History
Mega Civilization, designed and developed by Flo de Haan, Gerart de Haan and John Rodriguez, was an extensive tribute to the legendary game Civilization by Francis Tresham.
Board Game enthousiast and founder of game publisher 999 Games Michael Bruinsma was thrilled with the idea of publishing this gigantic game and decided to make it happen. In 2015 Mega Civilization was released as a numbered limited edition in a wooden chest with a total weight of 11 kilos, a map board stretching over 2 meters and designed to be played by up to 18 players, Mega Civilization was the new colossus in the board gaming world.
Soon, the heavy wooden chests were shipped around the world for people to unbox and play them. Most people’s association with the brand ‘Civilization’ was based on their memories of Tresham’s classic game. They soon found that the authors of Mega Civilization had maintained the basic game mechanics but added more than thrice the number of components, doubled the player count, increased the number of calamities, and, in particular, added many more advances that introduced a lot of new game options and strategic possibilities.
Where most strategy games take a few hours to complete, this game takes 12 hours to complete. This proved a new way of experiencing a full day of board gaming. Looking at the Board Game Geek rating and reviews, people seem to love this idea.
The Nex Big Thing
After Mega Civilization sold out, the game designers and the publisher started working on a reissue of the game. This resulted in the decision to split the game into two halves, a western part and an eastern part, each as a standalone game for up to 9 players to be sold at a reasonable price.
As not every group of friends easily gathers more then 9 players, these smaller editions offered the same experience for a smaller investment. For people who still wanted the big thing… the two games could be combined to cover the full scope of Mega Civilization, but provided availability to a larger audience.
Rebranding to Mega Empires
To create an own identity and avoid confusion with several other board- and computer games that carry the name Civilization, in consultation with the owners of the Civilization brand, it was decided in 2018 to rebrand the overall branch to MEGA EMPIRES, with the two new releases being named Western Empires and Eastern Empires (more on the rebranding, see FAQ).
Western Empires was released in 2019, along with an expansion set with special buildings historically associated with each of the civilizations in play. Separate sets of the Special Buildings Expansion were released for Western Empires and for Eastern Empires. An idea by Michael Bruinsma, designed and developed by the Flo de Haan and Gerart de Haan.
Eastern Empires was initially planned to be released in 2020. However, the Covid pandemic got in the way and delayed the project. The additional time was used by the designers to develop the Market Board, a module with an alternative trading mechanism that reduced the minimum player count from 5 to 3. Eastern Empires was eventually released in 2021, including the additional Market Board module rules for 3-4 players (also compatible with Western Empires).
Advancing to a new epoch
In the pursuit of new ambitions, the game designers and 999 Games decided to part on good terms in 2024. Also John decided to step away from the project, thankfully handing over the legacy to Flo and Gerart, who subsequently founded Colossus Games.
Publication of the Mega Empires branch continues by Italian board game publisher Ares Games, who will reissue Western Empires and Eastern Empires as MEGA EMPIRES: THE WEST and MEGA EMPIRES: THE EAST respectively. Once again, the names have been adapted for alignment with the overarching branch and to prepare for planned future releases that will go beyond the current games’ geography.
MEGA EMPIRES stands as a Colossus with the current and future editions in his arms.
