Tribes: Early Civilization

About this board game

Tribes: Early Civilization is a 1–4-player civilization game that takes about 50 minutes, guiding tribes from the Paleolithic through the Neolithic and Bronze ages.

Begin with a small tribe and the basics of civilization, then work to survive and prosper. Invent technologies, explore new land, fend off invaders, and endure catastrophes as your tribe develops toward becoming a true civilization.

Designed as a thematic prequel to Nations by one of that game’s designers, Tribes: Early Civilization is a fast 3X game with a distinctive structure. Each player has a separate area to explore, expand, and exploit, while other systems create interaction across the table.

• A variable, three-tiered technology tree rewards the first player to invent each technology with a bonus.
• An actions column lets you take an action every turn, while unwanted actions accumulate shells in a closed system.
• Explore, move, and grow are the three basic actions tied to civilization levels.
• Historical events appear in the actions column, and the fourth civilization level, strength, provides bonuses and can make bad things happen to opponents.

Several interlocking systems support high replayability without adding overhead or upkeep. The supply of shells can feel very scarce in one game and abundant in the next, even though exactly the same amounts are in play.

With rules for solo play as well as multiplayer sessions, Tribes: Early Civilization offers a compact journey through early human development, where technological progress, territorial opportunity, and survival pressures shape the rise of each civilization.