Since any given civilization is unlikely to meet the advancement criteria at every stage of the AST, games usually last more than fifteen turns.

A game starts with each player having a single population token in the area based on the specific civilization represented (e.g. on the island of Crete for the Cretans or in Africa for the Egyptians).

Each city grants a trade card to the owner, one of eleven commodities, such as iron, salt and grain.

After trading is complete and calamities are resolved, players can cash in their sets of commodity cards.

This is accomplished through clever game play and purchase of several high-value civilization cards, while trying not to antagonize your neighbors.

Civilization by Avalon Hill (1982): The 1st edition has a cover depicting an antique Greek temple, an Egyptian fresco and some baskets; the board with the map is a one-piece multifold.

The 2nd edition has a board consisting of two separate pieces and has a cover showing the faces of three figures from ancient history above a collage of the Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Nile, and an erupting Mount Vesuvius.

The cover shows a grayhaired male, a Roman temple and the Pyramids in the background.

It also adds more trading cards, civilization advances, calamities and rules for up to eight players.

Incunabula was the first computer emulation of the board game by Avalon Hill (1984, for MS-DOS).

Civilization is also well-known as the core inspiration behind Sid Meier's computer game of the same name, which would itself act as the progenitor of the wider 4X genre.

He concluded, "Civilization is a game that defies comparison with others [...] It's a fine value and is highly recommended.

Steven Savile commented that designer Francis Tresham "created a thinking gamer's game, one that deserves to be played around a table with friends — especially the cheerfully scheming sort".

While the gameplay of the computer game is unrelated to Civilization, MicroProse did pay Avalon a licensing fee for the name.

[19][20] The lawsuit was settled amicably in 2000, with Avalon Hill selling all rights to the Civilization franchise to MicroProse.