Mesopotamia: Cradle of Civilization
2005
BGG Geek Rating
5.9
based on 1,627 ratings
BGG Average Rating
6.5
community average
BGG Ranking
#3793
all board games
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Players
2-4
Weight
2.44/5.00
Playtime
45 min
Age
10+
⚙️ Game Mechanics
How this game works - core systems and player actions
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📖 About This Game
At the center is the Ziggurat, where you must bring 4 sacrifice tokens to win. But to deliver them, you must have sufficient Mana reserved by praying in temples, which players build. You bring your sacrifices from 4 huts that you build, and you can breed at an empty hut to increase your people. To build huts, temples, and Mana, you use rocks and timber that you collect from quarries and forests.
Each turn, you can move 5 places, placing new tiles if you go off the map, seeding stones or timber if they are quarries or forests, and carrying resource to empty plains if you want to build. Building a hut or temple, breeding, or drawing an action card ends your turn, and you bank Mana if you have people on temples. So gradually, you build up your clan and have them do different things. Some stand at temples to pray, some explore and carry resource, others help build or breed. And when you deliver a sacrifice, you kill the messenger too, thus needing to breed more.
Expanded By
Mesopotamia: Expansion