Civilization is getting a revamped new edition next year

Legendary strategy game Civilization is advancing into the 21st century with a spruced-up new edition.

Designer Francis Tresham first released Civilization back in 1980, with the infamously long simulation of humanity’s advancement from the invention of agriculture (about 8000 BC) to the arrival of the Roman Empire pioneering technology trees and the entire empire-building genre.

Players lead one of the game’s various historical nations through the ages, balancing cultural progression, technological advancement, geographical expansion and diplomacy with neighbouring rivals.

It went on to inspire Sid Meier’s series of Civilization PC games (which have since been adapted back into board games), as well as countless spiritual successors such as the even more grand and lengthy Mega Civilization – itself returning in 2018 with a new edition.

The latest edition of Civilization is coming out of Gibsons, the British publisher that released its first version of the game almost three decades ago in 1988.

The gameplay of the 2018 edition is said to be unchanged, with the visuals and rulebook overhauled ‘to bring the style up to 21st Century expectations’.

The components and player mats have also been reworked, but are said to stay true to the feel of the original.

The new Civilization will be released in February next year.