The new Civilization game gets a lot of things right, but there are aspects to the game which really, really irritate me. The primary one of these is the cards and resource abilities that allow you to cancel another player’s action. It adds a level of timing to the game that just doesn’t feel right, and it slows down the game appreciably.

When I play long games like this, allowing a player to get on with their turn as quickly as possible is very important. This is not a game for people who suffer from Analysis Paralysis! To a large extent, each phase except for movement can be played almost simultaneously. City Management does have things in it that can affect another player’s turn (such as a resource action to obsolete another’s wonder, or causing a disaster in their territory through the play of a culture card), so simultaneous play isn’t quite achievable, but nonetheless, you can often speed through your turn. “Buy building, buy unit, use resource ability, done!”

Adding in interrupt abilities that cancel abilities stops this free flow of the game. Instead, you end up with the “May I?” problem. “May I build this wonder?” “May I move this army?” “May I spend this culture?” Countering abilities work in Magic: the Gathering because there are only two players – you’re always on top of what your opponent is doing. In Civilization, you’ve got a lot to think about already. Generally, in another player’s turn I should be planning my own turn, not spending all my time trying to work out their game position and working out if its worth interfering in any of it.

There are already ways of interfering with each other in the game that don’t require the “May I?” gameplay. Its inclusion in the game has dropped my rating of this new Civilization game significantly. As there are then abilities that cancel the countering tactics, you get a mess of abilities that detract from the main thrust of the game.