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About Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Through the Ages is a civilisation game played entirely in cards. You develop technologies, build wonders, feed a growing population and try not to let your military fall so far behind that opponents simply take your things. It is one of the heaviest games in wide circulation and it compresses several thousand years into roughly three hours of very hard decisions.
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Is Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Right for You?
Best for
Through the Ages is for a dedicated group who want the full civilisation arc without a five-hour miniatures game. The card row creates constant tension over what your opponents will take, and the sense of a civilisation actually developing over four ages is unmatched in a box this size. Two and three players keeps it inside three hours.
Maybe skip it if…
The rules overhead is enormous and the first game is genuinely punishing, with several failure states that a new player will not see coming. The military aggression also means you can be attacked repeatedly, which some groups actively dislike.
How to Play Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Setup
Each player takes a civilisation board with starting workers and buildings. Fill the card row with Age A cards.
On Your Turn
- Spend civil actions to take cards from the row, build buildings, increase population or play technologies.
- Spend military actions on units, tactics and aggression cards against opponents.
- Resolve food and resource production, then check for corruption and unhappiness.
How to Win
After the fourth age, the highest culture score wins, with military strength deciding certain end-game events along the way.
💡 Strategy Tips
Feeding your population is not optional. Starvation is the most common cause of a first-game collapse.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring military entirely. A weak military invites constant aggression and loses you resources you cannot spare.
- Overexpanding population without food production. Starvation costs culture directly and compounds every turn it continues.
- Taking cards from the expensive end of the row. The cost scales by position and new players routinely overpay for convenience.
- Building too many wonders at once. A half-built wonder ties up production for turns and produces nothing until it is done.
Advanced Strategy
- Balance civil and military actions from the first turn. Being unable to respond to an aggression is worse than being slightly behind on technology.
- Leaders are enormously powerful and cheap. Taking a strong leader early is usually better than a marginally better building.
- Watch what your opponents cannot afford. Taking a card they need is often worth more than the card's own value to you.
- Plan wonder construction around your production capacity, not around the wonder you want most.
Variants & House Rules
The digital implementation
The official app is exceptionally good and is how many people learn the game. It enforces every rule and is the fastest way to get competent.
The shorter age variants
Rules exist for ending after Age II or III, which cuts the running time substantially for a weeknight.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Through the Ages is the best civilisation game that fits on a table, and the digital version is one of the finest board game adaptations ever made. It is punishing, it is long, and it gives back a genuine sense of history unfolding. Learn it on the app and then bring it to the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a game?
Around three hours at two or three players once everyone knows it. Four players stretches well beyond that.
Should I learn it on the app first?
Strongly recommended. The app enforces the rules and removes the bookkeeping, which is where most first-game confusion comes from.
How much direct conflict is there?
A meaningful amount through aggression and war cards. It is not a peaceful euro, and groups who dislike being attacked should know that.