Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Review

Intro

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is one of those games that makes you feel like you're writing history with every card you play. This 2015 redesign of Vlaada Chvátil's civilization-building masterpiece takes 2-4 players through humanity's greatest achievements, from the wheel to the internet, in about two hours of intense strategic thinking.

With an 8.26/10 rating on BoardGameGeek and multiple Golden Geek nominations, this isn't your typical gateway game. It's complex enough to make your brain hurt in the best possible way, demanding careful resource management and long-term planning that would make actual world leaders sweat. The sweet spot is three players, where the political maneuvering really shines without overstaying its welcome.

How It Plays

At its heart, Through the Ages is about building the most culturally advanced civilization by the end of the modern age. You're not moving armies across a map or claiming territory. Instead, you're drafting cards that represent technologies, leaders, and wonders, then figuring out how to afford and use them effectively.

Each turn, you spend action points to draft cards from a shared display, build improvements, or take various civilization actions. The brilliant twist? Cards get cheaper the longer they sit in the card row, creating this fantastic tension where you're constantly weighing whether to grab something now or gamble that it'll still be there later at a discount.

Your civilization needs four key resources: science for discovering new technologies, food for growing population, resources (basically raw materials) for construction, and culture for victory points. Balancing these feels like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle. You also need military strength because weak civilizations become punching bags for their neighbors.

The game flows through three ages, each bringing more powerful but expensive options. Ancient Age might give you basic farms and bronze working, while the Modern Age offers computers and space flight. Military conflicts happen through card-based aggression rather than direct combat, letting stronger civilizations steal resources or even eliminate opponents' leaders.

Highlights

The card drafting system is pure genius. Watching that perfect technology or leader slowly get cheaper while praying nobody else snatches it creates incredible tension. You're constantly making these delicious decisions about timing and opportunity cost that keep you engaged even when it's not your turn.

The way military works deserves special praise. You can't ignore it completely, but going full warmonger usually means sacrificing the culture generation you need to win. It creates this perfect balance where military serves as both threat and deterrent, adding just enough player interaction to keep things spicy without turning into a war game.

Historical flavor oozes from every card. Pairing Aristotle with your philosophy school, or rushing to build the Pyramids before your opponent grabs them, creates these wonderful narrative moments. The game makes you feel like you're actually guiding a civilization through history rather than just optimizing an economic engine.

The three-age structure provides natural story arcs and escalation. Early games are about establishing your foundation, the middle age introduces more complex decisions and stronger military threats, while the modern age becomes a frantic race to maximize culture before time runs out.

Despite its complexity, the game flows beautifully once you understand it. Every decision matters, but you're never paralyzed by too many options. The action point system keeps turns moving, and the card row constantly evolves, ensuring no two games feel the same.

Criticisms

Let's be honest: this game has a brutal learning curve. First-time players will spend half their game figuring out basic interactions while experienced players run circles around them. The rulebook is comprehensive but dense, and you'll probably need a few practice rounds before everything clicks. It's not the kind of game you can easily teach to casual board game fans.

The playing time can be deceptive. While the box says 120 minutes, games with new players or those prone to analysis paralysis can easily stretch to three hours or more. When someone's trying to optimize their entire civilization each turn, patience becomes a virtue. This isn't a criticism of the game design, but it definitely limits when and with whom you can play.

Player elimination exists in the rules, though it's rare in practice. Still, falling behind militarily can create situations where you're essentially out of contention while still needing to play through to the end. The rich get richer dynamic means early mistakes can snowball, making comeback victories challenging though not impossible.

Conclusion

Through the Ages rewards players who love deep strategic thinking and don't mind investing time to master its systems. If you enjoy games where every decision ripples through future turns, where you're constantly weighing short-term gains against long-term strategy, this delivers in spades.

Strategy gamers who appreciate civilization themes and card-driven gameplay will find this irresistible. It's perfect for groups that meet regularly and want a game they can explore deeply over multiple sessions. Just make sure everyone's committed to learning it properly, because this isn't a game that works well with mixed experience levels.

Through the Ages stands as one of the finest civilization games ever designed, offering incredible depth without unnecessary complexity. It demands respect, patience, and multiple plays to truly appreciate, but rewards that investment with some of the most satisfying strategic gameplay you'll find.