Overview
You and your opponents each have a time machine, able to go back and forth throughout history to visit events, people, and locations across the millenia. You have three days (rounds), with a unique itinerary for each, and will earn points along the way through varied means (see below). If you have the most points at the end of the game, you win!
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| game in progress; image from here |
On your turn, you will select an available card (one of six or a wildcard) and gain the benefits on the card itself and the slot it is in (tokens of different colors and/or time crystals). Take the card, take the tokens, and place the former in your chronology and the latter on your itinerary. Advance your turn token (a clock on a wheel with 12 hours) forward by the cost on the card and shift/draw the remaining cards to fill the slots.
- Your chronology: each card has a year on it, and your chronology must be in time order, with each card chosen occurring after the one prior. You can break your chronology to start a new one (and you will have to, several times, during the game), but you get more points if your 'chronology stack' of cards is larger. If you break a chronology, set that stack aside and start a new one; the stacks are scored at game's end.
- Your itinerary: Each round, you get a unique itinerary that lays out points for collecting tokens of certain color(s). Some itineraries want you to 'go wide' and get many colors; others reward you for focusing on one or two.
- Card cost: You have only twelve hours per day. Cards can vary in cost from 1–5 hours. You can reduce a card cost by spending one or more time crystals (but the cost is always at least 1 hour). When you pay for a card, advance your turn token on the wheel. Then the player with the token next on the wheel takes their turn. Through clever planning and frugal spending, it is possible for a player to take several turns in a row, and the turn order is always changing based on the costs people pay.
Finally, you can earn points by ending your day exactly on 12 o'clock (exceeding it is fine but with no bonus). Once every player has concluded day one, new itineraries are drawn for each, a new deck of cards is selected for the board, and the next round begins. Repeat this for day three, and the highest points at the end is the victor.
Review
This is a solid game. I like the varying turn order concept based on card cost; that was interesting. The unique itineraries were cool, too. The multiple ways to earn points made it feel like 'point salad,' and strategy was difficult to discern. There is a sizable luck component with the cards available on your turn dictating your options. The official website (linked in the introduction) says it was "designed with both families and gamers in mind," and I see that—it is accessible and mildly strategic. I like it, and wouldn't turn down a game, but probably won't own it.
Rating: B+
Aside: this game is from the same company who did Trekking the World. I re-read my review of that after posting this, and had the same rating and conclusion. Solid 'point salad' games for a light experience.
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