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Civilization
Year
1980
Players
2–7
Play time
360min
Min age
12+
Weight
3.64
BGG rating
7.48
BGG rank
#545
Best with
6, 7

Owned by

Michael Redlich

Local copies

Rating: ★ 8.0

Board game

Civilization

Civilisation

Designed by Francis Tresham

MeepleMates notes for Civilization

Public snippets combine board game metadata with MeepleMates play history so visitors can evaluate the game for real group play and game night planning.

  • Civilization is available as a public board game page on MeepleMates for group planning and collection tracking.
  • Best with 6, 7 players according to player poll data.
  • BoardGameGeek average rating 7.48 and BGG rank #545.
  • Groups use this page to connect Ancient, Civilization, Economic metadata with real play history, ratings and game night notes.
  • Recommended player counts include 4, 5.
Civilization is a game of skill for 2 to 7 players. It covers the development of ancient civilizations from the invention of agriculture c. 8000 B.C. to the emergence of Rome around the middle of the third century B.C. Each player leads a nation of peoples over a map board of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East as they attempt to carve a niche for themselves and their culture. Although battles and territorial strategy are important, this is not a war game because it is not won by battle or conquest. Instead, the object of play is to gain a level of overall advancement involving cultural, economic, and political factors so that such conflicts that do arise are a result of rivalry and land shortage rather than a desire to eliminate other players. Nomad and farmer, warrior and merchant, artisan and citizen all have an essential part to play in the development of civilization. It is the player who most effectively changes emphasis between these various outlooks who will achieve the best balance and win. (from the Introduction to the Avalon Hill edition rulebook) This game has a huge following and is widely regarded as one of the best games about ancient civilizations. Each player takes on the role of leader of an ancient civilization, such as the Illyrians or Babylonians. Your task is to guide your people through the ages by expanding your empire and using its proceeds to finance new technological advances, such as Literacy, Metalworking, or Law. The advancements help your civilization better cope with its problems as well as help bring new advancements. Civilization is widely thought to be the first game ever to incorporate a "technology tree," allowing players to gain certain items and abilities only after particular other items were obtained. This influential mechanism has been adopted by countless other board games, card games, and computer games.

Categories

AncientCivilizationEconomicNegotiation

Mechanics

Hand ManagementSet CollectionTech Trees / Tech TracksArea Majority / InfluenceArea MovementSimulationTradingAutomatic Resource GrowthTurn Order: Stat-BasedCatch the Leader

Best with how many players

1
Not rec.
2
Not rec.
3
Not rec.
4
Recommended
5
Recommended
6
Best
7
Best
7+
Not rec.

Community votes from BoardGameGeek

Language dependence

Some necessary text - easily memorized(26 of 37 votes)

Sub-rankings

  • Strategy Game Rank#370

Expansions in collection

Videos

YouTube2

Instructional2

BoardGameGeek11

Review2

Session5

Instructional1

Unboxing2

Other1

External data

Wikidata enrichment: 3 links · 2 facts · latest game data 07/26/2026.

Latest Wikidata run: ok · 09/23/2026.

Links

Facts

Publication date
1980
Publisher
Avalon Hill