Info about Through the Ages:

Official game description:
The official adaptation of Vlaada Chvátil’s strategy classic, the third best board game ever according to Board Game Geek website.  
“If you are looking for civ game, this is the game! This is one of the best games of all time.” – Tom Vasel from Dice Tower  
“Through the Ages is simply phenomenal.” – Drew Massey from GFB Robot  
This is your chance to make history: You begin with a small tribe. As you expand your farms and mines, you lay the groundwork for technological advancements, better governments, and grand wonders. Your military might supports your political skill as you guide your civilization to greatness.  
**OVERVIEW:**  
● One of the greatest board games of all time.  
● Hundreds of cards to build a mighty civilization.  
● Explore the many paths to victory.  
● Manage your resources carefully.  
**FEATURES:**  
● Learn the game rules with a funny and engaging tutorial.  
● Compete with your friends online.  
● Defeat clever computer opponents of various skill levels.  
● Play with the original board game rules or a streamlined digital version.  
● Enjoy single-player Challenges requiring different strategies.  
Czech Games Edition has produced over 20 board games and expansions, including many award-winning titles for enthusiastic players. Alchemists, Dungeon Lords, Tzolk'in to name just a few. We expanded into the realm of digital board games with Galaxy Trucker and now with the Through the Ages adaptation.

Release date: Mar 26, 2018

Categories: Strategy, Turn-based Strategy, Card-based Gameplay, Resource Management, Civilization Simulation, Single-player, Multiplayer, Historical Strategy

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The Steam Deck experience is marred by significant compatibility and stability issues. Users report frequent crashes and difficulties running the game with different versions of Proton, which necessitates additional tinkering and negatively impacts the overall experience.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- High replayability and variety (weight 0.95): The game offers immense replay value with various strategies, card combinations, and game modes. Each game feels different and requires a unique approach, ensuring that players have a fresh experience every time.
- Strong and fair AI (weight 0.88): The AI in the game is well-programmed, challenging, and does not cheat. It offers a competent and enjoyable experience for solo play, with varying difficulty levels that cater to both beginners and experienced players.
- Smooth and intuitive UI (weight 0.88): The user interface is clean, intuitive, and well-designed, making it easy for players to navigate and enjoy the game. It includes helpful visual cues, tooltips, and a resource overview that enhances the gaming experience.
- Excellent tutorial and onboarding (weight 0.88): The game features one of the best tutorials, which is clear, humorous, and easily understandable. It prepares players well for countless hours of strategy and is praised for its conversational and detailed explanations.
- High-quality digital adaptation (weight 0.88): The digital version of the game is highly praised for its faithful adaptation of the board game. It includes automated bookkeeping, rule enforcement, and a user-friendly interface that makes it more convenient and less fiddly than the physical version.
- Enjoyable multiplayer experience (weight 0.87): The game shines in multiplayer mode, offering both live and asynchronous play options. It supports cross-platform functionality and has a robust online multiplayer mode that works flawlessly.
- Challenging and balanced gameplay (weight 0.86): The game is known for its challenging and balanced gameplay, with a variety of difficulty levels and well-thought-out mechanics. It offers a fair and challenging experience for both solo and multiplayer modes.
- Beautiful and immersive visuals (weight 0.83): The game is praised for its beautiful and immersive visual presentation, including historically accurate artwork, beautiful graphics, and immersive sound effects that enhance the overall gaming experience.
- Convenient and time-saving features (weight 0.78): The digital version of the game offers convenient features like automated calculations, quick gameplay options, and the ability to undo actions within a turn. These features save time and make the game less tedious compared to the physical version.
- Detailed statistics and tracking (weight 0.7): The game provides detailed end-game statistics and game tracking, which offer feedback and insights into the player's performance. This feature is appreciated by players who enjoy analyzing their gameplay.
- Historically accurate and thematic (weight 0.15): The game features historically accurate artwork and thematic elements that add color and depth to the gameplay. This includes historically accurate leaders and a variety of unique leaders and wonders.
- Cross-platform and multiplayer options (weight 0.08): The game supports cross-platform functionality, allowing players to enjoy the game on different devices. It also offers various multiplayer options, including asynchronous play, which enhances the gaming experience.
- Civilization-like experience (weight 0.05): The game is often compared to Civilization, offering a streamlined civilization-building experience in a shorter time frame. It is considered a must-have for Civilization lovers and provides a unique gameplay experience different from other strategy games.

Common complaints:
- Bugs and technical issues (weight 0.29): Players report various bugs and technical issues, including crashes, unstable multiplayer, and problems with online play. These issues significantly impact the gameplay experience.
- Game complexity and learning curve (weight 0.29): The game is noted for its steep learning curve and complexity, which can be daunting for new players. The sheer amount of information to track and the difficult interface contribute to this complexity.
- Multiplayer and online issues (weight 0.26): Multiplayer and online modes have several problems, including long turn times, difficulty finding friends to play with, and clunky interfaces for inviting friends. These issues make online play less enjoyable.
- Sound and notification issues (weight 0.02): There are issues with sound and notifications, including no sound or notification about the start of the game. This can lead to confusion and a less immersive experience.
- Confusing mechanics (weight 0.02): Certain mechanics in the game, such as the idle workers mechanic, are found to be confusing. This can add to the overall complexity and difficulty of the game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Complex and strategic gameplay (weight 0.53): The game offers a complex and strategic experience with various mechanics such as turn-based strategy, card-based mechanics, and resource management. Players can enjoy different modes like solo play with AI, multiplayer, and asynchronous gameplay.
- Resource and population management (weight 0.1): Core gameplay involves managing resources like food, ore, and science, as well as balancing population and military units. Players need to anticipate and manage these elements to succeed.
- Card-driven mechanics (weight 0.09): The game features card-driven gameplay with different cards for military, events, and technologies. Players use cards divided into ages and rows to drive their civilization's progress.
- Leader and government choices (weight 0.07): Players can make strategic and meaningful choices regarding leaders and governments. The game features unique cards representing historical figures and structures.
- Historical and cultural elements (weight 0.06): The game includes historically accurate figures and buildings, as well as cultural points that determine the victor. Players need to balance building engines and generating culture.
- Steep learning curve (weight 0.05): The game has a steep learning curve, which may be challenging for beginners. However, new players can understand the game's depth over time.
- Digital rules and expansions (weight 0.04): The game includes digital tweaks to rules for asynchronous play and offers expansions that have been beta-tested digitally.
- Potential gameplay imbalances (weight 0.03): Some mechanics, particularly warfare, can lead to imbalanced gameplay, potentially punishing the weakest player and creating unfair situations.
- Game duration (weight 0.02): A full game can be completed in about 1-2 hours, making it a relatively quick but deep strategic experience.

Performance notes:
- Performance and Stability Issues (weight 0.15): The game has mixed reviews regarding its performance. While some players report stable and smooth gameplay, others experience performance issues, bugs, and occasional crashes. Specific issues include glitches under Linux, touchscreen bugs, and unstable multiplayer. Some players mention that reinstalling did not fix the problems, but others report smooth performance with SteamPlay/Proton in Version 4.
- Online Game Mode Issues (weight 0.15): The online game mode has been criticized for very long turn times and server connection issues. Some players also report buggy online play and unstable multiplayer.
- Graphics and UI Improvements (weight 0.03): Players appreciate the better graphics on PC and the well-done port with a good UI. Some players had mouse issues that were fixed by changing the screen resolution.
- Tutorial and Gameplay Experience (weight 0.03): The game includes a detailed tutorial for new players, which is appreciated. Players have reported minor bugs, with one player encountering a bug during 75 hours of gameplay. Another player reported the app stopped working after 107 hours of gameplay.
- Progress Saving and Minor Lag (weight 0.02): Players appreciate that the game saves progress in AI games. However, there are reports of minor lag during AI turns.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for strategy and board game fans (weight 0.24): The game is highly recommended for fans of strategy games, board games, and complex gameplay mechanics. It is particularly suited for those who enjoy in-depth gameplay and are willing to invest time to learn the mechanics.
- Ideal for Civilization lovers (weight 0.04): This game is a must-have for those who love Civilization-type board games. It offers a more refined 4X experience, making it a great choice for fans of the genre.
- Seamless cross-platform play (weight 0.02): The game supports seamless cross-platform play, allowing users to enjoy the game across different devices without any issues.
- For those who enjoy strategic depth (weight 0.01): This game is perfect for players who enjoy games with strategic depth. It offers a rich and complex gameplay experience that strategy enthusiasts will appreciate.
- For players who don't mind learning the hard way (weight 0.01): The game is suitable for players who are willing to learn through trial and error. It may have a steep learning curve, but it is rewarding for those who persist.
- Suggests adding a cloud save feature (weight 0.01): Players have suggested the addition of a cloud save feature to enhance the gaming experience. This would allow for greater flexibility and convenience in saving and accessing game progress.
- Instant buy recommendation (weight 0.01): Some players recommend this game as an instant buy, indicating a high level of satisfaction and enthusiasm for the game.

Other player notes:
- Gift purchases mentioned (weight 0.01): Some players mentioned that the game was bought as a gift. This indicates that the game may have appeal as a gift option.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.17): Players experience frustration due to a variety of technical and gameplay issues. Performance problems, bugs, and server issues disrupt the gaming experience, while the steep learning curve and lack of beginner adaptations make it difficult for new players. Additionally, game balance issues, particularly with different player counts and the overpowered character, further contribute to the frustration.
- Excitement (weight 0.12): Players are excited about the game's strategic depth and variety of challenges. The game offers countless hours of strategy and is praised for its well-implemented mechanics. It is considered one of the best board game adaptations, providing a seamless and balanced experience that appeals to fans of Civilization-type games.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.11): Players are satisfied with the game's high-quality adaptation from the board game to the digital format. The game offers engaging solo challenge modes, solid AI, and enjoyable multiplayer options. The detailed gameplay mechanics, variety of strategies, and efficient bookkeeping contribute to a satisfying experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.09): Players appreciate the game's well-designed tutorial and high-quality digital adaptation. The game's visual presentation, UI, and competent AI are highly praised. Additionally, the ongoing updates and support from the developers are appreciated, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- Excited (weight 0.08): Players are excited about the improved and faster gameplay experience. The game's addictive and engaging gameplay, along with its complex and interesting rules, contribute to the excitement. The best tutorial experienced and enjoyable card combinations and strategies add to the overall enthusiasm.
- Frustrated (weight 0.07): Players are frustrated with usability issues, interface problems, and occasional crashes. The initial learning curve and long tutorial add to the frustration. Difficulty with gameplay mechanics and pace, as well as login requirements, further contribute to the negative experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.06): Players admire the game's well-crafted digital implementation and excellent user experience. The genius design, competent AI, and masterfully balanced gameplay are highly praised. The smooth transition from board game to digital, along with the perfect tutorial and cross-platform gaming, contribute to the admiration.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Players experience joy from the fun and immersive multiplayer experience. The game is highly recommended for its beautiful graphics and sound effects. The overall pleasure of playing the game, which is considered more fun than the board game version, contributes to the joy.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the complex and engaging gameplay. The digital version works well, and the tutorial is enjoyable. The fun and well-implemented challenges contribute to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.04): Players are enthusiastic about the game's varied strategies and asynchronous multiplayer options. The high replayability and multiple development paths contribute to the enthusiasm. The game is highly recommended for its features and challenging AI.
- Disappointment (weight 0.03): Players are disappointed due to technical issues such as the game no longer running after an update and buggy online play. The game did not meet expectations and failed to offer the same level of thrill as other similar games, leading to disappointment.
- Enthusiastic (weight 0.03): Players are enthusiastic about the game's depth and complexity. The convenience and depth of the game are highly praised. The game is compared favorably to Sid Meier's Civilization series, contributing to the enthusiasm.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Players are amused by the well-made and funny tutorial. The interesting and engaging tutorial adds to the amusement, making the learning process enjoyable.}