And worst then that when i try to play your game all i keep getting is " Please insert complete play disk into cd drive " ! ?    Whats with that i assume that everything needed is on that one cd and now it seems i ll need to use this complete play cd every time i play ?

Whats this all about and how do i get this fixed, i guess i need some free patchs or what every !   What Now ! ?  H E L P:   sick:

The Manual wouldn't have to be printed...  it's not worth that much anyway...  Just get playing on easy with the computer tips on, and see what you don't understand then ask us, or read past posts with the search function.

I would recommend you find a fan-made PDF of the unit stats and such for your gameplay sessions, but I can't remember which was best.  Good luck.

The originals sold back five or six years ago certainly contained a print copy of the manual. Surprising if they actually had a different version made that did not have the manual.

My guess is that you've inadvertently got your hands on some kinda knockoff pirated version of the game? If I were you, I'd take it back to Target or whereever you bought it and tell them you don't think it is legit.

IIRC, there were two disks to install Civ3. One for PTW, and one for Conquests. Could be if you bought a later published compilation set (e.g., a Civ3 Gold or some such) you'd have two or maybe 3 disks to fully install.

Firaxis seems to follow the convention in their game code of making the games unplayable without having the original (legit) install disk 1 (or sometimes the disk 2) in the drive. This was true for Railroad Tycoon, Pirates!, and all the Civ games I've seen. Seems like a totally reasonable way to prevent pirates and hacks from being able to play the game without having bought a legit copy of it.

Did not know this for years but, you do not have to leave the startup disk in the drive to play. Once you got the game launched, you can take that disk out and the game will play fine until you shut it down, at which time you'll need to reinsert again.

I'd complain to your retailer, or whoever it is from whom you acquired the disk(s) in question. I seriously doubt this is a Firaxis fubar. It sounds like you've got your hands on pirated software, and Target would love to know if their supplier is actually passing off knockoff crap as legitimate licensed product. I'll bet they'll make you feel better if you go talk to them

ADDIT: and AMP is totally right about the manual. You do not really need it to play the game, learn the game well, and play it at a very high level. There are so many highly active fan sites around, that can provide much more detailed information than the manual, not to mention the in-game tips, the civopedia, etc., Not having a manual is not really a problem to play the game.