Very fun for people who like to strategize and think ahead. I bought this game to play with my family and we had a great time. While we were first learning the game through an initial test playthrough, to make learning faster, i decided to have them skip the city/state diplomacy cards and leader effects, and just learned the basics faster. There is a lot of stuff the game throws at you in the beginning that can be overwhelming for people new to board games that you have to learn and remember, I did some research beforehand so I was able to answer some questions. Ive also played civ on pc before but i knew coming into this board game it would be different. Some things aren't really listed or we missed from the rulebook and texts that we are still unclear on, like what happens when a barbarian reaches a capital city and you have no trade tokens, and can you build a city adjacent to city states or other cities? We probably botched a few of the rules but we still very much enjoyed the game. The first playthrough took us about 3 hours with 3 people learning everything. It got very intense for two of us near the end when we were both trying to build cities as fast as possible, while the third player was kind of left out because they were way behind on objectives, so I formed an alliance with them and they helped me attack the 2nd player which is still very fun for them. I really enjoyed this game and so did the others. Formulating a winning strategy was very satisfying.
I think this game is very suitable for adults that like to strategize. I can see how it would be discouraging if you're way behind because there aren't many ways to catch up fast, and the ending of a game is just a race against time, but then again, the game can still be fun if you form alliances or try to trade with others to help somebody else win or something.
Starting a game, it takes a long time to setup, is the only con I would say. Placing all the resources, barbarians, map tiles, etc takes quite a bit of time and effort. But it was so worth it. For people new to board games or civ, it can be overwhelming, but for people who are invested and in the right mindset to learn and play, it becomes very simple and straightforward once the game starts going and you start recognizing and formulating strategies. By right mindset I mean like you're actually interested in playing the game and taking objectives and focused on a goal instead of just winging it.
If I could make one request to the publisher, I would ask you to release a leader pack, so that we could play qin shi huang or more leaders without buying the expansion.
| Educational objective(s) | Cognitive Skill |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Model Number | CIV01 |
| Number of game players | 2-4 |
| Number of pieces | 461 |
| Assembly Required | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Material type(s) | Cardboard |
| Remote control included? | No |
| Release date | April 8 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Manufacturer recommended age | 14 years and up |
| Item model number | CIV01 |
| Product Dimensions | 29.54 x 7.32 x 29.54 cm; 1.47 kg |
| ASIN | B074YN5CKM |
