Patchistory

I still cannot say that I have a fully formed opinion of Patchistory. On our first attempt we rushed it and, as it turned out, played it completely wrong. On the second, we followed the rules correctly, but did not have enough time to finish the game and stopped after only two eras. This fresh Spielworxx release therefore needs one more full chance.

The game unfolds through eras, with the development of a civilization built around tiles and how they score. Since we never reached the third era, we saw only part of the game’s curve; and that matters, because very powerful tiles appear there and can shift the balance.

In the two eras we played, it felt as though wonders pay off more than culture, and culture more than a war-focused approach. That currently makes the scoring seem not especially balanced, but I do not want to judge it conclusively without seeing how player choices and the powerful third-era tiles redistribute that strength.

I will return to it once we have played it properly, with enough time and all the way through. Even so, Patchistory already earns a firm spot among the good CIV games for four players — but before we start arguing about whether wonders really are the obvious route, let us finally reach the third era.