part is the multiple paths to winning - science, military, wealth, and culture. If you're not working on military, a military player will crush you down. Everyone needs science to get the better units/buildings/gold. Wealth is a handy thing for anyone to have, but not crushing if you're behind on it. The culture track nets you crazy chance cards, as well as Great People - essentially cheap buildings.
There is a rock-paper-scissors approach to combat - basically first strike against some other type of unit...sadly, there isn't a reliable way to guarantee what units you bring into the combat. On a more difficult note, if there wasn't first strike or random units, the combat system would be just numbers against numbers. Overall, the combat is pretty crazy and random. Technology boosts are about the only reliable ally against random cards, but it will cost you.
Wealth is achieved by getting gold coins in a variety of ways - some on Great People, or parts of the map...usually by certain technology cards that give you access to gaining up to 4.
Culture is pretty straightforward - get culture chits and points of trade. Try to skimp on everything else once the engine is started. Every time you advance on the culture track, you gain either a 'chance' card or random great person - hopefully the great person nets you culture, and the chance cards misdirect attackers. If there's only one warmonger at the table, you might draw enough cards to stop them cold while you limp in from the marathon.
Science is probably the easiest one to do 'for sure'. 15 technology cards, which is 15 turns if you're getting enough tech for one each round. Each science nets you something good, with the higher-level ones being powerful in proper circumstances.
The game also includes wonders, exploring, huts and barbarian villages - it's a pretty fair representation of the computer game...I just wish it had the elegance of Through the Ages. Worth picking up if you like the Fantasy Flight game design ala Starcraft or BSG...otherwise a long investment of time to recapture the magic of playing Civ on the computer.
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