Introduction

Part 1 of this series provided General Background regarding GMT’s upcoming Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME). Part 2, Playing Your Role, covered a recommended player attitude when engaged in a game of ACME to best get into the spirit of the game and have a grand fun time. Part 3 addressed how ACME differs from the first game of the series: Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS).  This final installment is my way of sharing what I learned, courtesy of Designers Chris Vorder Brugge and Mark McLaughlin, of the history behind the Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) game. And it is a fascinating history indeed. To best appreciate this series of articles, some knowledge of ACIS is helpful.  GMT has a wealth of information regarding ACIS in its site for the game: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-624-ancient-civilizations-of-the-inner-sea.aspx Chris and Mark, in my opinion, did a superb design job simulating the historical chaos which so plagued the game’s civilizations. That environment was not the work of capricious “Munchkins”, but of forces which ultimately brought some civilizations down into oblivion or sorely tried their ability to simply survive. There are times when a medium other than the written word best communicates what’s just been alluded to and this is one of them. Interested readers should view a video, one of a number that can be found on YouTube concerning this topic, for related insights and a kind of overview into the historic environment depicted by ACME.  Therefore, you’re encouraged to view The Bronze Age Collapse video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0AIYIjZKWY or embedded below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0AIYIjZKWY

The last five minutes of this well done presentation provides a summary, in the form of three key elements, of what historically lay behind the chaotic, capricious, brutal, milieu of the times ACME portrays and how the game cleverly reflects those major influences through Fate Cards. Those three elements and their card manifestations are: 1) Climate Change (via droughts/floods), 2) Seismic Activity (via earthquakes/volcanoes), and 3) Various Revolts/Outside Invasions (cards which deploy those nefarious black disks upon the board). That stuff historically happened and explains why ACME, as well as ACIS before it, may not be a game for everyone; for not everyone enjoys experiencing what the game’s historic civilizations did in seeking a difficult to achieve win via a map board in almost constant flux and replete with Fate card generated challenges. The fall of the cards dictates when “hell” is unleashed and the kind of “perfect storm” of horror which fell during the Bronze Age could happen during any Epoch. The video also includes some interesting information, along with rather violent but well-rendered graphic illustrations, which include the Sea Peoples: one of the fascinating civilizations appearing in both ACIS and ACME. Another excellent source is a book written by a Professor whose class Chris and Mark had the pleasure of experiencing while they attended Georgetown University many moons ago.  It is The Evolution of Civilizations by Carroll Quigley. I acquired a copy of it via Amazon and found it a most interesting read. The book’s description of civilization cycles, how they rise, expand into “universal empires”, stagnate, and fall translates well to what occurs on ACME’s map. When playing a full four Epoch game, which is admittedly time-consuming, the players can experience a tortuous marathon of chaos. You don’t have to play four Epochs, of course, and can limit a game to a certain number of Epochs, a Victory Point threshold, or simply time (e.g. play for two hours); but whatever is agreed to the Fate cards will fly and players will contend with the uncertainty and torment of their historical counter-parts: those who ruled the civilizations of the age. The play-test team prefers players deciding when, where, and upon whom Fate card inflicted terrors beset the game’s civilizations; rather than use a Random Events Table (which the game does employ within its End of Epoch procedure).  Actively playing those Fate cards against one another generates an appropriate historic environment as well as being, well, fun, at least for many who enjoy this aspect of the game. However, those who desire mitigating the game’s harsh environment are always free to do so by modifying the game through house rules and editing of the Fate card deck (e.g. remove certain Event cards from play). An aspect of the design which promotes players assuming an historically-based role is that they are rewarded with Victory Points and “mina” (ACME’s money) for sacking other civilizations’ Cities for loot, as well as seizing their Homelands and any Deities there for triumphantly hauling back to their own Homelands for even more Victory Points and mina.  These game mechanisms encourage players to emulate the rapacious historical attitude of so many of those who led the kingdoms and empires of the times. For the mark of success across an Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East game is reflected by a player’s accumulation of Victory Points, which, thanks to the Gilgamesh Rule (similar to ACIS’ Aeneas Rule), can be from controlling another civilization if your initial one falters. Earning those points within the game’s challenging arena of chaos; to achieve sufficient Victory Points to win a game, is acumen which repeated plays should impart.

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Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 1: General Background Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 2: Playing Your Role Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 3: Differences Between ACME and ACIS