- Publisher : Sylex
- Designer(s) : Glenn Drover
- Artist(s) : Jared Blando, Hendrik Noack, Jacoby O'Connor, Grzegorz Pedrycz
- Players : 2–6
- Playing time : 120 Min
- Weight BGG : 2.94
What's this?
Mosaic – Chronicles of a Civilization is a game in which you are at the head of a civilization in the ancient Mediterranean basin.
How do you play?
Each player in turn performs 1 action:
➡ PRODUCTION: This action allows you to produce stone, food or ideas.
➡ POPULATION: This action allows you to increase your population.
➡ CONSTRUCTION: This action allows you to build a city, a village or a large project.
➡ WONDER: This action allows you to build a wonder.
➡ TECHNOLOGY: This action allows you to discover a new technology.
➡ TAX & TAX: This action allows you to tax the population or merchants.
➡ MILITARY: This action allows you to recruit new military units and/or move existing units.
➡ GOVERNMENT: This action allows you to create a government.
Throughout the game, you will accumulate symbols or “pillars of civilization” thanks to your cards. If you meet the conditions indicated on one of the Golden Age tiles or on a Civilization Success tile, you can claim it. You immediately benefit from all the effects indicated on the tile, and will obtain victory points (VP) at the end of the game.
Players can also score victory points during Imperial Supremacy phases, which occur when a Supremacy card is drawn.
The Imperial Supremacy phase allows the two players with the most influence in a region to score VPs for that region. Players calculate their influence points for each region of the game board: each of the wonders and cities gives 2 influence points, and each of the villages and military units gives 1 influence point.
🔚The game continues until one of these situations occurs: the third Imperial Supremacy card is revealed or all tiles of 2 of the following 3 types have been taken by the players: Wonder, Civilization Success or Age Golden.
Is it good?
Mosaic offers a badge mechanic to collect on its cards in order to validate objectives and place other cards. This mechanic is reminiscent of Terraforming Mars or Ark Nova. If it is interesting, it never really blocks the laying of cards. Indeed, the collection of badges is mainly used to validate the Success and Golden Age tiles.
The other main mechanic of the game is the control of territories. This requires constructing buildings – cities, port towns, farms and wonders – with strategic thought about their placement to maximize influence and access to resources. Units, whether infantry, cavalry or catapults, can then be sent to strengthen influence in a given region. However, it is unfortunate that no combat is possible and all units have the same influence.
Mosaic: Chronicles of a Civilization will appeal to fans of civilization and strategy games. It is accessible to beginner players while providing enough depth to satisfy more experienced players.
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Review Mosaic : A Story of Civilization
Positives
- An accessible civilization game
- Quality material with careful illustrations
- Simple but effective mechanics
- Different ways to score points
Negatives
- A tedious setup, which can discourage some players
- Games that can be long
- The limited role of units, which essentially boils down to the acquisition of influence
- The retreating theme
Breakdown
- Components and illustrations 9.0
- Mechanics 7.5
- Theme 6.5
- Replayability 8.0
- Handling 8.0
- Interaction 8.0
- Originality 7.5
