Through the Ages: New Leaders and Wonders Expansion Review

Through the Ages is one of the best board games, both in my opinion and based on the opinion of millions of users on Board Game Geek. While the game appears incredibly complex when you get it out of the box – there literally are hundreds of cards to sift through, sort, and set up! – the game play is so intuitive and easy to understand, and by your third or fourth round, it will all feel very natural.

From the start, the designers did a good job of creating a robust and fully featured board game, which is great but doesn’t leave much room for expansions. Since the game is so great, and has so many mechanics, there really are only a few ways that the designers could meaningfully add to the experience without watering down the core game play. Somehow they did this though, with a small expansion that just adds more. And in this case, more is good.

From the publisher,

“This is your chance to make history! Throughout time there have been courageous women and imaginative men who changed history, and whose legacy we carry with us to this day. Some of those men and women, along with some of their most wondrous creations, are now joining the new and long awaited Through the Ages expansion.

The New Leaders & Wonders expansion brings exciting new content to the base game, adding leaders, wonders, and military cards so you can change the flow of history and build even greater civilizations!”

Half the fun of playing Through the Ages the first few times is uncovering new wonders from around the world, and utilizing some of the most famous leaders in history to map your civilizations rise. With The New Leaders and Wonders expansion, players get to make new discoveries all over again, bringing new ideas and mechanics into the game in a very subtle way. With new leaders to use, some players may alter the way they expand and advance their civilization.

New wonders means new bonuses, and again, the opportunity to focus your civilizations arch in a different direction. Add in new military cards, and the designers have added so much to Through the Ages without ruining or altering the core game play loop or game concepts.

If you have been playing a lot of Through the Ages recently, and want to give the game new life in your home, pick up The New Leaders and Wonders expansion. It’s an easy recommendation from us.