Blast from the DOS past – Civilization

Ah… DOS.

Remember the good old days when games were, well… games? Did not necessary depend on the latest 3D graphics (which are cool) or the most polished sound and music (which are nice)? But on pesky non-essentials like story lines? and game play?

Sometimes when I am too brain dead to do much of anything else I have been playing an old DOS favorite: Master of Orion. (Favorite race? Klackons.) I achieved geek immortality by finding and submitting a rare bug to the MOO FAQ. (Search for “Polymorphed Amoeba Bug”. If you control Orion, and a Space Monster attacks Orion, the Space Monster turns into the Guardian – back from the dead! If you defeat the Guardian again – you get another three technologies. Just like when you first take Orion. Neato! That happens about once every… well, it’s pretty rare.)

Tonight I was reading through an old strategy guide I wrote for Civilization. Remember that old game? That game alone may have slowed down my education. No fooling. Not a few people remember all night Civ sessions that saw the sun come up. Let me share a few juicy quotes:

Here is how you conquer the world. Except for a few improvements as mentioned above, make your cities produce as many military units as possible. Send those units in groups to attack nearby civilizations. Make peace, demand tribute, break treaties, capture cities. Remember that you are mean and nasty and care only about conquest. Once you have subdued your continent, send units across the sea to other islands and continents. Repeat the process.

War is difficult under a republic or democracy because military units away from home cause unhappiness. A key Wonder for a republic or democracy is Women’s Suffrage. With Women’s Suffrage, a democracy is able to field more units without cities going into disorder, and a republic can field as many units as it wants. Under a republic, Women’s Suffrage is a license to kill.

One of the best ways to maintain peace is… nuclear weapons. Build the Manhattan Project and at least 1 nuclear weapon, which you do not have to use. Meet with other civs. They will offer peace, and they will keep it for a long time.

Help the barbarians. If you want to damage an enemy civ but do not want to take over their territory, eliminate all the defenders in a city that is threatened by barbarians but do not capture it. Repeat the process for other cities. I have enabled the barbarians to take over an entire continent using this method. Imagine the savage beauty of an entire continent populated by screaming hordes the color of blood.

Civilization Strategy Guide by Rick Wright (DOC)

Civilization Strategy Guide by Rick Wright (PDF)

Those were the days when I could write!