A few months ago, Fall from Heaven developer Derek Paxton added a card game called Somnium into one of the betas. That's right, a card game. Like canasta or Go Fish. I'm not entirely sure what it's doing in there. Who puts a card game into a Civilization IV mod?

Have a seat and I'll deal you a hand after the jump.

Somnium reminds me a bit of the pub games in Fable II, which I've had a great time playing, even though they're little more than a time/money sink. Like the pub games, Somnium is mostly a diversion. But also like the pub games, it has a small gameplay effect. You can elect to just play hands of Somnium for fun, but you can also play against any other civilization you're not at war with. If you win, you'll earn a temporary diplomatic boost. If you loose, you'll suffer a temporary diplomatic setback.

The actual card game is simple, which is a testament to Paxton's skill as a game designer. From a look at Fall from Heaven, you'd think this is a guy who never met a feature he didn't like (you'd also be wrong, since there was plenty of feature-winnowing as Fall from Heaven progressed). But from a look at Somnium, you can see a guy who really "gets" elegance. In terms of look and feel, it's a bit like Lost Cities, a Reiner Knizia card game. But whereas Lost Cities is about sussing out and arranging the numbers in the deck, Somnium is about risk. Every turn is a question of how far you're willing to push your luck. A game takes mere minutes.

Somnium is also a place for some ridiculously gorgeous artwork, with a unique picture for each number of each suit. I would shell out real money if I could get a set of these cards printed on nice stock. But why relegate such great artwork to a diversion many people will never see? In a way, it makes it all the more precious.

While arranging all my units to sail across the sea and conquer the Bannor, I enjoy a hand of Somnium with everyone in the world. It goes swimmingly with the Svartalfar and poorly with everyone else. In fact, I lose to the Sheaim with zero points. Ouch. I don't think I've ever had that happen before.

In the diplomacy tooltips, you can read the opinions of the other civilizations. These opinions are like the thought bubbles of the little people in RollerCoaster Tycoon. "-2: You declared war on our friend." "-6: You are evil." "-4: We are upset you have embraced a heathen religion." "+1: You are very good value." I made up that last one. My favorite used to be "-4: You lack grace." I don't even know what it indicates, but I love that it figures into diplomatic interaction (I'm resisting the temptation to make a Bush Administration reference here, but I guess I've technically failed). My new favorite diplomacy tooltip, now featured prominently in the Sheaim catalogue of opinions about the Balseraph, is "-2: Learn to play Somnium."

Up next: The Bannor War
(Click here for the previous Fall from Heaven game diary.)