I think it would be interesting to have a game where each player represents a tribal people native to a fictional continent. And they are suddenly faced with the appearance of a technologically superior civilization controlled by the game.
The players are in competition with each other, but must also figure out how to survive against a common threat.
Basically, an analogue of European expansion arriving in the Americas, but from the native point of view.
The invaders start off small, but gain new colonists every turn. Invader actions could be decided by card draws every turn and be influenced by their current relationship with the tribes and locations.
It would certainly raise some very interesting and complex game-theory decisions:
Players can co-operate with each other, but how much? At some point, they still need to win the game.
They can befriend the invaders for favors, technology, trade, etc. But this runs the risk of exposing themselves to disease and being absorbed from a cultural aspect.
Other players' hostile acts could have negative repercussions on non-hostile players due to the invaders perceiving all the tribes as similar "They are all savages and need to be eliminated"
Direct conflict, at first, is likely to be disastrous to the tribes, at least at first. They can attempt raids and terror tactics, but are these likely to do more harm in the long run?
They can try to trade, steal, or assimilate the better technology (weapons, domestic animals, better crops, etc) But this runs the risk of culture diffusion, hatred, disease. And also becoming a target for the other tribes.
I'm reminded of Guns, Germs, and Steel which posits that the domination by European civilizations is in large part due to geographical origins and opportunities (particularly grain crops, large domestic animals, and constant military conflict) not present elsewhere, leading to a long chain of events and positive feedback loops resulting in superior technology, production, populations, and disease resistance.
The big question is would it be possible to survive colonization? What is survival anyway? If the people live but the culture is completely absorbed, is that survival? Are there examples in history where similar invaders failed? Why did they fail? And how can these factors be incorporated?
Diplomacy, economics, military, and civics all seem to be major aspects to the game. Research seems out of scope, but technology could be stolen or traded. Battles should be largely abstracted, as this wouldn't be strictly a wargame. Individual leaders or personalities are likely out of scope as well.
Does this stir any ideas?
Thanks! These are all really good ideas. I have a lot to think about.