From: Bruce_Harper@mindlink.bc.ca (Bruce Harper)
Subject: Adv Civ - variant (final draft)
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:41:44 GMT

This is the final draft of the "Independent Kingdoms" variant (in
the form of an article for the "GENERAL".

Independent Kingdoms (final draft - January 11, 1993)
An Advanced Civilization Variant
by Bruce Harper

Advanced Civilization is best played by six to eight players on
the full board (including the western expansion map).  Because
not every nation can secure enough space for nine cities, it
becomes difficult for any nation to sit back and relax.  The game
becomes an entertaining struggle for survival, not merely an
exercise in accounting.

But what if that sixth or seventh player fails to show up?  It's
possible to play on only part of the board (this is what the
rules recommend), but for those who prefer a crowded, confused
ancient world, there is another solution - the independent
kingdom variant.

The idea of the variant is that, in addition to the nations
controlled by players, there are one or two independent nations,
control of which passes from player to player throughout the
game.  Players may use these independent kingdoms in different
ways.

Which Nation?

There are several ways to determine which nation(s) are
independent.  One is to select nations normally (let's say we
have six players), then draw one of the three remaining nations
at random.  Alternatively, the player who selected last could
decide which of the remaining nations would act as an independent
kingdom.  Or everyone might agree that a nation such as Crete
ought to be an independent kingdom.

But the best way is probably to determine the independent
kingdom(s) before any players select their own nations.  This
raises the possibility that nations which are normally selected
by players, such as Egypt or Babylon, might be independent
kingdoms.

With six or seven players, one would usually have only one
independent kingdom in the game.  With five players or less, or
in groups which like mayhem, more than one independent kingdom
may be used.

Controlling the Independent Kingdom

Throughout the game, control of the independent kingdom rotates
in AST order.  As an example, assume that six players decide to
have one independent kingdom, and that it turns out to be Crete.
Illyria and Asia aren't selected by the players are therefore
aren't in the game at all.

On the first turn, Africa controls the independent kingdom; on
the second turn Italy controls the independent kingdom, and so
on.  This means that in the course of a normal game, each player
might expect to have control of the independent kingdom about
three times.  Were there two independent kingdoms, control of the
second independent kingdom would begin halfway down the AST (in
our example, the second independent kingdom would be controlled
by Assyria at the start of the game).

Independent Activities

Once control of the independent kingdom has been established, the
independent kingdom increases its population, constructs ships,
moves, resolves conflicts, constructs cities, removes surplus
population, checks for city support and collects trade cards.
Independent kingdoms do not collect taxes or trade, and do not
acquire civilization cards.

Independent kingdoms are governed by the normal rules, with a few
important exceptions.

The first is shipbuilding.  Rather than collect taxes and spend
to build ships, independent kingdoms automatically build one ship
for each of their cities, to a maximum of four ships.  Since
independent kingdoms don't bother to maintain ships, the simplest
way to handle this is to remove all the independent kingdom's
ships at the start of each turn, and build new ships where
desired.  Independent kingdoms may not build ships by levy.

The second is movement.  Independent kingdoms always move first,
even if the controlling nation holds Military.  If there are two
independent kingdoms in the game, they move in AST order.

Independent kingdom movement is subject to several restrictions.
The first restriction on independent movement relates to the
number of independent tokens which may enter a given area.
Independent tokens may only move into or remain in an area in
excess of the area's population limit in order to build a city
(and only to the extent necessary to build the city), or if the
area contains tokens belonging to another nation (in which case
the number of independent tokens permitted is double the
population limit).  In both cases, the population limit used is
that printed on the board (as modified by the effects of
Agriculture for area which do not contain tokens belonging to
another nation).  Independent tokens may not move into areas
which contain a city, including an independent city.

The second restriction is that independent tokens may only be
used to attack other nations if the independent kingdom has
enough cities on the board or under construction in secure areas
(a "secure area" is defined as an area which cannot be reached by
any other player, including the controlling player, in the
current turn.  All other areas are "insecure areas") to meet the
city requirement of the current epoch (as determined by the
nation furthest along the AST).  If no secure areas are
available, the independent kingdom must try to build cities in
insecure areas.  Thus in the Early Iron Age the independent
kingdom would have to try to assure itself of having four cities
before it used any tokens to attack other nations.  In addition,
even during the Stone Age, an independent kingdom may not attack
other nations unless it has at least one city on the board or
building in a secure area.

Taken together, these restrictions limit suicide attacks by
independent tokens.  There is, however, another reason to build
independent cities.

Trade Cards

A player may collect trade cards for independent kingdom cities
if he can establish trade routes with the independent kingdom.

Trade routes are traced from city to city.  Land trade routes may
be of any length, but may only pass through areas containing
units belonging to the controlling nation or the independent
kingdom.  Sea trade routes must begin and end in a port, and are
subject to the same limits as sea movement.  If the controlling
power holds Astronomy, a sea trade route could be traced over
open seas, while Cloth Making allows the sea trade route to be
traced through five, rather than four, sea areas.  For each
independent kingdom city with which the controlling nation has a
trade route, the controlling player may take draw one additional
trade card, beginning with the highest value cards.  Such
independent trade cards are drawn before any other nations draw
their trade cards.

If the independent kingdom has five cities, one trade route would
result in the controlling player receiving one trade card (unless
the fifth stack was empty at the start of the turn).  Two trade
routes would allow the controlling player to draw a trade card
from the fifth and fourth trade card stacks, and so on.  Since
trade routes are traced from city to city, and each of the
controlling player's cities may only trade with one of the
independent kingdom's cities, the number of trade cards drawn by
the controlling player is limited to the number of cities the
controlling nation has on the board or the number of independent
kingdom cities on the board (whichever is lower).

Calamities

Some of the trade cards obtained by the controlling nation from
the independent kingdom may be calamities.  These act on the
controlling nation as though it drew them directly from the trade
card stacks.  An independent kingdom may never the primary victim
of a calamity, and may never be selected as the secondary victim
of a calamity.  In short, the same immunities that apply to
Barbarian tokens and Pirate cities apply to independent kingdoms.


If players can't resist combining the independent kingdom variant
with the Atlantis variant (p.41 of the Gamers Guide), a volcanic
eruption drawn by an independent Atlantis would affect the
independent kingdom rather than the controlling nation (an
exception to the prohibition against calamities affecting
independent kingdoms).

An independent kingdom may not be the beneficiary of a Civil War.

Independent kingdom attributes

With the exception of the effects of Military, independent
kingdoms take on the attributes of their controlling nation,
including the ability to convert adjacent units to Monotheism.
Thus, if its controlling nation had Astronomy, an independent
kingdom's ships could move across open sea areas, and so on.  The
attributes of an independent kingdom change from turn to turn,
depending on which nation controls it.

If the trading city variant (p.44 of the Gamers Guide) is being
used, the controlling nation benefits from an independent kingdom
city built on a trading location.

A nation which eliminates an independent city does not receive a
trade card, but it can pillage the city (24.5).  As stated
earlier, independent kingdoms may not attack cities belonging to
other players.

Benefits of Controlling an Independent Kingdom

One obvious benefit to controlling an independent kingdom is that
its units may be used to attack other players.  For the more
pacific, at least the independent kingdom won't attack you while
you control it!

On a more strategic level, the controlling player may move an
independent kingdom's tokens to relatively harmless locations, in
anticipation of control passing to an adversary.  A good example
of this might be a nation with Astronomy sending a portion of the
independent kingdom's tokens to a far shore, from which they
would be unable to return if controlled by an enemy which didn't
hold Astronomy.

The controlling nation may also obtain trade cards from an
independent kingdom if trade routes exist between the controlling
nation and the independent kingdom.  If the controlling nation is
adjacent to the independent kingdom, trade will usually be
limited only by the number of cities involved, which offsets the
drawbacks of being next to an independent kingdom.  Where sea
trade routes must be established, the situation can be trickier.
And, as with trade between d)?  It is worth constructing cities next to an
independent kingdom to prevent attacks (the "Great Wall"
strategy)?  Can enemy nations be completely overthrown by an
attacker which controls one an independent kingdom?  Is it better
to build independent cities and obtain trade cards from the
independent kingdom or use its tokens to attack other nations?
Should an attempt to be made to establish cities close enough to
the independent kingdom to permit trade?  Does this make
Astronomy more important for nations such as Egypt and Babylon,
which usually have no use for it?

The uncertainty introduced into Advanced Civilization by the
variant may not be to everyone's taste, but for those who want a
board crowded with units and danger, I would recommend an
independent kingdom or two.