In this fast-paced, abridged history game Rush for the Ages by PUNKCAKE Délicieux, you take charge of a civilisation — each with their own special powers. Then you battle against two other groups to score the most in a limited number of moves.
In Rush for the Ages, I started with the Indians, Babylonians, and Persians. To unlock the remaining groups, I had to win a certain number of games with my starting pool. Each group of people comes with a specific power that gives them an advantage in a specific area of the game, and each was balanced enough to still give the player a sense of challenge.
Tags are coloured symbols that denote a certain category to which a card belongs too, and those cards are split into three different Ages — Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Modern Ages. During a player’s turn, you can either draw a card from the deck, play a card from the Ages pool, or discard a card.
Each card has a different description, and when played have different effects on gameplay or the opposing players. You have seven empty slots in your timeline, and the first player to place the seventh card sanctifies the timeline and ends the game.
The goal is to build a tableau of cards to score the most points, which are denoted by both the number of population on each card, the amount of bonus points on cards, and prestige tokens. The latter is revealed after the 1st, 4th, and 7th cards are placed in the Ages pool, regardless if the card is to be removed and played after.
Sometimes being the first player would allow you an advantage, but this isn’t a game where turn player order really matters. I sometimes found being second or third to be more advantageous as opposed to being the first player. This allowed me to plan in response to my opponents moves, and make the optimal choice.
Some cards in Rush for the Ages also have “links”, denoted by a pink chain symbol which grants either additional points or a powerup when paired with another card. A bonus of two points is added once the link is made, so collecting the right connections make all the difference.
The game ends when a player either places their seventh timeline card, or when the ninth card is discarded to the Ages pool. There, population, prestige, and bonus card points are added and the winner is declared from the one with the highest points. PENTADRANGLE’s chiptune soundtrack comes into play again, creating a grandiose feeling as you attempt to outdo your opponents.
As a history buff, I completely enjoyed this fast-paced, yet challenging offer by the PUNKCAKE Délicieux folks. It pays to read the card descriptions — recognising historical figures and discoveries really made my day. With seven difficulties, I’m looking forward to mastering all of what Rush for the Ages has to offer.
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