Sid Meier's Civilization III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

I use this along with Civ 3 Complete Edition. I have about 25 hours of playing time so far, during which I spent a lot of time with the standard manual. The Ellis/Prima manual has a lot of tables that I find more useful than the tables in the standard manual. Tips that appear in the sidebar are also useful and non-trivial. The index is more intuitive than that in the standard manual. PLUS this book covers the game editor; I wasn't even able to FIND the game editor before, and I had looked hard. This was definitely worth the money ($4 plus shipping) but I suspect that the 2001 copyright date means that it came out before the expansion packs; therefore I am ordering the 2002 manual that includes Play the World etc. Recommended -- but the 2002 manual may be even better. Ellis is good.

This a great book that improves your skills. It is great for skimming through or evening reading cover to cover. Great addition for Civilization fans!

Once again Prima sets the standard for what a strategy guide should be. It's well-written, well-illustrated and well-organized, which are three things that are lacking in the hefty manual that is provided with the game. And unlike the manual, the Prima strategy guide endeavors to answer the cause-and-effect question of why something happens, instead of leaving the secrets of the game to a frustrating series of trial and error. If you read this book you'll still stay up half the night playing Civ III, but you'll be in a better mood when you finally do reach that ever-elusive stopping point and go to bed.

The strategy guide is both more readable and more helpful than the game manual. I read it through, and continue to consult it while playing.It's true that the stragety guide focuses more on game basics than on grand strategy, but that's inevitable in a game as complex as Civ3; there is no one "right" strategy. If you're looking for more strategic ideas, take a look at some of the fan web sites devoted to the game.