Ages of War: Battle for the Bronze Age

You begin by setting up the battlefield by placing terrain cards that delineate the play area. Then, you assemble your army deck with a faction, elite units, and regular fighters, and deploy your first units to intercept enemy formations. During your turn, you choose between moving, attacking, or using the group mechanic to activate multiple units simultaneously. When attacking, you roll a die to determine damage and mark off health boxes on the enemy card until it is destroyed and removed from the board. The first player to wipe out all enemy units from the battlefield wins the fight.

Ages of War: Battle for the Bronze Age is a compact tactical card game that captures the atmosphere of an ancient battle in games lasting around ten minutes. The combination of deck-building, terrain placement, and the group mechanic gives each game its own pace, where positioning is at least as important as the roll of the dice. The erasable health boxes with dry-wipe markers are a clever design detail that makes the game immediately replayable and keeps the barrier to entry low. The game was recently released by the small studio Thiad Games, but the initial reactions mainly praise the accessible rules, the beautiful illustrations, and the high tactical content for such a small box. Highly recommended for those who enjoy skirmishes and strategy without having to dedicate an entire evening.