We've discussed our Civilization problems in the past, but the recent open beta launch of Civ World on Facebook is killing us. The old, self-contained versions of Civ demand focus, which means you're either playing or doing something else. Civ World, like its platform, steals bits of attention from you throughout the day unless you shut it down and leave the world to the mercy of the barbarians—or, worse, the French*. This makes it hard to focus on much of anything else, like work, artistic innovation, bill paying or child care. Be smart—don't start.

But if you do, and no doubt some of you will, here's what you can expect:

• A learning curve. Even if you've played the hell out of Civ in the past, you'll need to relearn quite a bit, especially when you join a confederation (as you must, if you want to get to the cool stuff). In many ways, you have less control over what your civilization does—but this is a plus, and one of the strongest features of the FB version.
  
• Constant temptation to spend real-world money. Like all successful FB game publishers, the makers of Civ have monetized the shit out of their product. Still, you can do just fine and have perfectly good fun without spending a cent, and it eases the sting of getting beaten to building the Great Wall if you assume that your opponents are draining their bank accounts to get there.
  
• The good kind of frustration. There are winners and losers and all kinds of different strategies to try, but unlike many other FB games, there's an end point. That means you aren't at a permanent deficit if you decide to try something that doesn't pan out, so get your freak on and see if you can at least amuse yourself, even if you can't amass the fattest treasury or the scariest army this time.

  Civ World certainly isn't the revolution in social gaming (a term that should be redundant but, sadly, is not) that is surely coming one of these days, but it is good fun for Civ fans and for that demographic segment hunkering down in the middle between hardcore simulators and casual gamers. Grab a friend or two and take over the world.

  * Not gratuitous Francophobia! The French are a terrifying military force in our current game, and have bullied us (the Russians) into submission repeatedly. How many times must St. Petersburg fall?

  The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.