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An additional Civilization card: Name: ENOLOGY (winemaking) Colors: Blue (arts) / Brown (crafts) Cost: 45 Bonuses: 5 toward other arts, 10 toward other crafts Special bonuses: none Special abilities: provides the equivalent of Agriculture for 5 areas Number available: 1 (all scenarios)
From: ferrell@brtph625.bnr.ca (Thomas Ferrell P910) Description: Advanced Civilization Variant Below is an Advanced Civilization variant in the form of an article for the General. After getting input from my own gaming group, I would like to get opinions from other groups. If you use this variant, I would like to hear what your group liked and disliked about it. For any dislikes, please explain why and what changes to the variant could help eliminate the problem. Thanks in advance, Wray Expanding Diplomatic Options in Advanced Civilization In Advanced Civilization some countries, notably Egypt and Babylon, are blessed with an abundance of land and city sites, while others such as Crete, start the player at a disadvantage. While you can try to overcome this discrepancy through a bidding system or giving Egypt to the newer players, it is still possible to realize halfway through the game that you have little or no chance of winning. The problem is that as the game progresses it becomes harder to close the gap on the front runners for two reasons. First, the leaders have more civilization advances and thus are better protected from calamities. Second, having enough tokens to launch an effective attack usually means going first. Buying military eliminates the second reason, but exacerbates the first since the card worsens some calamities and the one hundred eighty points spent on it could have been used to buy other mitigating advances. One way to level the playing field is to determine movement order by civilization points then the number of tokens on the board. Movement is performed in descending civilization point order, then census order, then by A.S.T. order. This forces the front runners to move first making it much easier to bring them back to the rest of the pack. While the leaders can purchase Military, it forces the disadvantage of this card on them rather than the countries trying to catch up. While the change to movement order kept the game close, it pointed out another weakness in the game. Advanced Civilization suffers from a lack of options when confronted by a hostile neighbor. Your options are limited to either whining about how poorly you are doing in hopes he will attack elsewhere or thinly veiled threats that this incursion will be paid back in future turns, neither of which is very satisfying. The following rule changes are suggested to increase diplomacy and negotiation during the game. Trade Cards: Trade cards may be exchanged for other trade cards during the trading round or given to other players in return for certain favors. There is no limit to the scope of these favors as long as they do not violate any rules. This rule change cannot be used to trade cards for cards ensuring a calamity free trade. For example: Egypt suffered a devastating flood last turn, but still moves before Africa. Aware that the African player is casting a greedy eye towards the Nile Delta, the Egyptian player could offer him a trade card in return for a non-aggression pact this turn. The card(s) offered do not have to be revealed publically. If the trade is refused, the Egyptian player keeps any card(s) that were offered. Any public agreements are binding and must be fulfilled, however players who discuss their deals in secret have no recourse if their trading partner fails to uphold their end of the bargain. Treasury: Tokens may be "given" to other players as part of a trade. The same limitations described above for trade cards apply except that either side may trade tokens. Thus, Egypt could offer Africa two grain cards in return for 5 tokens and not being chosen for secondary damage from Africa's epidemic this turn. The tokens do not actually change hands, the offering player transfers the tokens from his treasury to stock and the accepting player moves the same amount from his stock to treasury. Ships: Ships may now carry tokens from any country. The limit is still five tokens per ship, but there is no restriction on the makeup of these tokens. Regardless of who it is carrying, the ship still uses the civilization advances of the owning country. This allows players to "rent" out excess ships in their fleet. For example Thrace may offer Crete a wine card and three tokens in return for Crete, who has Astronomy, transporting Thracian troops to Africa. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ferrell@bnr.ca My thoughts, not BNR's
From: karlb@soda.berkeley.edu (Karl Bilawski) Description: Re: [AdCiv] More Variants Having played Ad Civ almost every weekend for the better part of a year now, my group and I have come up with many variations to make the game have new life. Three of the most successful arose because in addition to AdCiv, there are many other games with those little cardboard markers to be found around my house. We were playing with eight players when we ran out of pieces to use as barbarians/pirates, so we raided my kingmaker game for more markers, and it occurred to us that these could be useful... Variation the first: Modified Civil War Everyone, myself included, gripes about the debilitating effects of Civil War. Particularly in my usual group, where everyone is generally out to have a good time and not get into vicious wars with other players, it was unsatisfactory to have another player simply take over a chunk of one's civilization. Moreover it was not terribly logical - how would Iberians suddenly swear mass allegiance to Babylon? So instead of this, what we have happen is that the revolting citizens become barbarians, rather than citizens of another civilization. The same number revolt, and the affected player still has the hassle of trying to reconquer them, but inter-player hassles are avoided without losing the effects of civil war. Note: the barbarians, although they do not expand, do reproduce - so if left to their own devices, barbarians in a territory capable of supporting 2 units will have 4 units (combat before starvation) when they are attacked there. Variation the Second: Barbarian Flood However, we decided that our kindly playing style was making the game somewhat too easy, and we wanted a more difficult (masochistic) approach. So we came up with the barbarian flood concept - the barbarian horde card aside, each player would be subject to barbarian invasion periodically. We would take the turn cards (the numbered ones determining who gets to choose their civilization in what order), shuffle them, and at the end of each turn, during the calamity phase, the top one would be drawn and that civilization would face a barbarian invasion, ten units strong. This modification was not as damaging as it appeared it might be, and now is a regular component of our games. Note: the cards are all drawn before they are re-shuffled, so the likelihood of an invasion grows the longer it doesnt happen. Also, we correspond the card numbers to the positions on the AST; both for simplicity and because this allows for some periods (determined beforehand) in which there are no barbarians (as the civilization whose number it is is not in play.) Variation the Third: Military This is a variation we have just begun experimenting with. Much like civil war, we decided that having combat based on the civilian population was not terribly realistic, and as we had jillions of extra tokens from other games, we decided to create the military. Basically, a military unit is just like a boat. You "buy" one for two units, either from the board or in one's treasury. Each turn they must be paid for with one unit from the treasury - if unpaid, they disband. Combat is now resolved via *gasp* dice-rolling (or die-rolling to be precise). Each unit tried to hit opposing units by rolling a six-sided die. Normal settlers hit if they roll a six, and armies hit if they roll a 4,5 or 6. Metalworking allows units to hit with one lower than they would normally, i.e. 5 or 6 for settlers and 3,4,5 or 6 for armies. Defenders go first, unless one of the sides has military, in which case it goes first. If a side is eliminated, it loses. Combat is *not* simultaneous. So far this variation has worked fine. We have turned all barbarian invaders into armies (without military though), and now they are much more fearsome. Combat between players is also much more feasible now (I recall a long running war I as Egypt had with Babylon over the Holy Land). As far as civil war goes, one half (rounded down) of all military units join the rebels, and the other half join the loyalists. This is a great modification for those who like their games difficult and/or those who like combat between players. Note: military units do not need supplies, and move one space per turn (unless there is roadbuilding). The player whose forces are being hit chooses which units are eliminated. Karl Bilawski -- testing, testing, 1 2 3 12345 ________ *ping*
