military and historical

This is a GREAT add-on. The other reviews keep ranting and raving about how the multiplayer doesn't work, but THAT'S JUST ON-LINE! Try an internet cafe like a LAN setup and it works like MAGIC!

First of all, there are now EIGHT new civilizations: The Vikings, the Carthagians, the Celts, the Koreans, The Spanish, The Ottomans, The Arabs, and the Mongols (Huns).Obviously, these aren't the ones you immediately think of when making an original game (no offense intended to anyone,) but they add much more fun to the game. Each new civilization has been integrated seamlessly with the rest of the game, complete with characteristics and special units. Two new units have been added for all civs as well: Medievel Infantry and Guerillas, which were in Civ2. The interface is also much better. I've one twice now and I owe it all to the new interface!!! There is now a new wonder--the Internet (A great thing both in real life and in the game!) and there are numerous new city improvements and worker actions.

In multiplayer, you can play a hotseat game with only one computer needed, or a play-by-email if you don't have a good internet connection. This way is much faster then it would appear to be--and it retains all of the pacing. On LAN, you can play Simultaneous Turns, where everyone takes their turn at once (Frantic, but fun!) or the much-discussed TURNLESS, where there are NO turns whatsoever, and various things are kept track of by faction upkeep timers.

Great in every way, just don't play online!!!!!

I got this so I could play the game with my son on my LAN. Even though I have many multiplayer games working fine on my LAN, this one still doesn't work. They say they support WinXP and Win98SE, but I don't think they support if one PC is WinXP and one is Win98SE, (like my setup).

Their support suggested opening ports, but that's really just for Internet games, not LAN. Failing that, they blamed it on Microsoft. Adding insult to injury, you actually have to buy a separate CD for each PC even though it is a LAN game. Most games don't require this for LAN games; sure for Internet, but not LAN.

The Civ3 add-on "Conquests" is one of the greatest add-ons I have seen in the Civ line-up. To play the add-on, you only need to have the original Civ3 game (as this add-on includes the title name add-on "Conquests" and the first add-on for Civ3 - "Play the World"). For those of you who played Civ2 from the time it was released until Civ3 was released, I see no reason not to purchase Conquests - Civ3 is going to be around for some time, the add-on is worth it.

My favorite feature of the game is the simultaneous moves multiplayer mode. Unlike the bugs and glitches of the Play the World add-on, the Conquests version features a fairly streamlined play. I frequently play a small or normal sized world with friends on a local LAN (although internet play is viable as well) on a weekend day.

Another feature that makes Conquests great is that it expanded everything about the game without changing the core system. Instead, it just adds more choices a player must make to be successful (which is a good thing for those that like strategy games like Civ3).

Friends of mine who make Mods for games have found this add-on to be very exciting. Not only does Conquests come with recreations of real life conquests (such as WWII in the Pacific), Mod makers can create their own Mods just like the conquests that come with the game.

At about $20, Conquests is a great deal that delivers a lot. Its flaw, although not directly related to the game, is that Firaxis/Atari released the "Play the World" add-on separate first (charging $20 for that game as well) and included it free in "Conquests." While it was a smart choice to sell them together for "Conquests", those of us that purchased the first add-on feel cheated.