The Flow of History

The Flow of History has some of Innovation’s odd energy, but none of its tendency to talk your ear off. It is a card-driven civilisation game that keeps the historical sweep in a more manageable box: roughly half a Through the Ages, with enough room left for the feeling that you are building a society.

Its cards sit inside an economy that treats money as something more than a victory-point counter in a cheap hat. Cash moves around, but actual wealth does not increase without production; it is a small rule with useful consequences, and it makes growth feel earned.

At the table, though, you are unlikely to pursue one immaculate plan from beginning to end. You watch the cards, watch the other players, and adjust more often than you execute a grand strategy — very Innovation, in that respect, but with virtually no downtime.

I like it better as a clever, slightly strange civilisation snack than as a game that makes me eager to return again and again. As a civ snack, it delivers what it promises without holding the table hostage.

Updated session

Later plays confirmed the original reservation rather than removing it. The game still produced good moments and remained quick, but it did not excite me any more; its reactive nature still leaves me wondering whether I would play it more than five times in my life.