Antiquity

2004

Immerse yourself in Antiquity, a strategic board game set in the Middle Ages. Choose your victory path, build advanced cities, and outpace rivals before the land is depleted!

180
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

14+

Heavy

About the game

Antiquity is a deeply strategic and challenging board game that will transport you back to the Middle Ages. It’s a game that combines city-building, resource management, and survival elements in a beautifully crafted historical setting.

The game takes place during the period of Antiquity in an unnamed country resembling medieval Italy. You, as a player, are tasked with building your own city, expanding your borders, managing resources, and implementing strategic techniques to ensure the survival and prosperity of your civilization. The game is beautifully illustrated with detailed maps, buildings, and resources, enhancing the immersive experience.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Antiquity is a strategy board game filled with diverse components, each with its unique role and impact on gameplay. Here is a detailed review of each component:

1. Game Board: This is the main playing area where all the actions take place. The board is divided into different regions represented by distinct terrains such as mountains, forests, and fields. These terrains influence the resources available to players.

2. Player Boards: Each player has an individual board that represents their city. It is used to construct buildings, which provide various benefits like additional actions or resources.

3. Resource Tokens: These tokens represent the six different resources in the game: grain, wood, stone, fish, grapes, and pollution. Players collect these resources from the game board and use them to build buildings on their player board or fulfil other game requirements.

4. Building Tiles: There are over 30 different types of buildings that players can construct on their player board. Each building provides a different benefit or ability, influencing the strategy players might adopt.

5. Storage Bins: These components are used to store the resources collected by players. It helps keep the game organized and allows players to easily see their resource collection.

6. Population Markers: These markers are used to track the growth of a player’s population within their city. A higher population allows for more actions but also increases the risk and impact of disasters.

7. Disaster Markers: These tokens represent the various disasters that can occur during the game, such as famine or floods. Disasters can damage buildings, kill population, or pollute the land, impacting how players manage their cities.

8. Saint Cards: Players choose a patron saint at the start of the game, and this card provides a unique ability or benefit to that player throughout the game. The saint chosen can significantly influence a player’s strategy.

9. Player Aids: These aids provide an overview of the game rules, available actions, building benefits, and other key information. They are useful references during gameplay.

The game components interact in various ways, creating a complex and engaging game environment. For example, the resources collected from the game board are used on the player board to construct buildings. The buildings then provide benefits that can influence the player’s actions on the game board, their population growth, or their resilience to disasters. The choice of patron saint also adds another layer of strategic considerations, offering unique abilities that can be leveraged throughout the game.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Antiquity is a complex board game where players take on the roles of leaders trying to build their civilization in a medieval setting. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Player Roles

Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding pieces. The pieces include houses, farms, and granaries. The game does not assign specific roles to players, but rather players are free to strategize and decide their own roles as they play.

Step 2: Board Placement

Set up the main board in the center of the table. Depending on the number of players, attach the additional board sections to the main board to create a larger play area. The game plays best with a larger board for more players.

Step 3: Initial Resources

Each player starts with five houses, three granaries, and two farms. Place these on your player board in their designated areas. In addition, each player starts with a set amount of resources: three wood, three stone, and two food. These are represented by tokens which are placed in your storage area.

Step 4: Setting up the Resource Piles

Separate the resource tokens (wood, stone, food, etc.) into separate piles and place them within reach of all players. These piles form the general supply.

Step 5: Random Elements

Shuffle the Famine tiles and place them in a pile face down. Draw the top tile to determine the initial famine level. This adds a random element to the game as players do not know in advance which levels of famine will occur.

Step 6: Player Cities

Players place their initial city on the board. The first city must be placed on a grassland space. Later in the game, cities can be built on other terrain types.

Step 7: Starting Player

Determine the starting player randomly. Give them the starting player marker. The starting player will take the first turn, and play proceeds clockwise around the table.

After these steps, you are ready to start playing the game. Enjoy!

Game flow Round and round we go

Antiquity is a highly strategic board game that consists of several phases within each game round. The game is typically played over an unspecified number of rounds until a player meets one of the victory conditions.

Phase 1: City Phase

In the City Phase, players perform various activities related to their city. This is divided into several sub-phases:

Building: Players use resources to build various buildings in their city. The type of buildings they can construct depends on the resources they have.
Population Growth: Each city’s population grows by one.
Storage: Players must store their resources for the next round. Any resources that cannot be stored are lost.

Phase 2: Countryside Phase

In the Countryside Phase, players expand their territories and gather resources. Again, this phase is split into several sub-phases:

Expansion: Players can expand their territories by placing new land tiles adjacent to their existing territories.
Harvesting: Players gather resources from the lands in their territories. The type and amount of resources they can gather depend on the land types they own.

Phase 3: Action Phase

The Action Phase is where players can perform various activities to increase their power, develop their cities, and hinder their opponents. This phase includes:

Trading: Players can trade resources with each other. The terms of the trades are agreed upon by the trading players.
Building: Similar to the Building sub-phase in the City Phase, players can build structures in their territories. However, in this phase, they are restricted to building non-city structures such as farms and mines.
Combat: If a player’s territory is adjacent to an opponent’s territory, they can initiate combat to try to take over the opponent’s territory.

Phase 4: Cleanup Phase

The final phase, the Cleanup Phase, is where players prepare for the next round. This phase comprises:

Discard: Players must discard any excess resources that they cannot store.
Reset: All used tokens and markers are reset, and the players’ actions are refreshed for the next round.

Each game of Antiquity continues in this way, round after round, until a player meets one of the game’s victory conditions.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Antiquity is a complex strategy game where players manage resources to grow their civilizations. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what can happen during a player’s turn:

1. Performing Actions

During a player’s turn, they can perform a series of actions. These can include:

Harvest: Draw resources from the areas surrounding your city. The kind of resources you can gather depends on the type of terrain in the area.
Build: Use resources to build structures in your city. The structures you can build depend on your current technology level.
Expand: Start a new city on the map or expand the territory of an existing city. Expansion requires food and wood resources.
Trade: Exchange resources with other players. This can be done at any time during your turn.

2. Strategic Choices

Each action a player takes has strategic implications:

Harvesting: Harvesting resources allows you to build and expand, but it also changes the landscape. Forests become fields, fields become plains, and so on. This can affect what resources you’ll be able to gather in future turns.
Building: Building structures can give you access to new technologies and increase your city’s population capacity. However, it also uses up valuable resources and can attract pollution.
Expanding: Expanding your territory gives you access to more resources and allows you to build more cities. But it also spreads your resources thin and can lead to conflicts with other players.
Trading: Trading can help you get the resources you need, but you also risk giving other players resources they can use against you.

3. How Actions Affect Gameplay

The actions players take can dramatically affect the gameplay:

Resource Scarcity: As players harvest resources, the landscape changes and resources can become scarce. This can lead to competition and conflict between players.
Technology Advancement: As players build structures, they can gain access to new technologies. These technologies can give players an advantage over their opponents.
City Expansion: The more a player expands their city, the more resources they can access, but also the more vulnerable they become to attacks from other players.
Trade Dynamics: Trading can create alliances and rivalries between players, adding a layer of social dynamics to the gameplay.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Antiquity’ ends when a player fulfills one of the victory conditions. There are four victory conditions in Antiquity that are linked to the patron saint a player chooses: St. Christopher, St. Anthony, St. George, and St. Nicholas.

St. Christopher:

A player wins the game if they manage to explore the entire map. The player must have a granary in every city, and they must have removed all fog tokens from the map.

St. Anthony:

A player wins the game if they manage to build a cathedral in every city. The player must have a cathedral in every city, and the cathedral must have been built by the player themselves, not inherited from another player.

St. George:

A player wins the game if they manage to kill all the monsters on the map. The player must have a soldier in every city, and they must have removed all monster tokens from the map.

St. Nicholas:

A player wins the game if they manage to fill their storage with a specific combination of goods. The player must have a warehouse in every city, and they must have filled their storage with a specific combination of goods as described in the game rules.

Before the final scoring, all players must ensure that they have taken all necessary actions to fulfill their victory conditions. This includes building the necessary buildings, removing the necessary tokens, and collecting the necessary goods. It’s also important to note that players cannot change their patron saint once they have chosen one at the start of the game.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the board game ‘Antiquity’, the scoring system is designed around the player’s ability to efficiently manage resources, build cities, and navigate the game’s complex civilization-building mechanics. Unlike other games, there is no traditional point-based scoring system, but rather, victory is achieved by completing the objectives associated with the patron saint chosen by each player.

Victory Conditions:

Each patron saint provides a specific victory condition that a player must achieve. These can range from constructing a certain number of a specific type of building, to attaining a particular resource in excess.

Scoring:

There is no point scoring in the traditional sense. Instead, players strive to meet their individual victory conditions. This can make the game more strategic, as players must balance their resources and strategies against the victory conditions of their chosen patron saint.

Tie-Breaking:

In the event of a tie, the game employs a tie-breaking system. If two or more players achieve their victory conditions in the same round, the game continues until only one player fulfills their victory condition at the end of a round. If multiple players achieve their victory conditions in the same final round, the player with the least number of Famine tokens wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most excess resources wins. If a tie persists, the game is declared a draw.

Victory Condition: Achieved by fulfilling the objectives of the player’s chosen patron saint.
Scoring: There is no traditional point scoring. Players aim to meet their specific victory conditions.
Tie Breaking: In case of a tie, the game continues until only one player achieves their victory condition. If a tie persists, the player with the least Famine tokens or the most excess resources wins. If the tie still persists, the game is declared a draw.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Antiquity is a renowned strategy board game with a multitude of rules and exceptions that can make it quite challenging to play. Here are some of the special rules, exceptions, and rule clarifications that are important to know when playing this game:

Exploring

When exploring, the player may decide which direction the newly discovered land will be placed. However, it is important to note that the new land must always be placed adjacent to the land from which the exploration started. This rule often surprises new players.

City Expansion

Whenever a city expands, the player chooses where the additional city spaces are placed, as long as they are adjacent to an existing city space and don’t overlap with another city or a water space. It’s also key to remember that only one city can be expanded per turn.

Production

Players often get confused about the production phase. To clarify, players can only produce goods from their city if they have the corresponding production building in that city. Furthermore, a player can only produce as many goods as they have storage spaces. Any additional goods must be immediately discarded.

Building and Storage Limitations

Players can build as many buildings as they want in a turn, as long as they have the necessary resources and city spaces. However, each city can only contain one of each type of building. Also, each storage space can only hold one type of good at a time and cannot be emptied until the end of the player’s turn.

Famine

Famine is a critical part of the game that often catches players off-guard. In each turn, the player must feed their population. If they cannot, they must mark one of their city spaces with a grave. If a city becomes full of graves, the city is destroyed and removed from the game. This is a crucial rule to remember as it can drastically change the course of the game.

Saints

The game of Antiquity also features a unique concept of ‘Saints’. Each player chooses a patron saint at the start of the game, which dictates the special abilities and victory conditions for that player. This saint cannot be changed once the game begins.

Victory Conditions

Lastly, the victory conditions in Antiquity can be slightly confusing. Players do not win by accumulating points or reaching a certain goal first. Instead, they win by fulfilling the victory condition of their chosen patron saint, which can vary greatly between saints. It’s important for players to fully understand their saint’s victory condition before the game begins.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies:

Efficient City Planning: Consider city layout carefully. Plan in such a way that you’re able to produce goods efficiently. Don’t be afraid to specialize cities in certain resources and use carters to distribute those resources.
Adapt Strategy According to Saint: The saint you choose will determine your strategy for the game. Choose a saint that matches your preferred playstyle and plan your strategy accordingly.
Manage Pollution: Pollution can seriously impact your game if not managed properly. Use wood to build parks and clean up pollution when possible.

Beginner Tips:

Learn the Basics: Before starting to play, familiarize yourself with the basics of the game like how to build, how to produce, and how to clean up pollution.
Use Resources Wisely: Resources are limited. Use them wisely and try to produce goods in a sustainable manner.
Plan for the Future: Always plan for the future. Build cities in such a way that you can expand them later.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Pollution: Ignoring pollution can lead to serious problems. It can limit your city’s growth and production. Always keep an eye on pollution levels and clean up when necessary.
Not Planning Ahead: Antiquity is a game that rewards long-term planning. Failing to plan ahead can leave you without necessary resources and room to grow.
Overlooking Resource Management: Mismanaging resources can lead to inefficiencies and shortages. Always keep track of your resources and use them wisely.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Make Use of All Actions: Each turn, you get three actions. Make sure you are making the most of them. Even if you can’t do something big, doing something small like cleaning up pollution can be beneficial in the long run.
Plan City Layouts: The layout of your city can greatly affect your gameplay. Optimize it to maximize production and minimize pollution.
Choose the Right Saint: The saint you choose will set the tone for your game. Choose one that matches your strategy and play style.