The Ancient World by Red Raven Games
Price: ~$60.00
Players:2 to 4
Playtime:60 to 90 minutes
Perfect for:Players who enjoy strategic resource allocation and management and beautiful art work.
The Ancient World is a game of growth and balance. Players must cultivate and expand their cities in order to prosper, while also being ever mindful of the dangers that lurk. While constructing buildings and developing capabilities, city managers must consistently ward off the threat of attack through a strong and well-nourished army. Before talking about the gameplay, here’s a quick summary of the theme from the publisher, Red Raven games
In an ancient world forgotten by time, enormous titans terrorize the land. Five tribes have been fleeing from the titans for centuries, but things are about to change. Growing city-states pledge to end the reign of terror, determined to take on the titans and make the world a safer place for all. Each city-state competes to attract the tribes, eager for the strength of the combined peoples, who are now leaving behind old traditions with the hope that the titans can be defeated once and for all.
To begin The Ancient World, all players begin with a city board to help track the production of goods and organize their various resources. The board also contains a titan card—a monster that will damage the flourishing city if not either fought and defeated or appeased. On a turn, players choose where to send their villagers on the main board in order to perform tasks such as the purchase of new buildings in order to expand, the acquisition of armies to combat titans, or collect gold or ambrosia to take future actions. The round ends when each player has placed each of their villagers, and the game concludes after six rounds. Scoring is determined by the number of banner sets collected (on the acquired building cards), along with any other person-specific bonuses they are able to leverage.
RELATED: Tabletop Game Review – Colors of Paris
What works in The Ancient World is the well-balanced engine-building and resource options, along the fantastic artwork from also-designer Ryan Laukat (Above And Below). While the main board for The Ancient World looks a bit intimidating, only after a round or two will players be able to craft their own strategy for what they need to go after, and when, in order to drive city growth. There’s also a nice “don’t spread yourself too thin” component as some acquisitions and considerations are necessary in order to progress. For example, ensuring each round that the army is ready to take on the imposing titan is a clever mechanic, as you can only fight with each card set once per round, and after every battle, the cost to use the army increases. This makes finding the middle ground of drafting new army cards a pivotal component. Finally, not enough can be said about the visuals. The cards, boards, and even the majority of the components are beautiful and resembles paintings meant to inspire awe and wonder.
Players who don’t love resource placement games may not enjoy The Ancient World as much as others. Also, for those who played first edition, the biggest changes here are: the inclusion of titans as an added direct threat, ambrosia as a new resource that basically acts like a “wild,” and mostly upgraded components. The word “mostly” is needed because while this second edition includes heavy-duty wooden pieces, players are expected to apply stickers themselves which some people may find an unnecessary chore, since cardboard versions are supplied as well.
The Ancient World has some nice upgrades for those who enjoyed the first edition, and for those new to the series, it’s a solid resource allocation and worker placement game with above-average art.
Recommended if you like: Le Havre, Lords of Waterdeep
Final Grade: A-
Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.
—–
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcast feed yet The LRM Online Podcast Network, which includes our flagship podcast Los Fanboys, our premiere podcast Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, and our morning show LRMornings? Check it out by listening below. It’s also available on all your favorite podcast apps!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
