Fantasy Flight Games has added to their considerable board game selection with the release of Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn!
At the start of a new age, proud leaders look out over an untouched world that is theirs to shape how they choose. Over the course of ages, they will advance their civilizations from humble colonies to thriving empires. The future is only limited by the imagination. Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn is on sale now!
The players will explore a whole new world that is constructed with map tiles. This means that no two maps will ever look alike. During the setup, 3 victory cards are drawn which contain agendas. The players will race to complete at least one agenda on each victory card. How players do this will depend on what strategies they employ and what they are willing to do to spread over the map and ensure that their civilization is the greatest. There are 8 world leaders for player to select: from Roman Emperor Trajan to France’s Catherine de Medici and more. Each leader has their own unique abilities to aid you in shaping the world along specific ideologies.
Civilization: A New Dawn will play out over several turns and take players from ancient times to present day. Leaders will explore and discover as they determine how best to develop and flourish. This could be through scientific advancements, cultural developments, and military production. Prioritization of advancements will be key in this game, as five focus cards are chosen then slotted. These slots represent the investment of time. Therefore, a card in the first slot will not be as impacting on a society as a one in the fifth slot would. Leaders will have to balance these goals and when to resolve them for maximum effect. Each player draws two victory cards—which each have two agendas. These victory cards represent your ultimate goals for the game, and to become the supreme world power, you must complete at least one agenda on each victory card.
Challenging tactical decisions will have players carefully crafting their plans to take over the world. How they do so will be up to them. By wealth and industry? Military conquest? The choice will be theirs. The five focus cards will determine where and how players gain power and defend what they have acquired. While each focus is unique, they are inherently linked. Players must strategize and diversify to have the civilization thrive. Players cannot remain insular, as trade with other cities will earn trade tokens to help resolve focus cards to increase their effects. A military focus enhancement will increase the player’s combat value. A science improvement will advance the player’s tech dial.
By achieving goals in their focus areas, players get closer to accomplishing the agendas detailed on the game’s victory cards. Each of the three victory cards is divided into two agendas, giving players six possible missions to choose from. When a player completes an agenda, that player places one of his or her control tokens next to that agenda’s victory card. Experienced players may also choose to enforce the aptly named “epic game” rule. This offers players a longer gaming experience by including four victory cards in the game instead of three. To gain dominance, you must always consider the victory cards and their agendas that shift with each game.
As you advance your empire through the ages, you will have the opportunity to build some of the world’s greatest wonders as monuments to your glory. These wonders align with each type of focus cards and can offer you an indispensable boon in a given area. However, these wonders are bound to a place, not a player. They only grant you power as long as you control them. If a rival empire attacks a monument that you are not prepared to defend, they may claim the wonder and its ability as the spoils of war.
Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn: $49.95
Rebuild history to your design in Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn! This turn-based strategy game, based on the classic video game series, allows players to become some of history’s most powerful leaders as they compete to become the premier world power. Build, trade, and advance to lead your people to a glory!
Civilization: A New Dawn is available now to order online or at your FLGS. You can pre-order now at your local game store or on FFG’s site.
For more on Civilization: A New Dawn and other great board games, visit Fantasy Flight Games!
About the Author: Juan Lopez
