The Ancient World
- Players
- 2-4
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 90 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 13+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.7 / 5
- Year
- 2014
About the game
In The Ancient World, five tribes fleeing gigantic titans finally rally behind growing city-states determined to end the terror. Players compete to grow the largest and most influential city-state, sending citizens to take special actions or deploying military cards to battle titans directly. Building Empire cards brings in more citizens, money, and abilities, while defeating titans and collecting sets of tribe banners both build a city-state's influence. After six rounds, whoever has amassed the most victory points from tribe banner sets wins the fight for survival.
Hobbli's Notes
Designer Ryan Laukat's own distinctive artwork gives The Ancient World real visual charm, and the mix of worker placement, drafting, and dice-driven titan combat keeps turns varied. It strikes a nice middle ground of complexity, meaty enough for strategy fans but not overwhelming for a 90-minute session. The titan battles add welcome thematic drama to what could otherwise be a fairly standard engine-building civilization game.
What we like
- Distinctive artwork and theme from designer Ryan Laukat stand out on the table.
- Titan battles add dramatic tension beyond typical engine-building.
- Multiple viable paths (citizens, military, empire cards) support varied strategies.
- Moderate complexity makes it approachable without being shallow.
- Fixed six-round structure keeps games from dragging.
Keep in mind
- Player interaction is largely indirect, mostly through competing for tribes.
- Titan combat's dice-rolling element introduces some luck into a strategy game.
- Setup and component management can take a few extra minutes.
Who it's for
Strategy gamers aged 12 and up who enjoy civilization-building and worker placement games, for 2-4 players.
