Sid Meier's Civilization - Introduction to the game
Until 1991, all developed strategy games mainly focused on military themes. The army could be deployed with just one click of the mouse, and there were no problems. Some of these games had economic elements, but they were few in number. In some strategy games, attempts were made, with varying degrees of success, to combine economic and military themes. In some of them, war was treated as a kind of investment, and military success was seen as a condition for army development. Although playing such games is cool, it is far from reality.
It was only after the release of CIVILIZATION that all aspects related to societal development were properly integrated. The military aspect is treated there as a tool for implementing a specific development policy for the player's community (civilization). You can engage in peaceful development: develop the economy, science, and technology, trade with other nations. You can also change the regime to adapt it to the pace of economic and technological development of the society you govern. In such gameplay, military forces are minimal—only as much as needed for the defense of our state, and military actions are limited to defensive and preventive ones—if there are continuous disturbances, we defend ourselves, but ultimately we need to deal with them. Instead, you can focus on military expansion. Then, the development of science and economy is directed towards continuous improvement of military forces, and most of the civilizational gains are achieved through conquests. A one-sided player policy will not lead to success. Our policy should be adapted to current conditions, and civilization development should be harmonious.
Excessive military development in CIVILIZATION will lead to economic catastrophe, while ignoring the military can make us defenseless against aggressive neighbors. So, in this game, we are constantly faced with choices: guns or grain, technology or literature. Moreover, the higher the level of civilization development, the more attention economic and social issues attract. And this is also true in reality. A nation with a strong economy and content society also has a strong army and pursues a foreign policy that suits it. This is what makes this game very close to the history of our civilization and therefore highly educational.
Due to constant technological progress and continuous economic development, playing CIVILIZATION is not monotonous. On the contrary, for some, it may even be too complicated. Also, the game's configuration possibilities are very wide. For these reasons, CIVILIZATION achieves much greater success than, for example, RAILROAD TYCOON.
The goal of the game is the harmonious development of civilization, starting from a primitive tribe founding its first city, and ending with space conquest, which can be achieved by a highly developed society existing in many prosperous cities. You win if you destroy all other civilizations or, without doing so, prepare an expedition into space and send a rocket to Alpha Centauri. All civilizations are evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. ADVANCEMENT — technological level. Measure: the degree of technological development, i.e., the discoveries of scientists of a civilization in the field of technology,
2. HAPPINESS — satisfaction of residents. Measure: the number of happy inhabitants of the civilization,
3. POWER — military potential. Measure: the sum of the attack and defense coefficients of all military units of the civilization,
4. SIZE — population size. Measure: the population of a given civilization,
5. WEALTH — prosperity. Measure: the amount of money in the state treasury. The results of these assessments are provided by the computer during gameplay.
CIVILIZATION is a game that combines four threads: political, economic, scientific, and military. Exactly in that order! It is the first strategy game that combines all these threads of civilizational development and takes into account the dependencies between them, e.g., political system creates conditions for economic and social development of each nation. Meanwhile, in international relations, politics creates conditions for trade. Economics lays the groundwork for scientific development, which in turn, mainly in terms of technological development, provides means of production—again economics, and also technical means of warfare—finally the military thread! War is a tool of conducted policy. If this leads to conflict—there is war. During war, the economy must be shifted to military needs. In CIVILIZATION, this means mobilizing military units armed with the means of warfare that your community can afford. If you win—you gain new cities—thus expanding your civilization. You also take over any unknown civilizational achievements of your community. This can pay off. It's worse if you lose the war. Then you may suffer economic and territorial losses. Your civilization may even be wiped off the world map. Therefore, when deciding on war—you must be aware of the risk of defeat. And therefore, you should be well prepared for every war!
In CIVILIZATION, destroying all competitors is not necessary at all. It is enough if you conquer only those nations that hinder you in settling the territory necessary for development. Also, those who constantly attack you. With the rest, you can make peace and turn the competition into the area of economics and science. Besides, some competitors will destroy each other. Therefore, a lot of attention should be paid to foreign policy.
What possibilities do you have and what can you do to ensure the best development of your country?
1. You can found and develop cities of your community. You invest in such projects that primarily increase state income and, by enabling territorial development of cities, allow for continuous population growth. If the dissatisfaction of residents increases, you must allocate part of the state resources to non-productive investments. The possibilities in this area depend on the level of technological development of your civilization. You can build production buildings. They strengthen the development of your economy and increase the income of the state you manage. These include: granaries, marketplaces, aqueducts, factories, banks, power plants, etc. You can strengthen the defense of your cities by building barracks, erecting defensive walls, and fortifications. Finally, you can accelerate scientific development by building libraries and universities. And if necessary for the approval of your policy, you can build temples, cathedrals, and stadiums. And to strengthen the state system, the construction of a palace and courts will be necessary.
2. You can determine the directions of scientific development by setting your scientists various tasks. Their implementation allows for the development of the economy and military forces.
3. You can build and develop a communication network enabling trade contacts and fast military transport.
4. Finally, you can mobilize military units (land, sea, and air), with the types of mobilized troops depending on the level of technological development achieved. Some of these units have a defensive character. However, most of them are efficient tools of aggression.
5. You can mobilize demilitarized units. These are settlement-engineering, diplomatic, and trade units. Settlement-engineering units can found cities, build fortifications, mines, and improve land, thereby expanding their territory and development opportunities (each city occupies one square of the map and can spread to the next two in each of the four geographical directions: N, S, E, W). These units also build a communication network: roads and railways. Diplomatic units can conduct intelligence and sabotage, in addition to establishing embassies. Trade units are used to create trade routes and accelerate the construction of so-called wonders of the world.
6. You can build the aforementioned wonders of the world. These are extraordinary buildings bringing fame to their communities and other additional benefits depending on the type of such a building (economic, exploratory, scientific, defensive, political).
7. Finally, you can change the regime of your country. This involves conducting a revolution and a brief period of anarchy.
In CIVILIZATION, you will encounter the following forms of government:
— tyranny. You wield absolute power. The efficiency of your economy is low. A system convenient for waging wars,
— anarchy. A transitional period between two consecutive political systems caused by revolution. The efficiency of the economy is low. During anarchy, no taxes are collected,
— monarchy. Your power is almost absolute. The efficiency of the economy is slightly higher than in tyranny. At the same time, the costs of maintaining military and demilitarized units are higher,
— communism. You rule at the head of the government and the party. Production efficiency increases compared to monarchy,
— republic. The state ruled by you is a union of city-states. Each city has autonomy. Foreign policy is controlled by the Senate of the Republic. Economic efficiency is much higher than in previous forms of government. Trade, in particular, develops,
— democracy. A system of maximum industrial and trade development. Also, of civil rights, significantly limiting the freedom of your decisions. Your rule is controlled by the Senate of the Republic. If you cause dissatisfaction among the population in any city, a revolution will break out there.
This concludes the short introduction to the game.
