Civitas UGC: Empowering Chosen to Share Civitas experiences

One of the long-term challenges for any online game is escaping a closed loop, where gameplay can only be experienced by players who have already installed the client and learned the systems.

Over the past year, we have been building systems that allow Civitas experiences to be shared, discovered, and played outside the game client. This is a meaningful shift in how Civitas can be experienced and how new players can encounter the world for the first time. 

We are approaching this through user-generated content delivered as browser-based mini-games. 

These mini-games are playable via simple web links, work in any modern browser, and can be embedded directly in platforms such as Discord and Telegram. This allows Civitas gameplay to be experienced without installs, setup, or prior knowledge of the game.

The video below shows a work-in-progress preview of these new systems in action.

What are Mini-games in Civitas

Mini-games in Civitas are short, self-contained gameplay experiences with their own rules and win conditions. While they are separate from the core strategy layer, they remain integrated into the wider Civitas ecosystem.

These experiences are anchored to player-owned land and in-world structures, while still being lightweight and easy to engage with. 

Mini-games are accessed through Landmarks built on land tiles. From a player perspective, they exist as interactive buildings in the world, visible and accessible to others.

As shown in the video, players can currently integrate mini-games into their land using dedicated structures and resources. 

Mini-games as a discoverability platform

Discoverability is an ongoing challenge for any online game. With the introduction of UGC mini-games, Civitas takes a step toward lowering the friction required to experience gameplay, regardless of whether a player is already part of the core client.

Because mini-games can be shared and played outside the Civitas client, players are no longer only content consumers. They become active distributors of Civitas experiences.

When a mini-game link is shared, it does not exist in isolation. Each link routes players back to a specific location in the Civitas world, anchored to in-world structures and player-created infrastructure. This creates a direct connection between the external discovery and the world itself. 

Instead of explaining Civitas or onboarding someone manually, a player can simply share a link. That link is playable, interactive, and designed to invite repeat engagement. 

Access and shareability

Mini-games in Civitas are created and activated through player-built structures on land. The Foundry is a specialized structure that allows players to integrate mini-games into the world in a controlled and extensible way.

Through the Foundry, players can use Culture Seeds to shape the type of mini-game that is created. Each Culture Seed represents a different category of experience, resulting in landmarks that offer distinct forms of gameplay. 

What’s next

At this stage, several mini-games are being created internally by the development team. In later phases, players will be able to build and edit their own mini-games and link them to the Foundry. 

The combination of a web-based client and shareable mini-games will make Civitas easier to share, experience, and discover. 

By turning gameplay into something that can be shared through a simple link, Civitas will open itself to new audiences while keeping experiences anchored to the world and its player-created spaces.