- History of the World (board game)
"This article is about the
board game . For a description of the world's history, seeHistory of the world . For theMel Brooks movie of similar name seeHistory of the World, Part I .""History of the World" (often abbreviated ""HotW") is a
board game designed by Gary Dicken and Steve Kendall, originally published in1991 by Ragnar Brothers. It is played by up to six different players in seven different epochs; each player playing a different empire in each epoch.Brief history
The first edition of "History of the World" by Ragnar Brothers is a small-press edition (with a tea-towel board). It was then republished by
Gibson Games andAvalon Hill . In1994 , "History of the World" won theOrigins Award for "Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame of 1993". AfterAvalon Hill was purchased byHasbro in the early 2000s, "History of the World" was rereleased as a big box game with hundreds ofplastic pieces.Game play
The game is played in seven rounds known as epochs. In each epoch, each player plays a different
empire ; at the end of the epoch, the empires stop expansion and players score points. New empires then rise for the next epoch, although the remains of the previous empires stay on the board and score points for as long as they remain unconquered. The majority of points come from presence and/or dominance of various regions (generically called "areas") of the world, which fluctuate in worth throughout the game. For example, the area of Northern Europe is worth more in modern times than in ancient times, while the area of the Middle East is worth more in ancient times, based on historical importance. Other points come from capitols of empires, cities in general, monuments, and fleets.Inevitably, a limited selection of historical empires had to be chosen for inclusion in the game. In the newest version of the game, there are seven empires in each of the seven epochs. The order of play and strength of each (in parentheses) is given below.
Epoch I (3000 - 1400 BC)
*(4) Sumeria
*(5) Egypt
*(3) Minoans
*(4) Indus Valley
*(4)Babylonia
*(3)Shang Dynasty
*(5) AryansEpoch II (1400 - 450 BC)
*(8)
Assyria
*(6)Zhou Dynasty
*(6) Vedic City States
*(7) Greek City States
*(7)Scythians
*(7) Carthaginia
*(12) PersiaEpoch III (450 BC - 300 AD)
*(8)
Celts
*(14)Macedon ia
*(9) Maurya
*(11)Han Dynasty
*(5)Xiongnu
*(20) Romans
*(9) SassanidsEpoch IV (300 - 740 AD)
*(8) Guptas
*(10)Goths
*(14)Huns
*(11) Byzantines
*(10)Tang Dynasty
*(15)Arabs
*(5) KhmersEpoch V (750 - 1300 AD)
*(9)
Franks
*(7)Vikings
*(8)Holy Roman Empire
*(7)Chola
*(9)Song Dynasty
*(12)Seljuk Turks
*(18) MongolsEpoch VI (1300 - 1550 AD)
*(9)
Ming Dynasty
*(8) Timurid Emirates
*(4 - 2 each) Incas/Aztecs
*(14) Ottoman Turks
*(8) Portugal
*(12) Spain
*(10) MughalsEpoch VII (1550 - 1914 AD)
*(10) Russia
*(11)Qing Dynasty
*(6) Netherlands
*(11) France
*(16) Britain
*(9)United States
*(10) GermanyExternal links
*bgg|224|"History of the World"
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