Civilization Game

Original “Civilization” game along with newly made cards.

Our family has played a game called “Civilization” for years. It is a little complicated and takes about five hours to play, but is one of our favorites.
One problem with the game is that it is worn out. We wanted to replace the parts that were the most worn, such as the cards. But the game has been out of print for many years. We looked at online auction sites and while there are few available the price is prohibitive. Additionally, while the game was still being made, an add-on game was produced, called “Advanced Civilization.” It is also out of production today, and is even more expensive.
Finished pieces can also be obtained from independent internet suppliers. But they are fairly expensive. Plus, we think half the fun of a new game is making it yourself.
We wanted to get a copy of “Advanced Civilization” and replace our worn out pieces. The best way to accomplish both of those objectives for us was to make it ourselves. All the art work necessary for the various cards are available online at: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/177.
All the additional information necessary for the game to work, such as the rules and various player aids are also online.
A game board expansion was made for this game but that is also no longer available. But we were able to locate files for this online too. All that remained to do was to print everything out.
Printing the cards came first. The files we got for the cards required that we create a document in a word processor and place the card images on it. We also had to create a separate document for the card backs.
Civilization uses multiples of individual cards so we had to print several of each one. Some of the cards came with lines on them to help with the cutting out while other did not.
For the one that did not we devised a template to help. That way we could get them all evenly sized. Previously we had purchased a corner clipper at a craft store. Using that gave the cards a finished look.
The cards come in two shapes: square and rectangle. The square cards we laminated with clear self-adhesive contact paper. We used the corner clipper on the rectangle cards but that made it difficult to use contact paper. So in its place, we sprayed them with clear craft varnish. It is not as bullet proof as the contact paper, but they should hold up well enough.
Printing the map is another story. We actually have not done that yet. It is larger that a standard 8.5 by 11-inch paper, so it requires additional software to split the file up into paper-size chunks before it can be printed out. Once we figure this out we plan to attach it to a foam board for stability.
Meanwhile the game is playable with the original game board. We are all set to play again.