Through the Ages - Review

Through the Ages has been one of the top games on BoardgameGeek for awhile and I've always wanted to check it out, hell I've held it in my hands a few times at different game stores since it's release but never took the plunge. When it finally got a digital adaptation made by CGE Digital earlier this year I was very excited. I am happy to say this past week-end I finally got a chance to play a few rounds. Here are my thoughts on the game and a full game session we streamed last night.

It's a well thought out game with excellent mechanics that allow several types of strategies and a wide range of cards, all of which can change the course of a game if played correctly. Leaders, buildings and wonders can and will go away from one age to the next. This can cause a powerful player to be in limbo waiting for another good leader to show up or waiting to get that next building upgrade. This gives the game a nice mix strategy and luck, which I find makes a game have more replay ability.

The game is confusing and it wasn't until the second game that things started to click, which makes the tutorial and rule book a must.  The price point is $15, which I feel like very fair. In my opinion I think the game is better digital, not having played the cardboard version yet I might be wrong. After playing a lot of both cardboard and digital versions of games you kind of get a feel for the differences. The clean-up and accessibly alone typically gives a digital version of a game a big thumbs up for me.  Some games require the interaction with other players, you need to read there true intentions, hell it's the key component in a lot of games like Sheriff of Nottingham for example. So those types of games do not convert to digital very well. That's not to say this game doesn't have player interaction, there are treaty's, bidding and attacks, they just don't have any negotiation involved so it's typically a yes, no or bidding with cards. Overall I think the game is wonderful and a great digital conversion that is easily accessible at $15 and would be enjoyed by anyone who likes strategy games and can handle a medium learning curve.