RES PUBLICA
Published in 1991, Res Publica is one of the oldest games by esteemed designer Dr. <PERSON>. Billed as a civiliation-building card game, it's essentially a simple trading game that manages to play like a cross between Civilization, the trading phase of Settlers of Catan, and the children's card game Go Fish.
I was given Res Publica as a birthday present in October of 2004. It quickly became the most popular end-of-the-night game with our group, and still remains one of our favorite "filler" games.
THE STORY
Instead of representing a single ancient civilization, each player takes a hand in building the same 5 civilizations, gathering people together to construct cities and erect prestigious monuments.
THE PARTS
I own the Avalanche Press edition of the game.
From the start, the packaging is less than impressive. The box is one of those large, flat ones that seems an odd choice for a card game, and the Avalanche Press boxart conveys very little about the game itself. Once opened, a less than useless insert is revealed that conists of an elevated sheet of cardboard with a couple of card-sized holes in it. Presumably, the holes were meant to hold the shrink-wrapped decks of cards, but in my copy the brittle shrinkwrap had shattered and cards were strewn throughout the box. Having seen a couple of copies at the store afterwards, I gave each a gentle shake and sure enough, they all had loose cards rattling around as well.
The game itself consists of 140 thick, poker-sized cards:
- 60 People cards (5 suits of 12 cards) - People cards have red backs, and represent the various ancient civilizations, each represented by a letter: Atlanteans (A), Babylonians (B), Egyptians (E), Greeks (G), and Romans (R).
- 60 Technology cards (5 suits of 12 cards) - Technology cards have yellow backs and represent developing technologies, each represented by a symbol: Architecture (column), Chemistry (flask), Metalworking (anvil), Navigation (compass), and The Wheel (wheel).
- 10 double-sided City cards, each worth 3 points
- 10 double-sided Monument cards with varying point values, consisting of one 9, one 4, and two of everything in-between.
(An aside: my copy came with 6 extra Tech. cards, all of them from the Chemistry suit.)
I've heard people lambast Avalanche Press for the horrible graphics used on the cards, but I see nothing wrong with them. The graphics aren't eye-catching by any stretch, but they're perfectly serviceable, and this is not a game about flashy components, anyway.
The cards are thick and durable, and so far have gone through close to two dozen plays with little wear. 92
As a bonus, all 140 cards fit (albeit snugly) in a single standard-size deck box, making for easy travel and allowing you to pitch the original packaging.
THE RULES
Shuffle the People cards and the Technology cards and put both decks facedown in the center of the table. Place the City cards in a stack by the People deck, and sort the Monument cards by number (highest number on top) and place them beside the Technology deck.
Deal each player 4 People cards. The oldest player starts.
Each turn has 3 phases:
1. TRADE
This phase is where the meat of the game lies, so the rules require a detailed explanation:
The active player may offer a trade, within strict limitations. Trade offers must be made in one of two forms, either "I would like ______" or "I can give ______". Never both! When describing which cards he would like or can give, a player may use the words "and" or "or" and may name at most 2 types of cards. A "type" of card can be a specific suit ("Metalworking"), a particular deck ("a People card"), or any tradable card. (Only People and Technology cards are tradable.)
The following are all valid trade offers:
"I can give a B." (We always refer to People cards by their letter.)
"I would like an E or a Metalworking."
"I can give a pair of Technology cards."
"I would like a G and a Navigation."
"I can give 2 People cards and a Technology card."
"I would like an R and 3 other cards."
Once the active player has made his offer, each other player in turn has a single opportunity to make a counter-offer. If they can not or choose not to make a counter-offer, they must pass. The counter-offer must be in the same format as the initial offer: if the active player said "I can give ______" then all counter-offers must be stated as "(In return) I can give ______". 937