Games like Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization

01

Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization(2006)

★ 7.82–4 players120 minWeight 4.2

ISO Match

68/100

Shares Action Points + 3 more

02

Civolution(2024)

★ 8.21–4 players90 minWeight 4.3

ISO Match

59/100

Civilization building is the obvious link, and Civolution backs it up mechanically with shared Events, Income, and Open Drafting. It reads a touch easier on paper — 4.25 weight against the seed's 4.44 — but that's a small gap between two heavy games. Note the count difference: Civolution runs 1–4 and is rated best at 2, where the original wants 3 at the table. In place of Action Points, auctions, and Take That interaction, you'll be rolling dice across a Modular Board, climbing Tech Trees, and building patterns — same genre, noticeably different toolbox, with a solo mode included.

03

Food Chain Magnate(2015)

★ 8.02–5 players120 minWeight 4.2

ISO Match

58/100

Both games hit their stride at three players, though Food Chain Magnate stretches to five where the original tops out at four. The mechanical overlap is Income and Open Drafting, and at 4.19 weight against 4.44 it plays slightly lighter without giving up much depth. Everything else diverges: gone are the Action Points, auctions, Events, and Take That, replaced by Simultaneous Action Selection, Delayed Purchases, Tech Trees, and Victory Points as a Resource on a Modular Board. It trades civilization sweep for a pure Economic fight dressed in Industry / Manufacturing clothing.

04

Gaia Project(2017)

★ 8.31–4 players60 minWeight 4.4

ISO Match

58/100

Depth is the headline match here: Gaia Project's 4.40 weight is practically identical to the 4.44 of Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization, and both are rated best with three players — Gaia Project also adds solo. The shared systems are Income and Tags, a thinner overlap than others on this list. Auctions, Action Points, Events, and Take That give way to a Hexagon Grid, Network and Route Building, Tech Tracks, and Variable Player Powers, so while both are Civilization-and-Economic heavyweights, this one plays out spatially across a Modular Board rather than through cards.

05

Nations(2013)

★ 7.61–5 players40 minWeight 3.5

ISO Match

58/100

Shares Events + 3 more

06

Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire(2020)

★ 7.41–4 players60 minWeight 4.1

ISO Match

57/100

Shares Action Points + 1 more

07

Aelderman(2023)

★ 7.81–4 playersWeight 4.2

ISO Match

57/100

Weight-wise, Aelderman sits at 4.18, just under this game's 4.44 — close enough that neither will feel like a break from the other. The connection runs through Action Points, Auction / Bidding, and Income, three systems fans of the original will recognize immediately. It supports 1–4 players, covering the same table sizes plus solo, though no best count is flagged. Thematically you trade civilizations for Medieval city building with a Nautical streak, and mechanically the Events, Open Drafting, and Take That of Through the Ages give way to Area Movement, Zone of Control, and auction-determined turn order.

08

Pax Renaissance(2016)

★ 8.02–4 players60 minWeight 4.5

ISO Match

57/100

Action Points, Dutch auctions, and Open Drafting carry over directly from Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization into Pax Renaissance, and the weights are near twins at 4.47 versus 4.44. Player counts line up too: 2–4 and best at 3 in both cases. What changes is the frame. Instead of a Civilization-and-Economic card game with Events, Income, and Take That swings, you get a Renaissance-era, religiously charged design where a Market and Increase Value of Unchosen Resources decide what's worth buying. The core decision engine feels familiar; the surrounding simulation does not.

09

Three Kingdoms Redux(2014)

★ 7.83 players135 minWeight 4.0

ISO Match

56/100

Shares Auction / Bidding + 1 more

10

Indonesia(2005)

★ 7.92–5 players180 minWeight 4.0

ISO Match

55/100

Shares Auction / Bidding + 2 more

11

Pax Porfiriana(2012)

★ 7.61–6 players120 minWeight 3.6

ISO Match

55/100

Shares Action Points + 3 more

12

Algomancy(2025)

★ 7.82–10 playersWeight 4.4

ISO Match

55/100

Shares Income + 2 more