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Good review!
The biggest drawback for me is the price of the game. I definately don't see how this game is worth that amount. I've heard people say that you are also paying for the design and even taking that into account, it in no way worth that amount IMHO.
I personally think the game is worth between $35-$45. I suspect only hardcore gamers such as this community are willing to pay that price and the print run for the game must be extremely small allowing FRED to keep the demand high and therefore maintain that price.
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So glad I bought the game at its release in Essen 06. I actually prefer the CBG version rather than the FRED one (not really a fan of anything FRED has ever done to be honest and was very disappointed when I heard they got the rights to reprint this). Also mine contained all the right pieces and no mistakes on the cards or the board. Not a mistake games companies should really make. And it was a heck of a lot cheaper 
Last edited on 2008-09-19 14:42:13 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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Oni no board wrote: Good review!
The biggest drawback for me is the price of the game. I definately don't see how this game is worth that amount. I've heard people say that you are also paying for the design and even taking that into account, it in no way worth that amount IMHO.
I personally think the game is worth between $35-$45. I suspect only hardcore gamers such as this community are willing to pay that price and the print run for the game must be extremely small allowing FRED to keep the demand high and therefore maintain that price. Agreed, $35-45 tops....$70 No Flippin' way! IT"S A CARD GAME!!!!!! Twilight Imperium CRAPLOAD Of pieces...$55 on TH that's ok Tide of Iron same..... but really....a good scanner and you are up and running with TtA. Not that I'm condoning that but at $70 it tends to push people in that direction!!
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It would be great if you could update this review after you get a dozen or so full games in. The full game is where it's at, and it's very different from the advanced. The threat of war, not necessarily the execution of it, changes the gameplay drastically among experienced players.
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lordunborn wrote: The disks are very small and with the fiddliness of this game I think small cubes would have been a better choice So say we all! Great review, thanks!
Last edited on 2008-09-19 20:40:56 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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Oni no board wrote: The biggest drawback for me is the price of the game. I definitely don't see how this game is worth that amount. I've heard people say that you are also paying for the design and even taking that into account, it in no way worth that amount IMHO.
I personally think the game is worth between $35-$45. I suspect only hardcore gamers such as this community are willing to pay that price and the print run for the game must be extremely small allowing FRED to keep the demand high and therefore maintain that price. Speaking only for myself, Through the Ages is my third favorite game of all time. Looking at your ratings, Wayne, I see you give Catan Cities and Knights a 10. Suppose you lost your only copy. What would you pay to replace it? I'm assuming that between the base game and the expansion, you originally paid $40-$50 for it. Might you be willing to pay a bit more because you like it so much? I'm not saying the game isn't overpriced. There are a number of reasons for that, including problems with the printing (FRED says that the original graphics were corrupted, requiring that the artwork be redone) and mistakes from a company's first production. It also appears that FRED, for whatever reason, charges more for their products than their competitors do. But I was more than willing to spend $70 for a game this good, particularly given the fact that $50 is not out of line for a good game these days. So for me and the games many other fans, it most certainly is worth that amount.
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I'm right there with you, Larry. I look at my favorite games (Antiquity and Through the Ages) the same way in that both are well worth the cost even at the sticker price. Should they be cheaper? Maybe. Would I pay the price again to fund the creators into making more games I just can't live without? You betcha! Now if I can only find a way to laminate all the cards in the game so that I don't ever have to buy it again.. 
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Wayne, you are absolutely right. There's no way this thing should cost 70 bucks. And the errors were inexcusable, even if it cost half that. Too bad FFG or Days of Wonder didn't produce it.
Last edited on 2008-09-24 14:54:53 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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rogeracox wrote: Wayne, you are absolutely right. There's no way this thing should cost 70 bucks. And the errors were inexcusable, even if it cost half that. Too bad FFG of Days of Wonder didn't produce it. IMHO the errors are justthat errors. Every company has problems sometimes and it is OK. The did offer a fix kit for free and that in my eyes redeems them. My problem is the Minimum retail price set by FRED. I wouldn't mind paying like I said 40 bucks for the game but making retailers sell the game for 70 is insane in my opinion. I was sure I read somewhere that FRED is owned by funagain??? Is that correct?
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lordunborn wrote: Is this game worth $70? It depends on how much you get out of it. I have it rated '10' and I've spent about 90 hours playing it (29 games, mostly with 3 people, averaging 3 hours or maybe a bit more.) So my cost is down below $1/hour. It's a lot cheaper than going to the movies or a ball game, and I enjoy it a lot more. This doesn't even count the fact that I've been able to "give away" another 180 hours of fun to the people who played with me and didn't have to buy the game. I'm going to play many more times, and I won't have to buy another copy for a long time (I guess the components will wear out eventually, but they aren't even getting close.) So my cost, once the purchase is fully amortized, is going to be much less than it currently is.
Last edited on 2008-09-20 09:59:46 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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Let us get this straight. It is too expensive for its component parts, on this point I don't think anybody disagrees.
I am with Eric on this one though. There are many games I have eagerly purchased, played a few times and left in that special place as an expensive dust collection device. Through The Ages, is not such a game. I bought this for a friend after playing with my regular gaming group. We have since played it numerous times and will continue to do so for a long time. Therefore though expensive, it is more than worth the cost.
The other big point about this game is the fact it plays very well with 2 players, which for me is a big selling point as gathering a larger group is not always possible. It plays in 2-3 hours in this capacity and as such can easily be played in an evening.
I would say though that the printing error on the score track and cards is criminal (replacement boards are not being issued but you can get stickers to rectify the mistake...great!!!). I will be waiting for the 3rd edition before I buy my copy, but buy it I will.
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Larry Levy wrote: I'm not saying the game isn't overpriced. There are a number of reasons for that, including problems with the printing (FRED says that the original graphics were corrupted, requiring that the artwork be redone) and mistakes from a company's first production. It also appears that FRED, for whatever reason, charges more for their products than their competitors do. But I was more than willing to spend $70 for a game this good, particularly given the fact that $50 is not out of line for a good game these days. So for me and the games many other fans, it most certainly is worth that amount. If I did need to replace my C&K, I would but within reason. If Mayfair suddenly jacked up the price to $70, I would have second thoughts even if I played the hell out of it and continued to do so. There are other competing products that I would take a closer look at to fill that void. So what you are saying is that due to FRED's own mistake, they are passing the buck to the consumers? That just made my opinion of the company even worse.
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lordunborn wrote:
IMHO the errors are justthat errors. Every company has problems sometimes and it is OK. The did offer a fix kit for free and that in my eyes redeems them.
if they actually could get their act together to SEND the fixkit, I could agree with you. I myself am waiting months even after Keith wrote here the fixkit is coming my way, and still no sign of it :-(
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Oni no board wrote: So what you are saying is that due to FRED's own mistake, they are passing the buck to the consumers? That just made my opinion of the company even worse. So are you suggesting that a company knowingly sell their first product at a loss? One which, due to its reputation and the pent-up demand, they figure to sell many copies of? That sounds like a great way of going out of business quickly. The big mistake (and again, this comes from FRED) was on the CGE end; somehow, the files were corrupted when FRED got them. The other mistakes I was referring to are simply the lack of efficiency ones that any startup will have when doing something for the first time. Look, I'm not trying to be The Defender of the FRED. The release of Through the Ages was anything but a smooth one. And after looking at a number of their products, I think their pricing structure is higher than that of their competitors (I'd say the same thing about Mayfair, although for different reasons). Like any game which is released, the decision of whether to buy or not depends on many factors, including the price. We, as consumers, decide whether to buy or not. For Through the Ages, it was a slam dunk for me, because the game is that good. I considered buying it at $100 (and probably would have if I'd thought I'd never have another chance to do so) and almost bought it for $85. For other FRED products, such as Roll Through the Ages (which I played as a prototype and enjoyed), the price premium may keep me from buying. But I'd never base my buying decision solely on whether the bits in the box justify the cost; the game itself, after all, is the most important thing you're buying.
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bazik123 wrote: lordunborn wrote:
IMHO the errors are justthat errors. Every company has problems sometimes and it is OK. The did offer a fix kit for free and that in my eyes redeems them.
if they actually could get their act together to SEND the fixkit, I could agree with you. I myself am waiting months even after Keith wrote here the fixkit is coming my way, and still no sign of it :-( i'm afraid i'm still waiting for my copy of the fix kit as well  that having been said, it's sortable, and the game can be played without, with great success like the review writer i have only played the advanced game, numerous times, and enjoyed it greatly, but a few days ago for the very first time my wife and i found time to play the full game, which is what we did, with two interruptions (*sniff* - not the game's fault - just things happened) it was awesome! absolutely awesome, and SO different from the advanced game, unbelievable no pacts, since we're just two, and we didn't start a war, nor worried too much about the threat of one, even, but it was just awesome to play through so many ages, having to manage our resources better, and getting through so many more options... in the advanced game i always felt the second age was not that useful card-wise or leader-wise because the game was already winding down in the full game your resources and actions are at such a level that even the third age is a treat! i paid 40 euro for it, on ebay, and i think it was certainly worth it... i pay fairly little for most of my games, getting them on local ebay-like sites, cheap and good (picking up Flaschenteufel, Entdecker, Lord of the Rings Labyrinth, Dungeons and Dragons Basic Game, and Monkey Mission for a total price of 15 euro today!), so if there is one game i really want and it's so new it won't be found at a discount, then i'm willing to pay for it (note though that TtA has hardly been on Ebay since, and has become more expensive, though i bought it for a few more euro then the previous few buyers). overall, despite the problems, i think this game is awesome and definitely worth the money, if only because it's so hard to get your hands on - one could also wait, but i like playing good games with my wife, and games like Ra and Lost Cities are fun for an afternoon but get stale real quick, so waiting would be a waste of time...
Last edited on 2008-09-22 02:52:13 CST (Total Number of Edits: 3)
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Larry Levy wrote: Oni no board wrote: So what you are saying is that due to FRED's own mistake, they are passing the buck to the consumers? That just made my opinion of the company even worse. So are you suggesting that a company knowingly sell their first product at a loss? One which, due to its reputation and the pent-up demand, they figure to sell many copies of? That sounds like a great way of going out of business quickly. No, but the price is outrageous for passing the buck so to speak. Look at Mutant Chronicles. That had so many problems also but FFG tried hard to balance the loss they had in producing the game and making the game accessable to the public. Quote: For Through the Ages, it was a slam dunk for me, because the game is that good. I considered buying it at $100 (and probably would have if I'd thought I'd never have another chance to do so) and almost bought it for $85. For other FRED products, such as Roll Through the Ages (which I played as a prototype and enjoyed), the price premium may keep me from buying. But I'd never base my buying decision solely on whether the bits in the box justify the cost; the game itself, after all, is the most important thing you're buying. To you the price may be no object when it comes to games as long as you enjoy the gameplay but for me, the price, components, and gameplay are all factors in my decision making. In regards to ThA, I just don't feel the price reflects the worth of the game. The components definately don't justify the cost. We are then left with the gameplay and in my book, the price no where near justifies that kind of a price.
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Oni no board wrote: We are then left with the gameplay and in my book, the price no where near justifies that kind of a price. Yes, that old saw, "The price justifies the price." Just think what abominations have been foisted on the gaming public with that sort of argument.
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Lordunborn wrote:
IMHO the errors are justthat errors. Every company has problems sometimes and it is OK. The did offer a fix kit for free and that in my eyes redeems them. My problem is the Minimum retail price set by FRED. I wouldn't mind paying like I said 40 bucks for the game but making retailers sell the game for 70 is insane in my opinion.
I was sure I read somewhere that FRED is owned by funagain??? Is that correct?
REPLY-----{OK I still don't know how this quote/quotereply works. I still don't have the hang of this infernal medium, so cut me some slack.} To me, an error is using the word "there" when you mean "their"; not being able to correctly map a scoring track is an inexcusable boneheaded screwup. One could argue that we all screw up sometime,including me, but I was never able to pawn my resulting crap on someone for 70 bucks a pop.
As for the FRED/Funagain doppleganger question--if you ever get a straight answer on it, please let me know
Last edited on 2008-09-24 15:11:13 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
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Posted Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:40 pm
