Sid Meier’s Civilization (CIV) :: Personal Narrative Writing

Sid Meier’s Civilization (CIV) Sid Meier’s original Civilization, commonly abbreviated as CIV I or just simply CIV, is well known as the turn based strategy game. CIV was published by MicroProse in 1991, and in the decade since it has turned into a phenomenon complete with sequel games, expansion packs, spinoffs, and a cult following that rivals that of any other game one could care to name. The basic concept is deceptively simple and yet dangerously addictive. You begin the game with one Settler unit, and from there you go on to build a worldwide civilization with the ultimate aim of conquering the planet and/or building and launching a spaceship to Alpha Centauri. One of the many sequel games entails settling Alpha Centauri once you’ve gotten there. As good as the sequel games are, though, CIV I will always have a special place in my heart. My first introduction to the game came at my father’s knee. Dad was a computer gamer since before PCs even existed, having even written a few of his own. I was only six or seven at the time and I would watch as he and my brother, three years my elder, spent a lot of time in front of the computer staring at this pretty blue and green map with blinking pictures that did things which were largely incomprehensible to me. Naturally, I was rather jealous of the attention my brother was getting and I quickly decided I was going to play, too. No matter that I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years, with my father’s help, I eventually came to understand the game and I haven’t looked back since. In the years since then, though I’ve on occasion tried some of the sequels, I’ve always come back to CIV I. It seems like an awfully outdated, charming little DOS game nowadays, but it has an addictive quality that allows one to play it over and over and never h ave the same experience twice. Starting from scratch, the player has the chance to build an entire civilization. You construct cities, military units, and city improvements like granaries, libraries, and even Wonders of the World. You can build roads to connect your cities, and ships to move your settlers to other continents. Along the way your civilization gains knowledge which allows you to build better technology and city improvements. There are anywhere from two to six computer controlled civilizations that start with the same resources but in different regions of the map.