Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization

Customer Reviews

Is it a Board game or a Drug? Review by Garth

Price
Value
Quality

Apon looking at this game box I was not thrilled by Through the Ages, for its price it looks like the art is cheap and should be better, however that said, The art for the game is perfect, it fits the style, and does not bother me at all like I thought it would.

Overall my game buddies and I have played over 200 Through the Ages games. We just seem completely unable to stop playing this. No two games are the same despite the fact that the concept is identical from game to game. The game says it is playable in 1 hour per person, and with new players I think it is a little longer, however our games have been trimmed to about 40 minutes per player, and are fast passed. There are so many facets to Through the Ages including its endless options of cards that you can make for it. Our group has a second edition of cards handmade along with 50 or so different leader and wonder cards for the original. The sky is the limit with Through the Ages and the quality of the game is unmatched in my opinion. I highly recommend this game for game groups that enjoy 2-3 hour games with unlimited replay value.

Components: Excellent. I like the wooden discs that you get to move, and the cards and mounted board are good quality.

Rules: Clear, a little long, but needed for how deep the game is.

Overall Impressions: We cannot stop playing it, it is that good. (Posted on 3/23/12)

Civilization: The Card Game Review by Keith

Quality
Price
Value

The game was supposedly going to be called Civilization: The Card Game before its original release, and it's not hard to see why. Anyone who is a fan of the Civilization PC games should immediately recognize the striking similarities.

Each player is the ruler of their own civilization and plays it from the antiquities age through the end of the modern age, trying to produce as much culture as they can (effectively victory points). During each turn, players use the actions their form of government provides to purchase cards, research new technologies, construct resource-producing buildings, build a wonder, and strengthen their army. Players must determine their strategy as they go, carefully balancing work population, happiness, and resources. While direct conflicts are not a large part of the game, civilizations can attach each other from time-to-time through political cards they may gather.

The 20 page rulebook does look rather intimidating at first. The game, however, is broken into 3 different flavours - Basic, which introduces you to (surprise) the basic concepts of the game; Advanced, which adds most of the more complex rules to the basic game; and finally Full, which exposes you to the full game with all of its rules. Thankfully, the rules are fairly simple once you get the basics down.

The largest component of the game is the main game board which tracks everyone's current culture, science, and military points, as well as the number of culture and science points they generate each turn. Each player also has their own player board where they keep track of their resources, population, and the technology cards they have played. The boards and cards themselves are well designed, easy to read, and are very durable. The 315 tiny coloured wooden disc tokens you get to keep track of everything with, however, are a royal pain in the butt. Trying to separate them at the start and give them to players is bad enough, but it becomes even more annoying as you start to move them around and they decide to stand up and roll away on you. I only wish they had decided to use small cubes instead of pucks.

The game can't be recommended to anyone who is looking for something quick to play. The average time about about 1 hour per player, though they usually take longer for the first few plays as everyone gets used to the rules. If you're looking for an interesting, well-designed civilization game that can get you thinking and plotting, however, this is strongly recommended. This one is going to be played regularly in my gaming group for a while. :) (Posted on 1/30/10)

Through the Ages is a civilisation building game that takes players from the beginning of civilisation (Age I) to the modern Age (Age 4). On the way, players must build their civilisation's various buildings & technologies, balancing culture, happiness a Review by TR

Quality
Value
Price
Price
Value
Quality

Through the Ages is a civilisation building game that takes players from the beginning of civilisation (Age I) to the modern Age (Age 4). On the way, players must build their civilisation's various buildings & technologies, balancing culture, happiness and military might against their opponents.

A great game for 2 players, Through the Ages does drag with 4, while 3 is a okay umber. With a ton of choices and cards, the game is always different and the ability to constantly update the technologies makes the game feel like you realy are creating a civilisation.

If you're looking for a civilisation game, Through the Ages is definitely worth a closer look. Just understand that you aren't going to get a board with specific countries to play with. (Posted on 6/30/09)