A prototype rivaling the quality of actual games

We spent our weekend exploring this beautiful upcoming board game, thanks to Chris from @anagecontrived who sent us a copy to try. 😊

In An Age Contrived you play as gods of a Pantheon in the world of Eldranir. Your goal is to become the most powerful of them. As your power is determined by the belief of the mortals living in this world, you will have to contribute to the formation of civilization and influence them to build towering monuments that will draw in more worshippers. To achieve these feats, you use your ethereal energies.

There are a lot of mechanics and nuances to the game, so I can only briefly mention a few things now. 🙃 The main star of the show here are the Transmutation Devices that each player has. These boards act like conveyor belts - tiles move along these carrying energy tokens, which are used in all sorts of ways. This is a really unique action selection mechanic, reminiscent of Tzolk’in, as you can’t just do whatever you want. You have to plan everything in advance!

There are also lots of upgrades you can get: asymmetric player powers, stronger tiles for your transmuter, better actions and conduit tiles that let you match icons for bonuses.
You also find rondel-type movement on the game board, and lots of positive player interaction, and difficult decisions every turn. ☺️

Building monuments is the main focus of the game - it is also the end game trigger. But you can also claim achievements and place energy on civilization pillar spots. During the game you will permanently lock in some energy tokens for end game benefits, but also gain new ones - a balance which you have to watch out for to be able to run your transmuters effectively.

We have received a prototype copy, but it still looks better than many officially released games out there. The colors and art are stupendous! 😍

The true highlights are definitely the chunky Azul-style acrylic energy tokens and the magnetized cardboard monuments. Those actually snap onto the metal frames that you slot into the game board during setup. These components bring great tactility to the game.

Stay tuned for our impressions coming on Tuesday - when the the Kickstarter also launches! 🤩