Stone Age

2008

Experience the challenges of the prehistoric era in Stone Age. Collect resources, trade, expand your village, and outsmart your opponents to ensure your tribe's survival.

90
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

10+

Medium

About the game

Embark on a prehistoric journey with the board game Stone Age. This immersive game transports you back to the dawn of civilization, where players must harness their strategic skills to survive and thrive in the challenging environment of the early human world.

Set in an era where life was fundamentally different, Stone Age offers a thematic experience that combines luck, strategy, and resource management. The game board beautifully illustrates a primitive landscape, featuring a lush forest, a sturdy clay pit, a stone quarry, a river teeming with fish, and a fruitful hunting ground.

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

Stone Age is a complex and engaging board game with a historical theme. The game takes you back to the dawn of civilization, where players take on the roles of tribal leaders and strive to secure resources, build buildings, and advance their culture. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Prepare the Game Board

To start, place the game board in the center of the table. The board represents the Stone Age landscape with its different regions: forest, clay mound, quarry, river, and hunting grounds.

Step 2: Set up the Resource Tokens

In the areas designated for resources, place the wooden pieces representing wood, brick, stone, and gold. These represent the resources players will collect throughout the game.

Step 3: Card Preparation

Civilization cards: Shuffle the civilization cards and place them face down beside the game board. Draw six cards and place them face up in the spaces provided on the game board.

Building tiles: Mix the building tiles face down and stack them in several piles next to the game board. Turn the top four tiles face up and place them in the four spaces provided on the game board.

Step 4: Prepare the Dice and Tools

Place the dice and the tool tiles next to the game board within easy reach of all players.

Step 5: Set up Player Materials

Each player chooses a color and receives a player board, five tribe members in their chosen color, 12 markers (three per track), and one tool tile. Each player places their tribe members in their village and their markers on the first space of each of the four tracks (food, tools, agriculture, and points) on their player board. The tool tile is placed in the tool area of the player board.

Step 6: Random Elements and Initial Resources

To introduce an element of randomness and ensure each game is unique, the civilization cards and building tiles are shuffled and placed face down. This means each game will have different cards and buildings available for purchase.

Each player begins with 12 food tokens, which will be used to feed their tribe members. The player who goes first is determined randomly.

Now, you are ready to start playing Stone Age! Remember, the goal of the game is to gather resources, expand your tribe, and build your civilization to score the most victory points.

Game flow Round and round we go

Stone Age is a complex, strategy-driven board game that revolves around the life and survival of people during the Stone Age period. The game is played in rounds, with each round consisting of three distinct phases: the Placement Phase, the Resolution Phase, and the Feeding Phase. Each player performs a series of actions during each phase, which are explained in detail below:

Placement Phase: The Placement Phase is the first phase of each round. During this phase, players take turns placing their people (represented by game pieces) on the game board. The game board is divided into various areas, each representing a different action that the player can take. Some of these actions include gathering resources, building tools, increasing the size of their tribe, or collecting civilization cards. Each player decides what actions they want to take and places their people accordingly.

Gathering Resources: Players can place their people in the forest to gather wood, in the clay mound to gather clay, in the quarry to gather stone, or in the river to fish.
Building Tools: Players can place their people in the tool maker space to create tools, which can later be used to enhance their resource gathering abilities.
Increasing Tribe Size: Players can place their people in the hut to increase the size of their tribe, allowing them to place more people during future rounds.
Collecting Civilization Cards: Players can place their people in the card spaces to collect civilization cards, which provide various benefits and can contribute to their final score.

Resolution Phase: The Resolution Phase is the second phase of each round. During this phase, players resolve the actions of their people in the order of their choosing. For example, if a player placed their people in the forest to gather wood, they would now roll dice to determine how much wood they gather. Tools can be used during this phase to enhance the results of these dice rolls.

Feeding Phase: The Feeding Phase is the final phase of each round. During this phase, players must feed their people. Each person requires one food, and if a player cannot provide enough food for all of their people, they lose points. This phase emphasizes the importance of resource management and careful planning.

The game continues in this cycle until certain conditions are met, usually when there are not enough civilization cards or buildings left. At this point, the game ends and the player with the most points, accumulated through various actions and achievements, is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In ‘Stone Age’, each player’s turn consists of three main phases: the ‘Placement Phase’, the ‘Resolve Actions Phase’, and the ‘Feeding Phase’. Each phase has different actions that shape the strategy and gameplay.

Placement Phase:

During the placement phase, players place their people (represented by game pieces) on various spaces on the board. Each space offers a different action that can be performed during the Resolve Actions Phase. The choices include:

Work in the Forest, Clay Mound, Quarry, or River: This allows the player to gather resources such as wood, brick, stone, or gold.
Go to the Hunting Grounds: Here, players can gather food to feed their people.
Visit the Hut: Players can increase their population, thus gaining more people to perform actions.
Build Buildings: Buildings provide players with different benefits, such as increasing resource production or scoring points.
Work on a Civilisation Card: These cards offer a variety of benefits and can greatly influence a player’s strategy.

Resolve Actions Phase:

Once all players have placed their people, the Resolve Actions Phase begins. Players resolve the actions of their placed people in the order they choose. The resources or benefits gained during this phase will impact the player’s ability to feed their people, build buildings, and score points.

Feeding Phase:

In the Feeding Phase, players must feed their people. Each person requires one food, and if a player cannot feed all of their people, they lose 10 points per unfed person. Therefore, keeping a steady supply of food is crucial for success.

The strategic choices made during each turn can greatly impact a player’s success in ‘Stone Age’. For example, focusing on increasing population early can provide more actions in later turns, while gathering resources and building buildings can provide points and ongoing benefits. Additionally, the Civilisation Cards offer a range of strategies, from boosting resource production to providing direct points. The dynamic nature of these choices makes each game of ‘Stone Age’ a unique and engaging experience.

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

The game of ‘Stone Age’ ends when one of two conditions are met: either the building stack is exhausted, or when there are less than a certain number of cards left in the deck, depending on the number of players.

Game Ending Triggers:

When the stack of building tiles is exhausted: This happens when all the building tiles from the stack have been taken by the players. The round continues until all players have had an equal number of turns, then the game ends.
When there are fewer cards left in the deck than the number of players: For example, in a four-player game, the game ends when there are fewer than four cards left in the deck. Again, the round continues until all players have had an equal number of turns.

Once the game ends, the final scoring takes place. Players must take several actions before the final scoring:

Actions Required Before Scoring:

Count Remaining Resources: Each player counts the number of resources they have left. Every three resources count as one point.
Count Food Production: Each player counts the number of food points they produce each round. Every point of food production counts as one point.
Count Civilisation Card Points: Each player adds up the points from their civilisation cards. The points are indicated on the cards themselves.
Count Building Points: Each player adds up the points from their building tiles. The points are indicated on the tiles.

After these steps, the player with the highest total score is the winner. If there is a tie, the player with the most leftover resources wins. If there is still a tie, the player who triggered the end of the game wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

The game of Stone Age has a comprehensive scoring system that is calculated at the end of the game. This scoring encompasses a variety of elements, each adding to a player’s final score.

Civilization Cards:

Each Civilization Card a player holds carries a certain amount of points, which are added to the player’s final score. Some cards have a fixed points value, while others may depend on certain conditions.

Building Tiles:

Building Tiles also add to a player’s final score. The number of points each tile is worth is clearly marked on the tile itself.

Resources:

Resources have varying point values. Gold is worth 6 points, Stone is worth 4 points, Clay is worth 2 points, and Wood is worth 1 point. Resources are not used up when determining points – total resource stock is counted at the end of the game.

Food:

Any leftover Food at the end of the game is worth 1 point per unit.

People:

Each Person in a player’s tribe is worth 1 point.

Tools:

Each unused Tool at the end of the game is worth 1 point.

In the event of a tie, the player with the most Food left at the end of the game is the winner. If there is still a tie, then the player with the most resources (counted by individual units, not point value) is the winner. If there is still a tie after this, then the player with the most people in their tribe is the winner. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The board game ‘Stone Age’ is fairly simple to play, but there are certain exceptions and special rules that players should be aware of. These can significantly affect gameplay or strategy.

1. Starving your People:

While feeding your people is a crucial part of the game, a player can strategically decide to ‘starve’ their people. However, each un-fed worker will cost the player 10 points at the end of the game. This can be a risky strategy, as these points can add up quickly and significantly impact your final score.

2. Tool Use:

Tools are a key component of the game and can be used to modify the result of a dice roll. However, it’s important to note that each tool can only be used once per round. The tool’s value is not consumed and will be available again in the next round.

3. Civilization Cards:

When a player purchases a civilization card, they can place it in one of two areas: the ‘Square’ area or the ‘Round’ area. The square area cards are scored immediately, while the round area cards are only scored at the end of the game. This is an important distinction to remember, as it can significantly affect a player’s strategy.

4. Building Huts:

Building huts is a key way to score points in Stone Age. However, it is important to remember that a player needs two workers to build a hut, and these workers cannot be used for any other action that round.

5. End of the Game:

The game ends when either the hut stack or the civilization card stack is depleted. This can happen quicker than some players might expect, so it is important to keep an eye on these stacks and plan accordingly.

Rule Clarifications:

When rolling the dice for resources, a player must choose the type of resource before the roll is made.
If using a tool to modify a dice roll, the tool must be used before the roll is made.
Players cannot have more than 10 resources of the same type at the end of a turn.
If a player cannot feed their people, they lose 10 points per unfed worker, not per missing food.