The Flow of History

A civilization card game where bidding feeds an inflation system and rivals can harvest what you paid.

Designer: Jesse Li
Published by: Moaideas Game Design
Editions by: Tasty Minstrel Games, Korea Boardgames, BoardM Factory, Lucrum Games, Doit Games, LudoSentinel

Civilizations rise on the ashes of earlier ones, and in The Flow of History you grow yours entirely out of cards. The twist is how you buy them: a price-setting bidding system where what you pay goes into the supply, and other players can later harvest it into their own pockets. That is your very own inflation machine, and it makes timing and restraint matter. Add a standing military that will eventually clash with your rivals, plus a pile of cards that chain, combine and take swipes at each other, and you get a dense card-driven civilization game by Taiwanese designer Jesse Li from 2016. Plan about an hour and a half.

Price-setting bidding with built-in inflationCards chain, meld and take swipes at rivalsVariable set-up and end-game bonuses

Who it's for

You enjoy civilization themes without a map and like an economy where timing beats raw size.

Not for you if…

You want a quick card game or a pure solo-minded engine. Interaction and bidding are the point here.

Vibe's take

Calculating and a little sneaky. You time your purchases like a trader who knows everyone else is watching the price, and the military looms in the background as the reason you cannot just count coins.