Advanced
Civilization
This section is dedicated to Avalon Hill’s
Advanced Civilization boardgame.
Origins
2004 2005 2006, etc.
The
2004 and 2005 Origins Civ tournaments were as big a
success as the first two years. 2006 was also a success. I missed Origins 2007
due to my son’s
wedding. I scheduled the same tourney structure in 2008, but it was not nearly
as well attended as it had been in past years.
I
am again planning on running this tourney at Origins 2009. You can register
online in early 2009 at www.originsgames.com.
Origins
Tournament Information
2004
Tournament Results- sorry- can’t
locate these
2007
Tournament –
missed attending Origins in 2007
Congratulations to this year's champion, Steve Spisak!
Origins 2003 saw 51 players
participate in seven 1st-round games!
Next year we'll be making some format changes to the
tournament. All comments and ideas are welcome, but here's what I'm thinking
and why.
Only 10 people showed up for the semi-finals. Part of
the problem is that sending 40% of the first round players to the semis means you have to go down pretty far on the standings list.
Once you start getting down to folks that finished 4th or 5th (or lower) in
their game, they don't bother showing up, because they
don't think they have a chance to advance. So essentially it becomes a case
where anyone who played in the first round who shows up at the semis, gets to
play. Which sort of defeats the purpose of a middle round.
And then so few players were in the semis, that all
but 3 would advance. Last year we had this issue, but to a lesser degree. One
thing that may have aggravated it this year was the later start time for the
final 1st round slot.
Here's what we'll likely do then. A
two round tournament, 4 heats for the first round, at
Each qualifier round will be limited to 16 players (2
games), for a maximum of 8 winners. In 8 first rounds over the past 2 years,
only 1 had more than 16 players show up, so I don’t think this will prevent
anyone from playing who wants to. It may even encourage more folks to
pre-register. We will keep the same scoring rating system in place, because
inevitably, there will be one or more winners who will not show up for the
final. Or a person might play and win two first round games, which would also
free up a slot for a non-winner.
Send
comments or questions to the Tournament
Director. Also, I’d be happy to put any reviews of Civilization or strategy
tips up on the web.
Origins is owned by GAMA, the Game Manufacturers Association. Now
in its 29th year, Origins is one of the largest national gaming conventions,
held each summer in
Civilization, or "Civ,"
as it is more commonly known, is arguably one of the greatest multi-player
strategy boardgames ever created. Designed by Francis
Tresham in 1980, Civ was
licensed for publication in the
This
is the boardgame that inspired the bestselling line
of "Civilization" computer games. While substantially different from
its popular pc counterpart, Civ shares some of the
same basic fundamentals. Players begin with a single “settler,” and strive to
build a civilization, by learning various technologies and skills, and expanding
and trading with their neighboring players.
"Advanced"
Civilization was an expansion supplement released by Avalon Hill in 1991. The
term "Advanced" is somewhat of a misnomer, since the game mechanics
are really no more difficult than basic Civ.
"Enhanced Civ" would probably be a better
term. The Advanced Civ game changes a few rules, and
adds a few, along with new technology and trade cards.
Advanced
Civ is not a complete game by itself- you must also
purchase basic Civ to have a playable game. Two other
add-on's were published, a deck of extra trade cards, and a western expansion
map. The deck of trade cards is only compatible with basic Civ,
as Adv Civ contains its own extra trade cards. The
expansion map can be used with either Civ or Adv Civ.
While
basic Civ is still a fun game and played by some
people, most prefer the Advanced Civ version. The
game mechanics of Civ, (either version) can be taught
in 15 minutes to a new player. However, the strategies and nuances of player
interaction can take years to master. One big disadvantage to Civ, in the eyes of some, is the playing time, which can
take up to 10 hours. An average game can be completed in around 8.
Sadly,
with the acquisition of Avalon Hill by Hasbro a few years ago, many of AH's classic boardgames,
including Civ, are no longer in publication. The best
place to find a copy of Civ or Adv Civ is on Ebay or at a game
auction at a convention such as Origins or GenCon.
Note
that in October of 2002, Eagle Games released a new boardgame,
called Sid Meier’s Civilization, which is not in any way related to Avalon Hill’s
game, other than perhaps as a distant cousin. I have yet to play this new game
so I cannot speak further on it.
Update-
At Origins 2003, I me Glenn Drover, president and founder of Eagle Games! He
was very generous in giving me a copy of his Civilization the Boardgame. I will put up some comments on it as soon as I
get a chance to play it.
