Sid Meier's Civilization: The Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Types of Cards
  • Plot Cards
  • Resource Cards
  • Population Cards
  • Technology Cards
• Cards in the Play Deck
  • Unit Cards
  • Building Cards
  • Wonder Cards
  • Bonus Resource Cards
• Starting a Game
• Order of Play During a Turn
  • 1) Collect Resource Cards
  • 2) Purchase Game Cards
  • 3) Combat
  • 4) Draw and Discard Play Cards
• Combat
• Extra Rules
• Team Game

Overview

Civilization: The Card Game simulates the rise of empires as in the computer game Civilization. Players will collect resources, obtain lands, construct Buildings and Wonders, discover Technologies, and fight enemies on their way to victory. The game ends when the final Technology is bought, and the player with the most Victory Points (one each per Wonder, Technology, and Population) is declared the Winner. If Victory Points are tied, then the Winner is the player with the most Technologies. If Technologies are tied, then the Winner is the player with the most Population. If Population is tied, then the Winner is the player with the most Wonders.

Civilization may be played by 2 to 4 Players

Types of Cards

Plot Cards

Four of these cards are given at the start of the game to all players and can be bought as the game progresses. At the start of each turn, they generate Resource Cards for their owner. Plot Cards can never be destroyed or damaged. Population, Building and Wonder Cards must be attached to Plots when played. Beyond one's starting Plots, players can purchase a fifth Plot for 15 Resources of ANY type, a sixth for 20, a seventh for 25, and so on. (So, for example, the first Plot could be bought with 6 Food, 2 Production, and 7 Commerce.)

Resource Cards

There are three types of Resources: Food, Production and Commerce. They are collected at the start of every turn based on the yield of all Plot Cards owned by the player and all applicable modifiers. Resources are spent on new Plots, Population, Buildings, Wonders, and Technologies.

Population Cards

Population Cards are attached to Plots and allow the player to choose 1 extra Resource provided by the Plot at the start of each turn. (For example, if a Plot provides 1 Food and 1 Commerce, each Population attached to the plot produces either 1 Food or 1 Commerce per turn, at the owner's discretion.) Players start with 1 free Population which can be placed on any of the three starting Plots. Buying the first Population Card for a Plot costs 6 Food, the second 8 Food, the third 10, and so on. Population Cards can be stolen by rivals as a result of combat. Each Population Card is worth 1 Victory Point.

Technology Cards

Technology Cards are bought with Commerce and each provides a different effect for the purchasing player. There are always 3 Technologies 'face-up' for purchase (or as many Techs that remain, if less than 3), and the active player may buy any number of Technologies on his or her turn. Each Technology Card is worth 1 Victory Point and remains in possession of the purchaser until the end of the game.

Cards in the Play Deck

Unit Cards

Unit Cards represent a nation's military forces and are kept hidden in a player's hand. On offense, some Units are capable of stealing Population Cards from a neighbor and/or moving placed Building Cards back into the neighbor's hand. On defense, some Units can counter the effects of attacking Units.

Building Cards

Building Cards must be attached to a Plot when played. Only one Building or Wonder may be attached to a Plot. However, Plot Cards with 3 or more Population Cards attached can hold a second Building or Wonder. These cards require the spending of Production Resources to be constructed and provide an effect which persists until the end of game or when removed from the Plot Card by combat or – at any time the owner desires – when voluntarily destroyed and placed in the Discard Pile to free up room for another Building or Wonder.

Wonder Cards

Wonders are similar to Building Cards although they cost more in Production and their effects are more powerful. Additionally, they may not be damaged by combat and each provides 1 Victory Point.

Bonus Resource Cards

There are Bonus Resource Cards associated with each Resource type. These cards may be spent just like Resource Cards produced from the player's Plots. Additionally, 'Red' Bonus Resource Cards are 'Wild,' meaning the owner may choose which type of resource they become when played. (Please note that Wild Bonus Resource Cards cannot be split between multiple Resources. For example, a 2 Wild Card can become either 2 Food or 2 Production but not a combination of 1 Food and 1 Production.)

Starting a Game

Before the dealing of cards begins, the Play Deck, the Tech Cards and the Plot Cards should all be shuffled separately.

To begin, each player is dealt two Plot Cards face-up randomly. Following this, a number of Plots equal to the number of players in the game are laid face-up. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer and proceeding clockwise, each player selects one of the face-up Plots. Then, another set of Plots is placed on the table face-up, this time with the dealer selecting first and going around counter-clockwise. Once all players have selected their Plots, 3 Plot and Technology Cards are placed face- up on the table and may be purchased by any player during their turn for the applicable cost. Whenever one is purchased, another card replaces it from the deck.

Next, each player draws a number of cards from the Play Deck. The player to the left of the dealer draws 6 cards, the next player (proceeding clockwise) draws 7 cards, then 8 and then 9 cards (if applicable). All players then discard 2 cards, in the same order that the cards were drawn.

Play begins with the turn of the player to the left of the Dealer and proceeds clockwise.

Order of Play During a Turn

1) Collect Resource Cards

The player collects Resource Card from all of his or her Plot Cards, including all modifications from Technology Cards and attached Population and Building Cards.

2) Purchase Game Cards

The player may buy any combination of Plot, Population, Building, Wonder, and Technology Cards that may be afforded with the current number of Resource Cards possessed.

3) Combat

The player must declare all of the Units with which he or she wishes to attack during this turn. The defending player(s) may then decide to counter with his or her own Units. Attacking Units which aren't counter then inflict their damage on Buildings and Population. All Units involved in combat (both on offense and defense) are then discarded.

4) Draw and Discard Play Cards

The player draws 4 cards from the Play Deck and then places 2 cards from his or her hand into the Discard Pile - although this may be altered by certain Buildings and Technologies.

Combat

Combat begins by the active player announcing all of his or her attacks by placing Unit Cards face-up in front of rival players. Only adjacent players may be attacked. Once offensive Units are committed, all Catapult Cards take effect by returning a Walls Card from the defender's Plots to the defender's hand. If more than one Walls Card exists, the defender may choose which Walls to remove.

Then, all defending players who have remaining Walls or the Great Wall may force the attacking player to return one offensive Unit (of the defender's choice) to the attacker's hand. Only one Unit is ever "bounced" by the defender per attack – possessing more than one of a combination of Walls and the Great Wall has no effect.

Next, the defenders play Unit Cards from their hands to counter attacking Units. For example, an Axeman can be played to counter an attacking Swordsman. Attacking Units which are countered have no further effect on combat.

Attacking Units which have not been countered then execute their abilities. Some Units steal Population Cards from the defender. The defender may choose from which Plots the Population Cards are removed, and the attacker gets to decide to which Plots the Population Cards are then added. Some Units destroy Buildings. The defender gets to decide which Buildings are destroyed (Wonders can never be destroyed) and then returns the Building Cards to his or her hand. Attacking Units which cannot execute all their abilities (because the defender does not have the requisite Population or Building Cards in play) simply conduct the abilities that can be executed.

All units involved in combat (including Catapults, attackers, and defenders) are then placed in the Discard Pile.

Extra Rules

• The Highest Happiness and Culture Cards are awarded to the players with, respectively, the most Happiness and Culture Points coming from their Buildings, Wonders, and Technologies. The player in possession of the Highest Happiness Card pays 1 less Commerce for Technologies and 1 less Production for Buildings and Wonders. The player with the Highest Culture Card draws 5 Cards at the end of his or her turn and discards 3 (instead of 4 and 2, respectively). Each of these Cards requires at least 2 Happiness or Culture to initially acquire, and ownership does not change hands until a rival player achieves more Happiness or Culture than the current owner. If a player loses a Building via combat and should no longer possess the Highest Happiness and Culture Cards (either because he or she has less than 2 Happiness or Culture or because another player(s) has more), then the cards are redistributed to a new owner. If no sole new owner exists, then the cards are simply taken away from the old owner.

• At any time during a player's turn, 3 Resource Cards of one type can be traded in for 1 Card of another type. For example, 3 Commerce could be traded for 1 Production.

• The extra card from Astronomy and Pottery is drawn right before the player discards 2 cards from his or her hand.

• If a Plot with 2 Buildings or Wonders ever loses enough Population so that it can only support 1 Building, the old Building and Wonder Cards are not removed.

• The effects of the Granary, Forge, and Market Cards are additive. In other words, if a Plot Card produces 2 Food each turn, then attaching two Granary Cards to that plot would produce an extra 4 Food (for a total of 6) each turn.

Team Game

The 4-player game can be played as a team game, with 2 teams of 2 players. The teammates can sit either adjacent or opposite to each other. The game rules are the same except that the winning team is determined by adding up the Victory Points, Technologies, Population, and Wonders of both players. Teammates may trade Resource Cards between themselves during their turns.