In this article we continue to explore the event cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS). To read the previous four articles in this series, follow the links here, here, here, and here. We hope you’ve enjoyed this InsideGMT series thus far.
Religion Cards
Given that the game spans periods during which religion played a major role in almost all Civilizations; there are numerous cards that account for religious practices or activities.
*Heresy (Card 13) focuses on a city, hence it cannot be used against Barbarians. One Tile may be removed from the selected city and one from each adjacent Land Area, but only if the Tiles are the same color as the city.
Heresy (Card 13), Religious Fervor (Card 14), and Bad Omens (Card 19). Near-Final Art.
*Religious Fervor (Card 14) requires a Tile of the playing Civilization’s choice (but probably that of the playing Civilization) which already exists in a Land Area to serve as a kind of religious “ground zero”. Then the Civilization adds one Tile to that Area AND to each adjacent Land Area regardless of whether that color Tile already exists in those adjacent Areas. This is another of those cards which can have a player carefully plan in advance when and how to play it; for some Land Areas can have quite a few adjacent Land Areas to Religious Fervor’s proselytizing “ground zero”.
*Bad Omens (Card 19) is a rare card in that it allows a player to NEGATE, for that turn only, the special effect of any Wonder. The Tile on the Wonder card is still expended; but no benefit is gained that turn.
*Card 38, Oracle at Delphi, gives a Civilization a choice. The Civilization may either change its order of play for a turn, a very useful ability under the right circumstances. It’s sometimes good to go first or last for an upcoming turn (this is done during the order of play sequence of a turn, so the card must have been held until that phase, OR this card, like the Architect, can add a Tile to a Wonder, thus extending its usefulness.
Oracle at Delphi (Card 38), Schism (Card 33), and Crusade (Card 34). Near-Final Art.
*Schism (Card 33) removes ALL Tiles of all Civilizations’ colors from one Land Area and replaces them with an equal number of Black Tiles. This card allows a temporary suspension of a Land Area’s Tile stacking limit.
*Crusade (Card 34) may be launched by choosing an Area (Land or Sea) containing a Tile of the playing Civilization who then replaces up to two Tiles of another color in one adjacent Land Area.
*Blasphemy (Card 48) permits removal of two Tiles (including Barbarians) from one Land Area.
Blasphemy (Card 48) and Sacrificial Altar (Card 51). Near-Final Art.
*Card 51, Sacrificial Altar, allows a Civilization to remove one to three Tiles from the map and earn in exchange a Talent for each. This grants a player great flexibility if faced, for example, with many competitions in which Talents could be used in lieu of losing Tiles from the Areas of competition. Furthermore, at the end of an Epoch, for every three Talents a Civilization has, it receives one victory point. This card is reshuffled into the deck when played.
Gods Demand Sacrifice (Card 67) and Sign from Above (Card 68). Near-Final Art.
*Card 67, Gods Demand Sacrifice, is played on another Civilization, which must immediately discard a card of their choice from their hand. And finally (with a clap of resonating thunder) we have,
*Sign from Above (Card 68) which is a most powerful NEGATE card. It negates ANY card played, including MUST PLAY cards, plus in addition to being discarded when played, the entire discard pile is reshuffled to constitute a new draw deck.
Intellectual Cards
There are several cards that reflect INTELLECTUAL aspects of a Civilization.
*Superstition Strikes (Card 20) places a White cylinder marker on one Land Area. One Tile of the player’s choice is then immediately removed. In addition, NO Civilization, including the one playing the card, may place a Tile in that Area for the rest of the TURN, which includes the competition phase. Note, however, that the card does not prohibit cards from being played on the Area that REMOVE Tiles.
Superstition Strikes (Card 20) and Heroic Saga (Card 25). Near-Final Art.
*Heroic Saga (Card 25) is turned face up in front of the playing Civilization’s Player Aid Card, like a Wonder, and four Tiles are placed on it from supply. At the end of each GROWTH phase, thereafter, two Tiles may be taken from the Saga card and placed anywhere on the map OR the two Tiles may be turned into supply in exchange for one Talent AND one victory point. Most players take the latter option although the card’s “paradrop” ability can also come in handy under the right circumstance.
*Card 58, Radical Ideologies, reflects the effects of virulent ideologies that could sweep across Civilizations. When played, ALL Civilizations discard each and every one of their unplayed cards out of their respective hands and then each Civilization is dealt two new cards. When played, this card is permanently removed from the game. Please recall that whenever dealing out new cards, MUST PLAYS must be played and are replaced with a new draw (so the player does not lose a card from the Civilization’s hand). This card does not, however, end the CARD PLAY PHASE, it merely alters the cards comprising Civilizations’ hands.
Radical Ideologies (Card 58) and Academy of Science (Card 91). Near-Final Art.
*Card 91, Academy of Science, is also turned face up when played in front of the Civilization’s Player Aid Card. Three Tiles from supply are placed on it. Once each ensuing Card Draw Phase, one Tile may be removed and in exchange the player may draw three cards, review them, discard two and retain one. However, remember, a Civilization’s hand may not at any time exceed six cards. If hand size is exceeded, the player chooses which card, or cards, to place upon the discard pile.
Three other cards are unique and can be enjoyable exercises to players’ imaginations:
*Card 53, Golden Fleeced, forces the Civilization against which this card is played to lose one Talent and two victory points (ouch!). If unable to lose a Talent, it loses an additional victory point. Note: a Civilization can never fall below zero victory points; so there’s a limit to how much pain can be inflicted.
Golden Fleeced (Card 53), Hippodrome (Card 77), and Bread & Circuses (Card 92). Near-Final Art.
*Hippodrome (Card 77) is a chariot race to which every Civilization is invited. Each Civilization draws a card, the highest numbered card wins and is added to the hand of the winning player. All other cards are discarded. The Civilization playing this card, that is hosting this exciting “Ben Hur” event, places Two Tiles in any ONE Land Area: ah, it does pay to entertain. Now, remember, if a MUST PLAY card is drawn, it must be played. Its number still counts towards winning the chariot race, but the winner, the drawer of the MUST PLAY, draws a replacement card to retain in their hand.
*Card 92, Bread and Circuses, is the victory point “Equalizer” card of ACIS. The player against whom this is played must lose one victory point for every city of their color on the map at that moment. This entertaining of the mob can become quite expensive indeed! The Civilization may lose a Talent or a card in lieu of a victory point (which is never-the-less still painful). This card is a principal way to possibly wreck the leading Civilization’s victory point total.
It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 1)
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 6)
Author: Christopher Vorder Bruegge
These cards’ imagery look wonderful, but I am not sure I am a fan of the way the info is arranged on them. The Hippodrome card, for example, has that (+2/+CARD) right under the card name…and in the same font size. I find that a bit ugly. I feel the card’s title should either stand alone or have accompanying info be much smaller. Perhaps put the stuff in parentheses under the card image above the action text instead. …or just lose it altogether as the text is very clear on its own.
Another example is Bread and Circuses. I thought the card name was “Bread and Circuses Victory Points,” which sounded awful until I realized it wasn’t all one name! 🙂
I hope there is time to reconsider how the cards are organized.
Thank you so much for your kind words about our forthcoming game and its cards. We are still making adjustments to the cards (that process doesn’t stop until the very last minute). You have given us yet one more thing to examine and think about. It is always good to have more eyes on a project, and fresh eyes at that, as after looking at this stuff for years we sometimes see the forest, not the trees, or the trees, not the leaves.
Always enjoy reading these but I do have to ask why the Negate cards have a big fat ‘N’ on them (like the big fat M’s on Must-play cards)?? Surely a small symbol to the right of the title would do the same job and take up less room? Something like ? ? ⚛️ or ❎ would work for these Negate cards, while ⚠️ ✴️ ✳️ ? or? could work for the ‘Must-play’ ones.
Similarly, if a card gives Talents it could just have a coin symbol on it with a ‘+x’ or ‘-x’, surely?
Tile adjustments could use a 3d icon of a clear/hollow disc with ‘+x’ or ‘-x’ on it — (black ones would represent barbarian tiles, and you could alternatively put a red line through them if they’re to be removed instead) — I can’t access the exact graphics on my phone, but they’d look a bit like these : ⚪⚫ or these ? ?️ — I’ve also previously suggested that the “(+2, – 1 card)”-type secondary info-lines be put in a smaller font than the main card title (at the very least). If you’re happy for me to email GMT directly, I would very much like to send you a couple of alternative graphical mockups of some of these cards to demonstrate/show you what I mean…?
Loved the addition of the entertainment cards to this game, but I thought of an alternative Hippodrome resolution – why not allow the player drawing the lowest numbered card to optionally add it to his hand (maybe for the cost of a talent?).
The Golden Fleeced and Radical Ideologies cards look particularly brutal and punishing, but perhaps the ideology one should have each player lose two cards OF THEIR OWN CHOICE from their hand? This will likely force some agonising decision-making onto each player instead of having all of them suffering equally? Lol — if the issue is the NPC decision-making in solo mode, just have the player shuffle the NPC decks and remove two at random?
There is evidently a fair bit of ‘take that’ in this game, already, so it’d be quite nice to see more cards that could potentially help other players in addition to the one playing the card – a kind of ‘shared experience’ that could be twisted into a form of ‘allies supporting each other’, perhaps? Similarly, maybe a few more cards could offer benefits to the losing player (least VPs) – these could then be used as intended, or players might try and keep them for when “the time is right” or they can choose them as their first ‘discards’ if they’re in a winning position ..?
An aspect of many games I like is when they give you (the player) a binary choice of helping everyone, or helping the losing player only. Similarly, many games will sometimes give you one thing in exchange for another, forcing you to make a decision as to which one is more valuable to you at any given time – these are really great moments in lots of games!