Sid Meier's Civilization: The Card Game is a card game from 2006. It's a strategy game that supports 2-4 players and plays for around 60 minutes. Based on Civilization IV, it was designed by Soren Johnson and developed by Firaxis Games. The game was available only as a bonus with the Civilization Chronicles boxed set (which contained every Civilization game released up until that point), and was never sold independently.
Gameplay[]
There are seven types of cards in the game:
- Plot Cards provide the basis for the game's economy. They represent the land of a player's empire and provide both resources and space for population, buildings, and wonders.
- Resource Cards (Food, Hammers, and Commerce) are used to purchase things in the game: Food purchases population, Hammers purchase buildings and wonders, and Commerce purchases new technologies.
- Population Cards are each worth one Victory Point. They represent the citizens of a player's empire and are placed on plots of land, where they remain unless stolen in combat.
- Technology Cards are each worth one Victory Point. They provide bonuses or additional functionalities that are exclusive to the player who purchased the technology.
- Military Cards are drawn from the playing deck. They are used only to attack opponents, or in response to opponents' attacks.
- Building Cards are drawn from the playing deck. Each one has a purchase price that is paid in Hammers, and also an "effect" that happens once the building is purchased and placed on a plot of land.
- Wonder Cards are drawn from the playing deck and are each worth one Victory Point. Like buildings, each wonder has a purchase price that is paid in Hammers, and an "effect" that happens once the wonder is placed on a plot of land. Wonders cannot be destroyed by an opponent.
Other game mechanics include culture and happiness, both of which are granted by certain technologies, buildings, and wonders. Attaining "Highest Culture" status allows a player to draw and discard one additional card each turn; attaining "Highest Happiness" status reduces a player's technology, building, and wonder costs by 1 each.
Victory[]
The game ends when the final technology is purchased, and the player with the most Victory Points (wonders + technologies + population) is declared the winner. If two or more players have the same number of Victory Points, then technologies, population, and wonders are used as tiebreakers, in that order.