Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World, released in 2002, is the first expansion pack for the award winning game Sid Meier's Civilization III. Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World added more civilizations, a new multi-player feature, new Wonders of the World, new units and new game modes, including: elimination, regicide, and capture the flag.
Play the World (PTW) was generally poorly received. The main feature, multi-player, was extremely buggy and slow. Most issues were worked out in the second expansion, Conquests which led many to regard Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests as the expansion that Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World was supposed to have been. However, the new civilizations were generally well received.
One of the major features of Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World was a turnless game mode, a new concept never used in the previous versions of the Sid Meier's Civilization series. The game mode allowed a sort of mixture between turn based and real time gameplay. Although the concept was good on paper, it never actually worked very well and many online players experienced Out of sync issues along with others. Little support from Firaxis and the sundry other issues resulted in that game mode not returning in Sid Meier's Civilization IV.
Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World can also be found on Sid Meier's Civilization III: Gold Edition which includes the original Sid Meier's Sid Meier's Civilization III and Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World. Sid Meier's Civilization III: Play the World is also found on the Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests expansion.
New civilizations in Play the World[ | ]
| Civilization | Qualities | Starting Advances | Special Unit | Leader | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabia | Religious, Expansionist | Ceremonial Burial, Pottery | Ansar Warrior | Abu Bakr | Mecca |
| Carthage | Commercial, Industrious | Alphabet, Masonry | Numidian Mercenary | Hannibal Barca | Carthage |
| Celts | Religious, Militaristic | Ceremonial Burial, Warrior Code | Gallic Swordsman | Brennus | Entremont |
| Korea | Commercial, Scientific | Alphabet, Bronze Working | Hwacha | Wang Kon | Seoul |
| Mongolia | Militaristic, Expansionist | Warrior Code, Masonry | Keshik | Temujin | Karakorum |
| Ottoman Empire | Industrious, Scientific | Masonry, Bronze Working | Sipahi | Osman I | Istanbul |
| Spain | Religious, Commercial | Ceremonial Burial, Alphabet | Conquistador | Isabella I | Madrid |
| Scandinavia | Militaristic, Expansionist | Warrior Code, Pottery | Viking Berserk | Ragnar Lodbrok | Trondheim |