Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age (2008) Board Game

Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age is a dice-based civilization-building game designed by Matt Leacock and published by Eagle-Gryphon Games in in 2008. The game is set in the Bronze Age, where players take on the roles of ancient civilizations and work to build cities, monuments, and develop their economies through dice rolling and strategic decision-making.

Game Components of Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age

Dice: Seven special dice with symbols representing workers, food, goods, money, and disasters.

Pegboards: Wooden pegboards with pegs to track resources.

Score Sheets: A thick pad of double-sided scoring sheets.

Monument and Development Cards: Cards representing monuments and developments.

Ships: Tokens for ships that allow goods swapping.

Coins and Goods Tokens: Tokens for coins and various goods like wood, stone, pottery, and cloth.

How To Setup Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age

Setup is quick and straightforward. Each player starts with three cities, represented by three dice. Players receive a score sheet and a wooden pegboard to track their resources. The game components are minimal, making setup and cleanup very efficient.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Dice Rolling: Players roll dice to collect workers, food, goods, money, and sometimes disasters.
– Each city requires one food unit per turn; lack of food results in famine, costing points.
– Dice can be rerolled up to two times, but skulls (disasters) are locked and cannot be rerolled.

Resource Management: Collect and manage goods, coins, and workers.
– Goods are collected in a specific order and increase in value as they become rarer.
– Players can trade goods or use ships to swap them.

Building and Development: Use workers to build new cities, monuments, and ships.
– Monuments provide significant points and some have special abilities.
– Developments grant special abilities and are bought using coins and goods.

Disaster Resolution: Resolve disasters based on the number of skulls rolled.
– Disasters penalize points and can affect opponents if enough skulls are rolled.

Game End: The game ends when all seven monuments are built or one player buys seven developments. The player with the most points wins.

Player Experience

**Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age** offers a fun and strategic experience, perfect for those who enjoy medium-weight strategy games. The game is relatively short, lasting about 30-40 minutes, making it ideal for family game nights or casual gatherings. The game’s design encourages players to balance resource collection, city growth, and monument construction while managing the risks of disasters.

Pros

Quick Gameplay: Games last about 30-40 minutes.

Easily Transportable: The game has a small footprint and is easy to carry.

Fun Strategy: Offers a good balance of luck and strategy.

High-Quality Components: Wooden pegboards and dice add a premium feel.

Family-Friendly: Simple enough for kids to learn but engaging for adults.

Cons

Luck Factor: Dice rolls introduce a significant element of luck, which may not appeal to everyone.

Limited Complexity: Some players might find the game too simple or light.

Need for Expansion: The base game can feel a bit bare without the expansion, which adds more depth.

Personal Thoughts on Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age

**Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age** is an excellent choice for those looking for a light to medium-weight strategy game that combines dice rolling with resource management. It’s perfect for families, casual gamers, and anyone who enjoys quick yet meaningful gameplay sessions. While it may not appeal to players who dislike luck-based games, the developments and strategies available help mitigate the randomness, making it a solid addition to any board game collection.

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