Civilization I, II & III — How to Play
What it is
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) is the game that founded the 4X genre — explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. You start with a single settler in 4000 BC and guide a people through six thousand years of history: found cities, research technologies, build wonders, make friends and enemies, and win by conquest or by sending the first colony ship to Alpha Centauri. One more turn.
The games
- Civilization (1991) — the original.
- Civilization II (1996) and Test of Time (1999) — deeper diplomacy, scenarios, and the famous council of advisors.
- Civilization III (2001), with Play the World and Conquests — culture, national borders and strategic resources arrive, with new victory types.
Getting the games
- Civilization III Complete (the game and both expansions) is sold on Steam and GOG and is the easiest of the three to play today.
- The first two games are long out of print and not sold by the publisher.
Starting out
- Play on a small map at a low difficulty (Chieftain) to learn the systems.
- Found your first cities quickly — expansion early is the heart of every Civ game.
- Keep a defender in every city; the AI notices an empty one.