"CivilizationCraft" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but I don't imagine too many players will get hung up on the name. After all, an open-source multiplayer mod that recreates a very Civilization -like experience in Minecraft is such a good idea, it's almost dangerous.

CivilizationCraft isn't exactly Civ, mind: The mod is played from the first-person perspective, as you might expect, and instead of controlling a civilization all by yourself, you'll join with others to build a nation through resource collection, trade, and of course erecting various sorts of buildings, structures and even Wonders of the World. As the nation expands, it will inevitably run up against others, and that's where things get interesting.

This isn't a game for the faint of heart or the lacking in spare time: As the CivilizationCraft wiki points out, you better be prepared to commit to this thing if you want to do well with it. "This is a very long term game," it says. "No matter what you are planning on doing with your Civ, you will have to be on often." It also recommends that new players either join an established Civilization to learn the ropes or bring "a sizable group of trustworthy friends" along to help out.

It's probably fair to say that serious fans of Civilization and/or Minecraft aren't the sort to be easily intimidated by a videogame, but even so you'd be well-advised to do a little reading before you jump into this one. Thus, along with the wiki, you may also want to poke around at the CivilizationCraft sub-reddit ; for those with a more tourist-y bent, there are also some lovely in-game images (including the ones above) on Imgur .

Update: The post originally contracted CivilizationCraft to "CivCraft," which is actually a separate mod, unrelated to Sid Meier's Civilization, with its own subreddit here . We apologize for any confusion we may have caused.