Introduction by ACEA Co-Designer, Fred Schachter: What a journey it’s been with my buddies Chris Vorder Bruegge and Mark Mclaughlin in creating the “Ancient Civs” Game Series! It started with Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS), then Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) and now we’re pleased to offer through GMT the next game of the Series: Ancient Civilizations of East Asia (ACEA!
To help set the stage for Chris’ intriguing article regarding the design of this third game of the series, readers may desire some historical background regarding the kind of world these games portray. For ACIS and ACME, their environment is a harsh one full of every imaginable human societal horror which both nature and man can inflict. For this, please consider: The Bronze Age Collapse. Along with Chris & Mark’s recommended reading, it certainly provided me with an eye-opening perspective of why so many of these games’ historical Civilizations did not endure.
Ancient Asia’s tale of woe is comparable to the West’s with wars, rebellions, floods, earthquakes, plagues and famine repeatedly devastating lands and precipitating their Civilizations’ decline. These declines, and sometimes outright annihilations, resulted in many of these Civilizations surviving only in the annals of history. Yet Chinese culture proved exceptionally enduring through the epochs, known in Chinese history as Dynasties. Would that I could find a video comparable to The Bronze Age Collapse. There are numerous YouTube videos of the various natural horrors East Asia’s people suffered, but not in a well-presented short, consolidated form. (Perhaps an InsideGMT reader can reference such? If yes, kindly post the relevant link[s] in this article’s Comments Section below.)
However, here are links to two well-done, attractively illustrated videos which provide a good and entertaining overview of the Dynasties Ancient Civilizations of East Asia encompass: History Summarized: Ancient China (under 15 minutes) and its next part (under 20 minutes): History Summarized: Medieval China (Ft Jack Rackam). Hopefully, these videos, as well as Chris’ ensuing article, pique your interest in the game, its Civilizations, and their epic histories of development and travail. Perhaps you’ll even understand why Mark McLaughlin was inspired to exclaim all three “Ancient Civs.” games are “Take That! games not of merely Civilization BUILDING but primarily of Civilization SURVIVAL!”
With that, take it away Chris!
Design Background and Overview of the Game’s Environment
The design for Ancient Civilizations of East Asia (ACEA), like its predecessor games Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS) and Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME), grew from a college class, The Development of Civilizations, which Mark and I took with the renown Prof. Carroll Quigley, who wrote The Evolution of Civilizations. The course and book’s lessons strikingly pounded into us, with the Professor’s ample, convincing, and sobering historical evidence, are that no Civilization has survived. Period. All gestated, matured, (a few) triumphed , ossified, and declined, ultimately disappearing or morphing into a new rising Civilization. So, the Ancient Civilizations of East Asia design is not about building the perfect Civilization, but adapting to changes during the game to survive longer and better than the other Civilizations in its orbit.
This game has no dice, no hexes, no combat factors per se. In their places march Karma cards, which bring the uncertainty of good and bad fortune, map areas to occupy or over which to contest control, and a method of attritional competition not necessarily handing victory to the biggest battalions.
There are several generic approaches to successfully playing ACEA. Should a Civilization expand to maximize growth and use the forces of population, culture, military and economic power to wrest an empire from neighboring Civilizations who are real or potential threats? Or choose internal intensive development, building Cities, Terracing/Improved Irrigation Systems, Workshops and Strongholds to protect them (just in case) while focusing on advancing on the game’s Cultural Development Tracks Display? Or a little of each? Or shift from strategy to strategy depending on the vicissitudes of time and fortune? None are guaranteed to work… for that’s how the World of Ancient East Asia worked and you’re now within it!
The design’s flexibly addresses the type and length of game a player or a group of up to six players wish. Many gamers, by choice or circumstance. play solo. The solitaire “bot” used in the previous games of this series, and which returns in ACEA, has proven to be a worthy and often vicious opponent. For those fortunate to gather two or more players for a period of fun gaming, ACEA can be tailored to fit the amount of time available to those playing and to permit a variety of Civilizations to participate. One can even create their own starting Civilization if none of the listed Civilizations attributes appeal (the “Design Your Own” option). This is a sandbox game which prompted one commentator to proclaim, “it’s a sandbox within a sandbox”! Such are the myriads of gaming alternatives offered by Ancient Civilizations of East Asia.
Design Challenges
ACEA posed several conundrums for the designers. This could have been a game about China alone. The map could have excluded all East Asia’s peripheral Civilizations and focused on the rich history of the rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom’s Dynasties. But to be a Middle Kingdom, there must be something other than the middle. So, the designers include many of those peripheral areas surrounding China. Most of these played limited roles in much of Chinese history, but that is not to say it had to be so. The designers could not ignore the rich tapestry that included the Kingdom of Korea, the Japanese islands, the steppe nomads to the north, and the jungle peoples to the south/southeast. Even the incredible, varied, and powerful Civilizations to the west: e.g. Central Asia and India, are reflected by some of the game’s Karma cards.
The terminology used on the map and the game may not reflect the names that currently apply to certain areas or features, as well as the differences among many historical sources’ transliterations into English. The language of Ancient Civilizations of East Asia can be at odds with the preferences of some gamers. The designers therefore decided to use the names of areas and features spelled in the way most recognizable to English speaking gamers.
Similarly, the game’s Asian geography changed over the centuries. The map is the result of the designers’ best estimates of that which would be representative for most of the encompassed historical period. See the image below of the ACEA Playtest Map:
As with the other two games in the series, there is nothing more discouraging in a multi-player game meant to be interactive than when one player is knocked out early and has little to do the rest of the time. The corrective measure for ACIS and ACME is use of the Aeneas and Gilgamesh rules. In ACEA it is the Golden Egg Rule because many foundational myths in East Asia feature hatching from a golden egg a hero, god, goddess, prince or princess. This rule allows a player initially crushed by the connivance of opponents, or fate, to remain in the game and perhaps wreak vengeance on certain players or even recover sufficiently to achieve victory!
Finally, while researching ACEA, the design team was impressed by the travails, both natural and man-inflicted, which tormented East Asian Civilizations (just as they did the Civilizations of ACIS and ACME). The game’s Karma cards provide a wide variety of harm to be suffered by the players’ Civilizations. But those cards also provide many benefits… which can be felt upon the map or the Cultural Development Tracks Display.
Closing Remarks by ACEA Co-Designer, Fred Schachter: So how did the preceding translate into a proto-type Ancient Civilizations of East Asia game?
To provide a related visualization, a photo I took of that prototype in action, with my good friends from our “golden days” of relatively youthful wargaming in New York City is below, taken while they visited me at my Charlotte home. Pictured is George (seated) with Perry (standing behind him) as we played a fun and exciting three Civilization ACEA game with the Shang – blue disk, Zhou – yellow disk, and Jin [Wu] – red disk Civilizations using an abbreviated playing area denoted by a white disk border.
The disks placed should be familiar to ACIS and ACME veterans: 1 disk is a Camp, 2 disks a Settlement, and 3 disks a City. Note the rather substantial black disk Barbarian infestation covering much of the Shang and Zhou’s northern borders. Ouch! As with ACME, a City in a controlled Fertile area generates 1VP and a disk of Growth each turn. Nice to have, eh?
The photo shows the game’s Cultural Development Tracks Display with the three Civilizations’ respective disks indicating their progress on the Military-Political, Economic-Social, and Religious-Intellectual Tracks. This aspect of ACEA makes it a “game within a game”.
The prototype uses wooden bits for accessories the produced GMT game shall instead use a variety of die-cut counters for. The only wooden bits the published Ancient Civilizations of East Asia game will have are eight colors of disks and six colored wooden blocks to designate Civilizations’ Home areas. The photo shows Home areas with wooden blocks having an “H”.
As to the other wooden bits pictured: beige wooden blocks are Strongholds, with the three turned red side up indicating they’re part of the Great Wall Fortified Zone. The green blocks are Terrace/Improved Irrigation System pieces with the three turned to their yellow dotted side up indicating they’re part of the Grand Canal. Then there are silver-colored blocks with their yellow color side up indicating Cities with functioning Workshops.
The ACEA Design Team believes GMT’s die cut counters, in various colors, shapes and sizes, will result in a more elegant looking and less cluttered game board. The Team looks forward to sharing more information regarding these components with future InsideGMT pieces.
That’s it for now, more to come, including a description of “What Makes Ancient Civilizations of East Asia Stand Out from the Previous Games in the Series” in this article’s Part 2 of 2. Thank you for your interest in ACEA!
Author: Christopher Vorder Bruegge
