Tempus

Spread your people across a modular hex map and grab the terrain that scores in each new era.

Designer: Martin Wallace
Published by: Cafe Games
Editions by: Ubik, PS-Games, Pro Ludo, Warfrog Games

Tempus is a civilization game where you grow from a handful of people into a thriving realm, era by era. The board is built from hex map tiles, each a mix of grasslands, farmlands, mountains, woods and hills. You place people tokens on neighboring hexes, and at the end of each era, only the terrain types flagged for scoring pay out Progress Points, based on how many of those hexes you occupy. So you always glance ahead and ask which land will matter next. Cards, bidding for turn order, movement and some sharp take-that moves keep the other players in your face. It is a long, crunchy game for people who like planning around a changing scoring rule. Three to five players, about two hours, from 2006.

Modular hex board from twelve tilesEach era scores different terrainBidding for turn order, take-that cards

Who it's for

You like planning around a changing scoring rule and want a long civilization-style game where position and timing decide it.

Not for you if…

You want a short game or you dislike direct attacks. It is long, and others can cut into your plans.

Vibe's take

Crunchy and scheming, with a constant eye on what scores next. The map shifts from game to game, and the take-that cards keep the table sharp-elbowed.