This is a new card driven strategy games, on Steam. On sale, 38% off for the next several days, at just under $10.
The game was developed by Vlaada Chvatil...one of my favorite games developers.
I have linked a two-hour long video on the game here below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ms4t1o1sHo
This is a board game port, and a very good one at that. Clean game dynamics, and the AI appears to be pretty solid. Here is a link to the board game on boardgamegeek...ranked as the third best boardgame of all time:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/182028/through-ages-new-story-civilization
Quill18 also has a nice let's play on this one. 95% review rating on Steam, with a small sample size (21).
I will be buying this here in about two minutes, and I will update this with my thoughts.
Any other players out there?
Thanks for the heads up Dennis. I watched the first Getting Started video by Vormithrax here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3irAiDPGmOw and the game looks quite interesting. Probably going to pick it up at that price soon myself.
I think I've seen this on Google Play. But still maybe worth a look.
Bought, and loaded it up. Played through the tutorial. It is quite extensive and seemed to cover everything. The game is quite deep and with the randomness of the cards it looks to have a lot of replay value. Graphics aren't great, but that's very subjective, and the play is what matters more to me anyway. Looking forward to getting into it as it will move to the front of my never ending backlog. :)
Quote from: Geezer on March 27, 2018, 03:59:28 PM
Bought, and loaded it up. Played through the tutorial. It is quite extensive and seemed to cover everything. The game is quite deep and with the randomness of the cards it looks to have a lot of replay value. Graphics aren't great, but that's very subjective, and the play is what matters more to me anyway. Looking forward to getting into it as it will move to the front of my never ending backlog. :)
I played the first game, against training quality opponents. Got beat, but didn't finish last.
Tremendous learning curve on strategies, but the card mechanic works brilliantly.
Very pleased with the purchase. The depth is crazy good...and I would cheerfully have payed triple the $9.91 for this one.
There is a review of this on Strategy Gamer.
www.strategygamer.com/reviews/through-the-ages-pc/
Quote from: Vintage Dude on March 27, 2018, 09:31:29 PM
There is a review of this on Strategy Gamer.
www.strategygamer.com/reviews/through-the-ages-pc/
Thanks for sharing. Here's the money quote:
Quote
A game that invigorates with the pure, fierce joy of play that only very best board games can deliver.
double post. how odd.
Thx for the recommendation.
Played the tutorial and a casual game against a single tutorial opponent.
Watched the clock and it was 2:30 am. :o
So far I very much like what I see.
One thing I can't figure out is how to calculate an enemy empire's strength. In my current game I keep increasing my military to play some military cards in the political phase once I have a stronger empire. However every turn the AI jumps back ahead of me in strength even though I have a much bigger military. I don't remember anything in the tutorial about what goes into the strength number.
Lost my first game just now. Could not figure out how to play aggression cards. The game either said I was in the wrong phase or that I could only "show the card to my opponent". Turns out that rather cryptic wording means you can play the card. Might have won if I had figured that out.
Have the say the AI was quite good, at least against me playing my first game. ;)
Edit - I also probably made a significant mistake on my last turn. I should have picked the "Internet" wonder to keep my opponent from getting it. I didn't think he had the resources to build it in one turn, but he did and that gave him a big boost in culture points. Quite a challenging game and well worth $10.
Quote from: Geezer on March 28, 2018, 06:36:29 AM
Lost my first game just now. Could not figure out how to play aggression cards. The game either said I was in the wrong phase or that I could only "show the card to my opponent". Turns out that rather cryptic wording means you can play the card. Might have won if I had figured that out.
Have the say the AI was quite good, at least against me playing my first game. ;)
Edit - I also probably made a significant mistake on my last turn. I should have picked the "Internet" wonder to keep my opponent from getting it. I didn't think he had the resources to build it in one turn, but he did and that gave him a big boost in culture points. Quite a challenging game and well worth $10.
OK...here's a few tips on empire strength.
There is more to it than just the units. Joan of Arc gets "strength" points for some civilian buildings. Blue tactics cards get you military strength points. There are several other factors/wonders/single use cards that all serve to increase your military strength.
Fundamentally, if they have several cards in their hand, available for use in the political round, then they may also have these available to defend against your attacks.
Attacking isn't a bad thing, if it forces them to discard cards to defend.
If I have more strength than the weakest opponent, I will for sure gang up on them. Also....military alliances can work very well to keep the other civs at bay while you build up your infrastructure.
I have played three games, all against training-quality opponents. Got 199, 230, and 244 points in turn, with 4th, 3rd, and 2nd. The winner of this last match had Bill Gates for his leader, and somehow this game him another ten points at the very VERY end of game, otherwise i would have won.
Quote from: Tosh on March 28, 2018, 02:13:32 AM
Thx for the recommendation.
Played the tutorial and a casual game against a single tutorial opponent.
Watched the clock and it was 2:30 am. :o
So far I very much like what I see.
I am not playing several other, excellent games, while this one has me on the hook. Tremendous depth and strategy here.
Thanks for the tips Dennis. In my second game now and doing OK. Actually won a war against the AI and took some of his tech points. This game definitely has that "just one more turn" feel to it. :)
Managed to win my second game against a lone easy AI opponent. I scored 185 and beat him by 32. Not great, but a win is a win. ;)
Anybody know if you can save a multi-player game?
Here is a high level teaching game by a guy who obviously knows how to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ms4t1o1sHo
I might have understood about 25% of what he was saying. :o
Quote from: Geezer on March 28, 2018, 02:47:08 PM
Managed to win my second game against a lone easy AI opponent. I scored 185 and beat him by 32. Not great, but a win is a win. ;)
How do you get a single opponent? I am playing three others...with a fourth, third, and second place to my credit. Last one was with 244 points...not shabby!
Quote from: Geezer on March 28, 2018, 08:15:34 PM
Here is a high level teaching game by a guy who obviously knows how to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ms4t1o1sHo
I might have understood about 25% of what he was saying. :o
Yes..this is Hito. I saw this entire video, and it helped immensely. I will go back and watch it again.
Also, look for one by Quill18. I like his let's plays a lot, and have watched his videos for several years.
Quote from: DennisS on March 28, 2018, 08:57:58 PM
How do you get a single opponent? I am playing three others...with a fourth, third, and second place to my credit. Last one was with 244 points...not shabby!
Go to the Challenges section. It's the first one on the list.
Here is an interesting written guide including ratings for all the cards and a detailed section on the Challenges: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/234527-through-the-ages/faqs/75690/in-depth-strategy-guide-for-ais-and-challenges
Edit - Here are some thought from another player about the guide I linked above, as posted in the Steam forum:
QuoteI like your guide, wanted to mention some personal comments here from playing the ios version:
"That said you can often safely ignore Military Actions until Age III"
Imho the hard AI will look for an opportunity to target you if you only have two Military Actions, especially if you started with Hammurabi. I usually have a very strong military, but if I'm playing a challenging game and can't guarantee maintaining the strongest then I'm always looking for a third Military Action
- I win with an extreme end-game focus on Science more often than Military wars, I feel the Paths to Victory as written omits that option
- Another benefit of temples over arenas is upgrading a temple to a higher level might be a good option when you're low on civil actions
- Another benefit of Printing Press (if you miss Alchemy) is if you need more urban buildings, but are limited too much by your government. It requires 3 resources (your guide says 4 which is different than what I'm seeing in my card list. Also, Drama is only 1 more resource than Religion). It is a brutal waste of yellow tokens, but usually if you're taking it you have a source of a ton of happiness
- St. Peter's wonder requires only two steps to build (compared to three slots for Hanging Gardens if you don't have Masonry). St. Peter's also works with those useless happiness colonies that no one else wants... only costs two more resources and doesn't require you to commit to a happiness wonder strategy in Age A. And +2 culture isn't bad
- Kremlin is my favourite Age 2 wonder if I'm sticking with Alchemy for too long to afford many government / technologies and am building lots of theatres, which is how my usual games go since I try to get Bach. Bach is my favourite Age 2 leader (there's only one Napoleon / Churchill and they rarely show up at a good time for me), if Bach gets killed or whatever there's a few good replacements, especially Chaplin
- Caesar is good for that third Military Action I mentioned earlier and also because:
in Age A and Age 3, you can safely play a political Event card even if you have the weakest military. In Age A they build everyone's resources, so playing two of them at the start of your turn gives you a slight head start. (The Age 3 political Event cards only affect score, so once the Age 2 Events are gone, if you're the weakest you can play Events on your turn, and your military only has to be worried about fending off raids / wars declared on you on other players' turns).
- There's 10 possible Age A political Event cards, one is build a free warrior with idle worker and one is build a free temple with idle worker. I believe 4, 5, and 6 of the Age A cards are chosen for 2, 3, 4-player games. So for example I think there's over 82% chance that at least one of the two idle worker cards will show up in a 4-player game
Quote from: Geezer on March 29, 2018, 06:12:25 AM
Here is an interesting written guide including ratings for all the cards and a detailed section on the Challenges: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/234527-through-the-ages/faqs/75690/in-depth-strategy-guide-for-ais-and-challenges
Edit - Here are some thought from another player about the guide I linked above, as posted in the Steam forum:
QuoteI like your guide, wanted to mention some personal comments here from playing the ios version:
"That said you can often safely ignore Military Actions until Age III"
Imho the hard AI will look for an opportunity to target you if you only have two Military Actions, especially if you started with Hammurabi. I usually have a very strong military, but if I'm playing a challenging game and can't guarantee maintaining the strongest then I'm always looking for a third Military Action
- I win with an extreme end-game focus on Science more often than Military wars, I feel the Paths to Victory as written omits that option
- Another benefit of temples over arenas is upgrading a temple to a higher level might be a good option when you're low on civil actions
- Another benefit of Printing Press (if you miss Alchemy) is if you need more urban buildings, but are limited too much by your government. It requires 3 resources (your guide says 4 which is different than what I'm seeing in my card list. Also, Drama is only 1 more resource than Religion). It is a brutal waste of yellow tokens, but usually if you're taking it you have a source of a ton of happiness
- St. Peter's wonder requires only two steps to build (compared to three slots for Hanging Gardens if you don't have Masonry). St. Peter's also works with those useless happiness colonies that no one else wants... only costs two more resources and doesn't require you to commit to a happiness wonder strategy in Age A. And +2 culture isn't bad
- Kremlin is my favourite Age 2 wonder if I'm sticking with Alchemy for too long to afford many government / technologies and am building lots of theatres, which is how my usual games go since I try to get Bach. Bach is my favourite Age 2 leader (there's only one Napoleon / Churchill and they rarely show up at a good time for me), if Bach gets killed or whatever there's a few good replacements, especially Chaplin
- Caesar is good for that third Military Action I mentioned earlier and also because:
in Age A and Age 3, you can safely play a political Event card even if you have the weakest military. In Age A they build everyone's resources, so playing two of them at the start of your turn gives you a slight head start. (The Age 3 political Event cards only affect score, so once the Age 2 Events are gone, if you're the weakest you can play Events on your turn, and your military only has to be worried about fending off raids / wars declared on you on other players' turns).
- There's 10 possible Age A political Event cards, one is build a free warrior with idle worker and one is build a free temple with idle worker. I believe 4, 5, and 6 of the Age A cards are chosen for 2, 3, 4-player games. So for example I think there's over 82% chance that at least one of the two idle worker cards will show up in a 4-player game
Here's a nice little nugget:
Quote
Scientific Method ★★
If for some reason you didn't get Alchemy, and you are still generating only 2 Science a turn, then you absolutely need Scientific Method or you lose the game. You cannot enter Age III with 2 Science a turn and expect to be building anything meaningful.
Just finished a game against two medium AI's. Ended up in second place. Back to the drawing board!
Sorry RedArgo but I don't know the answer to your question about saving a multiplayer game.
Thanks, I bought it anyway, I was just going to try to convince some friends and save game would help there.
Quote from: RedArgo on March 29, 2018, 09:37:58 PM
Thanks, I bought it anyway, I was just going to try to convince some friends and save game would help there.
Geezer and I would welcome your insights here! This is not an easy game, but there is tremendous depth.
I heard there is cross platform MP! I've got it on my iPad, maybe we should get a game going?
It's also available as a Tabletop Simulator mod.
Is there a way to play multi-player where we don't all have to be online at the same time for the whole game, like play by email or server based where it notifies you when it's your turn?
Can you play with a mix of human and AI opponents together? Looks interesting or i'm just a game whore ::)
Someone posted on Steam that he played a multiplayer game with other people and one AI. He also said it took 4 hours to complete the game even with the fastest setting. :o
So I asked on Steam about playing multiplayer where you don't have to play the whole game online in one sitting. Someone replied that he is playing now in two games where he has up to 24 hours to make a move when it is his turn. He did say Steam notification was not working for him but it's not clear if that is a problem for everyone or just him.
Edit - Just got crushed against 2 medium AI's. :-[ I'll go hibernate somewhere until I L2P. Then maybe I'll be up for a game against some of my fellow grogs.
Quote from: Geezer on March 30, 2018, 04:40:45 PM
So I asked on Steam about playing multiplayer where you don't have to play the whole game online in one sitting. Someone replied that he is playing now in two games where he has up to 24 hours to make a move when it is his turn. He did say Steam notification was not working for him but it's not clear if that is a problem for everyone or just him.
Edit - Just got crushed against 2 medium AI's. :-[ I'll go hibernate somewhere until I L2P. Then maybe I'll be up for a game against some of my fellow grogs.
I am finding the computer tough enough...played five games, yet to win one. I may go from four to three players, and try that.
quill18 has a new 3 part gameplay that he posted yesterday. Here is part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swhoOyHmb0I
While watching it I keep saying things to myself like "Why did you do that?!" or "That was a bad play.". Turns out he beat two hard AI's in the game so maybe I need to watch it again and learn. :))
Quote from: Geezer on March 31, 2018, 08:59:53 AM
quill18 has a new 3 part gameplay that he posted yesterday. Here is part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swhoOyHmb0I
While watching it I keep saying things to myself like "Why did you do that?!" or "That was a bad play.". Turns out he beat two hard AI's in the game so maybe I need to watch it again and learn. :))
I watched this as well. What I learned is that he has a plan, not for this turn, but for NEXT turn. He doesn't take a card into his hand that he doesn't have plans for.
Well. Game eight, and the stars all lined up. I should have taken a screenshot! I scored 354 points, against three weak opponents. Everything worked. My military went all the way to 54, and I CRUSHED each of the other three opponents. This might be the three. Each war really crippled each opponent, and it snowballed from there.
Congrats! :notworthy:
Well done. :)
Just won my first game against a single medium AI opponent. Again an exciting game.
Quote from: Tosh on March 31, 2018, 06:37:51 PM
Well done. :)
Just won my first game against a single medium AI opponent. Again an exciting game.
I'm not quite ready to call a press conference...Three opponents, all on training mode.
It may be easier against multiple opponents. Your military doesn't have to be the best, just don't be the worst!
I will say that in a four player game, cards cycle very fast, and you have to consider purchasing needed cards when they are way the hell over on the right.
Just won the Challenge against 2 medium AI's. ;D I literally won it on the last card played. The card (happy face calculation) flipped me from second to first with 179. The AI's ended with 175 and 135. It was all that much sweeter since I made a play on my last turn that increased my happy faces.
Cool. O0
This challenge is the one I plan to play next.
Quote from: Geezer on April 01, 2018, 12:04:18 PM
Just won the Challenge against 2 medium AI's. ;D I literally won it on the last card played. The card (happy face calculation) flipped me from second to first with 179. The AI's ended with 175 and 135. It was all that much sweeter since I made a play on my last turn that increased my happy faces.
Do our fellow grognards appreciate what an excellent strategy game this is? I just came second, and played a very good game all the way.
After nine games, my rating is 0.37, and getting better. Average culture is 207, also getting better.
I think I like the four person games...have to really look hard to the right, and make difficult choices on how to spend your civic actions.
Quote from: DennisS on April 01, 2018, 04:00:17 PM
I think I like the four person games...have to really look hard to the right, and make difficult choices on how to spend your civic actions.
I agree. I expect 3 or 4 players games to be the most fun, but also more difficult. So I started with one opponent with low difficult settings to get a feel for the game and learn.
I will add opponents and ramp up the difficulty as I make further progress (if any).
OK...this is so cool! I had several labs, my science production was pretty darned good. This enabled me to research some sweet military techs, and I had a good lead there.
So...who came along to be drafted? SID MEIER!!!! WOOT! I knew he converted science into culture...but didn't appreciate the ramifications. INSTANT +12 culture a turn, but my science went to shit. Down to one, in Age III.
Ummmm...oops. Couldn't research anything, but I kept throwing population into my science buildings, which insta-converted into culture. I won easily, 221 to 180 for the next highest. I had over a 100 point lead at the end of Age IV. Just another way to win, but pretty scary. I've now won 2 of 10, and happy for it.
So, after one failed restart, I tried a second time, and ended up losing against a single Training opponent, 182-170.
If I'd known when the game ended, or if I'd simply spared myself 2 more Resource points from the prior turn, I would have been able to finish the Eiffel Tower (I think), which would have yielded me 25 additional culture points. Instead, the turn before, I chose to upgrade a unit of Knights into Tanks. Worthless freaking Tanks!
Keep a close eye on the card deck in the upper right corner so you will have a good idea when an Age is about to end.
Quote from: Geezer on April 07, 2018, 05:30:28 AM
Keep a close eye on the card deck in the upper right corner so you will have a good idea when an Age is about to end.
This is also good to watch, to see whether you want to upgrade to Iron/Irrigation, or the next level up.
Yeah. I remembered that as soon as it told me I no longer had enough resources to finish the Eiffel Tower! ;D
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 07, 2018, 05:31:39 PM
Yeah. I remembered that as soon as it told me I no longer had enough resources to finish the Eiffel Tower! ;D
It helps to have a plan for the last two turns. I look hard at what big-ticket items I can finish, like Hollywood, or Fast Food Chain.
I am getting a little better..still play only with three opponents, but all on the easiest setting.
OK, after one defeat and three resignations, I won my first game! I jumped out on top of him with Food Technologies and never let him off the mat. I got lucky that I got a jump on him technologically and then militarily, and he never recovered.
Somehow, I only beat him 185-153. It sure felt like I was crushing him, but I guess not! This is a really good game. Very well balanced and seemingly very deep. This was, of course, against a Training AI. I'm not yet planning turns ahead in this game. I suspect that's the next layer of the onion to peel!
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 11, 2018, 01:25:54 AM
OK, after one defeat and three resignations, I won my first game! I jumped out on top of him with Food Technologies and never let him off the mat. I got lucky that I got a jump on him technologically and then militarily, and he never recovered.
Somehow, I only beat him 185-153. It sure felt like I was crushing him, but I guess not! This is a really good game. Very well balanced and seemingly very deep. This was, of course, against a Training AI. I'm not yet planning turns ahead in this game. I suspect that's the next layer of the onion to peel!
Outstanding! Try with two opponents next. It took me about ten games to "get it." Knowing what cards to select is the biggest challenge, as well as to see what the combo plays work best.
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 11, 2018, 01:25:54 AM
OK, after one defeat and three resignations, I won my first game! ...
Congrats! :clap: I've been sidetracked by Factorio but plan to continue with this one again soon.
Quote from: Geezer on April 11, 2018, 10:04:33 AM
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 11, 2018, 01:25:54 AM
OK, after one defeat and three resignations, I won my first game! ...
Congrats! :clap: I've been sidetracked by Factorio but plan to continue with this one again soon.
*sigh* Factorio. I don't have the attention span to learn factorio thoroughly. I wish I did. I also wish I could devote six hour a day for three months to master Fortnite. Too many games...not enough hours in the day.
Won a game after one false start that I quit about 4 turns in when I realized I should have played the tutorial. ;D
Quote from: Bardolph on April 15, 2018, 01:00:53 AM
Won a game after one false start that I quit about 4 turns in when I realized I should have played the tutorial. ;D
My tutorials were about every youtube video I could find!
I tried to watch one video (one of Quill's I think) before I bought the game to see if I would like it but it was way past my bedtime and my eyes glazed over about a minute in lol.
The AI seemed to make a couple odd decisions in my game, and destroyed several buildings at what seemed odd moments but it was closer at the end than I was expecting. Mid game I had a sizable lead in Culture but ended up winning by maybe 30 points.
Was definitely a brain burner.
Quote from: Bardolph on April 15, 2018, 03:30:42 PM
I tried to watch one video (one of Quill's I think) before I bought the game to see if I would like it but it was way past my bedtime and my eyes glazed over about a minute in lol.
The AI seemed to make a couple odd decisions in my game, and destroyed several buildings at what seemed odd moments but it was closer at the end than I was expecting. Mid game I had a sizable lead in Culture but ended up winning by maybe 30 points.
Was definitely a brain burner.
OK..there are times when getting more population is difficult. You don't have the food, or if you DO get another population point, you may not be able to keep them happy.
So..when you want to upgrade a building, frequently it is completely reasonable to use an action point to delete a one-science building, to build a two-science building..or iron mine, or any number of other buildings. Counter-intuitive, but effective. Addition by subtraction when food is in short supply.
Yeah. Unless you have a leader who gives you a food bonus, the 2-player game is brutally hard if you don 't get Irrigation (to give you L2 farms). I hosed my AI opponent by taking both Irrigation cards off the board and he never really recovered from a population standpoint.
Of course, I had to burn some Civilization points to do that, but since I had already built the pyramids and grabbed Theology early, I had some early-game Civ points to burn. Figuring out how to play offensively in the card game, versus just picking what you need, is clearly a whole different dimension in this game.
I can see why this is rated as the #3 game of all time on Board Game Geek. The mechanics aren't too complicated, but the combinations and permutations call for a really delicate balancing act between all the different resources (food, resources, technology, culture, happiness, civ points, war points, size of your military, etc.).
Played the tutorial and my first couple games against a single easy AI. Ran out of food and had no military and got stomped the first game, had lots of food and big military the second game and won easily.
I have Nations the board game and this seems very similar to that.
Can't really comment on the AI since I don't know what I'm doing yet, but the UI is easy to use and the game seems fun, so for $10 it was a great buy. :bd:
Quote from: RedArgo on April 16, 2018, 12:42:20 PM
Played the tutorial and my first couple games against a single easy AI. Ran out of food and had no military and got stomped the first game, had lots of food and big military the second game and won easily.
I have Nations the board game and this seems very similar to that.
Can't really comment on the AI since I don't know what I'm doing yet, but the UI is easy to use and the game seems fun, so for $10 it was a great buy. :bd:
Against just one opponent, I found that an early, strong military was unbeatable. Winning the first war gives you a nice advantage, winning the second just cripples the only opponent, especially if he has to destroy buildings, or lose resources to you..a nice double benefit.