Crystal Clans and CIV: Carta Impera Victoria – take over the world in your lunch break

From video games such as Civilization to board games such as Risk, gaming offers more opportunities for world domination than you can rattle a sabre at. If you're a would-be Caesar, Napoleon or Vladimir Putin, there are countless releases that let you rule the globe with an iron fist. These games of conquest and diplomacy tend to be long and complicated, though, and while they make for some deep, absorbing contests, they can consume entire evenings in mammoth, multi-hour play sessions. Enter CIV: Carta Impera Victoria – an empire-building card game that aims to squeeze centuries of war, trade and politics into just 20 minutes. Unlike most releases in the genre, it comes without a giant board or masses of plastic soldiers.