An excellent article by Neil Carr on a subject close to my heart - In search of Civ-Lite: Many a gamer has fond memories of this truly epic game detailing the development and rise of ancient civilizations to it's height in essentially the Hellenistic era. It had wide appeal for a variety of reasons. It had elements of wargames, logistics, diplomacy, trading and bluffing. Players were given an open ended system that allowed them to play as they liked and didn't require warfare as the only answer to winning the game. Finally, the system was rather simple and easily teachable.