History of the World

One of my group's favorite games is "History of the World," a game we've been playing since the old Avalon Hill days. I think it's a favorite since we all know the rules, the cards, and the basic empires, although honestly, I don't care for the game all that much, which probably comes as a surprise to my gaming group since I'm the one that usually pushes to play this game, especially this last time.

Why? Well, there are several reasons. First, I love the scope of the game - from the earliest civilizations up to the modern age. I love studying history and the rise and fall of empires and lately have been watching a show called Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire, which covers many of the Epoch III (or is it IV?) empires, so I've had an interest in playing the game. Of course, I'm never given the Romans, so it was a moot point. I'm usually stuck over in India, China, or the New World. I'm also a fan of Dr. Who, which (especially in its early years) covers a wide range of human history. As an aside, wouldn't it be interesting to include the Daleks in a future epoch? Another reason I've been wanting to play is exposure to a great deal of ancient art at our local art museum (St. Louis Art Museum). There you can find art from the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese (many dynasties represented), and South Asia (include some from the Gupta era).

So what don't I like about the game? I think it's a lack of control. Not that I do well in games where I can exercise a lot of control, but it just seems like lack of control is rampant in this game. You never know from one epoch to the next when you will take your turn, much less where you will be. You can have a nicely played empire, only to lose it next turn to another empire that starts on your conquered land. Then there is the card draw, which, in my opinion, can make or break a game. I've gotten dealt some awful hands before (can anyone say Australia?) while I see other people clean up with leaders, engineering, and civil service.

There's also a lot of dice rolling. Sure, there's some strategy to taking lands, building monuments, and constructing forts, but I really wonder how much of an impact that has on the final outcome? There's also the issue of the chits a player gets for being in first place following an epoch. Sure, it's great to get them, but very frustrating when you come in a close second every turn and those chits just represent a bigger deficit that needs to be overcome. This happened to me last game, but it's also discouraging for players who struggle through the early part of the game and have very little hope of catching up. Yes, it's possible they may get a really good card, but I don't think that's as big of a percentage as it should be.


I, along with my group, will continue to play the game. It's fun and it's a "light" level of frustration (none of us really take the game seriously). In fact, we even play the game on-line through gamesbyemail.com, which has a very user-friendly interface and efficient email notification system.

Gettysburg Day 1

Been a while since I've posted. I went on a tear and finished the first day of my Gettysburg battle and the movie, "Gettysburg." I thought the movie was good. It focused on only a few aspects of the battle and I think it parts it was probably overdone and overacted, but overall a fine film. Having recently visited the historic site, I could tell a great deal of the movie was filmed 'on location.'

As for my game, wow -- the rebs rolled up the Union in a way I've rarely seen done in this game. The Union just wasn't getting the rolls and the Confederates could not be stopped. It's interesting that in my game, Ewell was in the same position he was in real life - with the choice to pursue the Union Army to Cemetery Hill or hold back. During the actual battle, Ewell held back, much to the chagrin of some of the other generals. I didn't and his troops pummeled the resistance.

At the end of Turn 7, the last move before the non-combat night move, the board looked like this:



The Confederates suffered NO losses. That's right, none. The Union, on the other hand, had many losses and gave up valuable ground. According to the rules, the Confederacy wins an automatic victory if they score twice as many VPs (Victory Points) as the Union. I stopped counting at 12 and even that was too much since the Union had 0.

What to do now? I'm kind of burned out on the game and the Confederacy did win, but I'm thinking I might replay the day 2/3 scenario to see what happens, or I might take day 2 and 3 and play them separately.

Either way, I think I'm going to update my Boardgame Geek lists for now. I am there under bambino64.