Do you like a little bit of chaos and unpredictability in your game play? Or do you prefer a game with scheming, subtlety and a little bit of turnabout? I may have a game for you that has a bit of both in it. Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East is a lite civilization building game that sees 1-6 players take on the role of an ancient power to see if they can build up their civilization and conquer the opposing great civilizations of the ancient Middle East. The game uses the same system as the first game in the series called Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea but does add some new tricks. First, the game now adds terrain. Second, the game not only has more playable civilizations (17 basic civilizations plus several additional civilizations in historical scenarios) but also gives some civilizations a second or even third choice for where to place their Homeland. The game is about competition to gain the most area in the ancient world, spreading your cultures influence and religion and reaping the economic benefits of your conquests. This competition comes in the form of gaining Victory Points through building cities and acquiring gods and sacking and looting cities through war and domination of the sea.
If you are interested, we posted an interview with the design team including Mark McLaughlin and Christopher Vorder Bruegge on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2019/12/16/interview-with-mark-mclaughlin-christopher-vorder-bruegge-designers-and-fred-schachter-developer-for-ancient-civilizations-of-the-middle-east-from-gmt-games/
I also have written a series of Action Point posts and you can read those at the following links:
-Grant
The Players' Aid 