Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

Through the Ages is currently one of the most requested titles in the collection, and for good reason. The appeal isn’t just nostalgia for the old PC days—it’s the relentless, interconnected decision space that keeps even seasoned players locked in for the full session. The card row is a live wire, with every draft and discard rippling through the table, and the economy is a constant puzzle that never lets up. For veterans, the real hook is the way the game compresses the sweep of a digital civ sim into a single, high-stakes analog session where every single turn feels consequential. It’s the one title that actually delivers that "one more turn" compulsion in a format that rewards deep planning. Logistically, this is a main event game—no question. The box is just cards and cubes, but the footprint sprawls fast, and the manual tracking of science, culture, and military strength is a persistent mental tax. You need a big, clear table and a group that’s ready to stay put for a couple of hours. Setup and teardown are non-trivial, and the shifting board state means you’re constantly wrangling components and double-checking tracks. This isn’t a filler or a warm-up; it’s the anchor of the night, and you’ll want to clear the schedule for it. If you’re running multiple tables, expect this one to be the last to finish, every single time. From a teaching perspective, this is a technical teach that doesn’t let you coast. The biggest hurdle is getting players to internalize the resource system—those yellow and blue cubes aren’t just markers, they’re the engine and the brakes for everything that happens. You can’t just drop the rules and walk away; the first age is a guided tour, and even after that, you’ll be fielding questions about timing, production, and the finer points of military pressure. The competitive interaction is indirect but ever-present, so the room stays focused and engaged, with tension building as players jockey for position. It’s a demanding teach, but the payoff is a table that feels like it’s running a full-scale civilization sim in real time.