Introduction by Fred Schachter, Game Developer – It’s been a fun ride thus far with my erstwhile Game Designer partners: Chris Vorder Brugge and Mark McLaughlin.  My career relocations allowed play-testing Ancient Civilization of the Inner Sea (ACIS) with gamers across the country, and through our pal Vez Arponin’s game club in Germany; who’ve quickly learned how to play and then had fun & exciting gaming experiences with this clever design.

Mark and I even enjoyed the game’s solitaire system thrashing us (a Non-Player Civilization, NPC, can be a tough opponent – but it is possible to defeat this determined foe). See various InsideGMT articles for more about the game and its solitaire system.

The ACIS Team is gratified for all the support being given this game.  Thanks so much!!!

The purpose of this first of several InsideGMT posts is to introduce readers to more than what’s been shared to date about ACIS’ cards.  Chris here provides an overview of the game’s cards and introduces the graphic talents of Blackwell Hird, who is now in process of illustrating them.

So, here’s the first episode of your tour into the cards of GMT’s upcoming Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. 

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In Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS), there are no dice.  Over 100 cards offer a random factor as well as the historical color that reflects the game’s epochs (roughly 3000 BC to 500 AD).   During the CARD PLAY PHASE each civilization in turn order rotation plays one card, while other civilizations can make some counter plays as well (called negate cards).

This process repeats until all civilizations have passed (either run out of cards, have no cards that may be played, or the player chooses to hold cards for future use).  Some cards can only be played during the COMPETITION PHASE, which follows card play.  At the end of each turn, each civilization draws new cards, usually three plus one extra card for every four cities.  The Great Library and/or Mausoleum Wonders, the Academy of Science or Caravansaries, when in play, allow additional card draws. In this article, and this series’ succeeding ones, we will review the cards that make ACIS the unpredictable and fun gaming challenge that it is.

The first cards we designed in the game were the NATURAL EVENTS:  Storms at Sea, Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions, Plague, Famine. A few positive natural events, Bumper Crops, discovery of gold mines, mitigate somewhat the fury of Mother Nature.  The history of the ancient world is replete with natural disasters.  Civilizations’ survival balanced on a knife’s edge of natural phenomena.  We also created a variety of each type of natural calamity depending on how widespread or severe that disaster might be.  Let us look at these event cards individually.

Earthquakes

The game has three earthquake cards.  Earthquake (Card 1) removes one tile from each of two adjacent areas which may be either land or sea areas.  This card (as do most played cards) goes into the discard pile once played.  Massive Earthquake (Card 21) removes up to two tiles from each of two adjacent areas either land or sea.  This is the big brother of the smaller earthquake card.  Of note, when this card is played, it is shuffled back into the card deck to possibly appear again during that same Epoch.

Finally, there is the Millennial Earthquakes (Card 40), the monster of the three, and one that is removed from play until the next epoch is ushered in. (An epoch will have two, three or four turns.)  When this card is played, the player puts a wooden cylinder marker on the map and every city of every color within two areas (land or sea) is reduced by one tile (vicious isn’t it?).  This card only affects cities (land areas with three or more Tiles in them).   Note:  in ACIS, cities are groups of three or four Tiles of one color in a land area and generate one victory point each per turn for a Civilization.  Earthquakes are especially useful for reducing an opponent’s cities and thus victory points or weakening Black Tile barbarian invaders and/or sundry pirates, rebels, or other interlopers. But don’t try to repel barbarians (black tiles) with this card because barbarians do not have cities, even if they have three or four Tiles in a land area.

Volcanoes

There are four cards.  Volcanic Eruption (Card 2) removes two tiles from one land or sea area AND one tile from two of adjacent areas from the one selected: land or sea.  Massive Volcanoes (Card 22) cannot be played on a Civilization’s Home Area; but where it strikes it removes ALL tiles of all colors from one area and removes ONE tile from each adjacent area, land or sea (which could include a Home Area).   This card is set aside when played and is reshuffled into the deck at the start of the next Epoch.  Millennial Volcanoes (Card 41) removes four tiles total from at least three adjacent areas.  It, too, is set aside once played and then reshuffled into the deck at the start of the next Epoch.  The fourth volcanic card is Volcanic Ash Cloud (Card 60). This card has widespread effects in that each Civilization must randomly discard one of its cards.  If a Civilization has no cards, it must remove one Tile from the map.  This card is also set aside when played and is reshuffled back into the draw deck when a new Epoch begins.  With the right card randomly selected,this card allows a player to really disrupt the plans of other Civilizations.

Floods

There is only one flood card, but it is one of quite literally “Biblical proportions”: Biblical Flood (Card 42).  This card removes four Tiles from among at least three adjacent land areas. The card is set aside when played and reshuffled into the deck when the next Epoch begins.  An opponent with several cities adjacent to each other, or in a string of adjacent land areas, will rue the day he built below the 500-year flood level.

Disease

Three cards represent the impact of disease during the Epoch.  Local Plague (Card 4) forces removal of two tiles from any city.  Note, this affects only city land areas, those with, again, at least three tiles.  Cities in the period were notoriously filthy and were akin to petri dishes of bacteria.  Barbarians do not have cities, even if there are three or four black Tiles in an area, hence this card does not affect them.  Card 24, Widespread Plague, allows removal of one Tile from up to four land areas which must be adjacent to one other affected area.  Then there is the Black Death (Card 43), which compels elimination of five Tiles which must be spread over at least three land areas.  But there is one additional limit.  No  afflicted area can be left with less than one Tile.  This card thins the population but does not wipe it out in any single area (survivor germ tolerance).

Storms

Two cards affect Tiles in sea areas.  Storm at Sea (Card 5) removes ALL tiles of all colors from one sea area and up to two adjacent sea areas.  Aeolian Winds (Card 44) removes one Tile from up to four different sea area, none of which must be adjacent… which makes this a powerful card indeed.

Food Production

Three cards affect FOOD PRODUCTION for good or ill:  Card 64, Bumper Crop, is one of the few natural events that adds tiles to the map.  This card adds one Tile each to three areas that already have at least one Tile of the color of the Civilization playing the card.  Therefore, a player cannot put this card’s Tiles into empty land areas to expand the Civilization.  Furthermore, the Civilization gains one talent of gold.  Two cards reduce Tiles on the map.  Local Famine (Card 3) removes a Tile from any city.  That Civilization must then either discard a card or lose a second Tile from that land area.  Card 23, Crop Failures, removes one Tile from each of three land areas, which must be adjacent to one other affected area.

In general, a player may elect to lose a card or a Talent instead of a Tile, which represents the ability of a Civilization to expend its wealth or use its cultural strength to redistribute food or otherwise prevent the loss of a Tile due to any cause.  This can be a handy option for a player to have.

Natural Events

There is a positive natural event, Gold Mine (Card 81).  This allows a Civilization to place four tiles OR gain two Talents.  This card is important in that there is no restriction as to where the Tiles may be placed.  They need not, for example, be placed adjacent to existing Tiles of that color.  With some humor, play testers have referred to this type of card as “paradropping” Tiles.  The game design logic is that cultures sometimes would leapfrog geography to pop up in more remote regions.  An ACIS game turn comprises many years – even decades. In the game, a player’s Civilization, though, should do what it can to eradicate such counter-cultural cancers growing in its midst.

The last natural event is special and affects Wonders.  In ACIS, there are seven Wonders that can be built by any Civilization.  Card 28, Sands of Time, allows a Civilization to disable a Wonder ( owned by another player: likely the player in the lead with most victory points) by being forgotten over the expanse of time.  The Wonder remains on the map but no longer generates victory points or no longer conveys any bonuses.  Any Tiles on the Wonder card, which are usually expended one for each turn the Wonder’s benefit is used, are returned to supply.  There is a very small chance of an End of Epoch Event that a buried Wonder can be rediscovered; but don’t count on it!  This card is set aside when played until the next epoch, when it is reshuffled into the deck.  While building Wonders is a powerful way to earn victory points, one always dreads the arrival of this card to an opponent, especially if you have more Wonders than other Civilizations.

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It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 2)

It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 3)

It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 4)

It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 5)

It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 6)